President and CEO of KONE to change as of April 1, 2014

KONE Corporation, stock exchange release, January 28, 2014 at 12:40 p.m. EET

Matti Alahuhta will leave his position as KONE's President and CEO on March 31, 2014.  He has been leading KONE since January 1, 2005.

KONE's Board of Directors has appointed Henrik Ehrnrooth, 44, M.Sc. (Econ), President and Chief Executive Officer as of April 1, 2014. He has been Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer of KONE since May 1, 2009.  

Eriikka Söderström, 45, M.Sc. (Econ) has been appointed Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and a member of the KONE Executive Board as of April 1, 2014. She joined KONE as Senior Vice President, Corporate Controller on February 11, 2013.

"KONE has become a significantly stronger company during the last nine years under Matti Alahuhta's leadership. I thank him for his excellent work, and I am happy that he will continue as a member of the KONE board. Also, I respect Matti for developing KONE and his core team in a way that enables a successful transition. Henrik Ehrnrooth has proved to be a broad and determined leader and I am convinced that KONE's good development will continue under his leadership", says Antti Herlin, KONE's Chairman of the Board.  

"My decision to leave KONE as President and CEO developed gradually during the last year. KONE's business is developing well and we are about to start a new phase with our new development programs. Our good business progress has been based on the strong engagement and spirit of our whole personnel. I am proud of KONE's employees and also very pleased with my core team. Henrik Ehrnrooth has during the last five years grown very well into his new role. He has actively participated in the overall development of our company and brought new energy and speed.

In addition, nine years is a relatively long time as President and CEO. I also wanted to leave at a moment, which gives me sufficient time for the next phase of my professional life. In addition to the KONE Board my plan is to continue in the current positions of trust at Outotec, UPM, Aalto University Foundation and the Confederation of Finnish Industries. In the future I will expand my field of activities also to new interesting challenges.

I want to thank Antti Herlin and the entire KONE Board for an excellent co-operation during the last nine years. This co-operation has been energizing", says Matti Alahuhta.

"It is a great honor and inspiring challenge to succeed Matti Alahuhta as President and CEO of KONE.  I am confident that together with the strong senior management and competent personnel of KONE, we can continue to capture the significant opportunities that we have as a company.

Our strategy remains intact. We have today launched new development programs, which marks again a new phase and gives us a strong basis for continued renewal as a company", says Henrik Ehrnrooth.

For further information please contact:

Anne Korkiakoski, EVP, Marketing and Communications, tel. +358 (0)204 75 4775.

Sender:

KONE Corporation

Antti Herlin
Chairman of the Board

About KONE
KONE is one of the global leaders in the elevator and escalator industry.  KONE's objective is to offer the best People Flow® experience by developing and delivering solutions that enable people to move smoothly, safely, comfortably and without waiting in buildings in an increasingly urbanizing environment.  KONE provides industry-leading elevators, escalators, automatic building doors and integrated solutions to enhance the People Flow in and between buildings.  KONE's services cover the entire lifetime of a building, from the design phase to maintenance, repairs and modernization solutions. In 2013, KONE had annual net sales of EUR 6.9 billion, and at the end of the year over 43,000 employees. KONE class B shares are listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd in Finland.