Risto Off To The Gym

“After 25 years, don’t we all deserve this?” Live Nation Finland chief Risto Juvonen told Pollstar, after his company issued a statement saying he’ll be taking “a sabbatical” in September.

The company hierarchy will be shuffled during his absence, with Nina Castrén stepping up to chief exec, Scott Lavender as head promoter and Johan Hollsten looking after a division that handles family entertainment and special events.

“First I’m going to Thailand and I’m going boxing for a month,” Juvonen explained. “I know exactly which gym I’m going to.”
So far his agenda also includes taking his two children on a safari to Africa, fishing – he’s looking at Alaska at the moment – and enjoying his motorsport hobbies.

Apart from his boxing skill, which at one point may have provided an alternative career, those who compete in the annual races that take place at ILMC will acknowledge he’s no slouch in a go-kart.

Juvonen, who says he expects to return to Live Nation after a year, says the team he’s leaving behind is very capable of maintaining the company’s position as the leading promoter in Finland and The Baltics.