Board of Directors

Jimmy S.H. Lee

Chairman Emeritus

Jimmy S.H. Lee holds the position of Chairman Emeritus, having previously served as the Board’s Executive Chairman from July 2015 until February 2024. His tenure with Mercer began in May 1985 as a Director, and from 1992 to 2015, he was the President and Chief Executive Officer.

Under his guidance, Mercer has not only grown in scale but also in its commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainable practices. This includes the strategic acquisitions and development of operations such as Mercer Rosenthal, Celgar, Stendal, and Peace River mills and diversifying into dimensional lumber, pallets, mass timber, and secondary bioproducts that contribute to a sustainable bioeconomy.

He holds a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of British Columbia, and was inducted into the UBC CHBE Hall of Fame in 2023 as a testament to his contributions to sustainable forest management and pulping technology, reflecting his influence on the broader chemical and biological engineering field. Mr. Lee possesses particular knowledge and experience in finance and banking, credit markets, derivative risk management, and international pulp markets. 

Juan Carlos Bueno

President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director of Mercer

Juan Carlos Bueno joined Mercer as President, Chief Executive Officer and Director in May 2022. Since 2018, he has served as the Chairman of the Board and co-founder of Global Energy which produces novel green energy generation devices.

Mr. Bueno has extensive global industrial and product experience and a proven track record of achieving commercial and operational excellence over a 30-year career. Before his position at Global Energy, from 2011 to 2017, Mr. Bueno was Executive Vice President and Divisional CEO, Biomaterials for Stora Enso, where he designed and led their new biomaterials division, growing sales and profitability. Mr. Bueno created a vision and strategy to expand into new sectors, such as lignin and hemicellulose. He also has broad experience in investor relations, board interaction and other key CEO functions.

Mr. Bueno has also previously served in executive positions, including Vice President, Crop Protection, President Agar Cross, Commercial Manager, Global Financial Analyst and Business Consultant with EI DuPont de Nemours & Company in Brazil (now DowDuPont), UK, Argentina, Colombia and the USA.

Mr. Bueno holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering and a graduate degree in Negotiation & International Relations.  He is a Director of the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) and the BC Council of Forest Industries (COFI).

Mr. Bueno also serves as a Member of Mercer’s Environmental, Health, and Safety Committee.

William D. McCartney

Interim Chairman

William D. McCartney, serving as Interim Chairman, has held the position of Director of Mercer since January 2003 and Lead Director in June 2021. He has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Pemcorp Management Inc., a corporate finance and management consulting firm, since its inception in 1990. Previously, from 1984 to 1990, he was a founding partner of Davidson & Company, Chartered Accountants, focusing on  business advisory services. His extensive experience includes involvement in various capital restructuring and financing activities  public companies contributing a deep understanding  of financial accounting and auditing processes.

Mr. McCartney is a Chartered Professional Accountant and has been a member of the Chartered Professional Accountants Association of British Columbia since 1980. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from Simon Fraser University.

Mr. McCartney also serves as Chair of Mercer’s Governance and Nominating Committee. He also provides leadership to our Board on board practices, governance matters, and succession planning in his role as the Lead Director of the Board.

James Shepherd

Director

James Shepherd, a Director of Mercer since June 2011, has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Canfor Corporation from 2004 to 2007 and Slocan Forest Products Limited from 1999 to 2004. He is also the former President of Crestbrook Forest Industries Limited and Finlay Forest Industries Limited and the former Chairman of the Forest Products Association of Canada. Mr. Shepherd has previously served as a Director of Buckman Laboratories International Inc., Conifex Timber Inc., Canfor Corporation, and Canfor Pulp Income Fund (now Canfor Pulp Products Inc.).

Mr. Shepherd holds an Applied Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Queen’s University.

Mr. Shepherd also serves as a Member of Mercer’s Governance and Nominating Committee and a Member of Mercer’s Human Resources Committee Member.

Alan C. Wallace

Director

Alan Wallace, a Director of Mercer since June 2018., is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Peloton Advisors Inc., a financial advisory firm working with private and public companies on mergers and acquisitions and financial and strategic transactions, and he is based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Mr. Wallace was the Vice Chairman, Investment Banking, CIBC World Markets Inc. from 1987 to 2013, where he was also the Co-head of its Paper and Forest Products Group from 1995 to 2013.

Mr. Wallace has significant capital markets and mergers and acquisitions experience, including relating to debt and equity financings, corporate credit facilities and financial advisory assignments. He also has extensive forest products experience in financings and strategic transactions in the industry. He brings extensive experience in capital markets and corporate strategic review to the board.

Mr. Wallace holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Applied Science from the University of Toronto.

Mr. Wallace also serves as Chair of Mercer’s Audit Committee and Human Resources Committee Member.

Linda J. Welty

Director

Linda Welty, a Director of Mercer since June 2018, currently serves as an independent director of Huber Engineered Materials, a global manufacturer of engineered specialty ingredients, a portfolio company of J.M. Huber Corporation and has served in that role since 2014. She is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Welty Strategic Consulting, LLC, an advisory firm focused on the development and execution of value-creation strategies.

From 2012 to 2019, she served as a director of the Atlanta Chapter of NACD and as Chairman from 2018-2019.  The mission of NACD is the advancement of excellence in corporate governance.  From 2010 to 2011, she served as a Director and Member of the special committee of Massey Energy Company. She served as an Independent Director of Vertellus Specialties, Inc., a global manufacturer of specialty chemicals, from 2007 to 2016, and of GCP Applied Technologies (NYSE: GCP), a global provider of specialty construction chemicals and building materials, from 2020 to 2022.

