Stock Exchange Release March 3, 2025 at 4:30 p.m.
Forest technology company Kesla Oyj is renewing its operating model and management team as part of the determined implementation of its growth strategy. The changes will take effect on March 17, 2025. The changes do not affect the structure of Kesla’s financial reporting.
To achieve the goals set for the strategy period 2024–2028, Kesla has defined three themes: bold renewal, profitable growth, and succeeding together. The renewal of the operating model and the management team ties these themes together.
In the new organization, the previous business division will be abolished, and tractor equipment, forest harvesting equipment, vehicle and industrial cranes, and defence products will henceforth be referred to as product groups. Customer interface functions – sales, product management, marketing, and after-sales – will be combined into a new sales and after-sales organization. The new sales and after-sales organization will be led by a Sales and After-Sales Director, for whom recruitment is underway. CEO Pasi Nieminen will temporarily handle the position in addition to his own duties.
The sales and product management of the Kesla Defence product group, established in January 2025, will remain a separate product group due to the specific characteristics of the defense industry markets. Tapio Pirinen will continue to lead the sales of this product group and, with the organizational restructuring, will also take responsibility for the company’s PMO functions (Project Management Office).
Kesla’s CEO Pasi Nieminen comments: “At the core of our strategy is improving the customer experience. By reorganizing our customer interface functions, we develop customer processes and are able to offer better service and faster response to market needs. By combining sales and after-sales organizations, we can distribute resources in selected market areas more evenly, flexibly, and efficiently to support growth. Strong product management, in turn, plays a key role in building a product strategy that supports our strategic goals for key markets. All these measures support the most important goal of our strategy: profitable growth.”
The implemented change is an essential step in the organization’s development, where the R&D and production responsibilities of the business units have already been dismantled. Product development, product management, digitalization, as well as Kesla Defence and PMO are elevated to the management team, as they are key functions in achieving Kesla’s strategic goals. Jukka Sadinmäki continues as Product Development Manager, and Mika Tahvanainen, who previously served as Business Director for forest harvesting, has been appointed Director of Product Management and Digitalization. Ari Pirhonen, who previously led the vehicle and industrial cranes business as a member of the management team, has been appointed Sales Director for the important Finnish market for Kesla.
The reorganization was carried out as a change negotiation, which did not result in staff reductions.
The company’s management team will consist of the following from March 17, 2025:
- Pasi Nieminen, CEO and Sales and After-Sales Director (ad interim)
- Ilkka Miettinen, CFO (Finance, Administration, ICT, and HR)
- Mika Tahvanainen, Director – Product Management and Digitalization
- Jukka Sadinmäki, Product Development Manager
- Jari Jormanainen, Supply Chain Director (Manufacturing, Quality, and Procurement)
- Tapio Pirinen, Director – PMO and Kesla Defence