Hans Sohlström appointed Ahlstrom-Munksjö president and CEO

Ahlstrom-Munksjö has named Hans Sohlström as its new president and CEO, effective June 30, 2018, at the latest.

Hans Sohlström appointed Ahlstrom-Munksjö president and CEO

Sohlström is currently the president and CEO of Ahlström Capital Group. Before that he served as the president and CEO of Rettig Group and gained 24 years of experience in various leadership positions at UPM-Kymmene Corporation, of which eight years were as a member of the group executive team. At UPM-Kymmene, Sohlström gained experience from leading corporate and new business development, sales and marketing as well as operations as a mill director.

Ahlstrom-Munksjö’s current president and CEO, Jan Åström, will retire from the position on June 30, 2018, at the latest. He has been the president and CEO of the company since its creation through the merger of Ahlstrom Corporation and Munksjö Oyj on April 1, 2017, and before that he was the president and CEO of Munksjö since 2008.

Peter Seligson, vice chair of the Ahlstrom-Munksjö board of directors, said: ‘The Ahlstrom-Munksjö board of directors is very pleased with how the integration following the merger is progressing. As previously communicated we expect to deliver above the original synergy plan and the synergy benefits are already clearly visible in our results. The Board feels that we are now in a natural and strong position to move forward.

‘With the appointment of Hans Sohlström as the new CEO in Ahlstrom-Munksjö we expect him to take us to the next level by continuing in executing on our long-term financial targets and our strategic growth plan. We truly believe that Hans through his skills, experience and passion will be a driving force in creating further value to all of our stakeholders.’

Seligson continued: ‘Jan Åström has done an excellent job in leading the integration of the merged company and before that he very successfully transformed the operations at Munksjö. On behalf of the board and the company, I would like to offer our warmest thanks to Jan Åström for his commitment and hard work for Ahlstrom-Munksjö and its predecessor Munksjö.’

Åström commented: ‘The merger of Ahlstrom and Munksjö and the subsequent integration of the two companies has been among the most interesting, yet challenging tasks of my professional career. I have truly enjoyed every minute of it. I will give my full attention and commitment to leading this company until the succession has been completed in a successful way.’

Sohlström concluded: ‘I know Ahlstrom-Munksjö very well and I’m passionate about its business and mission to create innovative and sustainable fiber-based solutions. I am very excited to take this position and about the company’s future value creation potential.’