Fiskars also announced a change of CFO today. In my view, this is a neutral development for the share price. I am not at all surprised that Jussi Siitonen, who has been with the company for five years, is leaving. He joined to lead the growth strategy of an integrated consumer company, but in recent years, the company has lacked both growth and—following the division into two segments—integration. The role of a CFO for a more holding-company-style group administration is therefore different than before. Financially, the period has certainly been weak for Fiskars, but that is unlikely to be the reason for his departure. Jussi could also have been a potential CEO for the current structure, though I do not know if he was interested in the position last year when Nathalie left and Jyri was chosen as her replacement.
The successor, Niko Haavisto, left Nokian Tyres just over a year ago and has apparently been without a full-time job since then. With experience from a consumer company (Tyres) and a private equity firm (CapMan), Niko is a very suitable person for a role focused on portfolio management of consumer companies at Fiskars. His purpose might also be to eventually sell off the Vita segment, provided its management first achieves the expected earnings turnaround.