ABB has appointed Tauno Heinola as Managing Director of ABB in Australia, effective 1 October 2016. He succeeds Axel Kuhr, who will become Managing Director in Japan.

Heinola has been Managing Director (MD) in Finland since 2011. He joined ABB in 1983 as a sales engineer in the drives business, later becoming the unit’s export manager. Heinola moved to the drives business in Canada in 1990. He founded ABB Beijing Drive Systems Co. Ltd. with a local partner in 1994, before being given responsibility for ABB’s largest profit center in the drives business in 1998 based in Finland. He returned to China to lead the drives business in 2003.

Heinola has a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Helsinki University of Technology.

“I would like to thank Tauno and Axel for their tremendous contribution, and look forward to continuing to work with them in their new positions,” ABB Group chief executive Ulrich Spiesshofer said.

The appointments are part of a leadership succession at ABB: Kuhr replaces Tony Zeitoun, who is currently MD in Japan and will retire from ABB at the end of the year. Pekka Tiitinen, currently President of the Discrete Automation and Motion (DM) division, will succeed Heinola as MD in Finland. Sami Atiya joins ABB as President of the DM division.

Atiya served Siemens for 18 years in the US and Europe, most recently since 2011 as CEO of the Mobility and Logistics division and as CEO of the Computer Tomography unit from 2008 to 2011. Prior to that he held various leadership roles at Siemens Medical Solutions Inc., in the US, and Siemens Business Services.

“Our early appointment of the successors in their respective roles will ensure an orderly handover and shows that our long-term leadership development plan and talent management is working well,” Spiesshofer said.