Tero Hemmilä has left his position as CEO of HKScan Corporation, effective immediately.
According to a press release from the Nordic meat and poultry company, Hemmilä and the HKScan met on September 29, and mutually agreed that it would be best for Hemmilä to leave his position as CEO. Hemmilä has held that position since February 2019.
Hemmilä was selected to the position of HKScan’s president and CEO after having commercial director of the Nordic area at Yara. Prior to his tenure at Yara, he was country manager of Yara Finland from 2010 to 2015. Hemmilä worked for HKScan between 1997 and 2010 in different roles, among others as senior vice president in charge of meat business and primary production and as senior vice president of strategy and development. Hemmilä also served on HKScan’s board from 2011 to 2016.
"On behalf of the entire board and the company, I would like to thank Tero for his valuable contribution and work in HKScan's turnaround. The transformation into a versatile food company in line with our strategy is proceeding. Right now, urgent measures are needed to improve the profitability of the core business and to strengthen the balance sheet in a rapidly changing operating environment. I wish Tero all the best for the future," said Reijo Kiskola, chairman of the board of HKScan.
Kiskola served as interim CEO for roughly a four-month period between when Jari Latvanen departed as CEO and Hemmilä took over.
Search for successor begins
The recruitment process for a new CEO of HKScan has been initiated.
The HKScan board appointed Juha Ruohola as interim CEO of the company. Ruohola is a member of the group executive team and was previously EVP for Business Unit Baltics, Polish business as well as group's export and import. With Ruohola taking over as interim CEO, Markus Kirsberg has been appointed to the Group Executive Team as interim EVP for Business Unit Baltics.
“The interim CEO, Juha Ruohola, has versatile and international expertise in the industry, which provides excellent support for HKScan's measures to significantly improve the company's profitability. In the longer term, the strategic change from a meat company into a versatile food company opens up new opportunities for growth," said Kiskola.
