To accelerate the implementation of the cost savings and profitability improvement program announced on 31 July 2025 by Metsä Board Corporation, part of Metsä Group, and to enhance customer-centricity, changes to the company’s corporate management team have been decided today. These changes will take effect on 1 August 2025. As a result, the composition and number of members of the company’s Board of Directors will also change.
M.Sc. (Econ.) Erja Hyrsky has been appointed SVP, Commercial Operations. Hyrsky has been a member of Metsä Board’s Board of Directors since 2021 and has previously held several business leadership roles, most recently at Unilever. She will resign from the Board of Directors of Metsä Board immediately. Following her resignation, the Board of Directors will consist of eight (8) members, which meets the requirements of the Articles of Association, and therefore no replacement is necessary.
M.Sc. (Econ.) Minna Björkman has been appointed SVP, Containerboard. She will start in early 2026 and joins the company from Stora Enso, where she has held several business leadership roles.
M.Sc. (Tech.) Jussi Noponen has been appointed SVP, Production and Supply Chain. Noponen has held various expert and leadership roles in finance within Metsä Group since 2000, including CFO of Metsä Board (2016–2021) and most recently as SVP, Sales and Supply Chain since 2021. He has been a member of the company’s corporate management team since 2016.
M.Sc. (Tech.) Laura Remes, appointed in October 2024 as SVP, Business Development, has been appointed SVP, Business Transformation. She will start at the latest on 6 October 2025. As previously announced, she joins Metsä Board from UPM, where she held various business development and leadership roles.
Henri Sederholm will continue as CFO, a role he has held since 2021, and Camilla Wikström will continue as SVP, HR, a role she has held since 2019.
As part of the upcoming changes, Markku Leskelä and Harri Pihlajaniemi will step down from the company’s Corporate Management Team as of August 1, 2025. Markku Leskelä will continue with the company as a Senior Advisor until the end of January 2026. Harri Pihlajaniemi's tenure with the company will come to an end, and we wish him every success in his future endeavours. The company extends its sincere thanks to both of them for their valuable contributions to Metsä Board.
CEO Esa Kaikkonen states: “Customer- and market-driven growth requires strong, new kinds of expertise. The changes announced today support this development. We need a clear and transformative approach to respond to the challenges of the operating environment and targeted actions that require fresh thinking, efficiency, and agility.”
As of 1 August 2025, the Metsä Board Corporate Management Team will consist of (additions that will enter into force at a later date are indicated in parentheses):
- Esa Kaikkonen, CEO
- Minna Björkman, SVP, Containerboard (from 5 January 2026)
- Erja Hyrsky, SVP, Commercial Operations
- Jussi Noponen, SVP, Production and Supply Chain
- Laura Remes, SVP, Business Transformation (no later than 6 October 2025)
- Henri Sederholm, CFO
- Camilla Wikström, SVP, HR
Metsä Board will maintain its current external reporting structure.
Photos for media use: https://databank.metsagroup.com/l/6jLhjdrW-nqw.
METSÄ BOARD CORPORATION