Sakari Pitkänen and Per Östlund join Roxen
Sakari Pitkänen, previously editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper, Metro, becomes a new board member of the Swedish software company, Roxen, which develops editorial publication tools. The new MD will be Per Östlund with more than 20 years experience of business development within IT and telecoms.
Sakari Pitkänen was active within Metro between 1995 – 2009, holding such positions as global editor-in-chief for Metro International, editor-in-chief for Metro Sverige and development manager for Metro Interactive. Prior to that, he was at Aftonbladet for ten years. Metro is Roxen’s biggest customer and Sakari Pitkänen possesses extensive experience of Roxen’s editorial publication tools for both newspapers and online publishing. Metro International is the world’s largest daily newspaper business with over 17 million daily readers of more than 56 editions in 18 countries. Metro uses Roxen’s publication tools for the production of newspapers and news websites in the majority of these countries. “I have used Roxen’s publication tools on newspapers with limited resources, in both editorial and IT departments. Roxen’s tools are, in contrast with many other systems, easy to set up and operate. They are web-based and thereby perfect for businesses with several newspapers and websites as well as journalists out in the field. They are very user-friendly. And they have been shown to work at Metro International, Shaw Newspapers and other very demanding customers,” says Sakari Pitkänen. Per Östlund, the new MD for Roxen, possesses a wide background from marketing, sales and business development within the IT and telecoms industry. After a long career at Tech Data, he now has a number of board assignments, within areas such as system development, storage services and telecoms. “Sakari Pitkänen’s extensive experience of media production in Sweden and abroad will be very useful now that we are continuing the international launch. Integrated production of printed newspapers and webs is our strength and Sakari’s knowledge and experience of the editorial processes are of great value to Roxen. In order to sustain the technological leadership and reach out to the customers, we welcome the combination of technology and market understanding that Per possesses,” says Rune Kahlbom, chairman of the board.
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