Pork and poultry processor Olymel is promoting Daniel Rivest to CEO of the Canadian business to replace the departing Yanick Gervais.
Rivest, who is chief operating officer, will take the helm of Quebec-based Olymel in July while Gervais will remain as “strategic adviser” until October next year.
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Gervais has been president and CEO of the Olymel and Lafleur meat brand owner for the past five years but is stepping down from those positions following a decade at the business.
Rivest joined Olymel in 2016 and prior to taking the role of COO was vice-president of sales and marketing.
“I’m taking on this responsibility with a clear focus on ensuring continuity in our strategic plan and preparing the company for future opportunities in our industry,” Rivest said in a statement.
The past four years or so have been marked by a number of plant closures and job losses at Olymel, which is now left with manufacturing and processing plants in Quebec, Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick.
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By GlobalDataIts Anjou and Cap-de-la-Madeleine factories were put up for closure in June, although Olymel also simultaneously announced a C$142m ($103.2m today) investment for its La Fernandière meat brand plant in Trois-Rivières, Quebec.
Olymel’s Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu poultry facility was also shut down last year on the heels of another chicken processing site in Paris, Ontario, in 2023, becoming the fifth closure in the space of ten months.
The spate of factory terminations started in 2021 with the demise of the pork-processing facility in Henryville, also in Quebec, a site Olymel inherited through the acquisition of F. Ménard the previous year.
Gervais was described as an “outstanding leader” by board chair Richard Ferland, who said in the statement. “He steered a major transformation of our business model with vision, diligence, and care, strengthening Olymel’s resilience and performance. His tenure at the helm of Olymel has left a lasting impact, and we’re deeply grateful to him.”
The outgoing CEO said he announced his planned departure more than a year ago.
“I’m leaving with a deep sense of pride in the work our team has accomplished,” Gervais said. “I’m confident Olymel will continue to grow and thrive under the leadership of Daniel Rivest.”
