Heikki Malinen to succeed Matti Lehmus as Neste CEO and president

Neste Corporation has announced Heikki Malinen as its new president and CEO, succeeding Matti Lehmus. Lehmus, who has served in this capacity since May 2022, will continue as president and CEO until his successor takes office by November 2, 2024, at the latest.

Malinen is currently the president and CEO of Outokumpu Corporation, a leading international company specialised in the production of stainless steel headquartered in Helsinki, Finland. Before stepping into his new role, Malinen will resign from his position on Neste’s Board of Directors.

Matti Kähkönen, chair of the Board of Directors of Neste, praised Malinen’s extensive experience and leadership skills. “Heikki Malinen has a strong track record in developing and executing differentiated strategies, driving efficiency and leading people through a challenging business environment. He has vast experience globally from several industries, including the process industry. The Board of Directors is confident that Heikki is the right person to lead Neste forward and to execute on our growth agenda to create value for all our stakeholders,” said Kähkönen.

Neste, a leader in sustainable fuels and renewable feedstock solutions, is headquartered in Espoo, Finland. “The industry is still at the beginning of a decades-long transformative growth era. The growth in sustainable aviation fuels, and in the polymers and chemicals sector, is ahead of us. Neste has a world-class R&D, technological and operational foundation and talented people on which to build its future growth. I am excited to join the great team of Neste to accelerate transformation and drive the journey towards reaching the company’s full potential,” Malinen said.

Neste is renowned for its commitment to combating climate change and advancing a circular economy. It refines waste, residues, and innovative raw materials into renewable fuels and sustainable feedstock for plastics and other materials, helping customers reduce their greenhouse gas emissions significantly. The company aims to make its Porvoo oil refinery the most sustainable in Europe by 2030 and achieve carbon-neutral production by 2035. In 2023, Neste reported revenues of EUR22.9 billion (USD24.4 billion).

Malinen, born in 1962 in Beirut, Lebanon, holds dual Finnish-U.S. nationality and currently resides in Helsinki with his wife and two children. With a robust career in business leadership, Malinen has held several high-profile CEO positions. From 2020, he has been serving as the president and CEO of Outokumpu Corporation, a role he took over after nearly a decade as president and CEO of Posti Group Corporation from 2012 to 2019, and before that, president and CEO of Pöyry PLC from 2009 to 2012.

Earlier in his career, Malinen was the executive vice president of Strategy at UPM-Kymmene Corporation between 2006 and 2008, following a variety of managerial and directorial roles across prestigious firms such as McKinsey & Co, Pöyry, and UPM from 1986 to 2005. His extensive experience in the corporate world is complemented by his academic achievements; he earned an MBA from Harvard Business School (1991-1993) and an M.Sc. in Economics from the Helsinki School of Economics (1982-1986).

In addition to his executive roles, Malinen is actively involved in industry leadership as a vice chair of the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK) and Technology Finland since 2023, and he has also been a member of the Neste Board of Directors since the same year. His language skills include fluency in Finnish, English, and German, equipping him well for global business engagements.