Lassila & Tikanoja's appointment of Arttu Lindroos as senior vice president of human resources is more than a routine executive hire. It is another step in the company's effort to build the leadership team that will carry it through its next phase as a standalone circular economy business.

The appointment comes less than a year after one of the biggest changes in the company's history. At the end of 2025, L&T completed a demerger that split the group into two separately listed companies.

The former Lassila & Tikanoja became Luotea Plc, focused on property services. The Circular Economy business was separated into a new listed company that retained the Lassila & Tikanoja name. The demerger was approved by shareholders at an Extraordinary General Meeting on December 4, 2025, and completed on December 31, 2025.

The result is a more focused company, but also one facing a new set of challenges.

A hire built for operational change

Lindroos will join L&T on September 1, 2026, reporting to president and CEO Eero Hautaniemi and joining the group executive board, the company announced today. He arrives from VR Group and has previously held HR leadership positions at Teknos and Posti.

The common thread across those organizations is operational complexity. Each relies on large frontline workforces and faces the challenge of balancing productivity, workforce planning, and organizational change.

That experience appears well aligned with L&T's current priorities.

The company employs approximately 2,300 people across Finland and Sweden and entered 2026 under pressure to improve profitability. First-quarter net sales increased 6 percent to EUR 94.8 million, but adjusted EBITA fell to EUR 0.2 million from EUR 2.6 million a year earlier. Management cited lower waste volumes, rising fuel costs, pressure on waste treatment pricing, and higher amortization expenses.

L&T has already launched a review of its waste management cost structure and implemented price increases. Restoring margins is now one of management's most immediate priorities.

Hilppa Rautpalo heads to Terveystalo

Lindroos succeeds Hilppa Rautpalo, who will leave L&T in August 2026.

Rautpalo currently serves as senior vice president of legal affairs, human resources and EHSQ and is a member of the management team. She has been appointed senior vice president, human resources, and a member of the management team at Terveystalo, where she will start no later than August 14, 2026, Listeds reported in February.

Her departure marks the loss of one of L&T's most experienced executives. It also signals a subtle organizational shift.

Rautpalo's role combined legal affairs, HR, environmental health, safety, and quality under a single executive. Lindroos arrives with a dedicated HR mandate, suggesting people, culture, and organizational development are becoming more prominent priorities as the company adapts to life after the demerger.

Preparing for the next CEO era

The appointment carries additional weight because of another leadership change already on the horizon.

Hautaniemi is scheduled to leave the company in June 2027 after leading L&T through the demerger and its repositioning as a pure-play circular economy company. No successor has been announced.

That gives Lindroos less than a year working alongside the current CEO before the next leadership transition begins.

Viewed in that context, the hire looks less like a replacement and more like part of a broader effort to strengthen the executive team before a CEO succession.

What L&T is trying to achieve next

The company's direction is becoming clearer.

First, management is deepening L&T's identity as a circular economy specialist. The demerger removed the complexity of managing two fundamentally different businesses and allows management to focus entirely on recycling, waste management, environmental services, and resource efficiency.

Second, profitability has become a pressing issue. While revenue continues to grow, earnings remain under pressure. Cost reviews, pricing actions, and operational improvements are expected to play a central role in the recovery effort.

Third, L&T continues to expand selectively. In May, the company agreed to acquire Kempeleen Siirtokuljetus and Kempeleen Jätekuljetus, two waste management and recycling businesses in Northern Finland with combined annual revenue of approximately EUR 14 million. The transaction remains subject to regulatory approval.

Taken together, the leadership changes, acquisitions, and operational initiatives point to a company moving from structural transformation to execution.

The demerger answered the question of what L&T wants to be. The next challenge is proving that a standalone circular economy company can deliver stronger growth and profitability than the structure it left behind.

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Leaders

L&T builds its post-demerger leadership team

L&T builds its post-demerger leadership team

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5 min read

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Credit: Lassila & Tikanoja, Arttu Lindroos

Credit: Lassila & Tikanoja, Arttu Lindroos

Lassila & Tikanoja's appointment of Arttu Lindroos as senior vice president of human resources is more than a routine executive hire. It is another step in the company's effort to build the leadership team that will carry it through its next phase as a standalone circular economy business.

The appointment comes less than a year after one of the biggest changes in the company's history. At the end of 2025, L&T completed a demerger that split the group into two separately listed companies.

The former Lassila & Tikanoja became Luotea Plc, focused on property services. The Circular Economy business was separated into a new listed company that retained the Lassila & Tikanoja name. The demerger was approved by shareholders at an Extraordinary General Meeting on December 4, 2025, and completed on December 31, 2025.

