Stora Enso plans new leaner organisational structure with stronger focus on renewable packaging

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Stora Enso is planning to implement a new organisation with seven responsible business areas reflecting the importance of its core business of renewable packaging in the business portfolio.

The new streamlined organisation will increase customer focus, drive operational efficiency with increased integration, reduce complexity and enhance the group’s performance culture.

Following the planned change, the renewable packaging business will consist of four business areas accounting for approximately 60% of Stora Enso’s full year revenue (2024): food service and liquid board, cartonboard, containerboard, and packaging solutions.

The offering of these business areas helps customers reduce their environmental impact and benefit from strong sustainability growth trends, leading market positions and a high degree of innovation. Each individual business area offers a wide range of renewable fibre based packaging materials and solutions, such as cartons, boxes, trays, cups, and bags for various industries such as food and beverage, e-commerce, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics. 

The group’s remaining businesses accounting for approximately 40% of Stora Enso’s full year revenue (2024) continue to be divided into three business areas: biomaterials, wood products and forest.

In addition to their respective businesses, they support the company’s renewable packaging products through wood sourcing and their important supply of raw material. To strengthen operational and supply synergies, sawmills and building solutions sites in the Nordics will operationally belong to their respective geographically closest board or pulp production site. Central European building solutions sites and sawmills will remain in the wood products business area. Customers of the wood products business area will continue to be served by its global sales and customer service network.The new planned organisation removes one management layer and represents a further decentralisation of responsibility closer to customers and operations.

Hans Sohlström, president and CEO of Stora Enso, commented: ‘Our planned new organisation has been carefully structured to maximise customer and business focus, operational efficiency and synergies, ensure the benefits of supply chain integration, and ultimately reflect our performance and results orientated culture.’

The new business area food service and liquid board will be led by Markku Luoto, cartonboard by Andreas Birmoser and containerboard by Hannu Kasurinen. 

Markku Luoto joined Stora Enso in 2010 and works currently as a head of business unit food service and liquid board in the packaging materials division.

Andreas Birmoser joined Stora Enso for the first time in 2005 and has also worked as CFO and CEO of the company’s joint operation Veracel. He is currently head of business unit cartonboard in Stora Enso’s packaging materials division.

Hannu Kasurinen has been a member of Stora Enso’s Group leadership team since 2019, and is currently executive vice president, packaging materials division.

Markku Luoto and Andreas Birmoser will join the group leadership team on 1 July 2025 as executive vice presidents.

All other business areas will continue under the current leadership: packaging solutions is led by Carolyn Wagner, biomaterials by Johanna Hagelberg, wood products by Lars Völkel, and forest by Tuomas Hallenberg. 

The new organisational structure would be effective as of 1 July 2025. All changes are subject to co-determination negotiations and other potential legal procedures in all impacted countries.