As part of the planned separation of Kalmar through a partial demerger, Cargotec - which also owns Hiab, plans to appoint Pekka Ala-Pietilä, 66, as chairman of an independent Kalmar business.
Until the demerger is carried out he will serve as consultant to assist in the formation of a separated Kalmar. He has spent most of his working life with Nokia, including a six year stint as chief president of Nokia mobile phones in the 1990s. After Nokia he founded the advert supported mobile phone service Blyk and is something of an AI guru.
Pekka Ala-Pietilä
At the same time Michel Van Roozendaal has stepped down as Kalmar president and from the Cargotec board, effective immediately. Cargotec’s chief executive Casimir Lindholm has taken over as president of Kalmar while a permanent chief executive is recruited as part of the planned demerger process. The day to day operations will be handled by Kalmar senior vice president
Mikael Laine, who will act as interim chief operating officer, in addition to his current role. Sakari Ahdekivi has been appointed chief financial officer.
Michel Van Roozendaal
In addition, the Cargotec board will propose that Teresa Kemppi-Vasama and Tapio Kolunsarka be elected as members of an independent Kalmar board – while remaining as directors of Cargotec. The will also form a new external Demerger Committee with Pekka Ala-Pietilä which will oversee the preparations for listing and corporate governance matters for the potential standalone Kalmar. Planning will continue throughout the rest of 2023 and the potential separate listing of Kalmar on Nasdaq Helsinki would take place in 2024.
Cargotec chairman Jaakko Eskola, “The planning is progressing in line with previously communicated timeline and objectives. Establishing the Demerger Committee will help us to ensure an effective and successful planning sequence and a successful transition of Kalmar into a separate standalone listed company”,
“Kalmar is performing and developing well, but the board believes that Kalmar needs a new leader with extensive experience to drive Kalmar’s transition and planned listing readiness capabilities. Casimir is well positioned to lead Kalmar during the coming very important months, while also maintaining his current responsibilities as Cargotec CEO.”
Casimir Lindholm added: “First, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Michel for his time at Cargotec. Moving ahead there is a huge and inspiring opportunity in front of us. I look forward to working closely with the Kalmar team on the listing readiness. In the meantime, Kalmar is moving forward and will continue to connect with customers, offering them world class equipment and service.”
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