Kjell Forsén, CEO of VR Group: “No law was broken. We have agreed with Lauri that the reason for the termination will not be opened any further. ”
Rail transport Chairman of the Board of VR Group Kjell Forsén does not want to explain in detail why the company is dismissing CEO Lauri Sipponen.
“It has been agreed with Lauri that it will not go there.”
VR Group the board had worked shoulder to shoulder to get a director like Sipponen, Forsén confirms.
“There was a strong desire for a people-oriented and customer-focused leader. It was emphasized in Lauri’s personality and experience. ”
Lauri Sipponen was the President and CEO of Lidl Finland in 2010–2019.
Forsén says that VR Group ‘s Board of Directors made its decision independently without the owner, ie in practice the Minister of Corporate Governance Tytti Tuppurainen (sd) guidance.
HS did not contact Minister for Corporate Governance Tuppurainen to comment on his involvement in the dismissal.
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In VR Group’s management team, Sipponen’s use was considered a weakness and he would have needed stronger management.
As VR Group is a wholly state-owned company and Tuppurainen’s Minister of Responsibility, at least his consent has probably been obtained for Sipponen’s dismissal.
VR on has been under severe pressure recently, especially due to the resumption of Russian freight traffic.
VR Group terminated freight services on its own initiative following the announcement by the United Kingdom of cargo-related sanctions.
The decision reportedly surprised the country’s government, as sanctions imposed by Britain did not bind EU countries.
However, according to Forsén, Chairman of the Board of VR Group, the cessation of freight traffic was considered mandatory at the time for the company ‘s reason for not interrupting the company’ s international banking connections.
However, further studies with the British authorities and banks confirmed that VR’s onward transportation is also financially acceptable, Forsén says.
When cargo traffic was then reopened, the timing coincided with the Butch massacre, and the timing of the opening led to a wide range of public reactions and public pressure.
According to Forsén, those pressures were not the reason for the dismissal.
According to him, Sipponen’s fires did not involve any violation or, for example, actions contrary to good administration.
“No law was broken.”
Helsinki According to the information, Sipponen was in close contact with the ministers, for example, and needed clearer instructions on how to deal with Russia and the Russian state railway company in different situations, so that decisions should not be made in the company alone.
In VR Group’s management team, Sipponen’s use was considered a weakness and he would have needed stronger management.
When Sipponen was Country Manager for Finland and Director of a subsidiary, he had taken orders from Lidl’s Group Management.
Such a management style was considered a shortcoming in VR Group’s management team.
A number of people complained about this confusion to the VR Group’s Board of Directors, according to a well-informed HS source. That was the main reason for Sipponen’s dismissal, the HS source says.
Temporary VR Group’s Director of Passenger Traffic has been appointed President and CEO Simola hat.
He has previously worked as the CEO of the taxi company Cabonline Finland, among others. Simola has been a member of the Group Management Team since August 5, 2019.
Sipponen According to Talouselämä, the severance pay is 6 + 6 months’ salary, ie 363,312 euros. It is compensation in accordance with the state’s remuneration policy.