Ms. Welty was President and Chief Operating Officer of Flint Ink Corp., a global producer of printing inks for packaging and publication from 2003 to 2005. From 1998 to 2003, she served as President of the Specialty Group of H.B. Fuller Company, a global manufacturer of adhesives, sealants, and coatings. She served over twenty years in global leadership roles for Hoechst AG and its former U.S. subsidiary, Celanese.

Ms. Welty brings to the Board extensive global industrial experience spanning more than 40 years in corporate governance, executive leadership, operations, sales, marketing, and manufacturing roles in the chemicals, specialty chemicals, and energy industries.

She holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Kansas. Ms. Welty also serves as a Member of Mercer’s Governance and Nominating Committee and Environmental, Health, and Safety Committee.

Rainer Rettig

Director

Rainer Rettig, a Director of Mercer since February 2020, has served as head of the Circular Economy Program of Covestro AG (formerly known as Bayer Material Science, a subgroup of Bayer AG), one of the world’s leading manufacturers of high-tech polymer materials.

Mr. Rettig brings significant experience in sales, marketing and strategy development in the field of chemicals and plastics. He had several senior leadership roles in Germany, Japan, Hong Kong and China.

He holds a Ph.D. in polymer chemistry and polymer processing from the Technical University of Darmstadt in Germany.

Mr. Rettig serves as a Member of Mercer’s Governance and Nominating Committee and a Member of the Environmental, Health and Safety Committee.

Alice Laberge

Director

Alice Laberge, a Director of Mercer since February 2021, recently retired from the board of the Royal Bank of Canada in January 2021, where she served for over 15 years. 

Ms. Laberge is a member of the boards of directors of Nutrien Ltd. and Russel Metals Inc. Ms. Laberge is also a director of the BC Cancer Foundation and the Canadian Public Accountability Board. She was President and Chief Executive Officer of Fincentric Corporation until 2005 and was previously Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice-President of Finance for MacMillan Bloedel Limited.

Ms. Laberge holds an MBA from the University of British Columbia and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Alberta and serves as Chair of Mercer’s Human Resources Committee and as a Member of Mercer’s Audit Committee.

Janine North

Director

Janine North, a Director of Mercer since February 2021, currently serves as a Director for Conifex Timber Inc. and Imperial Metals Corporation. She is also a director of the BC Ferry Services Corp. and the Fraser Basin Council. Ms. North retired from the Northern Development Initiative Trust in 2016 after serving 11 years as the founding Chief Executive Officer.

Ms. North holds a Diploma in Management Studies from the Executive MBA Program at Simon Fraser University and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Alberta.

Ms. North serves as a Member of Mercer’s Audit Committee and the Governance and Nominating Committee.

Torbjörn Lööf

Director

Torbjörn Lööf, a Director of Mercer since May 2023, was Chief Executive Officer of Inter IKEA Holding (The Netherlands) from 2016 to 2020 and Chief Executive Officer of Inter IKEA Systems — the worldwide IKEA franchisor and owner of the IKEA concept and brand — from 2013 to 2016. From 1989 to 2013, he held a number of leading positions and roles in different areas at IKEA in Sweden and in Italy, including Managing Director, IKEA of Sweden as of 2007. His role also included different board assignments both as Chairman and member for different IKEA companies, as well as being a member of IKEA Group Management. Mr. Lööf led the acquisition and transaction of 70 companies consisting of 26,000 employees in 30 different countries within two years. He developed and launched a new IKEA direction, Three Roads Forward, which is valid until 2025 and constitutes a major strategic shift for IKEA. In addition, he developed and implemented a new strategy which resulted in a complete restructuring for IKEA with the goal to become a global leader in furniture production with world-class development and innovation capabilities.

Mr. Lööf is a member of the board of directors of Essity, a leading global hygiene and health company listed at Nasdaq OMX Stockholm. He is also a member of the boards for Blåkläder, an approximately SEK 2.5 billion family-owned company within the workwear industry, and of Husqvarna Group, a leading provider of forest and gardening tools for both professionals and homeowners.

Torbjörn Lööf graduated from a Technical Industry program in Sweden and completed his Financial education at MCE Management Centre Europe, Brussels.

Mr. Lööf also serves as a Member of Mercer’s Human Resources Committee and Member of Mercer’s Environmental, Health and Safety Committee.

Tom Corrick

Director

Thomas (Tom) Corrick, a Director of Mercer since May 2023, served as CEO for Boise Cascade, one of the largest producers of engineered wood products and plywood in North America and a leading U.S. wholesale distributor of building products, from 2015 to 2020. Mr. Corrick began his Boise Cascade career in 1980 in finance, including roles in audit, treasury, and planning, and then moved into several leadership roles with the Wood Products manufacturing division. Under his leadership as Vice President, then Senior Vice President, the engineered wood products business grew to a market leadership position and became one of the key growth and profit engines for the company. He led the acquisition of several mills to fill product and geography gaps and nearly doubled the size of the company’s existing operations. He also focused on the supply chain and doubled the capacity of the feeder mills supporting the business. Key accomplishments as CEO include implementing a systematic, company-wide focus on mission and values, significantly expanding leadership development and succession planning activities, with a focus on diversity and inclusion, and leading an initiative to create an owner-focused capital allocation strategy and mindset across the company. During his tenure as CEO, the company substantially improved its competitive position by expanding core capacity, selling and closing non-strategic assets, and strengthening its balance sheet by refinancing its entire debt portfolio.

Mr. Corrick has served on several advisory committees and boards. He currently serves as a board member for the Treasure Valley YMCA and the St. Luke’s Health System. Previously he served as a director for the Salt Lake City branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and the American Wood Council (AWC), where he served as chair.

He received both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in business administration from Texas Christian University.

Mr. Corrick is also a Member of Mercer’s Audit Committee and a Member of Mercer’s Environmental, Health and Safety Committee.