Finnish listed companies saw 12 new CEOs take up the role in the second quarter of 2026, against 13 in Q1. Combined, the first half of 2026 has produced 25 new CEO starts, an H1 run rate of about 50 a year, still above the ~44 recorded across all of 2025. On a quarterly basis Q2 annualizes to roughly 48, easing from Q1's own 52-annualized reading.
On diversity the quarter brought no movement: all 12 who started were men, leaving the market-wide female CEO share at 8.1%. Large Cap recorded zero changes for a second consecutive quarter. The age profile, which had swung sharply younger in Q1, moved back up — and past the norm. Q2's new CEOs took up the role at an average age of 54, against an active population that started at about 50. Renewal continues, but the profile of who is renewed keeps shifting quarter to quarter.
- 12 new CEOs started in Q2 2026, annualizing to ~48; H1 2026 total now 25, an H1 run rate of ~50 vs ~44 in 2025
- Large Cap: zero CEO changes for a second consecutive quarter
- External hires: 50% of Q2 starts (6 of 12), down from 62% in Q1 but still above the ~47% 2025 baseline — though 2 of the 5 internal promotions were sitting interim/deputy CEOs, which puts the external share at 6 of 10, or 60%, on starts that actually changed the leader
- Average starting age of new CEOs: ~54 years, about four years above the active population's ~50 average age at start, reversing Q1's dip to 49–50
- Women: 0 of 12 new CEOs in Q2 and 1 of 25 across H1 2026 (4.0%), against an 8.1% share of women in the active CEO population (15 of 186); the 9.3% baseline carried forward from the 2025 report has itself fallen
- Two international starts (German, Estonian), leaving the nationality mix close to flat at 83.3% Finnish
Large Cap stays quiet
The most interesting continuity from Q1 is where CEO change still isn't happening. More than one in three Large Cap companies changed their CEO in 2025. Since then the tier has stood still: two full quarters, all of Q1 and all of Q2 2026, without a single new CEO starting. All 12 of the Q2 changes happened below Large Cap.
That freeze at the top is the quarter's defining pattern. Every one of the twelve changes landed in Small Cap, First North or Mid Cap — the segments that, on the index's own figures, tend to hire their CEOs youngest — while the largest companies, which take on their leaders at the oldest ages, chose not to move at all. The contrast points to something specific about how a large-cap board approaches the job.
By industry, the changes were more spread out than in Q1: Consumer Discretionary led with 4 (Duell, Martela, Tallink Grupp, Wetteri), followed by Industrials with 3 (Boreo, Summa Defence, Wulff-Yhtiöt), Financials and Technology with 2 each (Alisa Pankki, Titanium; Canatu, Siili Solutions), and Real Estate with 1 (Investors House).
The external-hire spike cools off
Of the 12 new CEOs who started in Q2 2026, 6 were external hires, 5 were promoted from within management, and 1 came from the board — Aarne Simula's move from the Wetteri board into the CEO seat is the only board-to-CEO transition of the quarter. That puts the external share at 50%, down from Q1's 62% but still running above the 47% share recorded across 2025 as a whole.
Two of the five internal promotions, however, were already serving as interim/deputy CEO: Aki Gynther at Alisa Pankki and Tomi Virtanen at Duell. Measured against the 10 starts that did change the leader, the external share is 6 of 10, or 60%.
New CEOs start older than the market norm
New CEOs who started in Q2 2026 averaged roughly 54 years of age (based on birth year) — about four years older than the ~50 average age at which the active population started, and a reversal of Q1's dip to 49–50.
At the younger end, Maximilian Slawinski (Canatu) and Peep Jalakas (Tallink Grupp), both born in 1985, stand out; at the older end, Jukka Akselin (Investors House), born in 1961, reflects continued demand for experienced operators in smaller, asset-heavy businesses. Q1's "renewal at the margins" signal did not carry through the second quarter.
