SanomaWSOY's Board of Directors has appointed Jorma Kaimio President of WSOY as of September 12, 2000. Kaimio (54) has served as WSOY's Literary Director and Deputy President since 1991, and as the company's Acting President since July this year.
Jorma Kaimio's background is very much in the world of books. He joined WSOY in 1990 from the Academic Bookstore, Finland's premier bookshop, where he served as managing director. Prior to this, he worked as a research fellow and lecturer at the University of Helsinki; and he has been a Docent in Classical Philology at Helsinki University since 1972. Kaimio has also held numerous positions in cultural and literary organisations, and has published a number of books.
Parallel to Jorma Kaimio's appointment, Touko Siltala (43) has been appointed WSOY's Literary Director. Siltala has been with WSOY since 1982 and has served in a variety of positions, including publishing editor, advertising manager, director of the Uudet Kirjat book club, and, most recently, Publisher of Finnish Fiction.
Werner Söderström Corporation (WSOY) is part of the SanomaWSOY Group and had net sales of FIM 1,152 million in 1999.