Finnish refiner Neste Oil has appointed Matti Lievonen as its new Chief Executive.
Lievonen, who is 49 years old, will take over on 1 December 2008.
Neste Oil’s current CEO Risto Rinne, 58, will leave his position for health reasons and retire, Neste said in a statement.
Matti Lievonen comes to Neste Oil from Finnish paper group UPM-Kymmene, where he was President of the Fine and Speciality Papers Division since 2004.
Lievonen has also served in a number of senior positions at UPM since joining the company 1986, and was with engineering group ABB earlier.
Neste Chairman Timo Peltola said the new CEO was in an excellent position to move the refinery ahead with its growth strategy.
In July, Neste said its Chief Financial Officer Petri Pentti was departing the group at the end of September to be the next CFO of Emirates National Oil Company in Dubai.