John Peter Leesi
CEO and President
John Peter Leesi became CEO and President of Outokumpu Copper Products in 2005 as it moved into private ownership and began its rebranding and transformation into Luvata.
He has experience of finance and international business strategy, having been Corporate Vice-President of Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications and CFO through the recovery of Ericsson Consumer Products since 2001. He has held various other roles in Finance, Law, Strategy and IPR as well as serving as intelligence officer in the Swedish Marines. John Peter now lives with his wife and children in London, England.
He was educated in Sweden and the USA and holds a degree in business and international finance as well as certificates in economics, mergers, acquisitions and alliances.
Jyrki Vesaluoma
Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
Jyrki Vesaluoma joined Luvata as CFO in November 2005. Before that he spent two years as CFO at Metso Paper and several years in a variety finance management positions within the Outokumpu group in both Finland and Germany.
He qualified with an MSc in Economics from the Helsinki School of Economics.
Jyrki lives in the UK with his wife and three children but returns to his Summerhouse in Finland when he can. Before his working career he has played tennis at a national level. He still plays tennis and is a keen skier. As ski slopes can be difficult to find in the UK, he has also taken up golf.
Bob Kickham
Senior Vice-President of Procurement
Bob Kickham joined Luvata in 2005. Prior to this he was Chief procurement officer at Diageo and BAT and gained extensive experience in procurement, sales and risk at Syntegra, BT Marine and Vosper Thornycroft. In 2002, the procurement function he created at Diageo was recognised by the UK Chartered Institute of Purchase and Supply as “best in class”. With Diageo, as well as managing the North American Supply Chain integration of the Seagrams acquisition, Bob worked on a number of other famous brands including Guinness, Johnnie Walker and Smirnoff.
Bob is a non-executive director of CPS Color Group OY – a global leader in the development and supply of paint-tinting solutions - and also a member of the Board Of Trustees of SCA. SCA is a UK-based social enterprise whose mission is to improve people’s lives by developing and implementing innovative solutions to health and social care.
Bob graduated with joint honours in History and Economics and has an MBA and a Diploma in Consultancy from Lancaster and Bournemouth Universities and Henley Management College. He is a member of the Institute of Purchase and Supply and a Fellow of the Institute of Logistics. He lives in the UK with his wife and two children and enjoys tennis, sailing, reading and cooking.
Fredrik Vejgarden
Senior Vice-President of Operational Excellence
Fredrik Vejgarden joined Luvata in February 2006 when he was lured away from McKinsey & Company. While at McKinsey he spent most of his time working in operational areas such as LEAN Manufacturing and procurement for a diverse range of industries including steel, banking and healthcare.
Fredrik has an MSc in Industrial Management and Engineering from the University of Linkoping in Sweden. His interest in engineering was undoubtedly inspired by his previous career as a carpenter, where his passion for operational excellence was nurtured.
Fredrik lives in Sweden with his wife and son and, when he isn’t working or indulging his interest in carpentry, he has found time to compete in the Gotland Grand National, the world’s biggest motorcycle race.
Justin Roux
Senior Vice-President of Communications
Justin Roux became Senior Vice-President of Communications for Luvata Group in early 2006. He has worked in the engineering industry since 1989 and, following nine years of international assignments in offshore, petrochemicals and metal production, became a consultant to the engineering information industry.
In parallel with his career, Justin has worked in journalism and communications since 1990. He founded the Wordsmithery marketing partnership and become Head of Marketing at AVEVA Group in 2001. He has been the editor of several publications and has written for EU Vision, The Lonely Planet, The Howard Hughes Foundation, the British press and many worldwide industry journals.
Justin was formerly the chairman of the Communications Committee of the European Copper Institute and is now Vice-Chairman of the Communications Steering Group for the International Copper Association. He is a member of the European Association of Communication Directors, and holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from the University of Reading.
Justin cites “fun, creativity and time-tested ideals” at the centre of his strategies. He is a regular public speaker and a heartfelt believer in responsible social values, cultural diversity, and the profession of engineering. He never stops writing unless he is taking photographs, inventing things or riding his motorcycle.
Hannu Wahlroos
Executive Vice-President, Head of Heat Transfer Solutions
Hannu Wahlroos has spent his entire career working for Luvata and Outokumpu. He therefore has a unique insight into Luvata culture across many different divisions and different regions. He has worked in research, quality, production, engineering, product management, and sales and as a general manager of Outokumpu Pori tube mill. He moved to China to manage a newly established tube mill in Zhongshan in October 1997. After ramping up the tube mill in China he has been leading the whole of the Heat Transfer Solutions Division since the year 2000.
Hannu has an MSc in Metallurgy from the Tampere University of Technology. He currently lives in Pocenia, Italy with his wife and one son while the two older children are already back in Finland. Outside of work his main hobby is hiking.
Jussi Helavirta
Executive Vice-President, Head of Special Products
Jussi Helavirta joined Luvata in 2000. Before becoming Vice-President of the Special Products Division he worked as Division Head of the European region. Prior to Luvata, he worked in a variety of organisations including 12 years in Metso in the US and Canada where he implemented a revolutionary global production system, which made significant improvements to the paper machinery supply chain. He was also qualified to assess and audit company quality systems according Malcolm Balridge criteria. Prior to Metso he worked in Machinery Oy as sales director meeting suppliers for Finnish metalworking companies around the world especially in Japan, at Fiskars as production manager and Tamrock as project manager of state of the art Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS). In early stage of his career Jussi has participated several team building and leadership courses for example in Yale University.
Jussi has an MSc in Workshop Technology and Industrial Economics from the University of Tampere.
He lives in Finland with his wife and two sons and is on the board of the Pori Chamber of Commerce. He is a huge fan of ice hockey and, as well as scoring goals for Luvata, is on the board of his local team playing on the Finnish national league.
Ron Beal
Executive Vice-President, Head of ACR Tubes
Ron Beal has over 20 years of experience with Luvata and, previously, Outokumpu. His hands-on experience in the cross-functional areas of sales, marketing, engineering and manufacture, as well as his position as President/General Manager of the facility in Franklin, Kentucky have served him well in the strategic expansion of Luvata’s worldwide ACR Tubes business. He holds a Bachelors degree in Science from the College of Wooster as well a Masters in Business Administration from Ashland University. Ron currently resides in Bowling Green, Kentucky with his wife and two children. When not working, Ron can be found on the golf course or volunteering as a coach for the local youth leagues.
Chairman of the Board
Finn Johnsson
Chairman of the Board of Thomas Concrete Group AB,
European Furniture Group (EFG), Geveko AB, KappAhl AB,
Ovako and Poseidon AB
Board Member of Norske Skog
Members of the Board
Christoffer Taxell
Chancellor, Åbo Akademi University
Chairman, Board of the Confederation of Finnish Industries
Chairman, Finnair
Bertel Langenskiöld
CEO of Hartwall Capital Oy Ab
Previously President of Metso Paper
Board Member, Wärtsilä Corporation
Robert Furuhjelm
Partner, Nordic Capital
Siaou-Sze Lien
Senior Executive Coach at Mobley Group Pacific
Board Member of Huhtamäki Oyj, Nanyang Technological University and Republic Polytechnic Singapore
Previously Senior Vice-President Hewlett Packard Services, Asia-Pacific
Lars Emilson
Non-executive Director of Filtrona and East Capital Explorer AB
Chairman and Non-executive Director of Charter International plc
Previously CEO of Rexam
Joakim Karlsson
Co-Managing Partner, Nordic Capital
Claes Bodell
Director, Nordic Capital