nkakoski has been dismissed as the CEO of the Finnish state-owned alcohol company Altia Corperation.The Helsinki Times have reported that Pankakoski (pictured) will be awarded a severance package of €500,000 because of his dismissal, the equivalent of 18 months wages.
Mattie Tikkakoski, the chairman of Altia's board of directors, explained that the dismissal came about as a result of the company's poor performance over the past few years.
“Altia has recently clearly fallen behind its financial targets and lost market share. Performance has decreased during the past two years. The company needs new leadership to meet the set goals in challenging market and operational environment,” Tikkakoski said in a statement issued last week.
Just last month, Pankakoski was interviewed by just-drinks.com where he was quoted as saying he was "extremely happy" with Altia's new acquisition Larson Cognac, and that the expansion of the COgnac house was "something we are preparing ourselves for".
The responsibilities of the CEO will be performed by Hannu Tuominen, a member of Altia's executive team, until a replacement for Pankakoski has been found.
Altia currently employs over 1,000 personnel and has a revenue of some €500 million.
