MONTREAL--March 24, 2004--With the unanimous consent of the Board of Directors, Remi Marcoux, the founder of Transcontinental, is entrusting the direction of the Corporation to his colleague Luc Desjardins, who has been President and Chief Operating Officer since May 2000. Mr. Marcoux becomes the Executive Chairman of the Board and retains his controlling interest in the Corporation. "This is a carefully planned and well-thought-out decision that reflects the way we have worked for some time now, and it was made in the best interests of our employees, our customers and our shareholders," Remi Marcoux said. "Transcontinental is a North American company with more than 12,000 employees, annualized revenues of $2.2 billion and about 60 plants in Canada, the United States and Mexico. We are also the fourth largest print media group in Canada. To continue our growth over the long-term, the functions of Chairman of the Board and CEO need to be split between two people from now on. This is a natural progression in the life of the company I founded in 1976. For myself, in addition to being responsible for managing the affairs of the Board, I will oversee the major strategic orientations of the Corporation and act as advisor to the management team. I look forward to my new duties with great enthusiasm. "The nomination of Luc Desjardins shows our desire to maintain continuity in our growth," Mr. Marcoux added. "Transcontinental is now one of the best performers in its industry in North America and for the past four years Luc was one of the driving forces behind this success. An extremely hard worker and a team player, Luc is a first-class manager who puts execution and the achievement of results first and foremost. He also assumed leadership of our Horizon 2005 business project, a broad mobilization of all our employees aimed at rethinking our processes, attitudes and how we do things so that we remain at the forefront of our industry. Finally, Luc has participated in some 20 acquisitions, including the very strategic acquisition last December of the direct marketing company CC3, a leader in its industry in the United States. I have complete confidence in Luc and his team and I am certain they will make Transcontinental a world-class company." Luc Desjardins has a long track record as a top executive in Canada and the United States. Before joining Transcontinental, he worked for ten years with Mail-Well, a major commercial printer in North America, first as president and CEO of its Supremex Canadian division from 1992 to 1997, then as president and CEO of a major U.S. division from 1997 to 2000. Prior to his positions at Mail-Well he held several top management positions with a number of major corporations, including Culinar, Wabasso Canada and Dominion Textile. Mr. Desjardins has a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the Universite du Quebec a Montreal and has taken the Harvard Business School Management Development Program. "It is a great honour for me to succeed one of Quebec's greatest entrepreneurs as head of a company experiencing remarkable success from every point of view," Mr. Desjardins said. "I joined Transcontinental because I share the values and long-term vision of its founder, and because of its strong growth potential. I plan to continue its development by relying on the same values, the same niche-based strategy and the same business model that have made Transcontinental a different kind of company in the North American industry." "Transcontinental has the advantage of a stable and experienced management team that Remi Marcoux himself helped build," Mr. Desjardins said. "This team has evolved with the company and is ready to take on an expanded role. The core of the team is formed of five top executives: the three sector presidents: Serge Bragdon (Information Products Printing), Guy R. Manuel (Marketing Products Printing) and Andre Prefontaine (Media); along with Don McKenzie, president of Transcontinental CC3 in the United States; and Daniel Denault, vice president and chief financial officer of the Corporation. Transcontinental can count on its solid management team at head office, in each operating sector and in the United States. As well, members of the Marcoux family hold senior positions throughout the organization." "The decision announced today is part of my dream of building a solid company that will continue through the generations," Remi Marcoux said. "Within one generation we succeeded together in giving Transcontinental a very solid foundation. We have benefited greatly so far from being a family company, in particular by being able to continually focus on long-term gains. The stability and continuity provided thereby have allowed us to instil a unique corporate vision. I am convinced that my dream will not end there. Some members of my family hold important positions within Transcontinental and they will continue to contribute to the development of the company in accordance with their talents and expertise." EDITOR'S NOTE: Today, see an exclusive interview with the new CEO at WhatTheyThink.com. (For Premium Access Members)