KONE appoints Axel Berkling as Executive Vice President for the Asia-Pacific region and Member of the Executive Board

KONE Corporation, stock exchange release, July 15, 2016, at 09.00 a.m. EEST

KONE appoints Axel Berkling as Executive Vice President for the Asia-Pacific region and Member of the Executive Board

Axel Berkling (49) has been appointed Executive Vice President responsible for the Asia-Pacific region and a member of the Executive Board at KONE as of October 1, 2016. He will be based in Singapore and report to Henrik Ehrnrooth, President and CEO, KONE Corporation. The Asia-Pacific region covers KONE's business in this geography excluding China.

Axel Berkling will succeed Neeraj Sharma who has decided to leave KONE, to return to India and pursue other interests outside the company.  Neeraj Sharma has been with KONE since 2009, first as Managing Director for KONE India and since September 2014 as Executive Vice President responsible for the Asia-Pacific region. He will continue in this role until the end of September 2016.

Axel Berkling, began his career in the finance department at KONE Germany in 1998. Between 2007-2012, he held various regional commercial roles including managing KONE's service business in Germany. In 2012, Axel was promoted to Managing Director of KONE Germany. He holds an M.Sc. (Econ) from the Fachhochschule Nordostniedersachsen.  The search for Axel Berkling's successor is in progress.

"I would like to thank Neeraj for his contribution during his leadership to the growth and further improvement in KONE's market position, especially in India. I am pleased to have Axel join our Executive Board with responsibility for Asia-Pacific. Under Axel's leadership, KONE Germany has seen a very good development. I am convinced that through his focus on delivering added value to KONE's customers, he can further help improve KONE's already good market position in the Asia-Pacific region," says Henrik Ehrnrooth, President and CEO of KONE.

For further information, please contact:

Max Alfthan, Executive Vice President, Marketing and Communications, tel. +358 (0)204 75 4775   

Sender:

KONE Corporation

Henrik Ehrnrooth
President and CEO 

Kerttu Tuomas
Executive Vice President
Human Resources

KONE as a company
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 2015, KONE had annual net sales of EUR 8.6 billion, and at the end of the year close to 50,000 employees. KONE class B shares are listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd. in Finland.
www.kone.com