Leadership movements accelerated with more exits across Finnish listed companies in November from a month ago, with the most significant activity coming from Dovre Group, Titanium Oyj, WithSecure Oyj, Harvia Group, and Summa Defence, according to Listeds data.

These five companies — spanning renewable energy, cybersecurity, and defence technology — accounted for the largest number of leadership changes during the month. Together, their transitions reinforce a familiar pattern: organisations facing commercial or operational pressure tend to be the most active in reshaping their leadership structures.

Dovre, which offers project management services and builds solar and wind parks, emerged as the most active company by a wide margin, posting eight leadership changes. The company added three board members, removed two, and strengthened its management team with three title reconfigurations, including naming Timo Saarinen acting CEO and interim CFO. 

Dovre’s timing matched a challenging quarter. In the third quarter, Dovre’s revenue fell 10 percent to EUR 32.3 million, and EBIT was negative at EUR -8.7 million, underlining the pressure to regain operational traction. 

Finnish media has monitored the rapid exits at Dovre and Summa Defence with interest — we return to this later — after Journalist Kyösti Jurvelin described management retention at both companies as a “complete mess” in Talouselämä in late November.

After Dovre, investment company Titanium and cybersecurity provider WithSecure follow on the Listeds ranking of fast movers, each recording six leadership changes. At Titanium, all movements took place within management, split evenly between three removals and three additions, including the appointments of interim CEO Katarina Rosenström and CFO Julia Dannberg. WithSecure’s six changes were concentrated at the board level, with four removals and two additions, reflecting a focused governance refresh in a competitive cybersecurity landscape.

Harvia, ranked fourth, recorded five leadership changes in November, combining three board role changes (even though all internal) with one management departure and one addition. The movements came as Harvia delivered a strong third quarter: revenue grew 19 percent, with all segments expanding more than 10 percent and North America rebounding sharply. The expanded board and refreshed management structure signalled Harvia’s intent to support continued international growth while maintaining governance fit for an increasingly competitive global sauna market.

Summa Defence, ranked fifth, recorded four leadership changes, consisting of three management removals and one addition, namely interim CEO Timo Huttunen. Huttunen commented on the management overhaul to Kauppalehti earlier this month: “After appointing a new CEO, it is logical to have organizational changes… something needs to change to move things around at Summa Defence.” 

Summa Defence’s third quarter provides useful context: revenue rose 23.4 percent to EUR 23.2 million, but profitability weakened sharply, with EBITDA falling to EUR -2.9 million following a renewable energy inventory write-down and the sale of Meriaura’s marine logistics. Against this backdrop, the November changes reflected a tightening of operational leadership during a demanding period.

November’s total of 62 moves across boards and management teams was characterised by deliberate recalibration. As 2026 approaches, the month’s reshuffles show companies positioning themselves to navigate a more complex operating environment with clearer governance and reinforced executive teams.

Discover more signals coming from companies such as these on the Listeds data platform here.

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Insights

Finland’s top five leadership movers in November highlight the urgency to renew

Finland’s top five leadership movers in November highlight the urgency to renew

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5 min read

Leadership movements accelerated with more exits across Finnish listed companies in November from a month ago, with the most significant activity coming from Dovre Group, Titanium Oyj, WithSecure Oyj, Harvia Group, and Summa Defence, according to Listeds data.

These five companies — spanning renewable energy, cybersecurity, and defence technology — accounted for the largest number of leadership changes during the month. Together, their transitions reinforce a familiar pattern: organisations facing commercial or operational pressure tend to be the most active in reshaping their leadership structures.

Dovre, which offers project management services and builds solar and wind parks, emerged as the most active company by a wide margin, posting eight leadership changes. The company added three board members, removed two, and strengthened its management team with three title reconfigurations, including naming Timo Saarinen acting CEO and interim CFO. 

Dovre’s timing matched a challenging quarter. In the third quarter, Dovre’s revenue fell 10 percent to EUR 32.3 million, and EBIT was negative at EUR -8.7 million, underlining the pressure to regain operational traction. 

Finnish media has monitored the rapid exits at Dovre and Summa Defence with interest — we return to this later — after Journalist Kyösti Jurvelin described management retention at both companies as a “complete mess” in Talouselämä in late November.

