THUNDER BAY – Business – Resolute Forest Products Inc. announced that the board of directors have nominated Michel P. Desbiens and Jennifer C. Dolan to stand for election as new board members. Mr. Desbiens and Ms. Dolan will join seven other current members of the board standing for re-election at Resolute’s upcoming annual meeting of stockholders on May 16, 2013.
Resolute Forest Products Inc. New board members
Richard B. Evans, currently the Company’s non-executive chairman, has determined that he would retire, and would not stand for re-election. The board has recommended Bradley P. Martin, a current member, to serve as Resolute’s new [non-executive] chairman, and Alain Rhéaume, also a current member, as lead director.
Mr. Desbiens is a forest products industry veteran and an accomplished business leader. He has been an independent consultant since 2000, advising a number of clients in the forest products industry, during which time he served briefly as Quebecor World Inc.’s chief executive officer (international) and chief executive officer for part of 2002 and 2003.
He had been president and chief executive officer of Donohue Inc. since 1994 when it was acquired by Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. (a predecessor entity of Resolute) in 2000, after which he served briefly as its chairman and a special advisor. Before then, he held a number of executive positions with Donohue Inc., Domtar Inc., Chapelle d’Arblay paper mill and Abitibi-Price Inc. (a predecessor entity of Resolute). Mr. Desbiens is a mechanical engineer. He currently serves on the board of Rogers Sugar Inc.
Ms. Dolan retired from The New York Times Company in 2012 after a 33-year career, the last ten of which she spent as vice president of forest products, where she managed paper procurement and oversaw its equity investments in two paper mills, including as a member of the board of Donohue Malbaie Inc., a joint venture with the Company.
Before then, she held a number of executive and senior finance roles. Ms. Dolan is a certified public accountant, and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Mr. Martin currently serves as vice president for strategic investments with Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited. He previously served as its vice president and chief operating officer and corporate secretary.
Before joining Fairfax, he was a partner with Torys LLP, a leading Canadian business law firm, specializing in mergers and acquisitions and securities laws. Mr. Martin currently serves as chairman of Ridley Inc. and Imvescor Restaurant Group Inc., and as a member of the board of The Brick Ltd.
Mr. Rhéaume is founder and managing partner of Trio Capital Inc. Before then, he was executive vice president and president of Fido, a subsidiary of Rogers Wireless Communications Inc., a role he assumed when Microcell Telecommunications Inc. was acquired by Rogers.
Mr. Rhéaume was president and chief operating officer and previously served as chief financial officer of Microcell. He has served as associate deputy minister of finance and deputy minister of finance in the provincial government of Quebec. Mr. Rhéaume currently serves as a board member of the Canadian Public Accountability Board, the Canadian Investors Protection Fund, Boralex Inc. and Redline Communications Group Inc.
“We are very pleased that Michel Desbiens and Jennifer Dolan have agreed to stand for election to Resolute’s board. They represent an extraordinary range of talent, with deep institutional knowledge of our industry and a proven track record of success,” stated Resolute’s president and chief executive officer, Richard Garneau.
“We look forward to Bradley Martin’s leadership and corporate governance experience, and likewise express our deepest gratitude to Dick Evans for his unwavering support, and steady and determined guidance. Dick’s contribution to this Company simply cannot be overstated.”
“My affiliation with Resolute and its predecessor companies has been a tremendously rewarding experience for me, both professionally and personally. We have been through a great deal together, and I firmly believe that we have set a foundation for excellence. We have taken the necessary steps to ensure Resolute’s long-term profitability and competitiveness, optimizing our asset base and strengthening our financial position.
We have demonstrated sustainability leadership and invested in growth opportunities. I am so very proud of what the board and the dedicated employees have accomplished. This has been a journey in partnership and I look forward to your future,” statedRichard Evans.
About Resolute Forest Products
Resolute Forest Products is a global leader in the forest products industry with a diverse range of products, including newsprint, commercial printing papers, market pulp and wood products. The Company owns or operates over 40 pulp and paper mills and wood products facilities in the United States, Canada and South Korea, and power generation assets in Canada. Marketing its products in close to 90 countries, Resolute has third-party certified 100% of its managed woodlands to at least one of three internationally-recognized sustainable forest management standards, including 65% certified to the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) standards. The shares of Resolute Forest Products trade under the stock symbol RFP on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Resolute and other member companies of the Forest Products Association of Canada, as well as a number of environmental organizations, are partners in the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement. The group works to identify solutions to conservation issues that meet the goal of balancing equally the three pillars of sustainability linked to human activities: environmental, social and economic. Resolute is also a member of the World Wildlife Fund’s Climate Savers program, in which businesses establish ambitious targets to voluntarily reduce greenhouse gas emissions and work aggressively toward achieving them.