Heikki Malinen

Photo: Vesa Kippola

Heikki Malinen

CEO 2012–2019

Heikki Malinen (1962–), M.Sc. (Econ.), also holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. Malinen joined Itella's executive team at a time when the company was undergoing major changes due to the acceleration of digitalisation. Posti needed a good strategic leader. Malinen's experience in executive positions in large international companies was seen to support Itella's success both in its own internationalisation efforts and in responding to intensifying international competition.

Malinen had been the director of several companies. He worked at UPM-Kymmene Corporation from 1994 to 1996 and also from 2002 to 2008 as Vice President, Strategy. His next post, from 2008 to 2012, was as CEO of Pöyry PLC, after which he became CEO of Posti (Itella, 2015 Posti Group) in 2012, when Jukka Alho retired. From 1997 to 2005, Malinen worked in the United States: for McKinsey & Company (1997–1999), Pöyry (2000–2001) and UPM-Kymmene (2002–2005).

Heikki Malinen said that he was working to take the company towards the next phase of development. He saw digitalisation, eCommerce and globalisation as interesting growth opportunities and also as challenges for Itella in Finland and overseas.

After seven years as CEO, Malinen resigned from Posti Group at the end of 2019. Posti was the subject of intense public debate at the time, as the company had announced in late August that it would transfer the employment contracts of more than 700 employees under the coverage of a lower-wage collective bargaining agreement. The controversy led to a strike organised by the Post and Logistics Union. The media put Malinen's monthly salary under the spotlight, and it was widely considered to be unreasonably high. Malinen gave up two months' salary. There was also confusion about the running of state-owned companies, which eventually led to the resignation of Prime Minister Antti Rinne and an uncertain position for the Minister of Local Government and Ownership Steering, Sirpa Paatero.

Malinen said that the reason for his resignation was that he had achieved the goals set for him by the company: to keep Posti's operations profitable, to create new growth to secure the company's future and to get the company ready for public listing. Posti's board confirmed that it did not force Malinen to resign but was pleased with his achievements as CEO.

Heikki Malinen was replaced by Turkka Kuusisto, who first took over as interim CEO and then as CEO the following year. Before his current post, Kuusisto acted as Senior Vice President, Parcel and eCommerce. Malinen joined Outokumpu as President and CEO in May 2020.

Postal History in Finland

The postal services sector is undergoing a historically big change as the number of letters posted is declining, and Posti continues to renew itself in the changed market situation.
The growth of digital communications, eCommerce and logistics is creating new opportunities for postal operations.
Since 2013, Posti has focused on its core operations, postal and logistics services, and cut down on non-essential operations.
Posti's business is increasingly moving towards parcel and logistics operations as well as eCommerce.
The Postal Museum opened its doors at the Museum Centre Vapriikki in Tampere in 2014.
Itella was renamed Posti Group in 2015.
The new Postal Act, which came into force in 2017, aims to reform delivery operations and curb rising costs.
Posti's new strategy, launched in 2017, aims to help Posti to reform and cope with the changes: succeeding in eCommerce, keeping the number of letters sent at a reasonable level, revamping the service culture and improving services through digitalisation.
Posti introduced the Plus Sticker in 2018 and was among the first in the world to develop the digital tracking of letters.
The number of Posti Parcel Lockers is increasing, and the 1,000th locker was opened for Christmas 2018.
Posti turned 380 years old on 6 September 2018; it delivered 11 million items (150,000 parcels) a day.
The Parcel & eCommerce business group was launched in 2019, headed by Turkka Kuusisto.
The Post and Logistics Union strike affected Posti's deliveries in November 2019. The dispute was over moving workers to a lower-wage collective bargaining agreement. Approximately 10,000 Posti employees went on strike. The strike caused several solidarity strikes, including in public transport and ports.

Finland

Sauli Niinistö was elected President in 2012 and for another term in 2018.
The Finns Party was the biggest winner of the 2012 local elections. The National Coalition Party maintained its position as the largest party at the municipality level.
Sampo Bank officially changed its name to Danske Bank, after its Danish owner, in 2012.
The magazine publisher Otavamedia announced that it would discontinue the Suosikki magazine at the end of 2012 for reasons of profitability.
At the Talvivaara mine, a gypsum sediment pond began to leak in 2012. Large quantities of various heavy metals spilled into the environment and the nearby rivers, causing extensive environmental damage.
The Yle tax came into force and the VAT rate increased by one percentage point in 2013.
A record number of asylum seekers arrived in Finland via Tornio-Haparanda in 2015.
Anttila, the department store chain, was declared bankrupt in 2016.
The economy started to grow in 2016 for the first time since 2011.
Same-sex marriage became legal in 2017.
The Greens were the biggest winner and the Finns Party the biggest loser in the 2017 local elections.
A new party, the Blue Reform, separated from the Finns Party in 2017.
The first allegedly jihadist terrorist attack in Finland took place in the centre of Turku in 2017.

Global Events

Vladimir Putin was elected President of Russia in the first round in 2012 and for a second term in 2018.
François Hollande was elected President of France in 2012.
U.S. President Barack Obama was elected for a second term in 2012.
Russia joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2012. The membership negotiations had lasted for more than ten years.
The manufacture and import of incandescent light bulbs were banned in the EU in 2012.
In a 2012 survey, the Sweden Democrats, a party critical of immigration, were found to have become the third largest party in Sweden after the Moderate Party and the Social Democrats.
The number of asylum seekers in Europe grew significantly in 2015.
Paris Climate Agreement 2015: the goal is to limit the temperature increase to less than two degrees.
The United Kingdom's withdrawal from the EU began with the 2016 referendum.
Donald Trump was elected President of the United States in 2016, and he took office in 2017.
Emmanuel Macron became President of France in 2017.
The #metoo movement started in 2017.
Climate change sparked more debate. Young people, led by climate activist Greta Thunberg, began to strike for climate on Fridays in 2018.