Stock Exchange Release 6/8/2010 9:00
Harri-Pekka Kaukonen, 47, has been appointed President and CEO of the Sanoma Group as of 1 January 2011. D.Sc. (Tech.) Kaukonen is currently Executive VP of the Fazer Group. The current President and CEO of Sanoma, Hannu Syrjänen, will retire as originally agreed in his contract at the age of 60 in the autumn of 2011.
As the President and CEO of Sanoma, Kaukonen will be responsible for the Sanoma Group's operations and strategy and act as Chairman of the Executive Management Group.
"Sanoma is a strong and successful European media company. In the changing media environment Sanoma is strongly emphasising the creation of new business models based on its current strengths. We were looking for a person to take the lead in shaping our businesses," says Jaakko Rauramo, Chairman of the Board of Sanoma.
"Harri-Pekka Kaukonen has acquired excellent management experience from Fazer and a strong strategic perspective from McKinsey. I strongly believe that Harri-Pekka is the right person to create a dynamic response to the challenges of the changing media environment. Hannu Syrjänen has created a solid foundation for his successor, and for this I respect and warmly thank him," Rauramo continues.
Kaukonen has served in several executive positions in Fazer since 2003. At present he is Executive Vice President at Fazer Group, Managing Director of Fazer Bakeries & Confectionery Business Area and Managing Director of Fazer Russia. Prior to holding these positions, he served as Head of Division of Fazer Russia and Head of Group Strategy from 2007 to 2009, and from 2003 to 2007 he was the company's CFO. Kaukonen has been responsible for international product line and business operations. He has comprehensive expertise in implementing corporate strategies, as well as experience with executing M&A projects. Between 1992 and 2003, Kaukonen worked for McKinsey & Company, last years as a Partner.
Kaukonen is a Deputy Chairman of the Board of Evli Bank and Finnish Red Cross Blood Service.
"There is lots of expertise at Sanoma. The strong expertise in content production, in particular, provides a solid base on which to build. I am very excited to take this position at Sanoma," Kaukonen states.
Kaukonen will participate in Sanoma's Q2 result press and analyst meeting (held in Finnish) today at 11 Finnish time (CET +1) at Sanomatalo.
Sanoma Corporation
Kim Ignatius
Chief Financial Officer
Chairman of the Board, Sanoma, Jaakko Rauramo, tel. +358 105 19 5500
Group Communications, tel. +358 10 519 5062, communications@sanoma.com
Sanoma.com
Sanoma inspires, informs and connects. As a diversified media group, we bring information, experiences, education and entertainment to millions of people every day. We make sure that quality content and interesting products and services are easily available and meet the demands of our readers, viewers and listeners. We offer a challenging and interesting working environment for 20,000 people in over 20 countries throughout Europe. In 2009, the Group's net sales totalled EUR 2.8 billion.