New Marimekko CEO says serious illness led to change of direction

Former banker takes on task of preserving Finnish design icon

print this

Mika Ihamuotila’s migration from his banking background into the world of fashion and design has taken many by surprise.
      In a Wednesday press conference arranged by Marimekko, a Finnish fashion icon, the company’s new principal proprietor Mika Ihamuotila, a former President and CEO of Sampo Bank Plc, recounted the reasons that led him to change the pinstripe suit of a hard-boiled banker to the distressed jeans and dark blue corduroy blazer of the head of a textiles and clothing design company.
      Ihamuotila explained that he had committed to purchasing a fifth of Marimekko’s outstanding shares from the firm’s present CEO legend Kirsti Paakkanen. In all, Ihamuotila is investing some EUR 30 million of his own in Marimekko, as well as borrowed money. This will buy him a 23-percent stake in the company.
      "I have invested my entire fortune in this, plus I have taken loans on top of that. And these shares are not for sale. I am here for the duration", Ihamuotila declared.
     
Ihamuotila’s decision to take over the smallish design company was brought about in part by a deep personal crisis the 43-year-old went through a year ago. At the beginning of October 2006, Ihamuotila was on the phone when he suddenly experienced a serious medical episode that led to a difficult operation and weeks of convalescence.
      While on his sickbed, Ihamuotila received the news that Sampo Bank had been taken over by Danske Bank. "At that time I was also being lobbied to take over the helm at a large Scandinavian bank", Ihamuotila explained. He does not say as much, but presumably that bank was Nordea.
      "These events led me into a pondering of what is the path that I really want to follow."
     
In March this year Ihamuotila quit his job with Sampo and announced publicly that he would like to work for a company with great development potential. He even used the term "crisis company".
      "In the past six months I have received numerous offers that would have meant the continuation of the same career path, being a CEO of an exchange listed company, followed by retirement, and so on. But this simply did not appeal to me any more."
     
Instead, Ihamuotila’s dream was to have his own firm, something that could not be taken away from him. Previously he had been the CEO and a part-owner of both Mandatum and Sampo banks, but both institutions were sold away as soon as business started flourishing.
      "I said I’d take over Marimekko on condition that my share of ownership was large enough for me to decide on the fate of the firm", Ihamuotila explained.
      With Marimekko, Ihamuotila believed he could satisfy his creative cravings as well. Artistry runs in the family. Ihamuotila’s mother Kristiina is a textile designer, and among his cousins and other relatives there are both musicians and artists.
     
The new CEO had a strong vision of what Marimekko should be.
      "Let’s say I want to reinstate the strong colours and patterns of Armi Ratia’stime, but tune them to today’s requirements. Marimekko outlets and products have to be easily recognisable from afar, and the range has to appeal to younger consumers as well. We need liveliness and action in our stores."
      Ihamuotila’s ten-year plan is to expand Marimekko into an international fashion, interior design, and lifestyle brand.
      "Our production will remain in Finland. I want to prove that this is possible, even in this time of globalisation. All we have to do is to build a brand so strong that a sufficiently high price can be asked for our products", Ihamuotila reasons.
     
In one respect he did not get what he had thought he might be after - Marimekko is certainly no crisis basket-case.
      The company is currently in rude good health, although it has not always been that way: before Kirsti Paakkanen stepped in in 1991 Marimekko had more or less squandered the excellent name it had built up at home and abroad through the 1960s and 1970s, and was riding deep in the water.
      Now the company is profitable, and Ihamuotila - who was the one who took the initiative to approach Paakkanen over selling her stock - appears to be the white knight to take it even further. At least this was the view of the market on Wednesday, as Marimekko's shares surged 12% in Helsnki, after solid 3Q figures and the announcement of a change of generation at the top.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Kirsti Paakkanen to surrender ownership of Marimekko (31.10.2007)

Links:
  Marimekko

Helsingin Sanomat