Executive Team

Ian Fillinger

President & CEO

Mr. Fillinger has been the President & Chief Executive Officer of Interfor since January 2020. Since joining Interfor in 2005 as General Manager, Interior Operations, he has accepted progressively senior roles with the Company. Mr. Fillinger was appointed SVP & Head of Operations in December 2015 with responsibility for all of the Company’s manufacturing, woodlands, timber procurement and capital projects activities. He was appointed SVP & Chief Operating Officer in February 2018. He has more than 30 years of experience in the lumber industry, including at Pacific Forest Products, Riverside Forest Products and Canadian Forest Products. 

Mr. Fillinger holds a Master of Business Administration from Athabasca University and a Diploma in Wood Products Engineering from the British Columbia Institute of Technology.

Rick Pozzebon

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Rick joined Interfor in 2014 and was appointed CFO in August 2020. He is responsible for the Company’s financial, administrative, and IT affairs and leads its corporate development initiatives. Previously, he’s held multiple senior finance roles within the mining sector and KPMG’s M&A advisory group. 

Rick is a CFA Charterholder, a Chartered Professional Accountant, and a graduate of the University of Western Ontario and the University of British Columbia. 

Bart Bender

Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing

Bart joined Interfor Corporation as Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing in 2015. He is responsible for Sales and Marketing across all regions and systemwide Logistics for the company with a focus on building value for Interfor customers by delivering quality products “on spec and on time.”

Bart has more than 30 years of experience in the wood products business in both Sales and Marketing, and Operational capacities. He has worked for Ainsworth Engineered Canada, Talpx Inc, Interex Forest Products and Balfour Guthrie Forest Products. In addition, Bart currently serves as Chair for both US WoodWorks and Canada Wood Group. 

Bart holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of British Columbia majoring in Transportation and Logistics. 

Tim Hartnett

Senior Vice President, Human Resources

Tim joined Interfor Corporation in July 2022 and is accountable for leading the Company’s HR strategies.

Tim worked for Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (LP), one of North America’s leading engineered wood building products manufacturers, for over 25 years. He began his career as an HR & Safety manager at an Oriented Strand Board plant before earning promotions into regional roles and ultimately leading the HR function for the entire company, covering 25 operations and more than 4,000 employees. His most recent role was as a senior executive at an LP joint venture involved in off-site construction for the home building market.

Tim has a business degree from Michigan Technological University and an MBA from the University of Tennessee.

Xenia Kritsos

General Counsel & Corporate Secretary

Xenia joined Interfor Corporation in May 2015 and has responsibility for all legal services, advice and strategy. She is also the Corporate Secretary of Interfor Corporation and its subsidiaries.

Xenia has more than 20 years of experience as a practicing lawyer both in Canada and overseas. She has held the roles of general counsel and in-house lawyer for several public companies in the mineral resources industry, and has been in private practice with a major law firm in South Africa and with McCarthy Tétrault LLP in Vancouver.

Xenia is a member of the Law Society of British Columbia (since 2006) and the Law Society of the Northern Provinces, South Africa (since 2000, currently on the non- practicing roll). She holds a National Certificate of Accreditation (National Committee on Accreditation, Ottawa), a Bachelor of Civil Laws (Oxford), a Bachelor of Laws (University of the Witwatersrand) and a Bachelor of Arts (University of the Witwatersrand).

Andrew Horahan

Executive Vice President, Canadian Operations

Andrew was appointed Senior Vice President, Western Operations in May 2021. He is responsible for all of Interfor’s manufacturing, woodlands and log procurement activities in BC, Washington and Oregon. Andrew joined Interfor in 2008 as Mill Manager at Grand Forks at the time of the Pope & Talbot acquisition. As General Manager, Kootenay Operations, he was instrumental in resetting the operating climate at Grand Forks and Castlegar and led the successful rebuild of the two mills in 2012 and 2015 respectively. In 2013, Andrew was appointed General Manager, Interior Operations, which added Adams Lake to his portfolio. In 2015, he was appointed Vice President, BC Operations, with responsibility for both the Coast and Interior. In 2017, Andrew was appointed Vice President, Western Operations and done an outstanding job integrating the operations while delivering record financial results.

Andrew is a graduate of Mechanical Engineering Technology at the British Columbia Institute of Technology.

Bruce Luxmoore

Executive Vice President, U.S. Operations

Bruce was appointed Senior Vice President, Southern Operations in May 2021. He is responsible for all of Interfor’s manufacturing, woodlands and log procurement activities in Georgia, Arkansas and South Carolina. Bruce came to Interfor from Tolko in 2007 as Mill Manager at Adams Lake where he played a key role in the design, construction, start-up and operation of that mill. In 2013, Bruce was appointed General Manager, Coastal Operations and, in 2016, Vice President, Northwest Operations. In 2017, Bruce was appointed Vice President, Southern Operations and has provided stability, structure and focus to Interfor’s operations while delivering impressive operating and financial results.

Bruce is a graduate of Wood Products Technology at the British Columbia Institute of Technology.

Éric Larouche

Senior Vice President, Eastern Operations

Éric was appointed Senior Vice President, Eastern Operations in 2022 through the acquisition of EACOM Timber Corporation and is responsible for Interfor’s manufacturing, woodlands and forestry activities in Eastern Canada.  Previously, Éric was the Vice President of Human Resources at EACOM for several years. He has over 20 years of experience in the forest industry in manufacturing, and multi-plant environments in both Canada and the U.S., namely for Tembec, Cascades, Abitibi-Consolidated and Kaycan.  Over the years, Éric has built a solid reputation in the industry with a good mix of experience in both HR management and at the operational level as a  Regional General Manager and Vice-President of Operations.

Éric holds a bachelor’s degree in Labour and Industrial Relations from Université Laval and undertook an Executive Master of Business Administration from Boston University.