CapMan Plc Stock Exchange Release 8 August 2013 at 8.35 a.m. EEST
Heikki Westerlund appointed CEO of CapMan
Heikki Westerlund has been appointed CEO of CapMan as of 8 August 2013. As a consequence of Westerlund’s appointment, Karri Kaitue was elected Chairman of the Board.
“We are extremely pleased that Heikki Westerlund steps up as CEO. His extensive private equity experience and know-how of CapMan provide a good foundation for the objective to develop CapMan further. The Board would also like to thank Niko Haavisto for his excellent contribution as CEO during the interim period,” says Karri Kaitue, who headed the task force responsible for the recruitment of the CEO.
“We are on the right track, as demonstrated by our interim report. In conjunction with the CEO selection process, we updated CapMan’s business plan for next few years. We will build our competitiveness around our recognized strengths within our present strategic framework. In addition to the further development of our existing business, our goal is to grow through selective new product launches and possible acquisitions. The new growth areas do not affect the operating ability of our existing focused investment teams. The experienced investment teams operating as separate partnerships will continue to conduct investment operations independently,” says Heikki Westerlund.
Westerlund continues: “CapMan’s yet partially underutilised strengths are, among others, the ability to efficiently manage funds in an increasingly complex environment and to distribute fund products internationally. I believe that we are able to further clarify our business model and thereby improve its manageability. Future development will focus on high fund returns generated by the investment partnerships, in addition to selective introduction of new investment areas – not the mechanic expansion of capital under management. Our key financial target is to reach solid EPS growth.”
As a consequence of Westerlund’s appointment, he stepped down from CapMan’s Board of Directors. Karri Kaitue, the Vice Chairman of the Board, was elected Chairman on 7 August 2013.
“This solution follows corporate governance best practices, where the CEO is not a member of the Board of Directors,” says Kaitue.
Niko Haavisto, CapMan’s CEO for the interim period, will continue as CFO.
Heikki Westerlund, a Senior Partner at CapMan, was CapMan’s CEO from 2005 to 2010. He joined CapMan in 1994 and has headed CapMan’s Technology and Buyout teams. Prior to CapMan, he worked for the Finnish Innovation Fund, Sitra. Westerlund owns 3.5% of CapMan’s stock and 10.5% of the voting rights in the company.
Karri Kaitue has worked as Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Outokumpu Group during 2005-2011. He was a member of the Outokumpu Group Executive Committee during 2002-2011.
For additional information, please contact:
Heikki Westerlund, CEO, CapMan Plc, tel. +358 207 207 504 or +358 50 559 6580
Karri Kaitue, Chairman of the Board, CapMan Plc, tel. +358 40 501 5054
CAPMAN PLC
Linda Tierala
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CapMan Group is one of the leading private equity firms in the Nordic countries and Russia, with assets under management of 3.3 billion. CapMan has five key investment partnerships – CapMan Buyout, CapMan Russia, CapMan Credit, CapMan Public Market, and CapMan Real Estate – each of which has its own dedicated investment team and funds. Altogether, CapMan employs 105 people in Helsinki, Stockholm, Oslo, Moscow and Luxembourg. CapMan was established in 1989 and has been listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange since 2001.
