New members nominated for the board of directors of the merging Summa Defence and Meriaura Group
Summa Defence Ltd
Press release, free for publication on 5.3.2025 at 15:00 EET
Summa Defence Oy and Meriaura Group Oyj announced on 29 January 2025 that they will merge to form a new defence group. The company, listed on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market in Sweden and Finland, will be named Summa Defence Oyj.
The arrangement is conditional on the decision of the Annual General Meeting of Meriaura Group Oyj. The Annual General Meeting will be held on 16 April 2025.
At the Annual General Meeting, it is also proposed to appoint a new Board of Directors to the company, which would include Samuli Koskela, Arto Räty, Antti Vehviläinen, Sirpa-Helena Sormunen and Erja Sankari. According to the proposal, Samuli Koskela would act as the Chairman of the Board.
Samuli Koskela
Chairperson of the Board – Born in 1974, Board Member, Entrepreneur
Samuli Koskela is a seasoned Legal Counsel and Business Transactions Professional with a specialisation in mergers and acquisitions, growth strategies, and strategy implementation, backed by over twenty years of experience. His extensive career encompasses significant roles as both a legal practitioner and an executive, previously serving as a partner and CEO at Lexia Attorneys Ltd. With a proven record of managing MA processes and spearheading strategic growth initiatives across diverse sectors, Samuli has demonstrated proficiency in providing advisory services to a wide range of companies, from private enterprises to publicly listed corporations.
Arto Räty
Board member – Born in 1955, Senior Advisor, Board Professional, LTG (res).
Experienced leader on a mission to help companies understand the unprecedented changes in their operating environment. For close to six years was a member of Fortum’s Executive Management Team; leading the publicly listed company’s Public Affairs, Communications, Brand, Sustainability and Security. Today a Board professional and Advisor. Arto Räty is the Chairperson of the Board of East Railways Oy (Itärata Oy), Board Member of Auris Energy, Etelä-Savon Energia, Outokummun Energia and member of Infrastructure Senior Advisory Panel abrdn Private Equity Fund (Europe). He is also a Senior Advisor at Miltton.
He has built career in the military (LTG) with also nine years of service in the Ministry of Defence. The last five years he has served in the Defence sector as the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence and the Chairperson of the National Security Committee.
Antti Vehviläinen
Board member – Born in 1955, MBA
Antti Vehviläinen works as a Senior Advisor on logistics in JEITO. He acted as Director General of Finnish Transport Agency from 2013 until his retirement in 2018 being responsible for all transport infrastructure (road/rail/maritime) in Finland. Before that, in 1987-2012 he was responsible for the global supply chain of StoraEnso Plc, multinational forest products company. Vehviläinen held administrative and marketing management positions both in Finnish and international shipping companies in 1978-1986, e.g. in Brazil and Germany. He has been a board member in several Finnish and international companies, as well as in international logistics organisations. He is member of the Board in Meriaura Oy.
Sirpa-Helena Sormunen
Board member – Born in 1959, Master of Law
Sirpa-Helena Sormunen is a seasoned legal professional with extensive experience in compliance and corporate governance. She has held prominent positions such as the General Counsel at Fortum and General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at Uniper SE. Currently, she serves as the Chairperson of the Board of Directors at Gasum Oyj and the Board member at Enersense. Between 2012-2024 she has acted as a board member of Nammo AS.
Erja Sankari
Board member – Born in 1973, Master of Science (econ.)
Erja Sankari is an accomplished executive with a strong background in global supply chain management and operations. She currently holds the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at iLOQ. Before joining iLOQ, she served as the Vice President of Global Supply Chain at Nokia. Additionally, Sankari is actively involved in various leadership roles. Currently she acts as the Board member at Nurminen Logistics Oyj, Partnera Oyj, Proventia Oy, Eltel Group AB and Strategic Advisory Board of University of Oulu. Previously she has acted as the board member of the Leden Group Oy.
More information:
Jussi Holopainen, CEO
Phone: +358 44 517 4543
Email: jussi.holopainen@summadefence.com
Media contact:
Tommi Manninen, Chief Communications Officer
Phone: +358 400 437 515
Email: tommi.manninen@summadefence.com
Summa Defence in brief
Summa Defence is a Finnish defense and security technology group supporting industry growth and strengthening industrial production capacity amid geopolitical change. We focus on dual-use technologies related to situational awareness, mobility, and protection, benefiting the civilian, security, and defense sectors while enhancing comprehensive security, security of supply, and crisis management capabilities. www.summadefence.fi