MONTRÉAL, Feb. 27, 2026 /CNW/ - Following Sollio Cooperative Group's 104th annual general meeting, the Board of Directors held its first meeting this morning to elect its chair and vice-chairs. Through a democratic voting process, the board members elected:

• Richard Ferland as chair
• David Mercier as vice-chair
• Sophie Gendron as vice-chair

New directors welcomed

Sollio Cooperative Group also welcomed two new directors to the board:

In light of Marc-André Roy's resignation, which was received on February 26, the board appointed Jean-François Roy to complete Marc-André Roy's current term.

Jean-François Roy sits on the board of Vivaco Groupe Coopératif and has eight years of experience in the administration of agricultural cooperatives, specializing in pork production. He's been involved in various organizations from an early age and has spent more than 20 years working with the next generation of farmers, including 12 years as president of Sollio Cooperative Group's agricultural succession group. Since 2015, he has served on the Cooperative Pork Network board of directors, which he currently chairs. He previously sat on the board of Sollio Cooperative Group from February 24, 2023, to February 27, 2025.

The other new board member is Robert Dumas, a trained actuary and recognized expert in the retirement sector. He's currently the president and chief executive officer of Sun Life Québec. He has over 35 years of experience, primarily at Mercer Canada, where he spearheaded efforts to develop the Canadian and Latin American risk, finance, and retirement industries. He's highly involved in his community, having chaired the boards of the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec, Centraide of Greater Montreal, and several other organizations. He's currently serving on the board of Dans la rue.

The terms of four other directors were renewed.

At the annual general meeting, board chair Richard Ferland said, "On behalf of the Board of Directors, I'd like to extend my warmest thanks to our outgoing directors Marc-André Roy and François R. Roy for their commitment and dedication to Sollio Cooperative Group and the network."

The board composition for 2026–2027 is as follows:

Sector 1: Richard Ferland, Adrien Pitre, Patrick Soucy, and Sophie Gendron
Sector 2: Jeannine Chartrand, Jean-Philippe Côté, and Jean-François Roy
Sector 3: Jean Bissonnette, Guy Labrecque, and Alain Laflamme
Sector 4: David Mercier, Cathy Fraser, and Normand Lapointe
Sector 5: Lucie Boies
Sector 6: Marie-Pier Béliveau
Guest directors: Paule Têtu and Robert Dumas

Sollio Cooperative Group's 2025 annual report and corporate and cooperative responsibility report are available on the website. They contain information such as the management report, selected financial data, the results of the group's divisions, and the organization's corporate responsibility results and global action plan.

About Sollio Cooperative Group

Sollio Cooperative Group is Canada's largest agricultural cooperative with roots in Québec. Since 1922, it has been busy growing, rearing, farming and processing—and building the economy of tomorrow. These daily actions are part of the DNA of its 15 000 employees. With more than 110,000 members, farmers, and consumers grouped into 41 traditional agricultural and consumer cooperatives, Sollio Cooperative Group helps feed people by bringing prosperity to farming families and ensuring a sustainable future for everyone. Through its three divisions—Sollio Agriculture, Olymel, and BMR—it proudly acts as a driving force for economic and social development rooted in rural communities. Sollio Cooperative Group generates sales of $8.4 billion and has been ranked one of Canada's Best Managed Companies by Deloitte for the past three years. To learn more about Sollio Cooperative Group, visit sollio.coop.

SOURCE Sollio Groupe Coopératif