Tiedote 3.11.2017

Executive group appointed for merging Ilmarinen

Ilmarinen’s Board of Directors has approved the members of the company’s Executive Group and their areas of responsibility as of 1 January 2018, when the earnings-related pension company Etera merges into Ilmarinen.

Etera’s current Managing Director Stefan Björkman will start as Deputy to the President and CEO at the start of the year. His key areas of responsibility will be finance, HR, IT and integration-related tasks. Ilmarinen’s current Deputy CEO Sini Kivihuhta will continue in her position and her responsibilities in the Executive Group will include pension insurance and development.

The other appointed Executive Group members are Jaakko Kiander (communications and public relations), Hillevi Mannonen (actuarial function and risk management), Mikko Mursula (investments), Pekka Puustinen (client relations and work capacity) and Leena Siirala (legal affairs and compliance).

Ilmarinen’s President and CEO Timo Ritakallio will continue in his position after the merger until he transfers to his new position as head of OP Financial Group in March 2018. A search is underway for a new President and CEO for Ilmarinen and the appointment will be made at a later date.

“The task of the new Executive Group is to further Ilmarinen’s strategy and to ensure that the merger is completed successfully and that the targeted synergies are achieved over the next two years,” says President and CEO Ritakallio.

“At the turn of the year, we will begin presiding over Finland’s largest and most attractive earnings-related pension company, which will give new momentum to the earnings-related pension sector as a whole through cost-effectiveness and improved services. The Executive Group embodies varied and complementary substance and business management expertise. With the new Executive Group at the helm, the planning of the merged company’s business intent and organisation can take off,” Ritakallio continues.

Through their merger, Ilmarinen and Etera will form a solvent and cost-effective earnings-related pension company with the best client benefits in the sector and even more diverse services. From the start of next year, Ilmarinen will manage the pension cover of more than 1.1 million Finns: the total number of insured exceeds 675,000 and pensioners number 460,000. The company’s market share of premiums written is 37 per cent. Measured by the number of customers and premiums written, the merged company will become Finland’s largest private sector earnings-related pension insurer.

For more information, please contact:

• Timo Ritakallio, President and CEO, Ilmarinen, tel. +358 500 536 346