Saputo’s Florida Migration

Saputo is taking a liking to Florida: almost all of its senior management now lives and works in the Sunshine State. An observation that comes as the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) has just increased its stake in the multinational, which it describes as a “leading Quebec company”.

With the exception of Chief Financial Officer Maxime Therrien (Quebec), the other highest-paid bosses of the dairy processor are in the process of being established in the United States. This includes new big boss Carl Colizza, who took over from Lino Saputo Jr. – who remains executive chairman of the board of directors – on August 9.

Human resources manager, Gaétane Wagner, whose retirement was announced last spring, lives in Quebec even though she has a pied-à-terre in Florida, according to the Miami land registry. The one who will replace her, Isabelle Tisseur, already lives in Fort Lauderdale.

The roots of Saputo’s senior executives at its Florida branch were highlighted by The Press in fall 2022¹. The trend continues.

The Quebec multinational found itself in the news earlier this week when Frank Saputo, the older brother of Lino Saputo – the architect of the family business – sold almost all the shares he held in the dairy processor.

CDPQ put 378 million on the table to buy back 13.5 million shares, which increased its stake in Saputo to 4.5%. Did the nest egg of Quebecers take the opportunity to demand guarantees on the place of residence of the big bosses of Saputo?

“We do not have any clause given the nature of the transaction [gré à gré sur les marchés secondaires]but the company and its team know the importance we attach to the presence in Quebec and the maintenance of its activities here,” indicated the Caisse, in an email.

In other words, the CDPQ says it was not able to impose its wishes on Saputo given that it was buying the participation of a shareholder rather than shares directly from the company.

When increasing its stake in Saputo on Monday, the first vice-president and head of Quebec at the CDPQ, Kim Thomassin, emphasized that the pension plan manager wanted to “promote the development of North American and international champions, while by generating profits in Quebec.”

For François Dauphin, director of the Institute on the Governance of Public and Private Organizations (IGOPP), it would have been difficult for the Caisse to impose conditions in the context of the recently concluded transaction. However, with a participation that is close to 5%, the pension plan manager has free rein to intervene if it were to judge the problematic situation regarding the place of residence of Saputo bosses, adds the specialist.

“With almost 5%, we start to have influence,” says Mr. Dauphin.

The question of head offices has resurfaced in the public debate since the sale of the landing gear specialist Héroux-Devtek to American interests last July.

“It remains a priority for me to keep our Quebec head offices and develop them,” said Prime Minister François Legault on July 24, when he confirmed a reinjection into the Airbus A220 program in Mirabel.

In the case of Saputo, it is not a change of ownership, but a shift in decision-making positions. On Wednesday, the Ministry of the Economy, Innovation and Energy had not commented on the findings of The Press regarding senior management at Saputo.

More than the bosses

Florida is not synonymous with dairy production. In the United States, the state is not among the top 10 places where the largest volumes of milk are produced and processed. Saputo nevertheless generates 45% of its annual turnover south of the border.

There are more than the main bosses of the multinational who live in Florida. The Press has already reported that Mr. Saputo Jr.’s executive assistant had also moved to Miami, a sign of the strategic importance of the location.

Another executive with an important role has also headed south: Lawrence MacGillivray, senior vice-president, dairy alternatives. Its role is important, since it serves to establish Saputo’s strategy in its diversification of plant protein-based products.

This manager was formerly established in the Montreal region when he was senior vice-president of sales for the Canadian food services division.

At the time of writing, Saputo had not indicated how many people worked at its Florida branch. In Montreal, it is 1000, De La Gauchetière, in the city center, which houses the multinational’s head office.

Last I heard, there were around 300 people there.

1. Read the article “Saputo takes root in Florida”