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After 16 years in progressively senior positions at Tembec, James Lopez was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer in January 2006.
Mr. Lopez began his career more than two decades ago at Synergetics, an international consulting firm, where his client base included a diverse group of companies in the manufacturing sector, including Tembec. He subsequently accepted a management position at the Kellogg Company with responsibility for the construction, commissioning and ongoing operation of a major food-processing facility.
In 1989, Mr. Lopez joined Tembec as a Manager in Corporate Development, where he participated in or directed numerous projects related to strategic planning, business development and organizational development. He was appointed Vice President and General Manager of the Chemical Products Group in 1994, followed by Vice President, Specialty Products Division of the Forest Products Group in 1996.
Three years later, in 1999, Mr. Lopez was asked to take responsibility for the strategic and operational management of more than 40 million acres of public and private woodlands as Executive Vice President of the Forest Resource Management Group. This position included managing the supply of fibre to the Company’s various operating divisions. In this position, Mr. Lopez worked closely with Tembec’s previous President and CEO to significantly raise the Company’s corporate sustainability profile. He led the Forest Resource Management Group to a number of landmark achievements in forest certification and conservation, which included playing a key role in establishing the Ontario Living Legacy initiative and Ontario Forestry Accord.
In August 2003, Mr. Lopez was appointed Executive Vice President and President of Tembec’s Forest Products Group, which put him in charge of the Group’s overall direction, including Forest Resource Management. He held this position right up to his appointment as President and Chief Executive Officer.
Mr. Lopez has been active in a number of industry trade and technical associations. He is a past Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Ontario Forest Industry Association (OFIA), the Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada (FERIC), and Woodworks, an organization that promotes the use of wood in residential and commercial construction. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of FPInnovations, a world-class research organization that specializes in the technological advancement in the Canadian pulp, paper, wood products and forestry sectors, and he also holds a seat on the Board of Directors of the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC). Mr. Lopez is a member of the Bi-National Softwood Lumber Council between Canada and the United States.
Born in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, in 1959, Mr. Lopez is a graduate of California University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in Economics. | 