Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE – As the new president/chief executive officer of Maine Potato Growers, Inc., Pierre Patenaude will bring his managerial experience and energy to work to strengthen a cooperative with a proud past.
“MPG has a long history of providing quality products and quality service to the farming community and the people of Aroostook County,” said Patenaude, who officially takes the helm Jan. 29. “I’m very proud to be part of that, and I’m looking forward to continuing in that tradition.”
Patenaude grew up in Iroquois-Falls in northern Ontario.
“Iroquois-Falls is very similar to Presque Isle and Mapleton, which is where I live,” he said. “It’s a close-knit community and everybody knows each other.”
Having graduated from Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario with an honors bachelor of science in forestry, Patenaude followed in his father’s footsteps.
“My father was in the forest product business,” he said. “His background was in education, but he ended up in northern Ontario working for Abitibi-Price. He was the manager of a woods operation.”
Patenaude had been employed in various capacities at J.D. Irving, Limited, most recently as operations manager in St. Leonard, New Brunswick.
“I started working for J.D. Irving right out of university in 1987,” he said. “I worked in different parts of their operations in different parts of New Brunswick, as well as in Maine.
“I left Irving two years ago to spend time with my family,” said Patenaude. “I have two young boys, Thomas, 8, and Joseph, 11, and with the nature of the position I had, I wasn’t spending a lot of time at home. I was traveling from my home in Mapleton to my office in St. Leonard on a daily basis, which was tough. We’ve been in Mapleton since 2001. My wife, Vanessa, and I decided it was time that I spent some time with my family. It’s been great.”
However, when Patenaude heard about the opening at MPG, he became interested.
“I gave Jerry (Gerald) Sytsema, interim CEO, a call and we had a few meetings,” said Patenaude, who replaces Joe Lallande as company president. “We met with the board and eventually they made me an offer.”
Patenaude said he’s still in the process of familiarizing himself with the company’s various components including crop services, the energy department, grain department, MPG Houlton, potato marketing, shopping center and Truck & Tractor.
“I was interested in the multiple aspects of the business,” he said. “In any business, there’s always an opportunity to improve an operation, and for me, I’ve always found that challenging. I enjoyed that in my past employment, and that’s what I’m always looking forward to do. There was an opportunity here, so I took it. The other thing that I like is that the company is local, and for me that’s important.
“I’m lucky to have Jerry on board until late January,” said Patenaude. “That frees me up to spend some time with the managers and meet the people involved in MPG. I don’t have a background in agriculture; my background’s in forestry, but they’re very similar fields in the way that you’re dealing with a commodity and growing crops.”
The CEO’s long-term goals include “continuously improving upon what the company is doing.”
“That’s from both a product and service perspective, and how you manage your business,” he said. “Continuous improvement is very important.
“I’m very proud to be part of MPG,” said Patenaude. “We have a good team here, and I think I’ll fit in very well.”
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
PIERRE PATENAUDE is getting settled into his new role as president/chief executive officer of Maine Potato Growers, Inc. A native of Iroquois-Falls in northern Ontario, Patenaude received his honors bachelor of science in forestry from Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario. He and his wife, Vanessa, reside in Mapleton with their sons, Joseph, 11, and Thomas, 8. Patenaude officially takes the helm Jan. 29.
