Tahvanainen named EVP at Wärtsilä

Wärtsilä has appointed Saara Tahvanainen as executive vice president, Marketing and Communications, and made her a member of the board of management.

Tahvanainen will begin her role by the end June and she will report to Wärtsilä’s President & CEO Håkan Agnevall. Tahvanainen will succeed Atte Palomäki, who will leave Wärtsilä with immediate effect.

Tahvanainen has extensive experience in the field of communication, branding, and marketing. She joins Wärtsilä from UPM, where she held the position of vice president for stakeholder relations, communications, marketing. UPM is a Finnish forest industry company that has six business areas.

Saara Tahvanainen (Image: Wärtsilä)

Prior to UPM, Tahvanainen led the communications and marketing function in Outokumpu and communication teams in several companies, including Nokia.

“I am very pleased to welcome Saara to the Wärtsilä team and our journey of shaping the decarbonization of marine and energy. With her solid leadership and strong track record from several international industrial companies, she will play a pivotal role in taking our marketing and communications agenda to the next level. I would like to thank Atte Palomäki for his long commitment to Wärtsilä and for his contribution to the development of Wärtsilä’s communication and marketing throughout the years. I wish him great success in his future endeavors,” Agnevall said.