W?rtsil? Appoints New CEO

Wärtsilä's Board of Directors has appointed Jaakko Eskola, 57, MSc (Eng.), as the new President and CEO of Wärtsilä Corporation. He will assume the position on November 1, succeeding Björn Rosengren, who will become the CEO of Sandvik, a global engineering group based in Sweden.

Currently Eskola is President of Wärtsilä Marine Solutions, Senior Executive Vice President and Deputy to the CEO. He joined Wärtsilä in 1998 with a background in international project and corporate finance. He has since worked as Managing Director of Wärtsilä Development and Financial Services, Vice President for Sales and Marketing in the Power Plants business and since 2006 as the head of the Marine Solutions business. He is currently based in Shanghai, China.

"I wish to thank Björn Rosengren for steering Wärtsilä towards profitable growth in challenging markets during the past four years. Today the Wärtsilä brand is well positioned and our broad offering gives us competitive edge going forward," says Mikael Lilius, Chairman of Wärtsilä's Board of Directors.

"Jaakko Eskola has an outstanding track record from his 17-year long career in Wärtsilä. The Board is confident that his global experience, deep understanding of the market dynamics, open management style and commitment to the Wärtsilä culture will lead us to continued success."

"With focus on energy efficiency and innovation Wärtsilä is extremely well positioned in its markets,” said Eskola. “I am thrilled and honored to lead the company as it shapes the industry with advanced technology and lifecycle solutions. As a global team we will enhance our customers' business and benefit the environment." 
 
Wärtsilä has started a process to appoint a successor for Eskola to head the Marine Solutions business.

Wärtsilä expects its net sales for 2015 to grow by 5-10 percent and its operational profitability (EBIT% before non-recurring items) to be 12.0-12.5 percent.