The result is a more focused company, but also one facing a new set of challenges.

A hire built for operational change

Lindroos will join L&T on September 1, 2026, reporting to president and CEO Eero Hautaniemi and joining the group executive board, the company announced today. He arrives from VR Group and has previously held HR leadership positions at Teknos and Posti.

The common thread across those organizations is operational complexity. Each relies on large frontline workforces and faces the challenge of balancing productivity, workforce planning, and organizational change.

That experience appears well aligned with L&T's current priorities.

The company employs approximately 2,300 people across Finland and Sweden and entered 2026 under pressure to improve profitability. First-quarter net sales increased 6 percent to EUR 94.8 million, but adjusted EBITA fell to EUR 0.2 million from EUR 2.6 million a year earlier. Management cited lower waste volumes, rising fuel costs, pressure on waste treatment pricing, and higher amortization expenses.

L&T has already launched a review of its waste management cost structure and implemented price increases. Restoring margins is now one of management's most immediate priorities.

Hilppa Rautpalo heads to Terveystalo

Lindroos succeeds Hilppa Rautpalo, who will leave L&T in August 2026.

Rautpalo currently serves as senior vice president of legal affairs, human resources and EHSQ and is a member of the management team. She has been appointed senior vice president, human resources, and a member of the management team at Terveystalo, where she will start no later than August 14, 2026, Listeds reported in February.

Her departure marks the loss of one of L&T's most experienced executives. It also signals a subtle organizational shift.

Rautpalo's role combined legal affairs, HR, environmental health, safety, and quality under a single executive. Lindroos arrives with a dedicated HR mandate, suggesting people, culture, and organizational development are becoming more prominent priorities as the company adapts to life after the demerger.

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Preparing for the next CEO era

The appointment carries additional weight because of another leadership change already on the horizon.

Hautaniemi is scheduled to leave the company in June 2027 after leading L&T through the demerger and its repositioning as a pure-play circular economy company. No successor has been announced.

That gives Lindroos less than a year working alongside the current CEO before the next leadership transition begins.

Viewed in that context, the hire looks less like a replacement and more like part of a broader effort to strengthen the executive team before a CEO succession.

What L&T is trying to achieve next

The company's direction is becoming clearer.

First, management is deepening L&T's identity as a circular economy specialist. The demerger removed the complexity of managing two fundamentally different businesses and allows management to focus entirely on recycling, waste management, environmental services, and resource efficiency.

Second, profitability has become a pressing issue. While revenue continues to grow, earnings remain under pressure. Cost reviews, pricing actions, and operational improvements are expected to play a central role in the recovery effort.

Third, L&T continues to expand selectively. In May, the company agreed to acquire Kempeleen Siirtokuljetus and Kempeleen Jätekuljetus, two waste management and recycling businesses in Northern Finland with combined annual revenue of approximately EUR 14 million. The transaction remains subject to regulatory approval.

Taken together, the leadership changes, acquisitions, and operational initiatives point to a company moving from structural transformation to execution.

The demerger answered the question of what L&T wants to be. The next challenge is proving that a standalone circular economy company can deliver stronger growth and profitability than the structure it left behind.

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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.

Devdatta Temgire is a data and business analyst at Listeds. He contributes research, data analysis, and pattern detection to the publication’s coverage of Nordic-listed companies, with a focus on board composition, leadership transitions, and financials. He holds an honors degree in artificial intelligence and data science alongside a bachelor’s in computer engineering, and previously worked at KPMG.

Devdatta Temgire is a data and business analyst at Listeds. He contributes research, data analysis, and pattern detection to the publication’s coverage of Nordic-listed companies, with a focus on board composition, leadership transitions, and financials. He holds an honors degree in artificial intelligence and data science alongside a bachelor’s in computer engineering, and previously worked at KPMG.

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.

Devdatta Temgire is a data and business analyst at Listeds. He contributes research, data analysis, and pattern detection to the publication’s coverage of Nordic-listed companies, with a focus on board composition, leadership transitions, and financials. He holds an honors degree in artificial intelligence and data science alongside a bachelor’s in computer engineering, and previously worked at KPMG.

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Leadership Moves

Oma Savings Bank CEO Karri Alameri steps down weeks after S-Bank takes 96% control

Oma Savings Bank and CEO Karri Alameri have agreed that he will leave the role on 5 November 2026, with his employment ending on 5 May 2027. Alameri will stand for election to the board, which is starting a process to nominate his successor.

Alameri was hired in 2024 to steady the bank after a turbulent year. 

