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Currently there appears to be a widespread feeling of rising uncertainty and a lack of a shared vision for the future. During Sweden’s recent election campaign commentators repeatedly asked where the larger visions for the country had gone. Amid promises of quick fixes and tactical positioning, the question of what society we should build seemed harder to answer. Similar examples with voices calling for a new vision have also been heard in the other Nordic countries recently. The most obvious example is perhaps Finnish Sitra that explicitly describes the need for “an inspiring new promise about the future”. 

Considering the turbulent situation in the world in the last decade, it is perhaps not surprising that we find feelings of uncertainty. It is in fact something we could expect if we apply the long-term cyclical perspective of thinkers such as Neil Howe who describes how long cycles shape the characteristics of our societies and how the change from cycle to cycle typically results in crises. Viewed through the ‘wheel of seasons’ model developed by my colleagues Mats Lindgren and Jörgen Jedbratt, our current situation may represent a transition from winter to spring, during which crises will lead to new dominant paradigms. If reality were to follow the model, this should mean that we are slowly shifting towards an increased focus on long-term perspectives and finally also a rising belief in a positive future. 

Another sign of the uncertainty is the rising interest in scenario planning. This is a well-known pattern that goes back to the oil crisis of the 1970s when Shell’s scenario planning rose to fame and it is now perhaps the most familiar tool in the foresight toolbox. There is furthermore a general acceptance of scenario planning as a relevant tool for our time, but if we want to get broad participation and support for changes the map provided by the scenarios also needs to be accompanied by something more visionary.

The Nordic effect

So, if we are approaching a period of renewal maybe it is time to start thinking about how Nordic companies and other organisations could help bring this new future into being and shape it? How can we contribute to the creation of a new vision that can guide and speed up necessary changes so that we can balance sustainability and resilience, productivity and family life, and so on? Even though there exists a joint Nordic vision for 2030 that was adopted by the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2019 this is apparently not sufficient (and to be honest, how many of you have read it? I have, but that’s more or less required as part of my job). 

Maybe it is safe to say that it is time for a new Nordic vision? And maybe this time we should start the process as soon as possible ourselves in our own organisations so that we together can create small pieces of the great puzzle that would make up a new shared vision.

For boards, this means connecting the vision to investment priorities, capabilities and partnerships, and deciding how the organisation can contribute to a wider Nordic ambition.

SRV Group has reorganised into four business areas from 1 October 2026 and added two members to its Corporate Executive Team. Jarkko Salmenoja becomes SVP, Data Centres, and Marko Palonen, most recently YIT's regional director for Northern Finland, becomes SVP, Northern Finland at the start of 2027.

Data centres move from a unit to a business area of their own

Until now, Data Centres sat inside the Business Premises, Helsinki Metropolitan Area business area. It now runs as a separate business area responsible for nationwide development, customer relationships and project delivery. Salmenoja has worked at SRV since August 2025 and previously held senior management roles at NCC, WSP Finland and YIT.

The pipeline explains the promotion. In March, SRV agreed to build a data centre in Lahti for Singapore-based DayOne, a contract expected to lift the order backlog by about 35% from the level in the fourth-quarter 2025 report. In December 2025, it started the EUR 54 million implementation phase of the LUMI AI Factory data centre in Kajaani with CSC. First-quarter 2026 order intake reached EUR 395.4 million, the highest of the decade, with DayOne named as a driver.

“Alongside our already strong contracting business, we seek growth in data centre construction, whose exceptionally large and rapidly growing market we have highlighted previously,” says Saku Sipola, President and CEO of SRV, in the press release.