Savon Sellu

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Board of Directors

 
Dr Dermot F Smurfit
Chairman, age 66
Dermot Smurfit led the consortium of investors which acquired Savon Sellu from M-real in January 2005 and was appointed as a director on 22 December 2004. He became the Group’s Chairman on its establishment in 2006. He was previously the joint Deputy Chairman of Jefferson Smurfit Group PLC, one of the world’s leading packaging groups, from 1994 to 2003 and was its Director of Sales and Marketing worldwide from 1997 to 2003. Prior to this he held a number of other senior positions with the Jefferson Smurfit Group. Dr Smurfit is a former Chairman of the World Containerboard Organisation and of FEFCO which represents the interests of European corrugated board manufacturers. He is currently Chairman of Eurolink Motorway Operation Limited, Timber Capital Limited and Cosmo Speciality Fibres Inc. and is Deputy Chairman of The Forest Company Limited. He is a member of the Foundation Board of the University of Limerick.

 

Marco Casiraghi

Chief Executive Officer, age 63

Marco Casiraghi joined the Group as its Chief Executive Officer on 1 January 2010 and was appointed as a director on 29 April 2010. From 2001 to 2009, Mr Casiraghi was Chief Executive Officer of Coesia Group, a large, privately owned industrial group headquartered in Bologna, Italy involved in the design and manufacture of machinery for process automation, specialist engineering and packaging applications. Between 1994 an 2000, he was Chief Executive of the Italian operations of Jefferson Smurfit Group PLC and prior to this was a Senior Vice President of United Technologies Carrier, the manufacturer of air-conditioning and heating systems.

 

 

David Walton

Chief Financial Officer, age 45

David Walton joined the Group as its Chief Financial Officer on 1 January 2009 and was appointed as a director on 28 April 2009. From 2004 to 2007, Mr Walton was Chief Executive and from 2001 to 2003, he was Finance Director of API Group plc, an international packaging company. Between 1994 and 2001, he was a Divisional Managing Director of Wace Group plc until its acquisition by NASDAQ-listed Applied Graphic Technologies, Inc. when he became a Senior Vice President. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Ernst & Young and from 1990 to 1994 worked in corporate finance.

 

 

Christopher Knight

Senior Independent non-executive director, age 64

Chris Knight was appointed as a non-executive director on 11 April 2007. He was an investment banker for nearly 30 years, for much of that time with Morgan Grenfell and Deutsche Bank. He is a Chartered Accountant and has extensive corporate finance experience gained during his career in London, New York and Hong Kong. He is Chairman of Brooks Macdonald Group plc and NB Real Estate Group Limited and a non-executive director of Intertek Group plc. Mr Knight is Chairman of the Audit Committee and a member of the Remuneration Committee.

 

 

Juha Niemela

Non-executive director, age 64

Juha Niemelä was appointed as non-executive director on 4 April 2005. He has spent his entire career in the paper and forestry industry, first joining United Paper Mills (“UPM”), one of the world’s leading forest products groups, in 1971. He was appointed as a member of the Executive Board of UPM in 1983 and following the merger of UPM, Kymmene Corporation and Repola Corporation in 1996, was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of UPM-Kymmene Corporation, a position he held until 2004. Mr Niemelä is a non-executive director of M-real Corporation, and Chairman of Green Resources AS. He was until March 2011, Chairman of Veikkaus Oy, the Finnish national lottery group. Mr Niemelä is Chairman of the Nomination Committee and a member of the Audit and Remuneration Committees.

 

 

Dr Ulrich Scheufelen

Non-executive director, age 67

Ulrich Scheufelen was appointed as a non-executive director on 28 April 2009. Dr Scheufelen was previously a member of the Board and the principal shareholder of Papierfabrik Scheufelen which was acquired by the Group in January 2009. He has extensive experience in the paper industry and is a board member of a number of industry bodies representing the graphic and fine paper sectors. Dr Scheufelen is a member of the Audit, Nomination and Remuneration Committees.

 

 

Tony Smith

Non-executive director, age 69

Tony Smith was appointed as a non-executive director on 4 April 2005. He has worked in the paper industry since 1959 and between 1977 and 2000 was employed by Jefferson Smurfit Group plc. From 1986 until his retirement in 2000, he was Chief Executive Officer of the Smurfit Paper, Board and Reclamation Division where he had responsibility for 16 manufacturing facilities. He was also previously a member of the Jefferson Smurfit Group worldwide mill technical and executive committees and is a former council member of the British Paper Federation. Mr Smith is Chairman of the Remuneration Committee and a member of the Nomination Committee.

 

 

Dermot S Smurfit

Non-executive director, age 36

Mr Smurfit was appointed as a non-executive director on 29 April, 2010. He is the Managing Director of GameAccount Global Limited, one of Europe’s leading providers of internet gaming software. Prior to this he worked in investment banking with Wit Capital LLC. Mr Smurfit is a qualified lawyer. Mr Smurfit is a member of the Audit and Remuneration Committees.