Over the past year, I have spent a lot of time with our teams and customers around the world. One thing has become increasingly clear to me: Huhtamaki has lots of ambition, ideas and amazing expertise. That entrepreneurial spirit has shaped Huhtamaki for more than 100 years – helping us grow, adapt and create value through many chapters of our journey.
From my experience, a team ready to execute needs three things: clear priorities, the freedom to make decisions, and room to help customers succeed.
We need to build an ecosystem that enables accountability & execution. Speed matters because opportunities do not wait for organizational complexity.
Empowering the team
In recent years, we have strengthened foundations such as safety, sustainability, talent, digitalization and commercial excellence. Those capabilities continue to be important, and they give us a strong platform to continue to build for the future.
The packaging industry is evolving fast: customer needs are changing, consumer expectations are rising, and sustainability is increasingly shaping our industry. Success now depends on adapting quickly and delivering consistently.
To support our goals, we have sharpened our focus around three value creation drivers: accelerated profitable growth using all levers, disciplined capital allocation, and clear accountability, which drives the speed of execution. They help us make sharper choices, reduce complexity, and direct our energy to the work that creates the most value for customers, shareholders and all our people.
Empowering talent continues to be a priority. Our definition of that is giving teams what they truly need: the authority to act on the decisions that enable our business to grow. But empowerment also comes with accountability. If we commit to something, we deliver it. No excuses. That view has shaped one of the most important changes we have made: evolving our operating model by strengthening accountability & execution in the segments.
We have given our business segments greater responsibility and moved decisions closer to customers and local markets. The purpose is simple: to be faster, more agile, and better able to help customers win.
For me, accountability is about creating clarity and simplicity. When people have fewer, but more impactful priorities, and have the authority to act, they will achieve remarkable things.
Profitable growth
Profitable growth remains at the center of everything we do. Growth enables us to invest in people, strengthen our capabilities, and develop sustainable packaging solutions that help our customers succeed and support the billions of everyday moments people rely on. We grow by building strong customer relationships – working as a partner and supporting our customers’ business, staying close to changing market needs, and complementing organic growth with inorganic growth.
What gives me joy is what I see across our organization every day. I see teams continuously improving, taking greater ownership, solving customer challenges, bringing new ideas forward, and working together.
I have always believed that winning is fun and that the successful companies win as one team. But winning does not come from strategy documents or individual heroes. It comes from thousands of good decisions made every day by people who understand what matters and take responsibility for delivering it.
Winning means execution. Fewer priorities. Clearer accountability. Faster decisions. Closer to our customers. A simpler way of operating, built to help our teams focus on what matters and help our customers succeed. We know where we are going. Now it is about delivering, together.
That is how we will turn ambition into results – and shape the next chapter of Huhtamaki’s journey.
Ralf K. Wunderlich
CEO and President, Huhtamaki