Kekkilä to change CEO

Kekkilä Oy is a subsidiary 100% owned by Vapo Oy and it has operations in Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Norway and Russia. The company’s turnover is about 100 million euros annually. The operating profit for the last fiscal year was 1.8 million euros.

According to Tomi Yli-Kyyny, Chairman of the Kekkilä Oy Board, Kekkilä has carried out major changes in the past three years, during which time operations have been streamlined and Kekkilä has become an independent company working under the supervision of its own Board.

“We agreed with Petri in 2011 on the new strategy project, and this work has now been successfully completed. We have improved profitability every year and Kekkilä will celebrate it’s 90th anniversary by achieving its best ever profit in terms of operating margin. Kekkilä is the market leader in Finland and the Nordic countries and the most profitable company in the business. We export to 70 countries and sales are showing a particularly strong growth in South America and the Far East. The company is ready to move to a new phase and our focus is now on speeding up profitable growth,” says Tomi Yli-Kyyny.

“I want to thank Petri for his excellent work and I am delighted that he remains fully committed to lead the company until his successor has started,” Yli-Kyyny adds.

”I have led Kekkilä for nine years and enjoyed every minute of it. However, the business environment constantly changes and we need new ideas in the management to strengthen our growth. I feel this is the right time for me personally to move to new challenges and to take the next step in my personal development,” says Petri Alava.

More information:
– Tomi Yli-Kyyny, CEO, Vapo Oy, tel. +358 20 790 5605
– Petri Alava, CEO, Kekkilä Oy, tel. +358 50 1483