Nokian Tyres’ Central Europe MD to retire – successor named

Dieter Köppner, managing director of Nokian Tyres Central Europe since 2007, has announced his intention to retire this year. Sharing the news with Tyres & Accessories, the 62 year old said that to ensure a smooth transition he is already working alongside his successor, Hannu Liitsola, at the tyre maker’s Central European headquarters in Prague.

Liitsola has worked for Nokian Tyres for the last decade. The 32 year old held various production and logistics roles at the company’s headquarters site in Nokia, Finland, and has been based in Prague and responsible for Business Development Central Europe since May 2014.

Köppner’s tyre industry career began at Kleber in Germany; he spent ten years working for Kleber in the field and a further eight years as agricultural tyre product manager before joining Nokian. Prior to being appointed to his current role, Köppner was managing director of Nuremburg-based Nokian Reifen GmbH, Nokian Tyres’ German subsidiary.