Antti Koulumies, M.Sc. (Eng.), has been appointed Senior Vice President, Timber and Forest. Koulumies will take the leadership of UPM Forest and continue to lead UPM Timber. The current leader of UPM Forest Sauli Brander, B.Sc. (Eng.), eMBA, has been appointed Vice President, UPM Global Forest Affairs. He will focus on global forest advocacy as well as global forestry themes, such as climate-positive forestry and biodiversity.
Both appointments will take effect on 1 September 2023. Koulumies and Brander will continue to report to Bernd Eikens, Executive Vice President, UPM Fibres, and they will also continue as members of UPM Fibres business area management team.
” The Finnish wood market is in a new situation. UPM Forest and UPM Timber form a system that enables competitive wood sourcing for our mills. Through this leadership rotation, we aim to further intensify collaboration between UPM Timber and UPM Forest and support further development of our Finnish operations. At the same time, global forest affairs are increasingly important for UPM as 60% of the company’s pulp capacity is now in Uruguay, and wood sourcing outside Finland is increasing. Thus, we have a growing need for expertise related to the latest regulation and science in sustainable forestry,” says Bernd Eikens, Executive Vice President, UPM Fibres.