After Dovre, investment company Titanium and cybersecurity provider WithSecure follow on the Listeds ranking of fast movers, each recording six leadership changes. At Titanium, all movements took place within management, split evenly between three removals and three additions, including the appointments of interim CEO Katarina Rosenström and CFO Julia Dannberg. WithSecure’s six changes were concentrated at the board level, with four removals and two additions, reflecting a focused governance refresh in a competitive cybersecurity landscape.

Harvia, ranked fourth, recorded five leadership changes in November, combining three board role changes (even though all internal) with one management departure and one addition. The movements came as Harvia delivered a strong third quarter: revenue grew 19 percent, with all segments expanding more than 10 percent and North America rebounding sharply. The expanded board and refreshed management structure signalled Harvia’s intent to support continued international growth while maintaining governance fit for an increasingly competitive global sauna market.

Summa Defence, ranked fifth, recorded four leadership changes, consisting of three management removals and one addition, namely interim CEO Timo Huttunen. Huttunen commented on the management overhaul to Kauppalehti earlier this month: “After appointing a new CEO, it is logical to have organizational changes… something needs to change to move things around at Summa Defence.” 

Summa Defence’s third quarter provides useful context: revenue rose 23.4 percent to EUR 23.2 million, but profitability weakened sharply, with EBITDA falling to EUR -2.9 million following a renewable energy inventory write-down and the sale of Meriaura’s marine logistics. Against this backdrop, the November changes reflected a tightening of operational leadership during a demanding period.

November’s total of 62 moves across boards and management teams was characterised by deliberate recalibration. As 2026 approaches, the month’s reshuffles show companies positioning themselves to navigate a more complex operating environment with clearer governance and reinforced executive teams.

Discover more signals coming from companies such as these on the Listeds data platform here.

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Authors

Emmi Laine is head of business content at Listeds and our lead for finance and business coverage. She sets the editorial agenda, interviews Nordic business leaders, and writes stories, newsletters, and social content on timely market and corporate topics. Emmi brings nearly eight years of experience from Shanghai's Yicai Global / Yicai Media Group, where she was awarded for reporting on China’s economy, finance sector, and technology innovation. She holds an MSc in Innovation and Entrepreneurship from ESADE Business School in Barcelona and a Master’s degree in International Design Business Management from Aalto University. She also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Culture Studies with a major in Journalism from Stockholm University and has studied Mandarin Chinese and Chinese culture. Emmi is a Finnish citizen and has lived in Finland, Sweden, China, and Portugal.

Emmi Laine is head of business content at Listeds and our lead for finance and business coverage. She sets the editorial agenda, interviews Nordic business leaders, and writes stories, newsletters, and social content on timely market and corporate topics. Emmi brings nearly eight years of experience from Shanghai's Yicai Global / Yicai Media Group, where she was awarded for reporting on China’s economy, finance sector, and technology innovation. She holds an MSc in Innovation and Entrepreneurship from ESADE Business School in Barcelona and a Master’s degree in International Design Business Management from Aalto University. She also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Culture Studies with a major in Journalism from Stockholm University and has studied Mandarin Chinese and Chinese culture. Emmi is a Finnish citizen and has lived in Finland, Sweden, China, and Portugal.

Authors

Journalist

Emmi Laine is head of business content at Listeds and our lead for finance and business coverage. She sets the editorial agenda, interviews Nordic business leaders, and writes stories, newsletters, and social content on timely market and corporate topics. Emmi brings nearly eight years of experience from Shanghai's Yicai Global / Yicai Media Group, where she was awarded for reporting on China’s economy, finance sector, and technology innovation. She holds an MSc in Innovation and Entrepreneurship from ESADE Business School in Barcelona and a Master’s degree in International Design Business Management from Aalto University. She also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Culture Studies with a major in Journalism from Stockholm University and has studied Mandarin Chinese and Chinese culture. Emmi is a Finnish citizen and has lived in Finland, Sweden, China, and Portugal.

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Leadership Moves

SRV names Jarkko Salmenoja and Marko Palonen to its executive team in a four-area reorganisation

Oct 5, 2026

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.

Three regions now carry both residential and non-residential work, with an outside hire for the north

The Southern Finland, Western and Central Finland, and Northern Finland business areas are each responsible for both non-residential and residential construction in their markets. Jouni Forsman leads Southern Finland and Tero Karislahti leads Western and Central Finland. 

Palonen is the external addition. He served for an extended period as YIT's regional director for Northern Finland and before that at Lemminkäinen. Project development, leasing and transactions for non-residential work are combined into one unit under Jorma Seppä, while the roughly 100-person Building Services unit moves to Internal Services.

