Olymel names Gervais CEO

Courtesy Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan

Yanick Gervais will move from interim CEO of Olymel L.P. to CEO following an appointment by the board of directors.

Gervais stepped into the role just ahead of the sudden passing of Réjean Nadeau, who passed away from cancer on October 14.

Previously, Gervais was senior vice president of operations at Olymel and was responsible for managing over 30 pork and poultry processing plants, mostly in Quebec but also in Ontario, Alberta, and New Brunswick. He was also overseeing the company’s logistics and engineering departments, the company says.

Yanick Gervais, new President and CEO of Olymel, L.P.P. (CNW Group/Olymel l.p.)

Gervais, 42, lives at Trois-Rivieres, Que., with his wife and three daughters. He is trained as an accountant and tax specialist, CPA, CA, and holds a graduate diploma and a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, as well as a master’s degree in Taxation (MTax) from the Université de Sherbrooke.

“I humbly accept to take over Olymel’s leadership, Canada’s leading agri-processing company, to further its growth and success, which my predecessor Réjean Nadeau did with such passion. What I learned over the past few years from this outstanding entrepreneur will undoubtedly guide me. I want to thank the members of Olymel’s Board of Directors for their trust,” Gervais says in a release.

Olymel employs 14,000 employees across the pork and poultry sectors.

The company has had several challenges of late, including a protracted strike at the company’s Beauce-region pork processing plant. The ensuing hog processing backlog combined with what Olymel calls a labour shortage, has also impacted hog movement out of Ontario.

Wake up with RealAgriculture

Subscribe to our daily newsletters to keep you up-to-date with our latest coverage every morning.

Wake up with RealAgriculture

Categories: Eastern Canada / Livestock / News / Pork