Tino Aalto

Managing Director, Finnish Sawmills Association

Tino Aalto has been working as a managing director of Finnish Sawmills Association since 2022. Earlier Aalto has worked for Technology Industries Finland, as head of innovation policy and advisor to the CEO, as well as a special assistant in the government office, responsible for owner control, and in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, responsible for export promotion and trade policy. He also has a background in consulting companies.

Welcome: Thursday @ 9:00 am

Benjamin Bodet

Managing Director, ISB Group

Benjamin Bodet is the Managing Director of ISB Group, french key player in wood solutions, both an industrial manufacturer and a trader in wood materials and products. Engineer in Wood Sciences and Technology, he spent 18 years working on wood, timber construction and its development within the SCA group, of which he became managing director in France. He joined ISB in 2019 to lead the group and accelerate its growth. A crucial moment in France, where wood is becoming one of the main solutions to the regulatory constraints on carbon. Benjamin thus traces a new route for ISB: simplifying wood solutions to accelerate the massification of wood construction in France.

Wood construction in France and how to develop it: Thursday @ 11:10 am

Tong Chen

General Manager, Suifenhe Friendshipwood Group

Cece is from Suifenhe, a border town in Heilongjiang, China, where the location offers her family business significant opportunities for international trade. She holds a Master’s degree in Marketing from Newcastle University in the UK and a Master’s degree in Comparative Literature from Hong Kong Baptist University, graduating in 2022. She has worked in the forestry industry for ten years, visiting most of the supplier countries. Her work spans from forests to sawmills and end-consumer markets, covering regions from the Southern Hemisphere to the Northern Hemisphere. Her ongoing education has provided her with diverse perspectives, enabling her to analyze the development and challenges in the Chinese market more objectively. Cece is actively involved in managing her family’s business, applying her academic insights to drive growth and adaptability in the industry. She is now living between St Arnaud, New Zealand, and Shanghai, China.

The Outlook of China Market Under the New Normal: Thursday @ 13:45 pm

Paul Jannke

Principal, Lumber, FEA

Paul Jannke is a founder and Principal of Forest Economic Advisors LLC, with a main area of expertise in North American lumber markets. Having spent 30 years analyzing lumber markets and providing reliable, insightful forecasts, Paul is the industry’s top economic analyst. Beyond North American lumber, Paul has co-authored numerous studies on the international lumber and engineered lumber, timber, bioenergy, and panel industries. Paul holds a master’s degree in economics from Boston University and bachelor’s degrees in economics and German from the University of Connecticut. Prior to starting his career in the forest products industry, Paul was a research economist at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden, specializing in econometric modeling.

North America Outlook: Thursday @ 14:00 pm

Terhi Koipijärvi

Senior Advisor, Sustainability & Strategy, Miltton

Terhi is a forerunner in strategic corporate responsibility, with over 30 years of extensive global experience in expert and leadership positions in the forest sector. She joined Miltton, advisor and consulting company, from Metsähallitus, where she worked as Director of Communications, Strategy & Responsibility. Prior to Metsähallitus, she has held corporate responsibility leadership positions at, for example, Stora Enso and Metsä Group. Terhi is a board member of the listed companies Metso and Ponsse, and East Africa’s largest forest company Green Resources, as well as the chairperson of the FIBS (Finnish Business & Society) board. She has a master’s degree in forestry & forest products marketing (University of Helsinki).

Terhi has extensive expertise in developing strategic sustainability and green transition, ample experience in M&As and investments, and implementing sustainability as a part of change management. She is no stranger to demanding stakeholder cooperation in a global operating environment.

Terhi’s views can also be found in e.g. the book ”Corporate Responsibility 2.0 – A New Normal of Leadership”, which she wrote together with Sari Kuvaja.

ESG a stratecic choice and a reporting exercise: Thursday @ 11:35 am

Anniina Kostilainen

Forest and Environment Manager, Finnish Sawmills Association

Anniina Kostilainen works at the Finnish Sawmill Association as a Forest and Environment Manager dealing with policies and development projects related to forest management, biodiversity, climate and sustainability.

EUDR Implementation: Thursday @ 10:45 am

Carsten Merforth

COO Wood Products, Mercer Europe GmbH

Dr. Carsten Merforth is Chief Operating Officer Wood Products at Mercer International Inc. in Vancouver. He holds a degree in forestry from the University of Göttingen and a doctorate (Dr. rer. nat.) from the University of Freiburg. He has held management positions in the sawmill and timber industry for 25 years, including managing director positions in Germany, Latvia and Slovakia. He has been with Mercer since 2017 and, as COO for solid wood products, is responsible for the Saalburg-Ebersdorf/Thuringia and Torgau/Saxony sites in Germany. Both sites process around 2.5 million cubic meters of softwood into sawn timber products, construction timber, planed goods and pallets. He is a member of the board of DeSH, Deutsche Säge- und Holzindustrie Bundesverband e. V. and vice president of HDH, Hauptverband der Deutschen Holzindustrie und Kunststoffe verarbeitenden Industrie and a member of the board of EOS.

