Finnish Fuel Maker Neste Starts CEO Search as Lehmus to Exit
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Neste Oyj, a Finnish maker of renewable diesel, will begin a search for a new CEO, as Matti Lehmus stepped down after just two years in the role.
The board of directors has started a search process. Lehmus will remain in the job until his successor starts, the Espoo, Finland-based company said in a statement April 29, calling the decision for him to leave a mutual one. It didn’t give a reason for his departure from the company, which last week reported disappointing results.
Neste shares have fallen sharply since Lehmus took the job in May 2022, slipping close to 50%. He’d worked his way up the ranks at the company, which also refines oil, leading the renewables business before becoming CEO.
The company didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment after normal business hours.
Neste makes renewable diesel for vehicles, mostly made from waste such as animal fats and used cooking oil as well as sustainable aviation fuel. The company has been testing the use of liquefied plastic waste as an alternative to oil since 2020 and recently concluded its first processing run with pyrolysis oil from discarded tires, showing that its chemical recycling process can also be used for other waste materials beyond plastics.
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