Industry & Services >> CEO Interviews >> September 20, 2004
JIMMY LEE is Chief Executive Officer of Mercer International Inc. After
graduating as a Chemical Engineer in 1981, Mr. Lee worked for two years
as a Process Engineer for FMC Canada Ltd. in their chloro-alkali plant
located in Squamish, British Columbia. In conjunction with several other
individuals, Mr. Lee founded Asiamerica Capital Ltd. in 1984. Asiamerica
Capital later acquired control of Pacific West Realty Trust which then
became Mercer International Inc. From 1984 to 1990, Mercer invested in
undervalued assets in industries varying from property and casualty
insurance to an iron ore royalty stream in Newfoundland. Through such
activities the company grew from an equity base of $1 million to in
excess of $90 million. Subsequent to the unification of East and West
Germany, Mercer focused its activities primarily in pulp and paper,
resulting in the acquisition of Dresden Papier in 1993 and the Rosenthal
pulp mill in 1994. In 1996, all non-pulp and paper activities were spun
off to shareholders in a dividend distribution and this separate entity
continues to operate as a merchant banking firm with its own management.
Mr. Lee spearheaded the Rosenthal expansion and conversion and the
Stendal mill project, which commenced its startup program in July 2004.
Mr. Lee has been a Trustee of Mercer International since 1985 and
President and CEO since 1992. Profile
Mr. Lee: Mercer originally was a real estate investment trust that was
formed in the early to mid-1960s by a group of real estate
