Ilmarinen is the first Defence Owner of the Year

Two stock exchange releases at 9:00 a.m. on 16 September moved one CFO between two Helsinki large caps that had cut guidance two days apart in July. Terveystalo named no successor and opened the search the same day — twelve days after handing Pajunen a second executive brief. Tieto filled the seat with a sitting CFO, which is the only way the job has been filled in Finland since December 2025.

Terveystalo and Tieto published matching stock exchange releases at 9:00 a.m. EEST on 16 September 2026. Pajunen, Terveystalo's Chief Financial Officer since November 2022, leaves on 15 December 2026 and joins Tieto by 1 January 2027 at the latest, reporting to Endre Rangnes. Terveystalo named no successor and opened the search the same day. The same Tieto release confirmed Johan Enger Nygaard at Tieto Tech Consulting and Bent Philipps at Tieto Indtech from 1 October, both interim since May 2026. 

Tieto's last first-time CFO is leaving; the next one arrives with the title

In August, Listeds counted atleast ten CFO changes across Nasdaq Helsinki and First North between December 2025 and August 2026. Every incoming CFO already held the title at another listed company. None was promoted from inside. None was taking the job for the first time. 

Tomi Hyryläinen, who steps down at the end of December 2026 after nearly eight years, joined Tieto in 2018 from PwC Finland, where he had been an assurance leader and partner. Tieto was his first listed-company CFO seat. Tieto has now filled it with a CFO already running finance at another Helsinki large cap, and before that at AFRY and Pöyry Group. 

Terveystalo widened Pajunen's job twelve days before losing him

Terveystalo reports in three segments today: Healthcare Services, Portfolio Businesses and Sweden. On 4 September it said Portfolio Businesses would be split from 1 January 2027, with Oral Health and Public Partnerships each becoming a reportable segment in their own right, and named Pajunen EVP of Portfolio Businesses until the end of 2026. He was covering for Henri Mäenalanen, who had announced on 29 June that he was leaving on 1 October to run Yliopiston Apteekki. Twelve days after taking the second brief, Pajunen announced his own exit. 

The date lands inside a crowded quarter. The EUR 574 million Silmäasema acquisition is expected to close by late 2026 or in the first quarter of 2027, the four-segment reporting starts on 1 January, and the Shareholders' Nomination Board must deliver its proposals by 1 February 2027. The CFO search runs across all of it.

Ville Iho put it in the company's own words: "Juuso has played a key role in the implementation of Terveystalo's profit improvement program and significant acquisitions, as well as in the development of financial leadership.”

One balance sheet is being levered up, the other handed back

Terveystalo reported first-half revenue of EUR 601.5 million, down 10.0%, adjusted operating profit of EUR 59.8 million, down 29.3%, and earnings per share of EUR 0.24, down 44.4%. On 15 July it cut 2026 adjusted operating profit guidance to EUR 120–140 million from EUR 135–165 million, against EUR 156.3 million delivered in 2025. It has raised its leverage ceiling to 3x net debt to adjusted EBITDA, cut dividend distribution to at least 50% of net result, and committed EUR 275 million in cash plus 36,500,000 new shares to Silmäasema, roughly 22.4% of shares outstanding after completion. 

Tieto reported second-quarter revenue of EUR 426.6 million, down 7.9%, with adjusted operating profit up 45.1% to EUR 63.4 million and margin at 14.9% against 9.4%. It cut its organic growth outlook on 17 July to between –5% and –3% and held the margin range at 14.8–15.8%. 

At Tieto he set the brief himself: "Tieto has a strong position in technological transformation and is well positioned for digital opportunities. At the same time, both Tieto and the entire industry are undergoing rapid changes, driven by AI. I am excited to join this fast-paced industry and believe that, with my broad experience across multiple businesses, I can contribute to the execution of Tieto’s ambitious strategy. As a CFO, I will focus on ensuring profitable growth and value creation while I believe that it all starts with culture." 

Two new listed chief executives, and neither was chosen by the board that will supervise them. Four finance seats moved, and not one went to a first-time CFO.

On 3 August, Aspo named the chief executive of a company that will not trade until January. On 31 August, UPM's shareholders elected the board of one that will not trade until November, six weeks after its chief executive had already been named. Both appointments were internal. Neither went through a search.

