中文UPM has announced two senior leadership changes that will take effect on January 1, 2027. Aki Temmes, currently Executive Vice President, UPM Fibres, will become Chief Financial Officer and remain a member of the Group Executive Team. Temmes has been with UPM since 2003 and has held a range of finance, business control, and business leadership positions, including Senior Vice President, Business Control and Finance Operations, giving him a finance foundation paired with operational exposure.
“Aki is exceptionally well qualified for the role of CFO,” said Massimo Reynaudo, President and CEO of UPM. Petri Hakanen, currently Senior Vice President, Fibres Finland Operations, will succeed Temmes as Executive Vice President, UPM Fibres, and join the Group Executive Team. Hakanen has been with UPM since 1991 and has held leadership roles across technology, investments, specialty papers, communication papers, and fibres, including responsibility for the Uruguay Development Project and the start-up of the UPM Paso de los Toros pulp mill, one of the company’s largest ever investments.
The appointments reflect a deliberate internal succession strategy at one of the world’s largest forest products companies. Both Temmes and Hakanen are long-serving UPM veterans, a pattern that underscores the company’s preference for developing leadership from within rather than recruiting externally at the most senior levels. That continuity matters in a business where fibre supply, pulp market cycles, and large capital projects demand deep institutional knowledge that cannot be acquired in a few quarters.
For the fibres business specifically, Hakanen’s background is unusually well matched to the role. His involvement in the Paso de los Toros pulp mill gives him direct experience steering a mega-project from construction through start-up, precisely the kind of capability needed as the company manages its South American pulp platform. From a market perspective, stable leadership at UPM Fibres is relevant to paper and packaging converters who rely on predictable pulp supply and pricing, because leadership transitions at major pulp producers can signal shifts in capacity, investment, and commercial strategy.
By announcing the changes more than a year ahead, UPM gives customers, investors, and employees time to absorb the transition without disruption. The move also reinforces a broader message: in a cyclical, capital-intensive industry, the quiet competence of promoted insiders is a competitive asset. As the company enters 2027 with a refreshed top team, the market will be watching whether the continuity translates into steady execution across both finance and the strategically vital fibres segment.
The fibres segment is the swing factor in UPM’s earnings, and pulp prices are notoriously volatile. Placing a leader who helped build the company’s newest and largest pulp mill in charge of the division is a statement that operational excellence in pulp, not just financial stewardship, is the priority for the coming cycle. Hakanen’s decades across technology, investments, and papers mean he understands the asset base from multiple angles, which should help as UPM manages both its European and Uruguayan pulp platforms.
For Temmes, moving from leading fibres to the CFO seat is a natural progression for someone with both finance and business leadership credentials. A CFO who has run a major operating division tends to be taken seriously by the businesses when capital allocation decisions are made, because he has stood in their shoes. That internal credibility can shorten debates and improve the quality of investment decisions across the group.
Externally, the early announcement is a stabilizing signal. Pulp buyers, many of whom are paper and packaging converters, dislike surprises at their largest suppliers, because a leadership change can precede a rethink of capacity or commercial policy. UPM’s transparent, advance notice reduces that uncertainty. It also demonstrates confidence: the company is comfortable showing its succession plan well before it takes effect, suggesting the bench is deep and the strategy is settled. In a sector where confidence is itself a tradable asset, that matters more than the headlines suggest.
Source: https://inkish.news/en/article/upm-names-new-cfo-and-fibres-evp-for-2027
