Stock exchange release
August 13, 2007
NEW PRESIDENT AND CEO FOR FISKARS FROM 2008
NEW PRESIDENT AND CEO FOR FISKARS FROM 2008 Today the Board of Fiskars Corporation has appointed Mr Kari Kauniskangas, M.Sc (Econ), President and CEO of Fiskars Corporation from the beginning of 2008. In the past four years, Fiskars has gone through structural changes, the latest of which is the acquisition of Iittala Group. The Corporation's operations have been streamlined through acquisitions and divestments. Unprofitable production capacity has been closed down while outsourcing has been increased. Net sales for the Corporation's wholly-owned operations are now increasing and profitability has improved significantly. In July, Fiskars' market value put the Corporation in the large company section of the Helsinki Stock Exchanges. Due to the changes mentioned above, the role of the President and CEO of Fiskars Corporation has changed. As a result of this development, the Fiskars Board with President and CEO Heikki Allonen have decided that Allonen will leave the company at the end of the year. Mr Kauniskangas comes to Fiskars from Amer Sports Corporation, where he has been in charge of sales and distribution as well as a member of the executive body since 2004. He has an extensive branded consumer goods background as well as long international experience from sales and distribution. Until the end of the year, Allonen is in charge of the operations of Fiskars Corporation. In particular, the integration of the newly acquired Iittala Group within Fiskars Corporation will be on his desk. Allonen will continue as a member of the Board of Wärtsilä Corporation. For more information, please contact Chairman of the Board Kaj-Gustaf Bergh, phone +358-40-5247730. Kaj-Gustaf Bergh Chairman of the Board Founded in 1649, today Fiskars is an international corporation which includes the subsidiaries Fiskars Brands, Inha Works, and the Real Estate Group. The associated company Wärtsilä Corporation is an important part of Fiskars Corporation. In 2006, Fiskars net sales were EUR 535 million, its operative profit was EUR 86 million and it employed some 3,000 people around the world. Best known globally are the company's orange-handled scissors and its garden tools.