Germany Market Outlook: Thursday @ 15:15 pm

Kristian Nummelin

Economist, Nordea

Mr. Nummelin works as an Economist at Nordea Economic Research, where he provides updates on macroeconomic and financial market developments to corporate clients. Additionally, Kristian closely monitors both the European and global economies.

Global Economic Outlook: Thursday @ 9:25 am

Glen O’Kelly

Director, O’Kelly Acumen

Glen has worked with the forest industries globally for 25 years, across the full value chain from forestry to wood products, pulp and paper, and bioenergy – on topics ranging from markets, strategy, procurement, and manufacturing. His experience includes forest management roles in New Zealand and Sweden, and business consulting with McKinsey & Company for 17 years where he served executive-level clients in leading forestry and forest products companies globally. For many years, he led McKinsey’s global Paper & Forest Products research and expert team. Since 2021, Glen leads O’Kelly Acumen, a new business providing distinctive market intelligence and consulting services to clients worldwide.

Flows and supply of coniferous sawn timber and logs: Thursday @ 9:50 am

Petteri Orpo

Prime Minister of Finland

Prime Minister Orpo directs the activities of the Government and coordinates the preparation and consideration of matters that fall within the Government’s mandate. He is also responsible for coordinating work between the Government and Parliament. As Prime Minister, Orpo oversees and directs the plenary sessions of the Government, represents Finland in the European Union and serves as chair of the statutory ministerial committees.

Orpo was first elected as a Member of Parliament in the 2007 elections. He has served on several committees, including the Foreign Affairs, Finance and Environment Committees and the Parliamentary Office Committee. Orpo served as Chair of the National Coalition Party parliamentary group in 2012–2014. Petteri Orpo served as Minister of Agriculture and Forestry in Alexander Stubb’s Government in 2014–2015. As a member of Juha Sipilä’s Government, he first served as Minister of the Interior in 2015–2016 and then as Minister of Finance in 2016–2019. Orpo was elected Leader of the National Coalition Party at the party conference in summer 2016.

Opening: Thursday @ 9:05 am

Amir Rashad

CEO & Founder, Timber Exchange

Amir Rashad, a former physical commodity trader and supply chain manager, is at the forefront of driving digitization and enhancing market transparency within global commodity supply chains. As the CEO and Founder of Timber Exchange, Amir has successfully transformed the company into a leading and modern partner for sawmills and traders. Through Timber Exchange, he has streamlined high-volume cargo flows and automated many traditional manual processes, greatly improving efficiency across the industry.

Beyond his role at Timber Exchange, Amir serves as the editor of the highly regarded Essential Timber Market News, a weekly newsletter that provides curated insights on key developments affecting the global timber market. He is also the host of the Timber & Technology Podcast, where he regularly interviews market leaders on market trends and technological advancements. To learn more about Timber Exchange and its groundbreaking solutions, visit www.timber.exchange

MENA Market Outlook: Thursday @ 13:25 pm

Stephen Sabine

Senior Consultant, JAM Timber Consulting

Stephen has 40 years experience in the timber Industry covering managerial, director and ownership roles. Working mainly for Consolidated Timber Holdings and their associated companies, where he joined the board in 2015, completed an MBO with partners in 2017 and resold to Private Equity in 2021. He worked in his native New Zealand for Carter Holt Harvey and also for Finnforest/Metsa for some years. Today Stephen has his own consultancy business, JAM Timber Consulting, advising producers, importers, distributors, merchants, timber frame builders and architects. He is also a partner at Forest Economic Advisors LLC in the US where he writes for their Wood Markets Monthly publication. He currently sits on the National Softwood Division (NSD) committee of Timber Development UK (TDUK) In his spare time he enjoys burning petrol and cold water swimming…….but not together!

UK Market Outlook: Thursday @ 14:45 pm

Henrik Välja

Managing Director, Estonian Forest and Wood Industries Association

Henrik has been working as the Managing Director of Estonian Forest and Wood Industries Association (EFWA) since 2016. EFWA represents companies with activities ranging from forest management to mechanical wood processing all through the value chain. Prior to EFWA Henrik has worked with wood house factories and Puuinfo Estonia promoting wood in construction. Henrik has studied wood construction and economics.

Estonian Market Outlook: Thursday @ 15:00 pm