At its meeting held today, the Board of Directors of Orion Corporation has appointed Mr. Eero Hautaniemi, M.Sc (Econ.), 39 years, to serve as President and CEO of the Wholesale and Distribution Division of the Orion Group as of 2 January 2006. As announced in a separate stock exchange release published today, the Board of Directors is preparing a plan to demerge Orion Corporation in to two separate listed companies, one of which would be Oriola-KD Corporation. This company would consist of Oriola Oy and Kronans Droghandel AB, i.e. the current Wholesale and Distribution Division of the Orion Group, and it would concentrate on the wholesale and distribution of pharmaceuticals and marketing of healthcare equipment and supplies. The purpose is to appoint Mr. Hautaniemi President of the new Oriola-KD Corporation, which would start operations as an independent listed company in the beginning of July 2006.
Eero Hautaniemi is joining Orion from the post of President of GE Healthcare Finland Oy. During his 15-year-long career since 1990 in the service of Instrumentarium, now GE Healthcare Finland Oy, he has accumulated a broad and versatile track record from financial and operational business management in the multinational healthcare company that has experienced major structural changes and strong growth. In 2003-2004 Mr. Hautaniemi was General Manager of the Oximetry, Supplies and Accessories Business Area of GE Healthcare IT. As of October 2004, he has been President for the GE Healthcare Finland Oy.
As of 2 January 2006, Mr. Pauli Torkko, Executive Vice President of Orion Corporation and the current head of the Wholesale and Distribution Division, will continue in the Orion Group management in tasks related to investment affairs, company arrangements and the preparations for the listing of Oriola-KD. Mr. Risto Kanerva, Doctor of Science in Pharmacy, will continue as President of Oriola Oy, and Mrs. Marianne Dicander-Alexandersson, M.Sc. (Chemical Engineering) will continue as President of Kronans Droghandel AB.
Orion Corporation
Jukka Viinanen Olli Huotari
President and CEO General Counsel
Contact persons:
Jukka Viinanen, President and CEO, phone +358 10 429 3710, gsm +358 50 429 3710
Olli Huotari, General Counsel, phone +358 10 429 3054, gsm +358 50 429 3054
Distribution:
Helsinki Stock Exchange
Media
Publisher:
Orion Corporation
Corporate Administration
Orionintie 1A, 02200 Espoo
Homepage: www.orion.fi