Mario Plourde was born on September 14, 1961 in Sherbrooke, Québec. After completing his elementary studies in Danville and high school in Asbestos, he enrolled at the Victoriaville Cegep in the business administration program (concentration in finance) in 1981. Two years later, he attended the University of Québec at Montreal (UQAM) and successfully completed a bachelor's degree in business administration, with a major in finance.

 

In 1985, Mario joined the Cascades Group as Controller and in 1986 he became Plant Manager at Plastiques Cascades Inc. and was promoted in 1989 to the position of General Manager of the Plastics Group, as well as the Papier Kingsey Falls and Cascades Joliette divisions. In 1997, Mario was named Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer of the Specialty Products Group.

 

From 2000 to 2010, Mario was President and Chief Operating Officer of Cascades Specialty Products Group (SPG), a group that specializes in four different areas of activity. In February 2011, Mario was appointed Chief Operating Officer of Cascades Inc. In this mandate, he works in close collaboration with all the group presidents, to assist them in the pursuit of their operational and business objectives. Mario has also been a member of Cascades' Executive Committee since 1990.

 

In addition to his numerous responsibilities at Cascades, Mario is also a member of the Canadian Pulp and Paper Association and has also participated in raising funds for Centraide and the Fondation Charles-Bruneau. He is also a member of the board of directors of Compagnie de Gestion MB5, and of UQAM's Advisory Group.

 

Finally, Mario is the recipient of the “ARISTA 1990” award as a junior executive in a large company, and the 2001 Laureate of UQAM's Performance Award Gala.