MethodologyContact usLogin
We are pleased to announce that Jussi Pesonen, former President and Chief Executive Officer of UPM, has been named European CEO of the Year.
The award will be formally presented at the 26th annual Fastmarkets Forest Products Europe Conference, on March 5 at the InterContinental Istanbul hotel, Turkey.
Fastmarkets Forest Products’ European CEO of the Year is nominated by a group of investment analysts and portfolio managers covering the European and global pulp and paper industry.
The panel was particularly impressed by Pesonen’s ability to secure a higher multiple on EBITDA than UPM’s peers. Through a focus on fibers, labels and specialty packaging, and biochemicals and biofuels, he has turned UPM into a higher margin and ROCE business.
At the same time, Pesonen has not been frightened to invest in operational efficiency and make necessary cuts: One of his first actions as CEO was to downsize UPM’s graphics business.
Bold decisions and results such as this have convinced investors to believe in UPM and join them on their growth journey.
Jussi Pesonen joined UPM in 1987 as a production engineer and worked in several mills. He has since held various senior management positions at the company, including vice president of the Newsprint Product Group, COO of UPM Paper Divisions and deputy to the president and CEO. In 2004, Jussi Pesonen became the president and CEO of UPM, a position he retired from at the end of 2023.
He holds a Master of Science degree in engineering in process technology from the University of Oulu in Finland.