Emilia Moisio has been the leader of Ahlstrom's Value Engineering team and purchasing director since autumn 2022. Moisio, who previously sold pulp, moved to the other side of the table to the role of technical buyer.
“My core expertise is in cellulose-based fibers and various pulps and their transformation into advanced specialty materials and solutions.”
He also leads the company's data-driven Recipe 2.0, which uses big data and modeling to find the best-performing recipes to support the manufacturing of Ahlstrom's fiber-based products. The company's 35 factories produce a wide range of specialty materials, from coffee machine capsule materials to food packaging materials, tapes and medical diagnostic materials. The range of properties required in different fiber-based products is enormous, and so are the raw materials.
Moisio started his career at the paper mill Stora Enso and continued in pulp at the then Metsä-Botnia (now Metsä Fibre). Most recently, before his current job at Ahlstrom, Moisio worked at UPM in pulp fiber research and development and new business development.
Expert in the industrialization angle
Moisio is also on the board of Nordic Bioproducts Group. The Espoo-based startup focusing on renewable biomaterials, which was spun off from Aalto University in 2019, opened a factory in Lappeenranta last year. Among other things, it manufactures microcrystalline cellulose for the nutritional and pharmaceutical industries, which forms the basis of the company's own product development.
"They were looking for people with different skill profiles for their board, and mine suited them. The company has product development expertise through university research and they also have business expertise, but I brought industrial-scale expertise with pulp properties, end products, and an international business perspective. So I bring that kind of industrialization perspective to board work."
Everything is possible
Moisio also acts as a mentor. He has learned the same lesson himself and understands its importance.
“The defining feature of the beginning of my journey has been mentorship from an exceptional senior female leader, whose guidance has instilled in me the belief that anything is possible.”
Moisio admits that he came to the forest industry by chance.
“My passion for chemistry led me down this path. I didn’t really think I would work in the forest industry. However, I soon learned that this industry is fundamentally about bio-based solutions and chemistry.”
Moisio loves mentoring.
“It allows us to share experiences, successes and challenges while listening to the younger generation who will become our colleagues and the hope of the industry. They bring their own perspectives, hopes and concerns. I hope I can help them on their career path, because I myself have received such help at the beginning of my career.”
Three tips for students:
1. Find mentors – a mentor who believes in you and guides you can be incredibly transformative. Learn from their experiences and let their support propel you forward.
2. Courage to learn new things. Accept work roles that may not necessarily match your skills, because you learn by doing.
3. Always be yourself. If a career doesn't feel right, remember that you can always change.
