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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Business

Netum rebuilds its top team for a smaller, sharper business

Netum rebuilds its top team for a smaller, sharper business

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5 min read

Explore and follow profiles from this article to get timely updates:

Credit: Netum

Credit: Netum

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. 

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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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Authors

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.

Sayali Mahurkar is a Junior Data and Business Analyst at Listeds, where she supports research, insights and data validation. She holds a Master’s in Statistics and Data Science, and has previously interned at Morgan Stanley and The Reserve Bank of India.

Sayali Mahurkar is a Junior Data and Business Analyst at Listeds, where she supports research, insights and data validation. She holds a Master’s in Statistics and Data Science, and has previously interned at Morgan Stanley and The Reserve Bank of India.

Authors

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.

Sayali Mahurkar is a Junior Data and Business Analyst at Listeds, where she supports research, insights and data validation. She holds a Master’s in Statistics and Data Science, and has previously interned at Morgan Stanley and The Reserve Bank of India.

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Leadership Moves

Honkarakenne puts Sanna Hovila on its executive group as new CEO rewrites strategy

Oct 12, 2026

Honkarakenne has appointed HR Director Sanna Hovila as Vice President, People and Communications and a member of the Executive Group from 9 October 2026. She reports to President and CEO Magnus Hindström, and the Executive Group now has six members.

“Sanna has strong expertise and insight in personnel matters and in developing our culture. As a member of the Executive Group, she will ensure that the employee perspective is included in decisions from the very beginning and that they are communicated clearly,” said Magnus Hindström, President and CEO.

Hindström brings people and communications to the top table two months into the job

Hindström took over on 3 August, succeeding Marko Saarelainen, who moved to lead subsidiary Honka Japan. He joined from Metsä Wood, where he was vice president for Kerto LVL sales. Hovila has been HR Director at Honkarakenne since 2021 and previously worked at Atria.

The appointment follows a profit warning and an unfinished strategy update

In August, Honkarakenne dropped its numerical 2026 guidance of EUR 42 to 45 million in net sales and now only expects net sales and operating profit to exceed 2025 levels. It cited weaker export orders and a profitability programme that missed its early-year targets. First-half net sales fell 5% to EUR 15.8 million and operational EBIT, excluding non-recurring items, was EUR -2.2 million, while the order book rose 28% to EUR 33.6 million.

“We are currently updating our strategy, and implementing it requires clear decisions, openness about the rationale and consistent action. The decisions affect the everyday work of every employee, which is why human resources management and communications belong in the Executive Group,” comments Magnus Hindström, President and CEO.

Alongside the strategy update, Hindström is focusing on adjusting the cost structure and strengthening cash flow. Decisions of that kind reach every employee, which is why the company wants the people's perspective in the room when they are made.

“Change will only succeed if each of us knows where we are heading and why, and that is what I will focus on first,” says Sanna Hovila.

Monthly Leadership Moves

September's finance seats started filling from inside

Oct 9, 2026

Through August, every incoming chief financial officer at a Helsinki issuer since December 2025 already held the title somewhere else. In September, Vincit promoted from its own controlling team and UPM made WISA's interim finance chief permanent. The lateral market did not close: Tieto and Relais both hired sitting finance chiefs, and Terveystalo is now searching for one.

Listeds had recorded at least ten CFO changes across Nasdaq Helsinki and First North between December 2025 and August 2026, and not one incoming finance chief was taking the job for the first time. Last month's roundup ended on whether September would break that run. It did, at the smaller end of the market.

The month's second signal was structural. Viking Line, Kalmar, Terveystalo and the planned UPM and Sappi graphic paper joint venture each redrew an organization in September and named the people to run it. Board-level change stayed thin, and most of it was nomination-board formation for the 2027 annual general meetings rather than turnover in the boardroom itself.

