Stora Enso expands Niclas Rosenlew's mandate to Deputy CEO

Stora Enso has officially expanded the responsibilities of its Chief Financial Officer, Niclas Rosenlew, appointing him as Deputy CEO. This move reinforces the executive leadership under President and CEO Hans Sohlström as the packaging and renewable materials giant navigates a critical phase of strategic restructuring in 2026.

Rosenlew, who joined the Group Leadership Team after holding senior financial roles at AB SKF and Basware, will maintain his CFO duties while stepping into this broader operational role. The appointment comes at a pivotal moment for Stora Enso. Following a 2025 financial year that closed with EUR 9.3 billion in sales and a global workforce of approximately 19,000 employees, the company is actively executing a complex transformation to streamline its portfolio and focus on high-margin packaging and biomaterials.

Strategic alignment and market focus

Consolidating the CFO and Deputy CEO roles signals a tight grip on financial discipline and strategic execution. Sohlström emphasized that this dual capacity will strengthen engagement with investors, partners, and customers. In a market where capital allocation directly dictates the pace of transition toward circular bioeconomy solutions, having the chief financial architect also serve as the second-in-command ensures that sustainability targets and profitability metrics remain strictly aligned.

This leadership adjustment is part of a broader organizational shift taking effect in 2026. Stora Enso is preparing for the planned 2027 demerger of its Swedish forest business, which will be led by Tuomas Hallenberg, and is establishing a new Wood and Energy business area under Pauli Torikka. Furthermore, the Containerboard division is seeing new leadership with Lars Völkel taking the helm. Rosenlew's expanded mandate will be crucial in overseeing the financial health of these moving parts, ensuring that the core packaging operations remain competitive against global rivals.

The decision to elevate Rosenlew underscores a broader industry trend where financial executives are increasingly tasked with operational oversight to navigate volatile raw material costs and intensive capital expenditure requirements in the pulp and paper sector.

Entrusting the CFO with the Deputy CEO role is a pragmatic move by Stora Enso, ensuring that financial rigor remains at the absolute center of its upcoming structural demergers and packaging investments. Will this concentration of executive power accelerate Stora Enso's transition toward high-margin renewable packaging, or could the dual mandate stretch the leadership's bandwidth during such a complex restructuring? Follow The Paper for daily news, market signals and key updates from the global paper, corrugated and packaging industry. — Sigue toda la actualidad del sector en www.thepaper.ai