FPAC welcomes David Lindsay as new President and CEO

OTTAWA, Sept. 4, 2012 /CNW/ - The Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) is today welcoming new leadership as David Lindsay assumes the role of President and CEO at a time of great transformation in the Canadian forestry sector.

"We are delighted to welcome someone of David's caliber and experience," said the Chairman of the FPAC Board of Directors, Jim Lopez, the President and CEO of Tembec. "He is the ideal person to build on the extraordinary momentum in our industry as it continues to become more innovative, more environmentally friendly and more global in its reach."

Lindsay was most recently a senior Deputy Minister in the Government of Ontario serving in the portfolios of Energy and Infrastructure, Northern Development, Mines and Forestry, Natural Resources, Tourism and Culture. Before this, he served as President and CEO of the Association of Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology of Ontario.  Lindsay was the founding President of the Ontario SuperBuild Corporation and the Ontario Jobs and Investment Board.  He also served as Principal Secretary and Chief of Staff to the Premier of Ontario.

"I look forward to working in such a progressive industry association with its clear vision of its future," says Lindsay.  "There are extraordinary opportunities as well as challenges in the forest products sector and I am keen to help the industry reach its potential."

Lopez also praised Catherine Cobden for her interim leadership over the past five months. "Catherine has been exemplary in steering FPAC during the transition period.  She has driven forward the industry's new Vision2020 which set ambitious goals for developing new products and markets, enhancing our environmental credentials and hiring new skilled workers.  She has made sure that David can step into a very dynamic and forward-looking association."

Cobden will now become Executive Vice-President of FPAC.

FPAC provides a voice for Canada's wood, pulp, and paper producers nationally and internationally in government, trade, and environmental affairs. The $57-billion-a-year forest products industry represents 2% of Canada's GDP and is one of Canada's largest employers operating in hundreds of communities and providing 230,000 direct jobs across the country.

SOURCE: FOREST PRODUCTS ASSOCIATION OF CANADA