Stora Enso has appointed Jari Suominen as EVP, Head of Forest division as of 1 January 2020. He will continue as a member of the Group Leadership Team. Jari Suominen has led Stora Enso’s Wood Products division since 2014. He has held several leadership positions in Stora Enso’s paper and wood products businesses since 1995. The search for a new divisional head for Wood Products will be initiated. Seppo Toikka, currently Head of Strategy and Business Controlling in Wood Products, is taking on the role as acting Head of the division as of 1 January 2020.
Stora Enso announced in September 2019 that it would create a new Forest division and start reporting it separately at the beginning of 2020. The new division is formed to drive value creation through our sustainable and efficient forest management and increase the transparency of the Group’s forest assets. As a major player in the bioeconomy, access to wood fibre is a critical competitive advantage for Stora Enso to drive its future innovation portfolio. Wood is also the single most important raw material and the largest share of the Group’s costs, as well as a large part of its balance sheet.
“Stora Enso has the highest value of biological assets among Nordic companies and we are the second largest private forest owner in the world. With our new Forest division, we see a fantastic opportunity to deliver value to our shareholders. I am very pleased to announce the appointment of Jari Suominen as the head of our new division. He has proven to be a solid change leader, a quality needed now that we are focusing also on forest management. In addition, as head of our Wood Products business, Jari comes from the customer side for our wood supply, so I am convinced that he has the best capabilities to develop our forest and wood supply operations,” says Stora Enso President and CEO Annica Bresky.
“Sustainable forest management and efficient wood supply are at the core of Stora Enso’s operations. Being in control of our raw material secures continuous innovation of sustainable products. This in turn drives substitution of fossil -based alternatives. I am very excited to take on this new role and develop our forest operations into the future together with a very skilful team,” says Jari Suominen.