Teija Andersen SVP, Brand Performance of Fazer Group, Iris Karjula Managing Director of Fazer Amica division

MMM, eMBA Teija Andersen (51) has been appointed Senior Vice President, Brand Performance of Fazer Group and member of the Board of Directors of Fazer Amica as of 1 January 2009. She will also continue as member of the Group Management team. Her successor as Managing Director of Fazer Amica division as of 1 January 2009 is M. Sc. (Econ.) Iris Karjula (54).

Teija Andersen has long and wide experience from managerial and marketing positions in Fazer Group since 1987. She has functioned e.g. as marketing manager and sales director of Fazer Confectionery Finland and as managing director of Candyking in Finland. Lately, she held the position of managing director of Fazer Amica Finland and since year 2005 she has been managing director of Fazer Amica division. Teija Andersen's competence in product brands, service concepts and segmentation development and successful business management is strong.

In her new position as Senior Vice President, Brand Performance of Fazer Group, she will be responsible for the Group's consumer brands. Her area of responsibility will also include specifically the development of new branded concepts for the current business of Fazer Group as well as completely new business areas. One of the central strategic goals of the Group is to ever better utilise Fazer's consumer brands across divisions and categories.

Iris Karjula has acquired experience from several branches fulfilling different tasks, and her leadership and personnel development know-how is strong. Lately, she has held the position of HR director of Fazer Amica Finland since 2007 and she has been management team member of Fazer Amica division. Previously, she has worked as SVP, Development and Marketing and SVP, Human Resources of Finpro Oy. She has been responsible for Human Resources as management team member in MTV3 Oy, McDonald's Oy and Postipankki, where she has also held other management positions within international banking.

As Managing director, Iris Karjula will lead the Fazer Amica division as a whole, and develop its operations and cooperation between the countries of operation. The goal is to further strengthen the prerequisites for renewal and profitability within the division. Since Fazer Amica is a service company, the significance of leading the way, customer relations and the everyday successful performance of its personnel are is emphasized.

Fazer Amica is a leading contract catering company in the Nordic and Baltic countries. Its turnover in 2007 was 550 M€. With a market share of 55 per cent, Fazer Amica is Finland's market leader in contract catering, and in the Nordic countries its average market share is 28 per cent. Fazer Amica serves c. 360 000 lunches every day.

‘It is great to be able to appoint to Group key positions two long standing professionals who already are familiar with Fazer's business. With their know-how and experience, we will ensure achieving our strategic goals to develop our consumer brands and improve the growth and competitiveness of Fazer Amica in all our countries of operation,’ says Fazer's Group President Karsten Slotte.

Additional information:
Karsten Slotte, Group President, tel. +358 40 507 7065
Ulrika Romantschuk, SVP, Communications, tel. +358 40 566 4246

Fazer Group

The origins of Fazer Group lie in a family company founded in 1891 when Karl Fazer opened his first café in Helsinki. Today the Group offers meals, bakery and confectionery products and operates in a total of eight countries. Its operations are based on passion for customer, quality excellence and team spirit. The Group operates in four divisions, which are all committed to creating taste sensations: Fazer Amica, Fazer Bakeries, Fazer Confectionery and Fazer Russia. Fazer Group‘s turnover for 2007 was over 1.2 billion euros. The Group employs ca. 16,000 people.

Fazer Amica is a leading contract catering company in the Nordic and the Baltic countries, offering customers delicious food and tailor-made service solutions. The company operates in the Nordic countries, Estonia, Latvia and Russia. Fazer Bakeries offers fresh and tasty bakery products and operates in Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Fazer Confectionery is Finland's leading confectionery company and a strong player in the Baltic Sea region. Fazer's three confectionery factories are located in Finland: chocolate products are manufactured in Vantaa, sugar confectionery in Lappeenranta and chewing gum in Karkkila. Fazer Russia is responsible for Fazer’s bakery operations in Russia and is one of the leading bakery companies in Russia.