Cascades has appointed Riko Gaudreault as director of investor relations.
Gaudreault’s varied background suits him well for taking over the IRO slot at Cascades, a C$4 bn ($4 bn) Quebec-based manufacturer of green packaging and tissue paper products and a leader in the recovery of recyclable materials.
He brings to the company more than two decades of experience in corporate finance, investment banking and employee benefits, including a 14-year-career at Montreal-based National Bank Financial.
During his career, Gaudreault made the transition from employee benefits to corporate banking, joining a team dedicated to the pulp and paper industry before moving to investment banking in 2000 as a generalist working primarily with manufacturers.
‘Because of my experience in the pulp and paper industry, I was still highly involved with accounts in the sector,’ he says.
Highly visible role
He steps in to a highly visible role at Cascades, where this year the IR program earned IR magazine’s small-cap grand prix award and former head of IR Didier Filion picked up the award for best IRO at a small cap.
Undaunted, Gaudreault is looking forward to his new role. He sees a steep learning curve and says he’s up to the task. ‘From a transition standpoint, I think the challenge is to know where to get the information and quickly understand all sides of Cascades’ business,’ he explains.
At the same time, Gaudreault points out that the skills he honed in investment banking – including financial analysis, preparing financial presentations and discussing corporate results and strategy with investors – are all skills ideally suited to the IRO role.
Gaudreault, who holds both the CFA and ASA (Associate of Society of Actuaries) designations, studied mathematics at the Université de Montréal. He will be based in Cascades’ Montreal office.
