Huhtala Named CEO at Rautaruukki

Rautaruukki's new Board of Directors has appointed Olavi Huhtala, EVP and Head of SSAB Europe, as Rautaruukki's new chief executive officer with effect from September 1, 2014. He will serve as CEO in addition to his own position.

Sakari Tamminen, the company's current chief executive officer and chairman of the Corporate Executive Board, will continue to serve the company until the end of the year in matters involving the combination of Ruukki and SSAB, and will exercise his right to retire at the beginning of 2015. Rautaruukki became a subsidiary of SSAB on July 29, 2014.

During the transition period, Tamminen will assist, among other things, in the divestment of assets as required by the regulatory competition approval granted by the European Commission for the combination of SSAB and Ruukki, and in customer relationship management.

Sakari Tamminen has served as Rautaruukki's President & CEO since joining the company in 2003. He previously served as Executive VP and CFO, and deputy to the president and CEO at Metso Corporation (1999-2003) and as Executive VP and CFO, and deputy to the president and CEO at Rauma Corporation (1991-1999).

During Tamminen's term of office, Ruukki has internationalised and focused strongly on special steels, which now account for more than one third of Ruukki Metals' net sales. Ruukki has also evolved into a steel construction actor in the Nordic countries, Eastern Europe and Russia. Recent years have also seen the addition of new energy-efficient innovations to the company's product portfolio.

During his tenure as CEO, Tamminen also has served in key positions of influence in Finnish business including being a member and chairman of the board of the Confederation of Finnish Industries EK and a board member of the Federation of Finnish Technology Industries. His numerous elected positions internationally included posts on the boards of the World Steel Association and Eurofer.

"On behalf of myself and Rautaruukki's entire Board of Directors, I would like to thank Sakari sincerely for making Ruukki a well-known and acclaimed actor in the steel construction and special steels sectors. He has done an excellent job in a challenging international business environment. The company underwent major restructuring during the early part of the 2000s and proceeds from divestments were invested in developing the special steels business. In addition to this, the company was able to pay over EUR 1.3 billion in dividends to its shareholders over the past ten years," sums up Kim Gran, who served as chairman of the company's Board of Directors.