FDBusiness.com

Pekka Laaksonen, chief executive of Finnish dairy co-operative Valio, has announced that he will retire during autumn 2014 on a pension in accordance with his contract. Valio’s board of directors have initiated the recruitment process for a new chief executive. The board hopes that the new head will be found from within Valio.

Owned by 18 Finnish dairy co-operatives and employing 4,600 people globally, Valio collects and processes about 85% of all the raw milk produced in Finland. Valio is the market leader in all key dairy product groups in Finland. Its consumer products are also increasingly being sold in the neighbouring markets of Russia, Sweden and the Baltic States.