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Canada’s largest agricultural cooperative, Sollio Cooperative Group, has appointed Charles Grégoire-Béliveau as chief executive officer of its BMR division.
The BMR Group became a fully-fledged subsidiary of Sollio in 2015. It sells hardware and equipment to farmers, contractors and consumers.
He will replace current chief executive officer Alexandre Lefebvre, who announced his decision to step down earlier this year, effective May 11.
“Charles knows BMR, our network, our operations, and the realities of our industry very well. His leadership, ability to rally people, and understanding of strategic issues make him the right person to lead BMR into the next phase of its growth in keeping with our values and cooperative model,” Pascal Houle, chief executive officer of Sollio Cooperative Group, said in a press release.
Grégoire-Béliveau spent 10 years at BMR and was previously president at Éco-Peinture for more than eight years. He also spent six years at RONA. He has an MBA and a BAA from the École des sciences de la gestion (ESG UQAM) in Montreal.
Lefebvre passing torch after long career
Lefebvre was at the helm of BMR for five years, and remains with his family business Lefebvre & Benoit, which is one of the largest distributors of building materials in Quebec. Sollio acquired units of the firm in 2019.
“Leading BMR all these years has been one of the greatest privileges of my career. Today, I’m passing the torch with complete confidence. BMR is in the best hands yet. Charles’s appointment marks the beginning of a promising new chapter for the organization, and I’m confident he’ll maintain our momentum and propel BMR to new heights,” Lefebvre said.
Sollio was founded in 1922 and has more than 110,000 members, farmers and consumers grouped into 41 traditional agricultural and consumer cooperatives. It employs 14,862 workers.
It has over 275 home renovation centres and hardware stores in Quebec, Ontario and the Maritime provinces, under the brand names BMR, La Shop BMR, Agrizone, Potvin & Bouchard, Country Stores and Unimat.
Other divisions of Sollio include Olymel, which is a Canadian pork and poultry production, processing and distribution firm.
Multi-billion-dollar revenue
Sollio generates annual sales of $8.4 billion. In its recent financial results, it had EBITDA of $562.3 million, and earnings before patronage refunds and income taxes of $211.9 million for the fiscal year, compared to $129.5 million in 2024.
Its Sollio Agriculture division produces dairy, poultry, pig, beef and equine products. It also has specialized productions (sheep, goat, organic, heavy calves). Sollio’s crop production sector is a supplier of seeds, plant protection products and fertilizers.
Sollio also offers digital portal AgConnexion as a complete agricultural management tool.
Olymel recorded 2025 sales of almost $4.9 billion, which was one of the best performances in its history, according to Sollio.
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