CapMan Plc Stock Exchange Release 5 February 2009 8.25 a.m.
Heikki Westerlund proposed to become Chairman of CapMan Plc Board
– Next step in generation shift
CapMan Plc has today announced in the notice of its Annual General Meeting (AGM) that Ms. Sari Baldauf, Mr. Conny Karlsson, Mr. Tapio Hintikka and Mr. Teuvo Salminen shall be proposed to be re-elected to the Board of Directors of CapMan Plc in the AGM on 30 March 2010 and that Mr. Koen Dejonckheere, CEO of Gimv, and Mr. Heikki Westerlund, current CEO of CapMan Plc, shall be proposed as new candidates to the Board.
Ari Tolppanen has served as Chairman of the CapMan Plc Board for the past five years and at the same time worked as investment professional in CapMan Buyout team. He has now expressed his desire to leave the Board and concentrate fully on making new investment and serving in the boards of CapMan’s portfolio companies. As a founding partner, Mr. Tolppanen served as CapMan CEO during 1989-2005.
CapMan Plc shareholders representing more than ten (10) per cent will recommend that CapMan Plc’s current CEO Heikki Westerlund shall be chosen the Chairman of the Board of Directors. The Chairmanship of CapMan Plc is not a full time duty. Mr. Westerlund’s daily work would focus on CapMan’s investment activities, especially developing best practices, making new investments e.g. as a chairman of the investment committees of CapMan’s buyout and public market funds, and working with portfolio companies.
CapMan Plc Board of Directors has appointed a taskforce to find a new CEO for the Group. Tapio Hintikka will act as the taskforce chairman with Sari Baldauf, Ari Tolppanen and Heikki Westerlund as members. Westerlund will continue as Group CEO until a new CEO has been appointed and will start in the position.
“CapMan has doubled in size under Heikki’s leadership and at the same time he has systematically created the infrastructure and service platform which will allow us to continue on our growth path. Thanks to this operational structure, we have weathered the turbulent market conditions during the past years well. Our portfolio remains in good condition and our funds have approximately EUR 1.0 billion investment capacity for new acquisitions and follow-on investments in future,” states CapMan Chairman Ari Tolppanen.
“During the next coming years we will concentrate on further development of our six investment areas and will seek organic growth primarily through raising new funds for them. Hence, this moment provides a perfect opportunity to continue implementing our succession plan, and for Heikki to assume the responsibilities of chairman after successful five years as CapMan’s CEO,” Tolppanen continues.
“The years as the CEO of CapMan have been extremely interesting and personally rewarding. CapMan’s future prospects are good and we are well positioned for continuing growth and clearly improved profitability,” says CapMan CEO Heikki Westerlund.
“As in many expert organisations I feel natural to limit the CEO tenure to five years. It has been a privilege to lead this organisation and see it grow from a local Finnish company into international, listed finance organisation,” Westerlund states and continues: “CapMan continues to provide a fascinating vantage point to the society in general and the finance industry in particular. I look forward to dedicate more time to the investment activities and to formulate CapMan’s future strategy. Ari’s leadership in succession planning has been invaluable and underlines the strength of our culture and business model.”
For more information, please contact:
Ari Tolppanen, Chairman of the CapMan Plc Board of Directors, tel. +358 207 207 507 or +358 500 407 343
Heikki Westerlund, CEO of CapMan Plc, tel. +358 207 207 504 or +358 50 559 6580
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CapMan is one of the leading alternative asset managers in the Nordic countries and Russia and manages private equity funds with approximately EUR 3.5 billion in total capital. CapMan has six investment areas (CapMan Buyout, CapMan Technology, CapMan Life Science, CapMan Russia, CapMan Public Market and CapMan Real Estate), and each of them has a dedicated team and funds. Altogether CapMan employs nearly 150 people in Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo and Moscow. CapMan was established in 1989 and its B shares are listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange since 2001.