Gender representation: a sharp step backward
Every one of the 12 new CEOs who started in Q2 2026 is male. That's a full reversal from Q1's already-thin 7.7% (1 of 13), and it pulls the point-of-entry figure well below the 8.1% share of women in the active CEO population (15 of 186). Two conseMany boards have already done the grouncutive quarters without meaningful female representation among new starters is a stronger signal than either quarter alone; across H1 2026 as a whole, 1 of 25 starts went to a woman — 4.0%, or roughly half the active-population share.
The baseline itself is moving the same way. The 9.3% figure carried forward from the 2025 CEO Index stands at 8.1% on the current snapshot, so representation is eroding through attrition among sitting CEOs as well as through the pipeline of new starters.
International hires remain the exception
The quarter saw two international starts. Maximilian Slawinski (German) joined Canatu and Peep Jalakas (Estonian) joined Tallink Grupp, leaving the Finnish share of new CEOs at 83.3% (10 of 12). As in Q1, international hires reflect specific sector or turnaround expertise rather than a broader shift in recruitment patterns.
The aggregate mix barely moves, and Q2 shows why: the intake arrived at almost exactly the rate already embedded in the population. Non-Finnish CEOs hold 16.7% of active roles (31 of 186), and non-Finnish starts made up 16.7% of the quarter's intake (2 of 12).
Internationalization is concentrated at the top of the market. Large Cap CEOs are 56.2% Finnish, against 80.8% in Mid Cap, 91.1% in Small Cap and 95.7% on First North. But it is not confined there: 17 of the 31 non-Finnish CEOs sit below Large Cap.
A CEO change is rarely a single change
Across the 12 companies that changed CEO in Q2 2026, at least 6 saw some kind of management-team change around the same time.
Not every departure was necessarily tied to the CEO change. Some were already planned. A few "exits" were really just a smaller management team, not someone leaving the company. Several companies saw no management-team change at all.
At a glance
Metric | 2025 annual | Q1 2026 | Q2 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
Pace of CEO changes | ~44/year | 13/qtr (~52 annualized) | 12/qtr (~48 annualized) |
Large Cap turnover | over 33% of firms | 0% | 0% |
External-hire share (all started) | ~47% | 62% (8/13) | 50% (6/12) |
Avg new-CEO age | ~53-54 | ~49-50 | ~54 |
Women among new CEOs | — | 7.7% (1/13) | 0% (0/12) |
Women in active population | 9.3% | 9.3% | 8.1% (15/186) |
Finnish share of new CEO-s | — | 84.6% | 83.3% (10/12) |
Finnish share, active population | ~84.2% | 83.5% | 83.3% (155/186) |
About the data
The analysis draws on the Listeds Executive Intelligence platform and covers CEOs who started in the role at Nasdaq Helsinki main list and First North listed companies between 1 April and 30 June 2026. The index is keyed to the date each CEO takes up the position, not the date the appointment was announced. Active-population figures reflect a snapshot of 186 CEO roles as of 30 June 2026. Deputy CEO/Interim CEO promotions to CEO are counted as seperate CEO start.
Role equivalents to CEO are included in the count; titles in the dataset include President and CEO as well as Chairman of the Management Board. Companies listed on Nasdaq Helsinki are included regardless of country of domicile. Market-cap segments reflect each company's classification as of the snapshot date, not the start date.
A CEO start that confirms a sitting interim or deputy CEO is counted and classified as an internal promotion. The external-hire share is reported on all starts, with a secondary figure excluding interim confirmations, since those do not change who leads the company.
Age figures are calculated from birth year.
Baseline figures for 2025 and Q1 2026 are carried forward from the CEO Index — Finland | 2025 and the CEO Index — Finland | Q1 2026.
About the partnership
SAM Headhunting is an executive search firm specializing in demanding international direct searches at the European and global level. The company provides executive search, headhunting, board search, interim management, outplacement, and onboarding solutions for organizations navigating leadership change and growth.
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