OmaSp’s board appointed Alameri in September 2024, with a start date no later than 1 April 2025, and Sarianna Liiri served as interim CEO until he took over. He joined from the Savings Banks Group, where he had been CEO since 2022, after earlier management roles at OP Financial Group and Danske Bank.

At the time, Alameri said the news flow around OmaSp had been exceptionally challenging in recent months, and that the aim was to “bring the bank back to a good growth and earnings track”.

The exit follows S-Bank’s takeover of the bank

Bloomberg reported in July that S-Bank had agreed to buy OmaSp for EUR 17.20 a share in cash, valuing its equity at about EUR 571 million and representing a premium of about 47% to the previous day’s closing price. According to the report, OmaSp’s board unanimously recommended the offer, and S-Bank said it aims to delist the bank from Nasdaq Helsinki. 

After settling the offer, S-Bank owned 96.40% of OmaSp’s shares and votes on 7 October. OmaSp now describes itself as part of S-Bank Group.

Bloomberg also reported that S-Bank expected the deal to have no immediate material effect on OmaSp’s operations, employees or branch network, but that it intended to change the board after completion and keep the bank as a subsidiary.

S&P raised its long-term rating on the bank to BBB+ from BBB, calling it a highly strategic subsidiary that would benefit from group support if needed.

The January strategy now sits inside a larger group

In January, the board approved a 2026 to 2029 strategy with targets including comparable return on equity above 14%, a cost-to-income ratio below 50% and annual fee and commission income growth above 10%. The cost-to-income ratio stood at 56.1% in 2025. How much of that plan survives integration into S-Bank is now a question for the new owner.

Alameri leaves with guidance cut

Profit has been under pressure throughout his final year. Comparable profit before taxes fell 34% to EUR 56.9 million in 2025 from EUR 86.7 million, as net interest income dropped 20.9%. In the first half of 2026, comparable profit before taxes held at EUR 23.6 million, but net interest income fell a further 20.7%.

In February, OmaSp expected 2026 profit to decline slightly. On 29 September, it said profit will instead fall significantly, citing a shrinking loan portfolio, slower fee income growth, non-performing loans declining more slowly than expected and costs from the tender offer process.

S-Bank will replace most of the board on the day Alameri steps down

OmaSp has called an extraordinary general meeting for 5 November. S-Bank holds about 96.79% of the shares and votes excluding treasury shares, and has decided to redeem the remaining shares under the Finnish Limited Liability Companies Act.

S-Bank proposes cutting the board to five members from the eight elected at the April AGM. The candidates are S-Bank CEO Riikka Laine-Tolonen, Mika Heikkilä, Jussi Sokka, Karri Alameri and current director Irma Gillberg-Hjelt. Gillberg-Hjelt is the only one independent of both the company and its significant shareholders, while Laine-Tolonen, Heikkilä and Sokka are not independent of a significant shareholder. Regulatory approvals are pending for all five.

The meeting is also set to disband the shareholders’ nomination committee and remove it from the articles of association. S-Bank proposes replacing PwC, which the April AGM elected as auditor and sustainability reporting assurer until the 2027 AGM, with KPMG, which already holds both roles at S-Bank. Board members in full-time employment or a similar relationship with an S-Bank Group company would receive no board remuneration or expense reimbursement 

On 5 November, Alameri is set to move from the CEO office to a five-member board on which three directors are not independent of S-Bank. The search for his successor will run under the bank’s new ownership.

Market Signals

Netum rebuilds its top team for a smaller, sharper business

Netum Group has reorganised into four business areas, added two directors to its management team and set a 10% EBITA margin target for 2029. The structure is coherent. The test is whether a team that has turned over repeatedly since 2025 can hold still long enough to deliver.

Netum Group made three announcements on Monday morning. It put its strategy, its structure and its top team on the table. The Board approved a refined strategy with new targets for 2027 to 2029. It announced a reorganisation into four business areas, with EUR 1.4 to 1.8 million in annual cost savings. It also named the directors who will run them. Taken together, the releases do more than adjust costs. They move accountability into the business areas and add a management seat while headcount falls. They also commit Netum to a 10% EBITA margin by 2029 from a loss-making start. Netum expects 2026 revenue to fall well below the 2025 level of EUR 37.8 million and comparable EBITA to be negative. In the first half, revenue fell 25.5% and EBITA was negative at 2.4% of revenue.  

Netum says its Group Management Team “remains largely unchanged.” By head count that holds, with six of seven current members continuing. From 1 January 2027 at the latest, half of the eight-member team will be business area directors, each accountable for financial performance, personnel and capacity. Two of those four are new to the team, and Mikko Pitkänen, director of Netum Solutions, has resigned. He will not take a management role in the new organisation and will carry out separately agreed duties until his notice period ends.

