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Martela's leadership transition is turning into something broader than a CEO change.
The Finnish workspace company said today that VP, HR & Sustainability Suvi-Maarit Kario and VP, Brand & Portfolio Eeva Terävä will leave in August to pursue opportunities outside the company.
The announcement follows the departure of VP, Customer Success Kimmo Hakkala in May and comes less than two weeks after Panu Ala-Nikkola returned as CEO, as Listeds reported.
A smaller management team
Three departures in a short period would attract attention at any company. What matters more is how Martela plans to respond. The company is not appointing replacements.
Instead, Martela will reduce the size of its group management team. Brand and portfolio will report directly to the CEO, while the remaining responsibilities will be distributed across the existing leadership team. The decision provides one of the first indications of how Ala-Nikkola intends to organize the company.
The move points to a simpler organization with fewer reporting layers and more authority concentrated around the CEO. It also arrives at a time when Martela is under pressure. In April, the company cut its 2026 revenue guidance to EUR 75–85 million and withdrew expectations of a profitable year.
Portfolio moves closer to the CEO
The decision is particularly notable because of the function moving under Ala-Nikkola's direct oversight.
Terävä joined Martela in 2016 and has led the company's brand and portfolio work since joining the group management team in 2021. During that period, she helped shape much of the product offering Martela is relying on to meet changing workplace demand.
By bringing portfolio responsibility under the CEO, Martela is concentrating oversight of one of its most important commercial functions.
Different departures, one direction
The two departures represent different losses for the company.
Terävä leaves after nearly a decade at Martela and with deep knowledge of the company's products and workplace strategy. Kario joined in 2023 and brought experience from Finnlines, Destia, Alstom Finland, GS-Hydro, and HKScan, helping integrate people management and sustainability into the broader business.
Yet the announcement is less about who is leaving than about the structure that remains.
An early indicator of leadership
Ala-Nikkola has inherited a company navigating weaker demand and declining profitability. Martela's response to the departures is to streamline the management structure rather than rebuild it.
Whether that proves to be a temporary arrangement or a longer-term operating model remains unclear. What is clear is that Martela's leadership transition is now extending beyond the CEO office and into the way the company itself is organized.
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