Our Executive Team

Richard Garneau, President and Chief Executive Officer

Brian Baarda, Vice-President, Operations

Steve Boniferro, Senior Vice-President, Human Resources

Lyn Brown, Vice-President, Corporate Relations and Social Responsibility

Tom Crowley, Senior Vice-President, Sales and Marketing

Brian Johnston, Vice-President, Operations

Robert H. Lindstrom, Vice-President, Supply Chain and Information Technology

Valerie Seager, Vice-President and General Counsel

David Smales, Vice-President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer

 

	Richard Garneau
	President and Chief Executive Officer
	Richard Garneau has a broad industry background in paper and forest products gained in a variety of challenging operational and finance roles. He was appointed Catalyst Paper's president and chief executive officer on March 26, 2007 after holding senior executive positions with Domtar Inc., Norampac, St. Laurent Paperboard, Finlay Forest Products and Donohue Inc. Mr. Garneau is a chartered accountant, and holds a bachelor of administration degree from Laval University.

	Brian Baarda
	Vice-President, Operations
		Brian Baarda was appointed vice-president operations in April 2008, with responsibility for newsprint, old newspaper (ONP) procurement and recycling. Since he joined the company in 1989, Brian has worked in several locations and capacities, including vice president of Powell River Division, pulp mill manager at Elk Falls Division, and as director, operational excellence. In 2003, Brian was appointed vice-president, supply chain, responsible for leading a number of critical functions and services, including fibre supply, order fulfillment, transportation, logistics management and supply management.

	Steve Boniferro
	Senior Vice-President, Human Resources
	Steve joined Catalyst in January 2008, bringing more than 25 years of experience in senior human resource positions with both management and labour. Prior to his role at Catalyst, he was vice-president of Algoma Steel, where he led the human resource group since 1998. He began his career in the mining industry and served as president of the Steelworkers Union local in Elliot Lake, Ontario in the late 1970s. He became a staff representative with the Steelworkers in 1987 and was promoted to area coordinator for Northwestern Ontario in 1990. Steve is a graduate of the Queen's School of Business, Human Resources Program and an alumnus of the Governor General's Canadian Leadership Conference. He served on numerous community boards and committees and has been a guest lecturer at Harvard and Oxford Universities.

	Lyn Brown
	Vice-President, Corporate Relations and Social Responsibility
		Lyn is responsible for corporate issues management, government relations and the company's broad social responsibility agenda. Lyn joined the company in 2004, bringing a graduate degree in business and 20 years of broad experience in journalism, associations, crown corporations, electric utilities and telecommunications. She most recently held executive positions with Aquila Networks Canada (now Fortis) and senior policy and communications roles at Telus. Lyn was appointed to her current position in July 2005.

	Tom Crowley
	Senior Vice-President, Sales and Marketing
	Tom is responsible for sales and marketing of all paper and pulp products manufactured by Catalyst. He joined the company in 2000, as vice-president and general manager, newsprint and was appointed vice-president and general manager for specialty papers in 2005 before assuming his current position in September 2007. Tom has more than 20 years of industry experience, including as a pulp and paper mill manager. He has managed all aspects of customer relationships in regions as diverse as Latin America, Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and the Middle East and held prior career assignments in Guadalajara, Mexico and London, England. He holds a master’s degree from American Graduate School of International Management (Thunderbird) and bachelor degrees in Business and Arts (Latin American and Spanish Studies) from Southern Methodist University.

	Brian Johnston
	Vice-President, Operations
		Brian Johnston was appointed vice president operations in April 2008, with responsibility for specialty paper and pulp. Brian has more than 25 years of experience in the pulp and paper industry, having worked in mills from coast to coast. He joined Catalyst paper in 1994 at Crofton, holding various positions in paper mill operations. In 2001 Brian transferred to Powell River Division as vice-president, operations, a position he held until 2005 when he assumed the corporate role of vice-president, technical services, to provide support to all mills' operations. Prior to his current appointment, Brian held the position of vice-president, operations of Elk Falls Division.

	Robert H. Lindstrom
	Vice-President, Supply Chain and Information Technology
	As vice-president, supply chain and information technology, Bob is responsible for managing a number of critical functions and services, including fibre supply, order fulfillment, transportation, logistics management, supply management, energy strategy and management and information technology. Before his appointment in August 2005, Bob served as vice-president, strategy and was instrumental in developing a long-term strategic direction for all of our operations. He also worked closely with our CEO to develop our acquisition strategy for growing the mechanical paper business.

	Valerie Seager
	Vice-President and General Counsel
		As vice-president and general counsel, Valerie is responsible for all of the company's legal affairs. She provides advice on a variety of legal issues and manages the company's relationships with outside counsel. She oversees all regulatory and corporate compliance matters, and ensures that our governance practices meet the highest standards. Valerie has a broad legal background, based on 12 years of private practice and several years of in-house corporate experience. She joined Catalyst in 2002 as legal counsel and corporate secretary. In that role, she directed a wide range of legal files, including litigation management, contracts, acquisitions and related strategic initiatives. She assumed her current position in August 2005.

	David Smales
	Vice-President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer
	David was appointed vice-president, finance and chief financial officer in April 2007. Before joining Catalyst in 2006 as vice-president, strategy and analysis, David was vice-president, transaction services for PricewaterhouseCoopers, and previously held a number of senior positions with Novar PLC, a London-based, publicly traded building management systems manufacturer. David is a chartered accountant and holds a bachelor of arts (honours) degree in history.