Domtar’s chief operating officer will assume responsibility for two Paper Excellence pulp mills in B.C. as part of an upper management reorganization, following the acquisition of both Domtar and Resolute Forest Products.
The Paper Excellence Group, headquartered in Richmond, acquired Domtar in 2021 and Resolute Forest Products in March this year, making it one of the largest, if not the largest, forestry company in North America.
Following the acquisition, three senior Resolute Forest Products executives plan to leave the newly merged company: Resolute CEO Remi Lalonde, CFO Sylvain Girard, and chief legal officer Stephanie Leclaire.
According to a Paper Excellence Group news release, the three Resolute executives “have decided to leave the organization on September 1, 2023, to pursue other interests.”
“Now that Resolute is part of a private company, the time is right for me to pass along to the individual business unit leaders more of the responsibilities to manage their businesses and take their performance to the next level in the Paper Excellence family,” Lalonde said.
Lalonde added the acquisition was good for the industry.
“This industry, particularly in Canada, can benefit from a strategic investor with a generational vision like Paper Excellence, willing to support it by deploying capital to unlock fully its true potential, and they have made that intention clear,” Lalonde said. “This is good for Resolute's employees, our mills and our communities."
Some of the remaining Resolute and Domtar executives are assuming new titles and responsibilities.
Steve Henry, Domtar's executive vice president and chief operating officer (COO), has been named president of paper and packaging for all legacy Domtar pulp, paper and packaging operations, as well as the Paper Excellence pulp mills in Port Alberni and Crofton.
Hugues Simon, president of Resolute’s wood products division, will continue to serve as president of the wood products business unit.
John Lafave, who was senior vice president of pulp and paper sales and marketing for Resolute, will serve as senior vice president of pulp and tissue sales, and Richard Tremblay will continue to serve as senior vice president, pulp, paper and tissue operations.
“The leader of the pulp and tissue business unit consisting of all legacy Resolute pulp, paper and tissue operations as well as the non-integrated Paper Excellence Canada pulp mills will be announced at a later date,” Paper Excellence said in a press release.
