Management

The executive management of the Group is the responsibility of the Management Board of Viru Keemia Grupp, which consists of five members

Ahti Asmann (1973)
Chairman of the Management Board

Jaanis Sepp (1982)
Vice Chairman of the Management Board and Financial Director

Raivo Attikas (1979)
Member of the Management Board and Technical Director

Nikolai Petrovitš (1972)
Member of the Management Board and Member of the Management Board of VKG Oil AS

Margus Kottise (1968)
Member of the Management Board and Member of the Management Board of VKG Kaevandused OÜ

The Management Board of the parent company adopts all the important decisions concerning the economic activities of the VKG Group. During the year, one change took place in the Management Board – Vice Chairman of the Board and Technical Director Meelis Eldermann reached his well-earned retirement in May and was replaced by Management Board Member and Technical Director Raivo Attikas. As an event after the balance sheet date, a change was made in the Management Board of VKG on 16 February 2024 and Ervin Küttis (1975) became a member of the Management Board, replacing Margus Kottis.

The Supervisory Board of VKG consists of four members:

Kristjan Piilmann
(1990)

Margus Kangro
(1974)

Ants Laos
(1943)

Elar Sarapuu
(1964)

The number of the members of the Supervisory Board was reduced to four as a result of the passing of the long-term Chairman of the Supervisory Board of VKG, Toomas Tamm, in October 2023.

Group structure

As at 31 December 2023, the legal structure of the VKG consolidation group was as follows:

The following changes took place in the structure of the VKG Group in 2023:

on 27 March 2023, the merger of VKG Energiatootmise OÜ and VKG Energia OÜ was completed, after which VKG Energia continued its activities as a direct subsidiary of VKG AS;
on 14 April 2024, VKG was divided, as a result of which VKG Kaevandused was split from VKG and the split entity merged with Kirde Varad AS. Although – considering the larger structure of the Group – the initial plan was to only separate extraction-related assets from VKG, we were forced to transfer the entire extraction activity to the business vertical of Kirde Varad in order to avoid certain risks;
a number of steps were taken in 2023 to redistribute the functions of Viru RMT among other Group companies – in April, the lifting mechanisms unit moved to VKG Logistika, and in June, industrial automation specialists moved to VKG and automation mechanics to VKG Oil and electricians to VKG Energia;
As an event after the balance sheet date, Viru RMT sold all the activities related to the maintenance of electricity networks to Viru Elektrivõrgud on 17 January 2024. As a result of a split effected on 8 March 2024, all the other assets of Viru RMT were transferred to VKG Energia, and on 19 March 2024 Viru RMT together with the remaining metal structure production was sold to ICESTONIA OÜ.

Combating the risk of corruption

The fight against corruption has always been important in the Group. VKG has identified three major risks of corruption together with the methods used for mitigating these risks:

Giving bribes to achieve the interests of the Group - VKG is a responsible and transparent enterprise that has established zero tolerance for corruption and bribery.
Accepting bribes in the selection of suppliers and cooperation partners - VKG-s on kehtestatud hankepoliitika, mille eesmärk on vältida kallutatud hankeid ja valida alati välja kontserni jaoks soodsaim koostööpartner. Hankepoliitika täitmist jälgib sisekontroll regulaarsete seiretega.
Conflicts of interest of executive employees in representing the interests of the company – VKG has developed a procedure for submitting statements of economic interests, in the course of which executive employees have to report their holdings and connections in external companies. The members of the Management Board are prohibited from competing in any area of activity of VKG without the prior written consent of the Supervisory Board.

Confidential channel

There is a special confidential channel (vihje@vkg.ee), functioning in the Group, which can be used by employees or third persons to report violations related to the Group’s activities, may these be issues related to corporate management, business ethics, adherence to human rights, work organisation, safety, work protection, the quality of products and services, or other matters of corruptive nature.

Prevention of possible conflicts of interest

The corporate management system of the Group incorporates a set of norms and procedures, which are aimed at the exclusion of conflicts of interest between the governing bodies of the Group.

If a conflict arises, there are certain mechanisms aimed at taking the necessary measures for the complete regulation of the conflict and for creating the conditions that would exclude such a conflict in the future.

The Group’s Internal Audit Service and other competent subunits are jointly engaged in the prevention of conflicts of interest. In order to prevent possible conflicts of interest, the Group has established clearly defined restrictions and requirements for the members of the Supervisory Board and the Management Board. Management Board members are prohibited from competing in an area of activity of Viru Keemia Grupp without the prior written consent of the Supervisory Board.

No members of the Management Board or the Supervisory Board had any conflicts of interest during the reporting year.

In order to exclude the occurrence of conflicts of interest, the management board members and mid-level managers of the Group companies are upon any changes taking place obligated to submit a declaration in the approved format, stating their holdings in legal entities and/or membership in the governing bodies of legal entities and/or activities as a sole proprietor.