Charting a steady course in a changing world

At Metsä Board we strive to remain agile and responsive to customer demand in a global business where markets and operating environments can change rapidly.

Read more about our operating environment.

Board of Directors

Metsä Board Corporation's Board of Directors currently has nine ordinary members: Ilkka Hämälä (Chairman); Martti Asunta (Vice Chairman); Hannu Anttila M.Sc. (Economy); Kirsi Komi LL.M.; Kai Korhonen M.Sc.(Technology); Liisa Leino M.Edu.; Jussi Linnaranta M.Sc (Agriculture and Forestry), Agronomist; Juha Niemelä (Honorary Counsellor); and Veli Sundbäck LL.M.

The Board supervises the operations and management of Metsä Board Corporation and decides on significant matters relating to strategy, investments, organisational structure and financing. For more information about the Board’s work see Corporate Governance.

Corporate Management Team

In Metsä Board Corporation’s operative management, the CEO is assisted by the Corporate Management Team, which consists of Mika Joukio, CEO (Chairman); Jussi Noponen, CFO; and Senior Vice Presidents Ari Kiviranta, Development; Sari Pajari, Sales and Marketing; Harri Pihlajaniemi, Production; and Camilla Wikström, Human Resources.

The Corporate Management Team's responsibilities include investment planning, preparing the company’s strategic guidelines, allocating resources, controlling routine functions, and preparing matters to be reviewed by the Board. For more information about the team’s work see Corporate Governance.

Born From a successful strategic merger

The predecessor of Metsä Board, Metsä-Serla, was established by the merger of Metsäliiton Teollisuus Oy (the industrial branch of the Metsäliitto Cooperative) and G.A. Serlachius Oy on 31 December 1986.

The merger unified two long-established Finnish forest industry companies. Metsäliitto Cooperative was initially established as a wood exporting company in 1934, starting board production at Äänekoski mill in 1966. Apothecary G.A. Serlachius founded a groundwood mill in Mänttä in Central Finland in 1868, and began folding boxboard production at Tako mill in 1932.

Growth through acquisitions

The 1990s and early 2000s were a period of extensive growth. The company acquired several production units around Europe, including the Kemi, Kyro and Simpele mills in Finland and Husum mill in Sweden.

Metsä-Serla subsequently switched its focus to printing papers and packaging products, and in 2001, changed its name to M-real, reflecting its wider international character.

Transformation to Europe’s leading paperboard company

Significant structural changes started in 2005, when the company was still the largest fine paper producer in Europe. Numerous subsequent divestments, closures and restructuring actions successfully reduced the company’s exposure to risks in the declining paper business. In 2012 the company changed its name to Metsä Board, emphasising its Finnish forest heritage and what is now its core business.

In December 2014, Metsä Board launched the final stages of its transformation into Europe’s leading fresh fibre paperboard producer. A new 400,000 t/y folding boxboard production line started up at Metsä Board Husum mill at the beginning of 2016. The company also extended its offering to include food service boards, in addition to folding boxboards and white krafliners. Husum’s extrusion coating line’s installation work began in autumn 2016, and it was taken into use in 2017.

The production of uncoated fine paper at the Husum mill ended in summer 2016. Metsä Board ended the production of wallpaper base at its Kyro mill in Finland, in autumn 2016.

Today Metsä Board is a pure paperboard company with strong pulp self-sufficiency, a record of innovation and top-class profitability.