“Geographically, we are strengthening our local presence across Finland and seeking growth beyond our current operating areas in Northern Finland, on the West Coast and in the Uusimaa region in both contracting and residential construction,” says Sipola.

The new structure has to deliver nearly all of SRV's 2026 profit in the second half

SRV broke even at the operative level in the first half, on revenue of EUR 340.2 million. The company guides 2026 revenue above EUR 800 million and operative operating profit of EUR 10 to 20 million, backed by an order backlog of EUR 1,023.9 million at the end of June. That leaves at least EUR 460 million of revenue and the full profit target for the second half, the period the new business areas start in.

Salmenoja takes over a business area with two named projects already in delivery, in Lahti and Kajaani, and Palonen arrives in January to build a region SRV wants to grow. The full-year results in early 2027 will be the first test of whether four business areas change SRV's profit, not just its reporting lines. 

Leadership Moves

Elecster keeps leadership inside the board as Juuso Halonen becomes CEO

Oct 2, 2026

Elecster's board has named Deputy CEO Juuso Halonen as chief executive from 1 December 2026. Arto Kinnunen, CEO since 2017 and with the group for more than 30 years, leaves the role on 30 November and stays on as management advisor. On the same day, CFO Veronika Halonen becomes deputy CEO, eleven months after taking the finance role.

The March deputy appointment was the succession plan

On 5 March, Elecster appointed Halonen deputy CEO and a member of the management team from 30 March, reporting to Kinnunen. The stated remit was global sales and marketing and the development of management systems. Seven months later, the board has confirmed what that move signalled.

Halonen is an insider in every sense. He joined the group in 2011, has been CIO since 2019 and has sat on the board since 2024. At the time of the March appointment he held 32,705 Elecster shares. The company says Kinnunen's advisory role is meant to secure continuity through the year-end financial statement process, which places the first results under the new CEO in early 2027.

“Juuso knows Elecster, its business, personnel and international operating environment very well. The Board believes that his long experience with the company and the close work with Arto in recent months create a strong foundation for transferring the CEO's responsibility and further developing Elecster's operations,” says Jukka Halonen, Chairman of the Board, in the press release.

“I am pleased that the change of CEO can be implemented in a planned and controlled manner. I have worked closely with Juuso, and I can confidently transfer the responsibility of CEO to him,” says Arto Kinnunen.

He inherits a company whose order book has halved since March

The numbers Halonen takes over are thin. First-half 2026 revenue fell around 5.2% to EUR 15.8 million, and operating profit dropped to EUR 0.1 million from EUR 0.5 million a year earlier. The order backlog stood at EUR 4.8 million at the end of June, down from EUR 8.6 million at the end of March, as the Middle East conflict delayed customer investment decisions. A fire at the Kenyan subsidiary in Nairobi added around EUR 0.4 million in one-off costs.

The longer trend points the same way. Full-year 2025 revenue fell around 3.6% to EUR 32.7 million, and operating margin narrowed to 3.0% from 4.7%. The April AGM approved no dividend. The Russian packaging business, which the company says it will keep running for now, is the risk it flags most directly in the H1 report. Elecster still guides for revenue growth and improved earnings per share in 2026.

Halonen's own priorities match the gap. He names international sales and marketing, the service business and presence in core markets as the areas to develop, while keeping profitability as a cornerstone.

“Reliability, customer focus and profitability remain the cornerstones of our operations. At the same time, we must develop international sales and marketing, service business, our products and operating methods, and strengthen our presence and customer cooperation in our key market areas,” says Juuso Halonen in the press release.

Halonen family will hold both top executive roles and four of six board seats

The appointment concentrates leadership further. The board elected at the April 2026 AGM has six members: Aija Bärlund, Jarmo Halonen, Jukka Halonen as chair, Juuso Halonen, Veronika Halonen and Timo Kangas. From December, the CEO and deputy CEO will both come from that board.

“With her analytical and dynamic approach, Veronika Halonen has taken on the responsibilities of her current position well, and with this appointment as Deputy CEO, we are clarifying the Group's overall management structure,” says Jukka Halonen.

For a company of Elecster's size, an internal successor with seven months of supervised handover is a defensible choice. It also means the board chose continuity over an external search at a point when the business needs commercial renewal. Whether that trade pays off will show first in the order book, not in the governance chart.

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