ParexLahabra, the parent company of Mer-Krete and several other building products companies, announced that Francois Bouan will retire Oct. 1 as president of ParexLahabra.
Bouan’s career began with the ParexGroup in 1986 as Director of Logistics, in Paris, France. In March 1990 he accepted a promotion to Plant Operations Manager with US based subsidiary Parex Incorporated at their Redan, Ga., location. Bouan was tasked with growing the corporation West and began developing a new manufacturing facility from the ground up in French Camp, Calif.
“I have had the pleasure of knowing Francois for over 16 years,” said Buck Buchanan, vp sales and marketing at ParexLahabra. “During a conversation in 1996 I informed him he would become the next president of EIMA. Some found it humorous a French man was to be president of a growing American trade association. His personality served him well and at the end of his term, as EIMA president, he was a very highly respected and strong leader.”
In 1991 Bouan was promoted to exec vp of Parex and quickly rose to become president a year later. In 2000 the company began a string of acquisitions including LaHabra Products Inc. and El Rey Stucco Co. In 2005 he spearheaded the merger of all three companies to form ParexLahabra, Inc. Later, the corporation acquired Teifs, Mer-Krete Systems, and a division of QEP to round out its offering. Bouan has been an instrumental part of expanding the company to a national leader, helping to grow the corporation over 20-fold from its humble beginnings.
“In the ten years that I have known Francois, I’ve found the experience both enjoyable and rewarding,” said John Comiskey, CFO for ParexLahabra. “He’d engage everyone with a smile, a hand shake, and a sense of humor. Francois would disarm you with his French accent and then conduct business in a direct but friendly manner. By the end of the business deal you would walk away from the experience with a good feeling.”
Bouan previously served on the board of the EIFS Industry Manufacturers Association (EIMA) from 1991-2000 and as president from 1996-1998. He will be succeeded as ParexLahabra’s president by current exec vp, Rodrigo Lacerda.
