Pekka Tennilä appointed as the new CEO of Neova and Kekkilä-BVB

The board of Neova Oy has today appointed Pekka Tennilä, M.Sc., as CEO of Neova Oy from 4 December 2023. At the same time, he has been appointed CEO of Kekkilä-BVB, a subsidiary of Neova Oy. The board of Neova Oy has agreed with Vesa Tempakka that he will continue as CEO until then.

Pekka Tennilä focuses especially on the management and development of Kekkilä-BVB’s business. Pekka Tennilä served as CEO of the alcoholic beverage company Anora from 2014 to 2023. During Tennilä’s tenure, Altia and Norwegian Arcus merged, forming Anora, a company listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange. Before Altia, Tennilä held numerous key positions at the brewing company Carlsberg.

According to Panu Routila, chairman of the board of Neova Oy, the transformation of the Neova Group from an energy company into an international growing media company and a manufacturer of new high-value-added products, and to increase the value of land assets with wind and solar power projects is nearing its end. “The board is grateful for the significant and successful strategy change during Vesa Tempakka’s leadership. Now is the right time to move to the next stage and allocate management resources according to the special needs of both business areas,” says Routila.

“Pekka Tennilä is an experienced CEO with a strong track record of corporate transformations. The development of Neova to its full potential continues and the board is confident that under Pekka’s leadership, Neova will continue to be a pioneer in its field,” says Panu Routila, chairman of the board of Neova Oy.

“I am excited to take over the management of Neova in this significant phase of change for the company. As we have previously communicated, improving profitability is an integral part of the company’s strategy to create green growth. We are building our next phase of growth and development on a strong foundation and a clear vision. Kekkilä-BVB is already Europe’s leading company in the international growing media markets. The company has operations in more than ten countries and its products are exported and used in more than hundred countries around the world. We have a competent team and strong customer-oriented businesses, so the goal is only to strengthen our leading position”, says Pekka Tennilä.

“Furthermore, I would like to thank our outgoing CEO Vesa Tempakka for his leadership and work in developing Neova at a time when major changes have taken place in the company’s operating environment”, Panu Routila says.

“My years at Neova have been very interesting and challenging. The transformation from energy peat to Europe’s leading growing media company, a producer of activated carbon and other high value-added products, and a developer of wind and solar power has been great and it is now time to step aside. Neova has a great future ahead of it, as all its businesses are based on sustainably securing food and energy security. I would like to thank all my colleagues, customers and partners at Neova for their good cooperation and trust over the past years,” says Vesa Tempakka.

More information:

• Ahti Martikainen, Director, Communications and Public Affairs, Neova Oy, tel. +358 40 680 4723