ARE Oy – ARE Group’s CFO changes, Simo Harju appointed new CFO and member of the management team
Simo Harju has been appointed as ARE’s new CFO.
He will start his position at a date to be specified later, but no later than June 30, 2026. In addition to the company’s financial management, his area of responsibility includes payroll administration and ICT.
Harju has had an impressive career in financial management in several different companies and industries. He will take on the role of CFO at Versowood, a position he has held since 2020.
“Simo has strong and diverse experience in financial management from various industries. His expertise and insights bring significant added value to ARE’s financial development and the work of the management team,” says ARE CEO Jari Mikkonen .
“Thank you for the trust and the opportunity to join the ARE team. It is great to be able to work with committed and competent personnel and to support ARE in achieving its goals,” says Harju.
ARE’s former CFO Sari Kaikkonen will step down, but will support Harju during the time needed to take over the role. Kaikkonen has served as interim CFO since April 2024.
“I have been able to take ARE’s financial development to an important stage, and now it is naturally time for the next stage. I would like to thank my own team and the management team in particular for the excellent cooperation. I will miss such a committed group,” says Kaikkonen.
“Sari has played a significant role in developing ARE’s financial function. In particular, the construction of the ARECore ERP system and the development of reporting are now at a good stage, so Simo has an excellent basis to continue from here on. Our cooperation with Sari will continue during the transition period, but I would like to thank her for the excellent cooperation and wish her all the best for the future,” says Mikkonen.
SourceARE Oy
EMR Analysis
More information on ARE Oy: See the full profile on EMR Executive Services
More information on Jari Mikkonen (Chief Executive Officer, ARE Oy): See the full profile on EMR Executive Services
More information on Sari Kaikkonen (Chief Financial Officer with Financial and IT Management Responsibilities, ARE Oy till no later than June 30, 2026 + Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Oiva Partners Oy): See the full profile on EMR Executive Services
More information on Simo Harju (Chief Financial Officer with Financial, Payroll Administration and ICT Management Responsibilities, ARE Oy as from no later than June 30, 2026): See the full profile on EMR Executive Services
More information on Versowood: https://www.versowood.com/ + Versowood is Finland’s largest private producer of sawn timber and further processed goods. As a Finnish family company, Versowood is a caring log buyer, listening to the needs of the forest owner and customer.
We have over 75 years of experience in sawn timber and in its processing at our Finnish factories. What all our products have in common is innovativeness and a high quality of raw material that comes from Finnish certified forests.
Versowood is Finland’s largest private sawn timber producer and processor and most significant wood packaging manufacturer. We manufacture almost 4 million loading pallets a year in our five factories in Riihimäki, Muurla, Haukiputaa, Pori and Valkeakoski.
- Ca. 900 Employees
- Turnover € 480M
More information on Ville Kopran (Chief Executive Officer, Versowood): Shttps://www.versowood.com/contact-details/management-and-administration + https://www.linkedin.com/in/ville-kopra-5599255/
EMR Additional Notes:
- ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning):
- Software used by a company to manage key parts of operations, including accounting and resource management.
- Business process management software that manages and integrates a company’s financials, supply chain, operations, commerce, reporting, manufacturing, and human resource activities.
- Enterprise resource planning (ERP) refers to a type of software that organizations use to manage day-to-day business activities such as accounting, procurement, project management, risk management and compliance, and supply chain operations. A complete ERP suite also includes enterprise performance management, software that helps plan, budget, predict, and report on an organization’s financial results.
- Generally there are three deployment options for ERP systems; Cloud-based, on-premise, and a hybrid of the two.
- SAP is the world largest ERP Software company.
- => CRM vs. ERP: While the entire organization will come to rely on both ERP and CRM systems, the fundamental difference between ERP and CRM is that ERP is primarily for financial data and the finance department, while CRM is customer data used by the sales and customer service departments.
- CRM systems support and connect front-office business functions, such as marketing, sales, advertising, and customer service. ERP systems, on the other hand, primarily support and connect back-office functions, such as finance, supply chain operations, and HR.
- CRM (Customer Relationship Management):
- Technology for managing all your company’s relationships and interactions with customers and potential customers. The goal is simple: Improve business relationships. A CRM system helps companies stay connected to customers, streamline processes, and improve profitability.
- SAP and Salesforce.com are the world largest CRM Software company.