Canfor president and CEO to retire at end of 2024

John Baird, Chairman of the Canfor Corporation Board of Directors, announced that Don Kayne, president and CEO, plans to retire at the end of the year. Kayne has been with Canfor for 46 years and has held the position of president and CEO since 2011.

Under his leadership, the company has grown and transformed from its British Columbia roots into a global entity with operations in Alberta, the United States and Sweden. As a respected industry leader, he has been a constant champion for the forest products sector, serving in a variety of industry roles including Chair of the Forest Products Association of Canada, the BC Council of Forest Industries and the Bi-national Softwood Lumber Board.

Canfor is also announcing the appointment of Susan Yurkovich as the company’s next CEO. Currently serving as Canfor’s senior vice-president of global business development, Yurkovich brings three decades of experience working in the natural resources sector to the role, 12 of those years with Canfor. She has served in executive roles in both forestry and energy including as president and CEO of the BC Council of Forest Industries and executive vice-president at BC Hydro.

“On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to express our sincere gratitude to Don for his extraordinary contributions and commitment over many decades at Canfor,” said Baird. “As we transition to new leadership under Susan, I am confident we will continue to build on our global operating platform, while advancing new opportunities to innovate and expand our product offerings.”

Yurkovich’s appointment as CEO will take effect January 1, 2025. Kayne will continue in an advisory capacity through 2025.