Orkla welcomes new president and CEO, Jaan Ivar Semlitsch

Orkla welcomes new president and CEO, Jaan Ivar Semlitsch

(PRESS RELEASE) OSLO, 5-Jun-2019 — /EuropaWire/ — Orkla announces the appointment of Jaan Ivar Semlitsch (47) as new president and CEO. He will take up his new position by 1 December at the latest.

Orkla Board Chairman Stein Erik Hagen commented: “I am pleased that Jaan Ivar Semlitsch has accepted the position. He has 24 years of broad management experience from Nordic and international companies, and has been a highly successful chief executive of several companies. The board has unanimously concluded that Jaan Ivar is the right person to lead Orkla in the coming years.”

Jaan Ivar Semlitsch he has been CEO of Elkjop Nordic for more than six years and for the past year, he as also been in charge and CEO of Dixons Carphone’s International operations.

From 2009 to 2013, Semlitsch served as CEO of Rema Industrier and as CEO of Plantasjen from 2007 to 2009. He was also CEO at Statoil Retail Europe from 2004 to 2007. Semlitsch was CEO of Expert Denmark From 2001 to 2004. He worked for McKinsey & Company as a consultant on assignments for a range of companies in the grocery sector from 1995 to 2001.

Jaan Ivar Semlitsch is a director of DnB and Brav Norway (formerly Swix Sport). He holds an economics degree from the Norwegian School of Economics and an MBA from Kellogg School of Management.

Orkla’s new President and CEO, Jaan Ivar Semlitsch commented: “I am very grateful for the opportunity to lead Orkla into a new and exciting phase of the group’s development. I want to build on Orkla’s strong existing positions in various markets, and foster the company’s continued growth and expansion. Being chosen to lead Orkla in the years ahead is, in many ways, a dream come true.”

Terje Andersen was appointed acting President and CEO after the departure of former President and CEO Peter A. Ruzicka on 7 May. Andersen will remain in the position until Semlitsch joins the group.

Headquartered in Oslo, Orkla is a leading supplier of branded consumer goods and concept solutions for the consumer, out-of-home and bakery segments in the Nordic region, the Baltics and selected markets in Central Europe and India. Orkla is listed on Oslo Stock Exchange. The group achieved sales of NOK 41 billion and had approximately 18,500 employees in 2018.

For more information, please contact:
Håkon Mageli
Group Director, Corporate Communications & Corporate Affairs
+ 47 928 45 828
hakon.mageli@orkla.no

SOURCE: Orkla ASA