Fortum appoints Bernhard Günther as new CFO
FORTUM CORPORATION STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE 18 DECEMBER 2020 AT 9:00 EET
Release category: Changes board/management/auditors
Fortum Corporation has appointed Bernhard Günther (age 53, Ph.D. Econ.) as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and member of the Executive Management Team as of 1 February 2021.
Bernhard Günther, a German national, has an impressive track-record in the energy industry, covering all areas of finance. Most recently, he served as the CFO and Chief Human Resources Officer of the renewables, network and retail company innogy SE that was acquired by and merged into EON in 2020. Prior to that, Bernhard Günther served in various other senior leadership positions in the power and gas business, latest as CFO in the RWE Group. At RWE he was responsible, among other, for the carve-out and successful IPO of innogy. Bernhard Günther is a member of both the Supervisory Board of Fortum’s subsidiary Uniper as well as the German technology company Thyssenkrupp AG.
“It is a great pleasure to welcome Bernhard to Fortum. In addition to his extensive expertise in finance, I highly appreciate his insights on the development of the energy landscape. We share the same view of the direction and tools for a successful energy transition, and I believe Fortum will greatly benefit from having Bernhard onboard. Working side-by-side on the Uniper Supervisory Board, I have also learned to value his adeptness and his always analytical and constructive approach, which leads me to believe that Bernhard will be an excellent fit with Fortum,” says Markus Rauramo, President and CEO of Fortum.
“I am very excited about this opportunity. Fortum Group is a European leader in clean power and gas, and very well positioned to drive forward the energy transition. The company is also at an extremely interesting point in its own transformation, which I look forward to supporting wholeheartedly with all my experience,” says Bernhard Günther. “I was also glad to learn that leadership at Fortum is based on transparency, openness and accountability, which is something I feel strongly about because it shows many parallels to my cultural journey with innogy,” he concludes.
“I would also like to warmly thank Timo Karttinen, who took on the position as acting CFO in the summer. He has managed very well to combine the demanding responsibilities of CFO through the consolidation of Uniper as subsidiary in the second half of the year, while at the same time continuing to support the strategy alignment process of Fortum and Uniper. We are very pleased to have Timo continue in his previous senior position when Bernhard joins us in February,” Markus Rauramo concludes.
Fortum Corporation
Ingela Ulfves, Vice President, Investor Relations and Financial Communications
Attachments:
Bernhard Günther‘s CV
Bernhard Günther‘s photo
Further information:
Investors and analysts:
Ingela Ulfves, VP, Investor Relations and Financial Communications, tel. +358 40 515 1531
Media:
Pauliina Vuosio, VP, Executive Communications, tel. +358 50 453 2383
Distribution:
Nasdaq Helsinki
Main media
www.fortum.com
Fortum
Fortum is a European energy company with activities in more than 40 countries. We provide our customers with electricity, gas, heating and cooling as well as smart solutions to improve resource efficiency. We want to engage our customers and society to join the change for a cleaner world. Together with our subsidiary Uniper, we are the third largest producer of CO2-free electricity in Europe. With approximately 19,000 professionals and a combined balance sheet of approximately EUR 69 billion, we have the scale, competence and resources to grow and to drive the energy transition forward. Fortum's share is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki and Uniper's share on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. www.fortum.com
