Urban Jürgensen - Company Update

It is with pleasure that we announce a change in the leadership roles of UJ. Kari Voutilainen, who for the past four years has served as the Co-CEO of Urban Jürgensen will take on a new role as Board Member and Senior Strategic Advisor. In this role, Kari will continue to share his strategic guidance to help shape the future of the house, lend his wisdom on the company’s DNA, work with the Board on the development plans for new models and will serve to ensure that all watches produced by UJ meet the exacting standard for which Kari and UJ are known. He will also work on the development and design of new UJ watches. He will no longer have daily executive or operational responsibilities. This change mirrors the changed role Kari announced for himself earlier this month at Voutilainen. The new role allows him to spend more time on watch design and at the bench, which are his true passions, and frees time to ensure that Kari’s wisdom and experience is best shared with the company.

Alex Rosenfield, who has served as the Co-CEO of Urban Jürgensen since its purchase in 2021, will become the company’s Chief Executive Officer.

Venla Voutilainen, who served as UJ’s Director of After Sales Service and COO will leave UJ to work more closely with her father.

Andrew Rosenfield, Executive Chairman of UJ, said “we are deeply grateful to Kari for his many contributions to the new chapter of Urban Jürgensen and for continuing to work with UJ in his new role. I have long been a passionate collector of Kari’s work and an admirer of his watchmaking. We are honored that he designed all three of the new models that we introduced this year, including the UJ- 2 for which we received a GPHG award. Kari is one of the greatest living watchmakers and we are excited that he will continue to make watches for UJ as well as to share his guidance on the company’s future. Alex has been an exceptional leader and I am happy that he will be our CEO. I have every confidence in him and the very talented team we have built at UJ, and we are thrilled with what they have achieved. We look forward to sharing more exciting news about our future and the wonderful slate of watches under development and will do so at the appropriate time. I thank Venla, Kari and Alex for all they have done for Urban Jürgensen.”

Kari Voutilainen said, “I have had a love for UJ and a relationship with the company since I worked with Peter Baumberger on Urban Jürgensen watches early in my career. I am happy to have had the position over the last few years working with Andy, Alex and the fantastic teams in New York and Biel to shape the next chapter of Urban Jürgensen. I am excited to take on this new role which allows me much more time to do the things I am passionate about—designing and making watches. I look forward to my continued role with this historic and important brand.”

Alex Rosenfield said, “I am grateful to Kari for all he has taught me and for welcoming me to the world of watchmaking. He has been a great friend and teacher. I look forward to leading this company as we continue the over 250-year legacy of UJ. Over the past several years we have built an incredible team. We are excited, in the coming years, to continue to share UJ with the world and to introduce watches designed by Kari as well as other luminaries of the independent watchmaking world.”