Fortress Paper recently announced the promotion of Yvon Pelletier from President of the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary Fortress Specialty Cellulose Inc. ("FSC") to President and Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") of Fortress Paper effective October 1, 2015, in a press release received by Pulpapernews.
Chadwick Wasilenkoff, the Company's current President and CEO, will assume the newly created role of Executive Chairman of the board of directors (the "Board"). In this role, Mr. Wasilenkoff will work with Mr. Pelletier to facilitate the transition of leadership over the short to medium-term and to further create value for shareholders over the long-term.
Why did Fortress decide to pursue this management transition at this time? Chadwick Wasilenkoff explains:
“The board of directors and I engaged in an extensive succession planning process over the course of approximately 12 months, which resulted in this shift. We wanted to ensure that operations had stabilized at both mills and that the Company's balance sheet was healthier prior to making this change. By repositioning Yvon and my roles, effective October 1st 2015, the Company is seeking to derive the maximum value from each of our respective skill sets. As operations at the Thurso Mill have stabilized and now improved, the Board and I believe that Yvon can now broaden his scope of oversight beyond the Thurso mill, while mitigating the risk of any performance degradation. This will enable me to increase my focus on developing new strategic initiatives, knowing that Yvon will be overseeing Company-wide operational matters and enhancing financial performance.”
Is Fortress looking to sell either Landqart or other assets?
“Fortress regularly evaluates its operations and business units with a view to generating significant value for shareholders. If and when Fortress believes there is an opportunity with a substantial likelihood of generating superior returns, whether it is an acquisition, disposition, strategic investment or otherwise, Fortress will attempt to pursue those opportunities”, Chadwick says.
Chadwick Wasilenkoff will be based in California, USA.
