Paper Excellence revises business unit structure

The Paper Excellence Group, a British Columbia-based pulp and paper manufacturer, has updated the organizational structure of its business units following the acquisitions of Domtar, Fort Mill, South Carolina, in late 2021 and of Resolute Forest Products, Montreal, earlier this year.

Domtar Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Steve Henry has been named president of the Paper & Packaging business unit, responsible for all legacy Domtar pulp, paper and packaging operations as well as Paper Excellence Canada’s Port Alberni and Crofton mills—both of which consume virgin fiber.

Henry has 28 years of experience in the paper industry with roles including strategy, project management and general management in corporate and mill environments. Before joining Domtar in 2011, Henry held positions at International Paper, Weyerhaeuser and Georgia-Pacific.

The head of the Pulp & Tissue business unit, which consists of all legacy Resolute pulp, paper and tissue operations as well as the nonintegrated Paper Excellence Canada pulp mills, will be announced at a later date, according to Paper Excellence. Richard Tremblay will continue to serve as senior vice president of pulp, paper and tissue operations while John Lafave will serve as senior vice president of pulp and tissue sales. The pair will serve as co-leaders of the business unit until a permanent leader is named.

Hugues Simon will continue as president of the Wood Products business unit.

Henry, Tremblay, Lafave and Simon will report to the Paper Excellence management board, chaired by Nonexecutive Chairman John Williams, former president and CEO of Domtar.

“We have assembled an impressive team of business leaders who are uniquely qualified to deliver superior results and position the organization for continued growth,” Williams says.

Williams announced his retirement as Domtar president and CEO late last year and officially retired June 30 after 14 years in the position.

Resolute President and CEO Remi G. Lalonde, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Sylvain A. Girard and Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Chief Legal Officer Stephanie Leclaire will leave the organization Sept. 1 to “pursue other interests,” Paper Excellence says in a statement.

“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 says.

“Resolute and all its wonderful people—past and present—will always have a very special place in my heart as I deeply cherish the memories from 14 years together. … 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. This is good for Resolute’s employees, our mills and our communities.”

Paper Excellence completed its acquisition of Resolute this March and its acquisition of Domtar in November 2021. Both deals were valued at nearly $3 billion. In January, Domtar resumed operations at its mill in Kingsport, Tennessee, after completing a two-year, $350 million conversion at the site to become its first 100 percent-recycled packaging plant.