Page 13 - FINAT Yearbook 2011

håKAn sAxen (8 febrUary 1957 – 22 marCH 2011)
Member of the FINAT Technical Committee from 1993 - 2011
Chairman of the Technical Committee since 2006 and FINAT Board Member since 2008
On 22 March, after a long illness, Håkan Saxen, Chairman of the FINAT Technical Committee and Member of the Board, passed away at the age of 53. Håkan was a long-standing member of the FINAT Community. He joined UPM Raflatac in 1984 where he held various positions in the technical domain, most recently as Vice President R&D. Ten years later, he joined the FINAT Technical Committee - - a body that he served for the last 17 years, and of which he was elected Chairman at the end of 2006. In 2008, he was elected to the FINAT Board.
Håkan was a strong believer in the collective power of associations. Over the many years during which he participated in FINAT activities, he contributed his knowledge and innumerable voluntary hours to the benefit of the self-adhesive label industry. He edited or co-authored the FINAT Test Methods; spoke at FINAT seminars on a variety of technical subjects; wrote articles for FINAT News; participated in ad hoc task forces and
working groups set up by, or on behalf of, FINAT; was a proponent and sometimes critical reviewer of proposals and initiatives; and, of course, was left winger in the front row of the FINAT Football Team when this was established two years ago.
In his role as Chairman of the FINAT Technical Committee, Håkan success- fully undertook the challenge of restructuring it and, in response to the growing size and complexity of the workload shouldered by FINAT’s voluntary forces, dividing it into manageable subcommittees. Håkan was a kind person and a well-respected, loyal committee member whose personal commitment and proactive engagement served as an example for the association. During the many years in which he served FINAT, he rarely missed a meeting until last autumn, when he was diagnosed with leukaemia and was forced to step down temporarily from active duty.
While he was undergoing treatment he continued to monitor developments from the sideline, and to support his friends and colleagues in FINAT from behind his laptop at home. After a seemingly very successful course of treatment and subsequent quick recovery, the situation suddenly changed completely at the beginning of March. A routine check showed that the disease had returned and in an aggressive manner.
It was Håkan himself who brought the sad news of the inevitable consequence to his friends and colleagues in FINAT, who will never forget the positive attitude and courage with which he accepted the fact that he had only a few weeks to live. Håkan even left FINAT some last recommendations for further increasing the association’s success in the years to come. Our thoughts are with Håkan’s wife and four children, and we wish them strength to cope with this sad loss. Håkan will be a tough act to follow.
Håkan (m) as member of the FINAT football team in 2009
13
finAT YeArbooK 2011 |