04.04.2008
New Chief Executive Officer for Vaasan & Vaasan

Kalle Tanhuanpää (55 years) has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer of the Vaasan & Vaasan Group, starting on May 19, 2008. Current Chief Executive Officer Matti Lappalainen will at the same time become the Vice Chairman of the Board until he retires in July of 2008. Vaasan & Vaasan is the leading producer of fresh bread, bake-off, crispbread and other bakery products in Finland and the Baltic region.
Vaasan & Vaasan is also the second largest producer of bake-off products in the Nordic region and the largest producer of thin crisp in the world. The company has enjoyed an impressive track record of continuous sales growth over the past years, with net sales having grown to €363 million in 2007. Vaasan & Vaasan employs ca. 3,300 people and operates facilities in Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.  

Mr. Tanhuanpää brings to Vaasan & Vaasan over 25 years of operating experience with branded fast moving consumer goods businesses, including 15 years of experience in senior management positions.  Prior to joining Vaasan & Vaasan, he was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Suominen Corporation and prior to this, he was the Huhtamäki Executive Vice President and President of Huhtamaki Americas Region. Mr. Tanhuanpää has also worked as the President of Leaf Group and Chief Executive Officer of Leaf Finland, among others.

"There is nothing dramatic about the change, I am simply retiring according to plan at the age of 60. I leave Vaasan & Vaasan in high spirits because the company is in good shape. This is a good time to hand responsibility into new hands in order to start a new growth phase for the company. We have been looking for my successor for a while and I am really happy that we found a person with a strong experience in food industry and consumer brands", says current
Vaasan & Vaasan Chief Executive Officer Matti Lappalainen.

"I am excited about my new tasks in Vaasan & Vaasan, because it is a leading, growing and innovative operator in Finland and its neighbouring countries. I see a lot of potential in baking industry, which I find very interesting, also because of my background. Bread is an important part of our health enhancing diet, and by eating right we can take good care of our health. Delicious coffee breads are an excellent source of small pleasures in life", notes the future Chief Executive Officer for Vaasan & Vaasan Group Kalle Tanhuanpää.  

"We are pleased to welcome Kalle Tanhuanpää as the new Chief Executive. He joins us at an exciting time for the business and we look forward to working closely with him in pursuit of the next phase for Vaasan & Vaasan. We also extend our sincere thanks to Matti Lappalainen, for his successful leadership of the company for the past years. Under Matti’s tenure as CEO, Vaasan & Vaasan has enjoyed an impressive track record of growth that has included the introduction of several new products and expansion into exciting new markets We appreciate Matti’s decision to remain as Vice Chairman in order to oversee a seamless transition of leadership”, says Mohamed Elsarky, Director of Lion Capital and Vaasan & Vaasan Group Chairman of the Board.  

For further information, please contact:
Matti Lappalainen, Chief Executive Officer,
the Vaasan & Vaasan Group
Tel. +358 204 46 2001, e-mail: matti.lappalainen@vaasan.com

Kalle Tanhuanpää, Chief Executive Officer, Suominen Corporation
Tel. + 358 500 824 020, e-mail: kalle.tanhuanpaa@suominen.fi   

For Lion Capital, please contact:

Shona Prendergast/Mani Pillai, Penrose Financial,
Tel. +44 (0) 20 7786 4888
Kelly Mayer, Lion Capital, Tel. +44 (0) 20 7201 2200

The Vaasan & Vaasan Group:

The Vaasan & Vaasan Group is the leading bakery business in Finland and the Baltic region, and the second-largest Nordic operator in bake-off products. Vaasan & Vaasan is also the second-largest crisp bread producer in the world. The Group consists of Vaasan & Vaasan Oy in Finland, A/S Leibur in Estonia, A/S Hanzas Maiznicas in Latvia, UAB Vilniaus Duona in Lithuania and Nordic Bake Off AB in Sweden. Each Baltic subsidiary is the market leader in its own country, while Nordic Bake Off AB is the second-largest producer of bake-off products in Sweden. In 2007 the Group had a turnover of approximately EUR 363 million and it employed some 3,300 people. www.vaasan.com

Lion Capital:

Lion Capital is the recognised leader in investing in consumer businesses. Headquartered in London, the firm’s principals have been investing private equity capital since the early 1990s and have invested approximately €3 billion of equity in transactions totalling over €14 billion in value. The firm works in partnership with the management of its companies to strategically transform the businesses in which it invests. For more information please visit: www.lioncapital.com.