Kari is a graduate of the Helsinki University of Technology with a M.Sc. in Chemical Engineering. He began his career at Neste Chemicals in Finland, developing polyolefin packaging films. He subsequently joined UPM Raflatac and held various positions in Finland, England and the United States.

In 2010 he joined CCL Label, where he currently works as business development director for label and sleeve materials. He has almost 30 years of experience in the label market.