Nokian restructures European business

Nokia, Finland – Nokian Tyres has split its European business into separate units for the Central Europe and ‘Nordics’ regions, the Finnish group announced 12 Dec.

Also, Nokian Tyres Nordics and retail business Vianor “will both operate as a separate business area/business unit, but under one leadership,” said Nokian.

The strategic moves, it explained, will help Nokian to “continue to be the market leader” in the Nordic region and to “grow faster than the market” in central Europe.

As part of the changes, Anna Hyvönen, senior vice president (SVP) for Vianor has gained additional responsibility for Nordics, as SVP Nordics and Vianor.

Meanwhile, Pontus Stenberg, who has been SVP Europe is leaving the company to pursue his career outside of Nokian.

Hannu Liitsola, currently managing director central Europe, has been appointed interim head of business area central Europe.

Both Hyvönen and Liitsola will now report to Nokian president and CEO Hille Korhonen.

“One Nordics model, including both Nokian tires and own Vianor branded business, will… enable us to further strengthen our position in Finland, Sweden and Norway,” said Korhonen.