The Board of the Montreal Port Authority is seeking a new president and CEO after a fall-out with Patrice Pelletier over what was described as “the implementation of the corporate vision.”
The news of his "departure" announced late on March 17 in a laconic press release amidst reports of an increasingly conflicting relationship with members of the Board and tensions with port employees.
He had succeeded Dominic Taddeo, who had held the post for more than two decades, in October 2007.
Sylvie Vachon, vice-president of administration and human resources, was named as acting CEO while a selection committee has been established by the Board to seek a new president.
Marc Bruneau, chairman of the MPA Board stated that, "…the reason for his departure had to do with different perspectives from those of the Board as to the implementation of the corporate vision.”
Last spring, Pelletier announced a C$2.5bn expansion plan to triple container-handling capacity by 2020. Completion of this plan hinges to a large degree on federal financing support that has yet to be confirmed.
The first two phases involve streamlining and expanding the existing container terminal infrastructure. The second and third phases are to involve the building of a new terminal either at Montreal east or at a land bank at Contrecoeur, 25 miles east on the St. Lawrence River.
The port’s cargo performance did not appear to be an issue, with Montreal posting a 7.2% rise to nearly 1.5m TEU last year, the strongest growth among east coast box ports in North America. Total traffic also rose to a record 26.6m tons. The port’s traffic has, however, in recent months experienced a downturn as the global recession takes hold.
Canadian port circles were originally surprised that the Board had appointed someone with no direct experience in the port sector to the helm of Canada’s second biggest container port. Pelletier was previously a senior executive in the aerospace and engineering industries.
