Ireneusz Piotr Smaga leaves Saku Brewery, Veli Pekka Tennilä becomes a Chairman of the Management Board and CEO of the Saku Brewery

Ireneusz Piotr Smaga leaves Saku Brewery, Veli Pekka Tennilä becomes a Chairman
of the Management Board and CEO of the Saku Brewery 

12 August, 2008 as per ending contract, due to family reasons, Ireneusz Smaga
has chosen to resign from the position of CEO of Saku Olletehas and Veli Pekka
Tennila is appointed as a CEO of Saku Olletehas, Estonian company of Carlsberg
Group. As a Chairman of the Management Board of Saku Olletehas Veli Pekka
Tennilä will be responsible for overall management of the Company, reporting to
the President of Carlsberg Baltic and the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of
Saku Olletehas Tomas Kučinskas. 

„First of all I want to express my sincere thanks to Irek Smaga for his effort,
devotion and contribution to Saku development. We have been discussing with
Irek for some time and he expressed his wish not to prolong the contract and be
able to spend some more time with his family due to the fact that they still
are in Poland. We respect Irek's decision and I'm happy that he can get back to
his family and I wish him a great success in his new challenges.” - said Tomas
Kučinskas the Chairman of Saku Supervisory Board and the President Carlsberg
Baltic. 

“Veli Pekka Tennilä is a person motivated by challenges and I'm confident that
Pekka, with his great commercial experience in beer & other beverages business
management and proven leadership skills, is the right leader for Saku at the
current moment. Saku is among 3 top most reputable companies in Estonia and I
think that it is one of the strongest business organizations not only in
Estonia, but in Baltics as well. We are bringing a manager with international
business management experience in order to further develop Saku to its full
potential.” - continues Tomas Kučinskas. 

„I have always liked challenges and trying myself out in new situations. I'm
honored to take the top manager position in a highly respected Estonian
Company, which is also well-known in my home country Finland. 
Saku has the leading role in the Estonian beer market and a strong role in the
country's economical environment generally. This is definitely a big
responsibility, but also an exciting challenge for me to continue Saku's
development and go further on. I am convinced that experience gained in the
Finnish and other markets will help me to even more strengthen position of Saku
Brewery, which is already the market leader” - commented Veli Pekka Tennilä. 

39 years old Veli Pekka Tennilä joins Saku from Sinebrychoff, where he started
in 2001 as Marketing Manager for all beer brands and in 2006 he became Export
Director being responsible for Sinebrychoff's export business to some 30
countries. Pekka has also been one of the key players in carrying out the
Sinebrychoff's strategy process.  Before that he held management positions in
Nordic Kellogg's and in confectionary business. Pekka holds master's degree in
international marketing from Turku School of Economics. 

Saku Olletehas (Saku Brewery) has been established in 1820, and is currently
the largest producer of beer and other beverages in Estonia, with 46% share in
beer market. Saku's core brands are Saku Originaal (the most popular beer on
the Estonian market), Kuld, Rock, On Ice etc. Saku Brewery is also the market
leader in product development, providing local consumers with an increasing
number of contemporary and new domestic beer products as well as other
beverages - cider KISS, ZIP cocktails, water “Vichy Classique” and “Vichy Viva
Fresh”, energy drinks “Battery” and “Traffic”, ice teas, etc. Carlsberg Group
through Carlsberg Estonia Holding is the majority shareholder of Saku Brewery
(over 92% stake). Additional information available at www.saku.ee 

Carlsberg Baltic is a clear leader of the Baltic beer market with a 44 %
consolidated share, offering a wide range of beer brands and other beverages.
Carlsberg Baltic is managing 3 biggest Baltic brewing companies -
“Svyturys-Utenos alus” in Lithuania, “Aldaris” in Latvia and “Saku” in Estonia. 

For further information please contact: 
Priit Poiklik, Saku Communications Manager
Tel. +372 6508 303
priit.poiklik@saku.ee