Stock exchange release November 15, 2022

Changes in the Fiskars Group Leadership Team

Fiskars Corporation
Stock exchange release
November 15, 2022 at 8:30 a.m. EET

Changes in the Fiskars Group Leadership Team

Fiskars Group is making changes in its Leadership Team to drive the continued transformation of the company and the execution of its Growth Strategy. The changes will be effective as of January 1, 2023.

The company will add a new role of Executive Vice President, Direct to Consumer, to the Leadership Team. This position, which has not yet been filled, will report to President and CEO Nathalie Ahlström. The Direct to Consumer (DTC) channel, encompassing both Fiskars Group’s own e-commerce and its own retail stores, is a strategic priority for the company, and this new role will further ensure consumer-centricity in the company’s business decisions and execution.

The leadership of Fiskars Group’s wholesale sales organization is being split into two regional roles, one for the Americas and one for Europe and Asia-Pacific (excluding China). With this regional set-up, the company wants to ensure it can best serve its customers in these regions, with local expertise and speed.

Johan Hedberg, currently Fiskars Group’s Chief Sales Officer and President, Americas and member of the Leadership Team since December 2019, will continue to lead sales for the Americas region as Chief Sales Officer, Americas and President, Americas as of January 1, 2023. Gennady Jilinski has been appointed Chief Sales Officer, Europe and APAC (excl. China) as of January 1, 2023. Gennady will also be responsible globally for Commercial Excellence, one of the company’s strategic priorities. Gennady joined Fiskars Group in February 2022 as Senior Vice President, Sales, Europe and APAC. Before joining Fiskars Group, Gennady held several commercial leadership roles in companies such as Suunto, Strauss Coffee and Procter & Gamble. Both Johan and Gennady will be members of the Leadership Team and report to President and CEO Nathalie Ahlström.

Currently, Fiskars Group’s management in China reports to the company’s Sales function. As Fiskars Group’s business in China consists entirely of the Vita segment, and as the company wants to simplify ways of working, the management in China will report to Christian Bachler, Executive Vice President, Business Area Vita, as of January 1, 2023.

Risto Gaggl, Chief Supply Chain Officer, has decided to leave Fiskars Group after heading the company’s supply chain organization since 2012. Risto’s last day at Fiskars Group will be December 31, 2022. As Fiskars Group further enhances the company’s strategic sourcing and agility in its supply chain, Bengt Erlandsson will take on the position of Chief Supply Chain Officer on an interim basis as of January 1, 2023, until the new Chief Supply Chain Officer is appointed. Before joining Fiskars, Bengt held several leadership positions in sourcing in the consumer goods industry at, for example, Fazer Group, Carlsberg Group and IKEA. Bengt will be a member of the Leadership team and report to President and CEO Nathalie Ahlström.

“With these changes, we want to ensure that consumers and customers are truly placed at the center of our decision-making. Our Leadership Team will be more commercially driven and better aligned with our Growth Strategy and its four transformation levers; Commercial Excellence, Direct to Consumer, the U.S. and China. We have already seen that our strategy is delivering results and I am convinced that with this set-up we can further accelerate our transformation.

I warmly welcome Gennady and Bengt to the Leadership Team. Both are highly experienced leaders with proven track record in driving significant change in their previous roles and I am looking forward to working alongside them as we execute our strategy.

I would also like to thank Risto for his very valuable contributions to  the company. Risto has played a key role notably in optimizing our manufacturing footprint and successfully navigating the various challenges global supply chains have witnessed in the recent years“, says Nathalie Ahlström, President and CEO of Fiskars Group.

The position of Chief Legal Officer, held by Päivi Timonen, will not be part of the Leadership Team as of January 1, 2023. Päivi Timonen will continue reporting to President and CEO Nathalie Ahlström and remain a key business partner for the Leadership Team as well as Secretary to the Board of Directors and Board Committees.  

As a result of these changes, the Fiskars Group Leadership Team will, as of January 1, 2023, consist of the following members:  

  • Nathalie Ahlström, President and CEO
  • Jussi Siitonen, Chief Financial Officer & deputy to the CEO
  • Christian Bachler, Executive Vice President, Business Area Vita   
  • Peter Cabello Holmberg, Chief Digital Officer
  • Bengt Erlandsson, Chief Supply Chain Officer (interim)
  • Johan Hedberg, Chief Sales Officer, Americas and President, Americas
  • Tuomas Hyyryläinen, Executive Vice President, Business Area Crea
  • Gennady Jilinski, Chief Sales Officer, Europe and APAC (excl. China)
  • Anna Mindelöf, Chief People Officer
  • Charlene Zappa, Executive Vice President, Business Area Terra
  • Executive Vice President, Direct to Consumer (to be appointed)

The CVs and photos of the new members of the Fiskars Group Leadership Team, Gennady Jilinski and Bengt Erlandsson, are attached to this release.

FISKARS CORPORATION

Nathalie Ahlström
President & CEO

Further information:
Fiskars Group, Media Relations, press@fiskars.com, tel. +358 40 553 3151

Fiskars Group in brief
Fiskars Group (FSKRS, Nasdaq Helsinki) is the global home of design-driven brands for indoor and outdoor living. Our brands include Fiskars, Gerber, Iittala, Royal Copenhagen, Moomin by Arabia, Waterford, and Wedgwood. Our brands are present in more than 100 countries and we have more than 350 own stores. We have 7,000 employees and our global net sales in 2021 were EUR 1.3 billion.

We are driven by our common purpose: Pioneering design to make the everyday extraordinary. Since 1649, we have designed products of timeless, purposeful, and functional beauty, while driving innovation and sustainable growth.

Read more: fiskarsgroup.com

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