SAMPO PLC PRESS RELEASE 7 February 2019 at 9:40 am
Torbjörn Magnusson appointed President and Group CEO of Sampo
The Group CEO and President of Sampo Kari Stadigh has decided to retire on 31 December 2019. He also steps down as Chairman of If P&C Insurance Board of Directors as of 7 February 2019. Sampo's Board of Directors has today appointed Torbjörn Magnusson, the CEO of If, to succeed him as Group CEO and President of Sampo Group, effective 1 January 2020. Magnusson will take over as chairman of If P&C, effective immediately.
"Kari Stadigh took over from me as CEO of Sampo ten years ago and has made the Group the leading financial services holding company of Northern Europe. During his tenure, both the share price and the dividend have increased threefold. We owe him a great debt of gratitude for his work", says Björn Wahlroos, Chairman of the Board.
"The succession plan at Sampo has been emerging for some time. Torbjörn is the obvious choice as my successor. His track record as CEO of If is second to none. I reached my retirement age more than 3 years ago, but I have prolonged my tenure at the request of the Board. Now it is time to move on", says Kari Stadigh, Group CEO and President.
Torbjörn Magnusson is also proposed to be elected Chairman of the Board of Nordea, Sampo's largest associate, after Björn Wahlroos informed Nordea's Nomination Board of his intention to step down from the Board at the next AGM. Wahlroos is proposed to be re-elected Chairman of the Board of Sampo. As the future Group CEO and President of Sampo, Magnusson will thus chair the two biggest businesses within the Sampo Group.
Torbjörn Magnusson will immediately start focusing on his new responsibilities. The Sampo and If Boards have therefore today appointed Morten Thorsrud, the Head of If Business Area Private, to succeed him as the CEO of If, effective immediately. Thorsrud will in turn be succeeded by Ingrid Janbu Holthe as Head of If BA Private. She is currently SVP for Sales & Services Norway of If BA Private and will at the same time become a member of the Group Executive Committee of Sampo Group.
"I am honored to be offered the challenge to take the helm at Sampo. If will continue to excel under the leadership of Morten Thorsrud. At Nordea the foundations are in place for a new phase in the bank's development. It is both a privilege and a challenge to oversee the execution of the plans for Nordea's future development", says Torbjörn Magnusson.
Furthermore, the Nomination Committee of Topdanmark has today nominated Ricard Wennerklint, the Deputy CEO of If, to be elected Chairman of the Board of Topdanmark. He will succeed Torbjörn Magnusson, who resigns from the Board.
"I am proud to have guided Nordea through the great change programs, but now I want to inject new energy into their execution. From a Sampo perspective, having Torbjörn as Chairman of Nordea is the right way to organize the Group. Chairing a bank has become almost a full-time job and it should be handled by a full-time executive. I will, of course, continue to oversee progress at Nordea from my position as Chairman of Sampo", says Björn Wahlroos.
All CV:s are appended.
Further information
For the media, further information is available at the press conference held today. Languages used at the press conference are English and Finnish. No interviews are given prior to the press conference.
For investors and analysts, further information is available at the English-language conference call held today.
Press conference
7 February at 1:00 pm Finnish time (11:00 am UK time)
Restaurant Palace (10th floor), Eteläranta 10, Helsinki
Available for the media:
Björn Wahlroos, Chairman of the Board
Kari Stadigh, Group CEO and President
Torbjörn Magnusson, future Group CEO and President
To attend the press conference and for interview requests please contact Mirko Hurmerinta via e-mail, mirko.hurmerinta@sampo.fi
The press conference can also be followed as a live webcast at www.sampo.com/result. A recorded version will later be available at the same address.
Conference call
7 February at 5:00 pm Finnish time (3:00 pm UK time)
To attend the conference call, please call +44 (0)333 300 0804, +1 631 913 1422, +46 (0)8 5664 2651 or +358 (0)9 8171 0310. Confirmation code: 69958632#.
Group CEO and President Kari Stadigh, future Group CEO and President Torbjörn Magnusson, Group CFO Knut Arne Alsaker and Head of IR and Group Communications Jarmo Salonen will attend the conference call.
The conference call can also be followed live at www.sampo.com/result. A recorded version will later be available at the same address.
SAMPO PLC
Jarmo Salonen
Head of Investor Relations and Group Communications
tel. +358 10 516 0030
Mirko Hurmerinta
IR & Communications Specialist, Media Relations
tel. +358 10 516 0032
Distribution:
The principal media
www.sampo.com
ANNEX
Curriculum Vitaes, 7 February 2019
BJÖRN WAHLROOS
Chairman of the Board, Sampo plc
Born 1952
EDUCATION
Hanken School of Economics
CAREER
Sampo plc
Mandatum Bank plc
Mandatum & Co Ltd
Union Bank of Finland
Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
Hanken School of Economics
POSITIONS OF TRUST
Sampo plc
Nordea Bank Abp
UPM-Kymmene Corporation
The Mannerheim Foundation
Finnish Business and Policy Forum EVA
The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy ETLA
Several other charitable institutions.
PREVIOUS POSITIONS OF TRUST
Hanken School of Economics
Sampo Bank plc
KARI STADIGH
Born 1955
CURRENT POSITION
Sampo Group
Sampo plc
EDUCATION
Hanken School of Economics
Helsinki University of Technology
CAREER
Sampo plc
Sampo Life Insurance Company Limited
Nova Life Insurance Company Ltd
Jaakko Pöyry Group
JP-Finance Oy
POSITIONS OF TRUST
Nokia Corporation
Waypoint Group Holdings SA
Mandatum Life Insurance Company Limited
PREVIOUS POSITIONS OF TRUST
If P&C Insurance Holding Ltd
Nordea Bank AB (publ)
Alma Media plc
Aspo plc
TORBJÖRN MAGNUSSON
Born 1963
POSITION AS OF 1 JANUARY 2020
Sampo Group
Sampo plc
EDUCATION
The Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm
CAREER
If P&C Insurance Holding Ltd
If P&C Insurance Ltd
Skandia P&C
Mercantile & General Reinsurance, London
Skandia International
Arthur Andersen & Co
POSITIONS OF TRUST
Nordea Bank Abp
Topdanmark A/S
If P&C Insurance Holding Ltd
Insurance Europe
Swedish Insurance Federation
Swedish Insurance Employer Association
PREVIOUS POSITIONS OF TRUST
If P&C Insurance Ltd, Sweden
Academedia
Aleris
MORTEN THORSRUD
Born 1971
CURRENT POSITION
If P&C Insurance Holding Ltd
Sampo plc
EDUCATION
Norwegian School of Management
CAREER
If P&C Insurance Ltd (publ)
McKinsey & Company, Inc. Norway/Europe
POSITIONS OF TRUST
Finance Norway (Finans Norge, FNO)
RICARD WENNERKLINT
Born 1969
CURRENT POSITION
If P&C Insurance Holding Ltd
If P&C Insurance Ltd (publ)
Sampo plc
EDUCATION
Stockholm School of Economics
CAREER
If P&C Insurance Holding Ltd
If P&C Insurance Ltd (publ)
Skandia P&C
Trygg-Hansa
POSITIONS OF TRUST
If P&C Insurance Holding Ltd
Topdanmark A/S
Nobia AB
If P&C Insurance AS, Estonia
INGRID JANBU HOLTHE
Born 1982
CURRENT POSITION
If P&C Insurance Ltd
Sampo plc
EDUCATION
NHH Norwegian School of Economics and HEC Paris
CAREER
If P&C Insurance Ltd (publ)
McKinsey & Company