Marianne Dicander Alexandersson appointed President of KD as of 1 July 2003

Mr. Ralph Nilsson, having led Kronans Droghandel (KD), the Swedish pharmaceutical distributor as President since 1988, will retire on 30 June 2003. Mrs Marianne Dicander Alexandersson, M. Sc. (Chemical Engineering), 43, has been appointed new President of KD as of 1 July.  Mrs. Dicander Alexandersson has joined KD in 1997. She has been heading the main business of the company, pharmaceutical distribution operations since 2001.

 

Mr. Jukka Viinanen, CEO of the Orion Group and Chairman of the Board of KD characterises the appointment as a straight-forward choice:

- The recruitment procedure was unanimous and easy, indeed. We were fortunate to have the best candidate within the company. The competencies of Marianne Dicander Alexandersson has most outstanding competencies, such as profound understanding of the pharmaceutical distribution business, ability to achieve results as well as demonstrated leadership capabilities. KD's market share has been increasing steadily during the past years, and the company has grown to market leadership in Sweden.

  

KD and its sister company Oriola constitute the Wholesale and Distribution business division of the Finnish Orion Group. KD, which became part of Orion in mid 2002, is present in Sweden and Finland, while Oriola's main operations are in Finland and the Baltic countries.

 

KD provides a versatility of logistic, warehousing and distribution services to pharmaceutical manufacturers of pharmaceuticals and other healthcare products. The company was established in 1907, and its market share of pharmaceutical distribution in Sweden is about 50%.  No less than 93% of the company's 2002 net sales of EUR 1,2 billion came from pharmaceutical distribution, the remaining 7% from healthcare product logistics to pharmacies, hospitals and clinics.  KD's Finnish subsidiary KD Tukku accounts for about 23% of pharmaceutical distribution in Finland.

 

 

Orion Corporation

 

Jukka Viinanen           Pauli Torkko            
President and CEO     Executive Vice President
                  

Jukka Viinanen, President and CEO, orion Group, phone +358 10 429 3710

 

A photo of Marianne Dicander Alexandersson is available in the Materials Bank on the Orion Group homepage  www.orion.fi.

 

 

Corporate Administration

Orionintie 1, 02200 Espoo

Homepage: www.orion.fi

 

Heikki Vuonamo, Corporate VP, Communications

Phone +358 10 429 4967