Changes in the KONE Executive Board - Susanne Skippari and Hugues Delval join the KONE Executive Board

KONE Corporation, stock exchange release, January 26, 2017 at 12.40 p.m. EET

Changes in the KONE Executive Board - Susanne Skippari and Hugues Delval join the KONE Executive Board

Susanne Skippari (42), has been appointed Executive Vice President, Human Resources and a member of the Executive Board at KONE as of February 1, 2017. She will be based in Espoo and will report to Henrik Ehrnrooth, President and CEO, KONE Corporation.

Susanne succeeds Kerttu Tuomas, who has served as Executive Vice President, Human Resources and as a member of the Executive Board since January 2002. Kerttu has decided to leave her position to focus on non-executive duties. Kerttu will support Susanne during a transition period until April 30, 2017.

Susanne began her career at KONE in 2007 and she has held various leadership positions in Human Resources. She currently serves as the Human Resources Director for the New Equipment Business, previously serving as the global Head of Talent Management.  Before her position at KONE, Susanne worked for Nokia in various roles. She holds a M.Sc. (Econ) from the Turku School of Economics.

Hugues Delval (45) has been appointed Executive Vice President, Service Business and a member of the Executive Board at KONE as of February 1, 2017. He will be based in Espoo and will report to Henrik Ehrnrooth, President and CEO, KONE Corporation.

Hugues Delval succeeds Pekka Kemppainen, who has served as Executive Vice President, Service Business since October 2010. Before his current role, Pekka led KONE's Asia Pacific business during 2004-2010. He has been employed by KONE since 1984 and has held a range of leadership roles as well as served as a member of the Executive Board since 1995. Before his retirement on April 30, 2017, Pekka will support Hugues during a transition period.

Hugues Delval joined KONE in 1994 and is currently Head of KONE's global maintenance business. Hugues has previously worked in the global service business team and has led several country-level operations, including Managing Director positions at KONE Belgium and Luxemburg during 2009-2011 and in France during 2011-2015. He holds a M.Sc. (Commercial Engineer) from HEC Brussels (I.C.H.E.C. Business School).

"I would like to thank both Kerttu and Pekka for their strong and dedicated leadership. Both of them have played a critical role in driving KONE's successful growth and transformation. Kerttu has during her 15-year tenure as a member of the Executive Board been instrumental in developing KONE's vision and culture as well as in developing and recruiting KONE's personnel on a broad basis. Pekka has had central roles in many of KONE's significant transformations, including the launch of KONE MonoSpace, leading the development in Asia during its rapid growth phase and most recently in accelerating the growth in services globally," says KONE CEO and President Henrik Ehrnrooth.

"I am happy to welcome Susanne and Hugues to the Executive Board. Susanne has demonstrated a strong ability in identifying and developing talent in a fast changing environment. Hugues has a proven track record of developing and leading businesses based on customer needs and in bringing clarity to complex situations. Their capabilities and leadership are a great fit for driving the next phase of KONE's strategy development, "Winning with Customers"

For further information, please contact:
Max Alfthan, Executive Vice President, Marketing and Communications, tel. +358 204 75 4775

Sender:

KONE Corporation

Henrik Ehrnrooth
President and CEO 

Max Alfthan
Executive Vice President
Marketing and Communications

About KONE

At KONE, our mission is to improve the flow of urban life. As a global leader in the elevator and escalator industry, KONE provides elevators, escalators and automatic building doors, as well as solutions for maintenance and modernization to add value to buildings throughout their life cycle. Through more effective People Flow®, we make people's journeys safe, convenient and reliable, in taller, smarter buildings. In 2016, KONE had annual net sales of EUR 8.8 billion, and at the end of the year over 52,000 employees. KONE class B shares are listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd. in Finland.

www.kone.com