ROUGEMONT, QC, Aug. 8, 2024
/CNW/ - Lassonde Industries Inc. (TSX: LAS.A) ("Lassonde" or
the "Corporation") announced today a phased leadership transition
for its board of directors (the "Board") and certain members of its
executive management team.
To ensure a smooth transition of the Board leadership role,
Pierre-Paul Lassonde, presently
Chairman of the Board, who dedicated the last 50 years at the helm
of the business founded by his family two generations prior, will
share his responsibilities by Co-Chairing the Board along with
Nathalie Lassonde, between
September 1, 2024 and January 1, 2025. He will thereafter continue to
serve as a member of the Board.
Nathalie Lassonde, currently
Chief Executive Officer and Vice-Chair of the Board will start a
transition process that will lead her to serve as Executive
Vice-President of Lassonde and Co-Chair of the Board commencing
September 1, 2024. On January 1, 2025, she will become Executive Chair
of the Board and will concurrently step down as Executive
Vice-President of Lassonde.
Vince Timpano, currently President and Chief Operating Officer,
has been appointed Chief Executive Officer effective September 1, 2024.
These appointments have been made in accordance with Lassonde's
succession plan following a Board-led process.
"The time has come for me to pass the torch onto the next
generation of leaders to carry out our organization's vision and
goals for the future. Nathalie embodies the values, integrity,
respect and responsibility that have made Lassonde what it is
today. She has gained an in-depth understanding of the business in
her 20 years at Lassonde, both as a member of the Board and in her
role as CEO, that will help her guide the management team in the
coming years. I am confident that she will leave her mark as an
inspiring and inclusive leader," Mr. Lassonde said.
"Vince has shown great vision, leadership and expertise in
implementing a business strategy that will prove instrumental to
our future growth. His alignment with our values, as well as
extensive business experience, will serve him well in his new
role," Ms. Lassonde said.
"Over the past few years, I have discovered an exceptional
company with a group of very dedicated employees. I want to thank
the Lassonde family and the Board for their confidence in me. I
look forward to building on the heritage of this storied North
American food and beverage company," Mr. Timpano said.
About Vince Timpano
Mr. Timpano has a solid track record as a corporate officer with
extensive business leadership experience. He has been serving as
President and Chief Operating Officer of Lassonde since 2021. Prior
to his appointment to this office, he joined Lassonde in 2020 to
serve as President and Chief Executive Officer of its U.S.
subsidiary, Lassonde Pappas and
Company Inc. Before his leadership positions at Lassonde, he served
in various executive roles over a period of 20 years, including
President, Global Coalitions at Aimia Inc., President of Coca-Cola
Canada and President and Chief Executive Officer of The Minute Maid
Company Canada. In addition, Mr. Timpano served on numerous
boards, including as Chair of United Way Toronto. He currently
serves on the board of advisors for The Napoleon Group of
Companies.
Mr. Timpano is a graduate of the Institute of Corporate
Directors, Rotman School of
Management of the University of Toronto
and holds an MBA from the Ivey Business School of the University of Western Ontario.
About Lassonde
Lassonde Industries Inc. is a leader in the food and beverages
industry in North America. The
Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets a wide range of
private label and national brand products, including ready-to-drink
beverages, fruit-based snacks as well as frozen juice concentrates.
It is also a leading producer of cranberry sauces and specialty
food products such as pasta sauces, BBQ sauces, condiments soups
and fondue broths and sauces. The Corporation also produces,
imports and markets selected wines from several countries of origin
and produces and markets apple cider and cider-based drinks.
The Corporation is active in two market segments:
- Retail sales consist of sales to food retailers and wholesalers
such as supermarket chains, independent grocers, superstores,
warehouse clubs, major pharmacy chains; and
- Food service sales consist of sales to restaurants, hotels,
hospitals, schools, and wholesalers serving these
institutions.
The Corporation operates 19 plants located in Canada and the
United States and produces its superior quality products
through the expertise of over 2,900 full-time equivalent employees.
To learn more, visit www.lassonde.com.
Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This document contains "forward-looking information" and the
Corporation's oral and written public communications that do not
constitute historical fact may be deemed to be "forward-looking
information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities
law. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited
to, statements on the phased leadership transition for the Board
and the executive management team and the Corporation's objectives
and goals and are based on current expectations, projections,
beliefs, judgments, and assumptions based on information available
at the time the applicable forward-looking statement was made and
considering the Corporation's experience combined with its
perception of historical trends.
Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words
such as "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may",
"will", "project", "should", "could", "would", "believe", "plan",
"intend", "design", "target", "objective", "strategy", "likely",
"potential", "outlook", "aim", "goal", and similar expressions
suggesting future events or future performance in addition to the
negative forms of these terms or any variations thereof. All
statements other than statements of historical fact included in
this document may constitute a forward-looking statement.
Various factors or assumptions are applied by the Corporation in
elaborating the forward‑looking statements. These factors and
assumptions are based on information currently available to the
Corporation, including information obtained by the Corporation from
third parties. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions
considered by the Corporation to support these forward-looking
statements may prove to be incorrect in whole or in part.
The significant factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from the conclusions, forecasts or projections
reflected in the forward-looking statements contained herein
include, among other things, risks associated with the following:
deterioration of general macroeconomic conditions, including
international conflicts, which can lead to negative impacts on the
Corporation's suppliers, customers, and operating costs; the
availability of raw materials and packaging and related price
variations (including the prices of orange juice and orange
concentrates, key commodities for the Corporation, which have
continued to trade above historical highs for the past several
months and show no sign of favourable change); loss of key
suppliers or supplier concentration; disruptions in or failures of
the Corporation's information technology systems, as well as the
development and performance of technology; cyber threats and other
information-technology-related risks leading to business
disruptions, confidentiality, data integrity, and business email
compromise-related fraud; the successful deployment of
the Corporation's multi-year strategy (defined in Section 4 -
"Multi-Year Strategy" of the Corporation's MD&A for the second
quarter ended June 29, 2024); the
Corporation's ability to effectively integrate any acquisitions;
the Corporation's ability to maintain strong sourcing and
manufacturing platforms and efficient distribution channels;
fluctuations in the prices of inbound and outbound freight, the
impact of oil prices (and derivatives thereof) on the Corporation's
direct and indirect costs along with the Corporation's ability to
transfer those increases through higher prices or other means, if
any, to its customers in competitive market conditions and
considering demand elasticity; climate change and disasters causing
higher operating costs and capital expenditures and reduced
production output, or impacting the availability, quality or price
volatility of key commodities sourced by the Corporation; the
scarcity of labour and the related impact on the hiring, training,
developing, retaining and reliance of personnel together with their
productivity, employment matters, compliance with employment laws
across multiple jurisdictions, and the potential for work stoppages
due to non-renewal of collective bargaining agreements or other
reasons; the successful deployment of the Corporation's health and
safety programs in compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
serious injuries or fatalities, which could have a material impact
on the Corporation's business continuity and reputation and lead to
compliance-related costs; disputes with significant suppliers; the
increasing concentration of customers in the food industry,
providing them with significant bargaining power particularly on
the Corporation's selling prices; the implementation, cost and
impact of environmental sustainability initiatives as well as the
cost of remediating environmental liabilities; changes made to laws
and rules that affect the Corporation's activities, particularly in
matters of tax and customs duties, as well as the interpretation
thereof, and new positions adopted by relevant authorities; the
ability to adapt to changes and developments affecting the
Corporation's industry, including customer preferences, tastes, and
buying patterns, market conditions and the activities of
competitors and customers; failure to maintain the quality and
safety of the Corporation's products, which could result in product
recalls and product liability claims for misbranded, adulterated,
contaminated, or spoiled food products, along with reputational
damage; risks related to fluctuations in interest rates, currency
exchange rates, liquidity and credit, stock price and pension
obligations; the incurrence of restructuring, disposal, or other
related charges together with the recognition of impairment charges
on goodwill or long-lived assets; the sufficiency of insurance
coverage; and the implications and outcome of potential legal
actions, litigation or regulatory proceedings to which the
Corporation may be a party. The Corporation cautions readers that
the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive.
The assumptions, expectations, and estimates involved in
preparing forward-looking statements and risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially from
forward-looking statements are discussed in the Corporation's
materials filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities
from time to time, including information about risk factors that
can be found in Section 19 - "Uncertainties and Principal Risk
Factors" of the Corporation's MD&A for the year ended
December 31, 2023. Readers should
review this section in detail.
All forward-looking statements included herein speak only as of
the date hereof. Unless required by law, the Corporation does not
undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events, or otherwise. All forward-looking statements
contained herein are wholly and expressly qualified by this
cautionary statement.
SOURCE Lassonde Industries Inc.