Markus Rauramo has been appointed the new CEO of the energy company Fortum, the company has announced in a press release.
Rauramo, 52, is currently the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Fortum, and he has been with the company for eight years. Rauramo also serves as chair of the supervisory board of Fortum's majority-owned German company Uniper.
Pekka Lundmark, who has led Fortum for about five years, is leaving the company to become Nokia's new CEO.
Lundmark was due to take up his new position in September, but may instead take over as early as August, according to a statement released by Nokia.
The earlier start date is due to the fact that Fortum appointed Rauramo as CEO with a start date from the beginning of July, leaving Lundmark available to become Nokia's CEO as early as the beginning of August after a one-month transition period.
Challenges ahead
Both Lundmark and Rauramo will face challenging starts in their new roles.
Despite a good first quarter of 2020, Nokia is bracing itself for an uncertain future as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic will become evident with the results of Q2.
Meanwhile Fortum's role in the opening of Uniper's Datteln 4 coal-fired power plant in Germany in May was the subject of much domestic and international criticism. Fortum is majority-owned by the Finnish state, and in turn is the majority owner in Uniper after its stake rose to 70.5 percent last year.
Although Uniper is separately listed from Fortum, meaning that Fortum has no direct ownership in the Datteln 4 plant, critics pointed to Finland's pledge to be carbon neutral by 2035 as evidence of hypocrisy and the outsourcing of the "uncomfortable aspects of climate policy".
