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Forestry’s future leaders: meet Keven-Derick Auclair Savard

As more forest industry professionals reach retirement, it’s more important than ever that we highlight the next generation of leaders. CFI’s annual Top 10 Under 40 contest is our way of doing so. This year marks the ninth consecutive year we have scoured nominations from across Canada to find individuals who exemplify the best of our sector, from outstanding log haulers to sawmillers, foresters and others. The result is a list of high-performing professionals who are poised to lead the industry.

To acknowledge and highlight each winner’s contributions, CFI will feature one of 2021’s winners every week for the next 10 weeks.

This week, we introduce our readers to Keven-Derick Auclair Savard, vice-president, sales and business development, at StarrForest Inc. in Montreal.

Auclair Savard comes from a family of lumber and forestry entrepreneurs in Lac Saint-Jean, Que. Originally working in commercial banking, he later took over the family business,  StarrForest, which specialized in plywood and supplying floor and furniture manufacturers.

The 38-year-old decided to diversify the business, noting the precariousness of the quickly evolving market, says Laurence Lachance, a supplier for StarrForest. Under his direction, StarrForest expanded its offerings to include lower grade plywood to serve the roofing and concrete industries, as well as commodity lumber, in order to meet demand year-round.

He was also instrumental in the development of the STARR-LAM product, a glue-laminated scaffolding plank created in collaboration with Chantier Chibougamau. STARR-LAM is now a staple in Quebec’s construction sites, says Lachance.

Auclair Savard also created a new company website, launching marketing automation campaigns paired with a CRM to gather business intelligence. He also implemented inventory software to be able to trade and follow-up on StarrForest orders in real-time.

“Even with COVID-19 and the supply chain upheaval, the last year has been very prolific for StarrForest as Keven used his background in finance to successfully surf the wave of recent prices increase in various categories of wood products, taking some risks and making sure his clients got the products they needed at the best price,” Lachance says.

Up next: we showcase the achievements of winner Melinda Morben.