Montreal-based Sollio Cooperative Group, formerly known as La Coop fédérée, announced in late April that CEO Gaétan Desroches plans to retire and leave his position effective Sept. 10, 2021. Pascal Houle, the cooperative’s current COO since February 2021, will become the new CEO effective Sept. 11, 2021, as per the organizational succession plan.
“On behalf of the members of the board, our employees, and our cooperative members, I would like to extend my sincerest thanks to Gaétan Desroches for his outstanding work, not only during his tenure as CEO, but also throughout his 40-year career in our network,” said Ghislain Gervais, President of Sollio Cooperative Group. “Under Gaétan Desroches’ leadership, Sollio Cooperative Group maintained its growth and strengthened its position as a leader in the Canadian agri-food and retail chain, and its sales increased from $5 to $8 billion in six years.”
Houle joined the Sollio Cooperative Group network in 1998, and held several positions before being appointed General Manager of the cooperative in 2008. In 2013 he joined BMR Group as Retail Vice-President, and in 2015 he became CEO of BMR Group and Executive Vice-President of Sollio Cooperative Group. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and is a Chartered Management Accountant and Chartered Professional Accountant.
Three other appointments were also made to the management committee of Sollio Cooperative Group. These include Stéphanie Couturier, who will serve as Vice-President of Communications; Saad Chafki, who was named the new Senior Vice-President of Information Technology; and Marc Gauthier, who was appointed Vice-President of Human Resources.
Couturier was formerly Vice-President of Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility at BMR Group, and served as Strategic Communications Advisor at Sollio from 2012-2016. Chafki has served as Vice-President, Digital, Information Technology and Projects at Sollio Agriculture since 2016, and will continue in that role as he takes on his new position. Gauthier was previously Vice-President of Human Resources at BMR Group, and will continue in that role until a successor is appointed.