The former CEO of Finland’s national mail service Posti, Heikki Malinen, has been named as the next chief executive of the Helsinki-based steel company Outokumpu.
Malinen will start work at the firm on 1 May and begin serving as CEO on 16 May, according to a company release issued on Wednesday. Outokumpu’s current CEO, Roeland Baan, will leave the firm on 15 May.
Malinen has been on Outokumpu’s board of directors since 2012 but will leave that post at the end of this month.
"Following an extensive international search process, Heikki Malinen singled out as the top candidate for the CEO position due to his previous CEO roles in demanding environments, as well as international experience in sales and process industry," said Outokumpu's board chair Karl Jordan in the statement.
"His long board membership in Outokumpu naturally is an additional advantage providing profound knowledge and understanding of Outokumpu’s business. I am confident that as the CEO Heikki will be a great asset to the company," Jordan said.
CEO’s postal past
Malinen stepped down as Posti’s CEO last October, following public backlash from critics accusing him of excessive spending.
In September, government minister Sirpa Paatero lashed out at exorbitant salaries and bonuses paid to Posti’s top management. It had become known that Malinen was drawing an annual salary close to a million euros — amounting to a monthly pay packet of about 82,500 euros.
Meanwhile, postal workers who earn an average of 2,000 euros per month were facing 30-50 percent pay cuts.
Outokumpu employs around 10,000 people across 30 countries. Its largest shareholder is the government-owned company Solidium, which has a more than 21 percent stake in the company.