The centre holds steady while every business area director starts a new role

Chief Executive Repe Harmanen, CFO Peter Ahlskog, HR and Marketing Director Liina Kangas and Sales Director Sami Rantanen keep their roles.

The change sits in delivery. Sebastian Pönkkö takes Core Systems, Integrations & Operations. The appointments have an external-origin that came in through an acquisition.Aapo Cederberg joins the team to lead Cybersecurity, Regulation & Data Protection. He founded and ran Cyberwatch Oy, which Netum bought in April 2026.  Outi Mattila will run Data, Digital & AI; she was previously Business Director of Expert Services at Buutti Oy. Liisa Rusanen will head Education Solutions & Products while continuing as CEO of Studyo Oy. Buutti and Cyberwatch will be integrated operationally into the business areas. Studyo stays a separate legal entity.

The structure is also flatter. No more than two management levels will sit between the CEO and a specialist: the business area director and the team lead, who will also deliver client work. Sales and Group Services become shared functions alongside the four areas, with capacity managed across the group. The model replaces the current split into Solutions, Expert Services and Products.

Each area has a defined job. Data, Digital & AI holds the core of Netum's AI capability. Core Systems covers systems critical to society, along with continuity services. Cybersecurity, which combines Netum's security services with Cyberwatch, is the area the strategy names for growth. Education Solutions & Products is the outlier. Through Studyo and Peppi it earns from subscriptions rather than billable hours, so its profit does not depend on how busy Netum's specialists are. 

Revenue fell EUR 6.2 million in a year. The management layer did not.

The reorganisation release explains the cause directly. Revenue was EUR 44.0 million in 2024 and EUR 37.8 million in 2025. Most of the decline came from three large customer contracts that ended in July 2025 and from weaker demand for subcontracting in specialist services. Netum says its support functions and management were "designed for a substantially larger business." 

The fix is structural rather than incremental, and the cuts follow that diagnosis. Change negotiations cover 40 employees, with 10 to 20 positions expected to go, mainly in shared functions, sales, and management, supervisory and coordination roles. Temporary layoffs are planned from this quarter. Specialists doing client work are not the target. 

Harmanen frames it as a break with the old approach: "This is no longer about an individual cost-saving measure. We are reshaping the entire organisation to align with our strategy." That is a clear break from August, when negotiations covering 30 people targeted about EUR 350,000 in savings. 

The team has turned over almost completely around Harmanen since 2025

Netum’s management team has changed almost completely since Repe Harmanen moved from the Board to the CEO role on 10 January 2025, and seven members have left it, counting Pitkänen. Matti Mujunen retired as CEO. Lauri Stigell followed in April 2025 when he stepped down from his position as CEO of Studyo Oy. Mujunen however continues as an advisor to the Board of Directors. Liisa Rusanen was appointed, transferring from the role of CEO of Codeo Oy. Kimmo Koivisto and Juha-Pekka Leskinen left the team in July 2025, when it was cut from nine members to seven, though both kept their roles. Altti Raali, CEO of the subsidiary Netum Ltd, left with immediate effect in October 2025, and Mikko Koistinen moved to a strategic account role in January 2026. Of the eight members who will run Netum from January, only Liina Kangas, Sami Rantanen and Peter Ahlskog have sat on the team before 2025. Three of them, Harmanen, Mattila and Rusanen, have been on it for less than a year.

Pitkänen’s exit is the one to read closely. He was appointed in September 2025 to simplify the Netum Ltd business area and “build a strong foundation for profitable growth.” Until the end of his notice period, he will carry out separately agreed duties until his notice period ends. The unit he led, Netum Solutions, went through change negotiations twice: in December 2025, involving 223 people and again in August 2026. The outcome of the December round, announced in February 2026, was two dismissals, 26 lay-offs and material changes to the employment terms of two people. Its operations are now divided among the other business areas. 

The structure fits the business, but the team now has to stay in place

Recent contracts map onto the new areas: integration work for the cities of Turku and Järvenpää, and security testing for Statistics Finland. The risk is the record above. In August, Netum said its previous change negotiations had raised employee turnover more than expected and reduced delivery capacity. The new round covers 40 people just as utilisation needs to rise. A management seat added in a company that has gone from 394 employees to 308 pays off only if the business area directors run their areas as owners of results, not as another layer of coordination.

The third-quarter review in early November will show whether the second-half recovery has started. The end of the change negotiations will settle where savings land within the EUR 1.4 to 1.8 million range. The year 2027, the first full year under the new structure, will be the first real test of the path to a 10% margin. 

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