According to Listeds Executive Intelligence, Nordic listed companies recorded 57 board and management changes in August: 51 in management teams and 6 at board level. Boards accounted for roughly one change in ten for a second consecutive month — and most of the board activity that did happen was produced by corporate structure rather than by nomination committees. Every one of the month's larger moves was at a Helsinki issuer or at a Helsinki issuer's Nordic subsidiary.

The demergers set the month's bookends

Aspo's board approved the demerger plan separating ESL Shipping into a new listed company on 3 August and appointed Matti-Mikael Koskinen as chief executive of ESL Shipping Group Plc the same day. Koskinen has run ESL Shipping Ltd since 2013. The demerger completes on 31 December, trading is expected to start on or about 4 January 2027, and the company's own board will not be elected until an extraordinary general meeting on 7 December, four months after its chief executive was named. Rolf Jansson, Aspo's chief executive, is intended to be elected chair.

At the other end of the month, UPM's extraordinary general meeting on 31 August approved the plywood demerger and elected WISA Group Plc's board: Tapio Korpeinen as chair, Mats Nordlander as deputy chair, and Sakari Ahdekivi, Frank Herrmann, Nina Kiviranta and Emmanuelle Picard as members. Tuija Suur-Hamari had been named WISA's President and CEO six weeks earlier, on 16 July. The demerger is expected to complete on or about 31 October, with trading from 2 November, nine weeks after the board was seated.

Under the Finnish Corporate Governance Code, appointing the chief executive is the board's own duty. A demerger inverts that sequence, and there is no other way to staff a company that does not yet exist. The consequence, on this author's reading rather than anything either company has said, is that both new boards take office with their most consequential appointment already made, and their first exercise of that duty will be a review rather than a choice.

One thing the WISA sequence does change: Suur-Hamari will be one of a small number of women running a Helsinki-listed company. Listeds’ CEO Index — Finland | Q2 2026 shows women holding 8.1 per cent of the 186 sitting chief executive roles at 30 June, and one of the 25 first-half starts. Women held 8.1 per cent of the 186 sitting chief executive roles at 30 June, and one of the 25 first-half starts. August added a second name to that pipeline — Elli Siltala, appointed chief executive of Raisio plc on 7 August.

The finance seat moved sideways, or not at all

The month's finance moves were the mirror image of a market hiring new talent into the role.

Digia filled its chief financial officer seat on 5 August by taking Vincit's sitting CFO, Kärkkäinen — the second time since 2017 that Digia has filled the role with a sitting CFO from another Nasdaq Helsinki company. Bioretec named Panu Mikkonen chief financial officer from 6 October, the fourth person named to that seat since September 2025, two of them interim. Kempower appointed Juha Jaatinen interim chief financial officer on 13 August. 

No Helsinki company promoted a first-time chief financial officer into the role in August. 

Eight executives named in two days

Three companies named eight executives across 18 and 19 August.

Nordea's 19 August release did two things at once. It merged Group Risk and Group Compliance into a single function under Mark Kandborg, who continues on the Group Leadership Team, with Nahale Ståhl Hallengren as Chief Compliance Officer from the same date, outside the Group Leadership Team. And it filled leadership in the bank's two largest customer units: Per Långsved, who joined Nordea in 2019 as Head of Personal Banking Sweden and Country Senior Executive, becomes Head of Personal Banking and joins the Group Leadership Team; Randi Marjamaa, at Nordea since 2006, takes a newly created Business Banking leadership post and also joins the Group Leadership Team. Sara Mella steps back from operational roles.

Nightingale Health removed its operating chief's role on 19 August and put two commercial chiefs in its place, at the point where its Americas business needs to produce revenue. Janna Ranta, chief operating officer since May 2025, became Chief Commercial Officer, Research and Healthcare. Hugh Watson, who has spent 25 years in United States laboratory diagnostics, joined from outside as Chief Commercial Officer, Americas.

Finnair named its digital and legal chiefs on 18 August. With those two, four of the nine Executive Board functions — people, digital, legal and finance — have a new holder named in 2026. The chief executive, operating, revenue, customer and communications seats have not moved. The rebuild is running from the strongest quarter Finnair has reported, and from a general meeting that rejected the company's remuneration report with 90 per cent of the votes represented against it.