MONTREAL, Sept. 10, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - The Board of Directors of SNC-Lavalin (TSX: SNC) is pleased to appoint William (Bill) L. Young as Chairman of the Board, effective September 9, 2020. He replaces the Honourable Kevin G. Lynch who has served as Chairman since 2017.
A professional engineer by training with extensive governance and Board experience, Mr. Young is Chairman of Magna International, a Canadian headquartered global autoparts manufacturer, and is a Corporate Director on the Board of Intact Financial, Canada's largest P&C insurer. He is the former Chair of Queen's University Board of Trustees, and has been Chair Emeritus since 2012.
Mr. Young began his career as a chemical engineer with Imperial Oil in Western Canada before moving into management consulting and corporate strategy as a partner with Bain & Company, and later as a founding partner with Boston-based private equity firm, Monitor Clipper. Mr. Young has worked with both private and public companies around the world to optimize corporate strategies and enhance business value, and has also served on the Boards of several US and European private companies.
"I am extremely pleased to become Chairman of the Board of one of Canada's preeminent global companies. SNC-Lavalin has moved swiftly over the past year to implement a new strategy, and I see a tremendous commercial opportunity going forward to leverage the Company's unique strengths and reputation to grow its engineering services offering," said Mr. Young. "As Chairman, I see my role and that of the Board's as providing governance oversight as well as acting as a high-performance sounding board to management in the evolution of the Company's strategy".
"There are not many large, diversified Canadian-headquartered multinationals, and Bill's experience as Chairman of successful public companies, as well as his decades of corporate strategy and governance work will be invaluable as we continue to execute on our new strategy," said Ian L. Edwards, President and CEO, SNC-Lavalin. "We have a singular objective, which is to be a leading global engineering services firm. The management team and I look forward to collaborating with Bill and the rest of the Board, as we drive forward and enter the next phase of SNC-Lavalin's transformation."
In May, a process for selecting a new Chairman was announced and the SNC-Lavalin Board established a selection committee. SNC-Lavalin Board member, Zin Smati, was appointed Chairman of the selection committee. A thorough process, supported by a leading recruitment firm, was undertaken and a number of highly qualified candidates were considered.
''I would like to thank my colleagues on the selection committee for their contribution throughout this extensive process and I am pleased to welcome Bill as our new Chairman,'' stated Mr. Zin Smati. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Kevin Lynch for his important leadership in helping guide SNC-Lavalin through this pivotal time for the Company. His guidance has been instrumental in achieving a number of important milestones for the Company, and we wish him all the best in his future endeavours."
About Bill Young
Mr. Young currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Magna International Corporation and is a Board Director at Intact Financial and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR). He began his career as a professional engineer with Imperial Oil before moving into management consulting as a partner in Bain & Company's European practice from 1981-1989. He was a founding partner of the Westbourne Management Group, a business focused on turnaround management opportunities. During his tenure at Westbourne, he led the takeover of Consumers Distributing and served as co-CEO from 1990-95. From 1996-2018, Mr. Young was co-founder and partner of Monitor Clipper Partners a mid-market private equity firm with over $2 billion invested in 45 portfolio companies in North America and Western Europe. Mr. Young has been a member of Queen's University's Board of Trustees since 1996 and has been Chairman Emeritus since 2012. He has an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Queen's University.
About SNC-Lavalin
Founded in 1911, SNC-Lavalin is a fully integrated professional services and project management company with offices around the world. SNC-Lavalin connects people, technology and data to help shape and deliver world-leading concepts and projects, while offering comprehensive innovative solutions across the asset lifecycle. Our expertise is wide-ranging — consulting & advisory, intelligent networks & cybersecurity, design & engineering, procurement, project & construction management, operations & maintenance, decommissioning and sustaining capital – and delivered to clients in four strategic sectors: EDPM (engineering, design and project management), Infrastructure, Nuclear and Resources, supported by Capital. People. Drive. Results. www.snclavalin.com
SOURCE SNC-Lavalin
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