MONTREAL — Antoine Chagnon has been named president and chief executive of Lallemand in a change that became effective Feb. 1. At the same time, William Nankervis was named executive vice-president and chief operating officer of the company.

As president and c.e.o., Mr. Chagnon will succeed his father Jean Chagnon, who held the position for 34 years. Jean Chagnon will remain a member of the company’s board of directors and will continue to serve as a senior vice-president and special adviser.

Antoine Chagnon joined the company 11 years ago, taking charge of a newly acquired yeast business in Passau, Germany. In 2001, Mr. Chagnon became head of the company’s Bio-Ingredients business unit in Montreal. He was elevated to c.o.o. of the Yeast Group in 2013, a segment that includes all of the company’s yeast operations worldwide. Before joining the company, Mr. Chagnon worked as an engineer at Audi AG in Ingolstadt, Germany, and then at Siemens AG in Munich as a management consultant. He as a bachelor of engineering degree in mechanical engineering, a master’s of engineering degree in industrial engineering and a master’s degree in business management. Additionally, Mr. Chagnon is a certified baker, having graduated from the Ecole de Bouangerie et Patisserie des Grands Moulins de Paris.

Mr. Nankervis has been involved with the yeast industry for 23 years, first with Anchor Yeast in South Africa as operations director. He subsequently was director of the bakery yeast and bakery specialty business at the company. He joined Lallemand in 2006 when it acquired Anchor Yeast, and he moved to Milwaukee in 2007 to head the company’s global ethanol business. In 2011, Mr. Nankervis move to France to lead Lallemand’s Specialties Division. In July 2014, he returned to the United States in an assignment anticipating his promotion to corporate c.o.o.