Vincit and WISA broke the lateral run with internal finance appointments

The Digia and Vincit chain that opened in August closed in September. Vincit named a successor on September 01, and went inside to do it. Paula Kuittinen, Head of Management Accounting and Business Control since March 2026 and before that more than 12 years in finance roles at CGI, most recently she has been the Finance Director, now becoming the CFO on November 1. "It is great to be able to appoint our new CFO from within the company," said chief executive Julius Manni.

On September 18, UPM's board appointed Lasse von Hertzen, previously WISA's interim CFO, its permanent Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, effective when the plywood demerger completes. That finishes a WISA leadership team named in full by the parent's board, with trading expected from November 2.

LapWall took a third route. Tuomo Riihonen's employment ended on September 24, and the next day the company named Tiina Määttä Chief Financial Officer and Legal Officer from October 1. Her record runs through finance and legal advisory roles at Talenom and Greenstep and the chief executive seat at Kymsol Group.

Kempower named Lasse Hatinen on September 9, bringing more than 15 years of finance leadership in listed industrial companies. He joins by March 1, 2027 at the latest, from Metso where he has served as Senior Vice President, Group Controller. Juha Jaatinen, interim since August 13, holds the seat until then.

Larger issuers kept buying finance chiefs who already hold the title

The lateral market remains the default above small cap. Tieto appointed Juuso Pajunen from Terveystalo on September 16, and Terveystalo opened its search the same day. Relais Group appointed Joonas Mäkipeska on September 14 from Technopolis, where he is Chief Financial and Strategy Officer, after CFO roles at Holiday Club Resorts, Sponda and ALD Automotive. Chief executive Christian Gebauer framed the brief as "continued profitable growth, supported by financial discipline, strong cash conversion and investment discipline."

Stora Enso moved the other way on the same theme: on September 17 CFO Niclas Rosenlew was named deputy chief executive to President & CEO Hans Sohlström while keeping the finance role. Tallink appointed Armin Penner as its new CFO on September 8. He has worked for more than six years as CFO and Management Board Member of Circle K Eesti and has also served as CFO of Euroapteek and Ragn-Sells Eesti. 

SSH went outside for its chief executive, Arvo went to its own board

September's two listed-issuer CEO appointments took opposite routes. SSH Communications Security named Lars Bell from Omada, where he was Chief Customer Officer and interim chief executive, effective October 1. The share rose 49.5% in the five sessions to September 7. Bell inherits a business whose second-quarter revenue recovered to EUR 5.7 million, up 6.8%, while EBITDA fell 40.7%, and he starts on the same day as CFO Cristian Arias. The third-quarter report will be the first one a rebuilt executive team owns.

Arvo Sijoitusosuuskunta named Teemu Kokko, a member of its board of directors since 2021, deputy chief executive from December and chief executive from April 1, 2027. The selection ran through a nomination committee drawn from the cooperative's supervisory board, one level above the board Kokko sits on. He inherits first-half operating profit of EUR 8.5 million against EUR 6.5 million a year earlier, most of the step-up traced to an approximately EUR 6.9 million gain on the HANZA exit.

Reorganizations, not departures, produced most management-team changes

The month's largest management-team changes came attached to new structures. Kalmar announced plans on September 3 to simplify its operating model by combining divisions. Terveystalo said on September 4 it will report in four segments from 2027, Healthcare Services, Oral Health, Public Partnerships and Sweden, and named Ville Pesonen senior vice president for oral health. Viking Line renewed its management structure on September 8 and established a Viking Leadership Team. UPM and Sappi nominated Gunnar Eberhardt and Stephen Blyth to lead their planned graphic paper joint venture on September 8, and the wider management team on September 14. 

Technology seats moved alongside. Aspocomp named Ville Raatikainen Chief Engineering and Technology Officer from January 1, 2027, the second outside hire to its team since July, timed to the phased commissioning of its expanded Oulu plant.

Directors moving into executive roles drove September's committee changes

Only one board chair left. Kari Syrjänen resigned as chair of Biohit on September 2. The two committee changes that followed shared a cause: a director taking an executive job. Tulikivi's audit committee chair Niko Haavisto left the board after becoming CFO of Fiskars, and Panu Paappanen became the chairperson on September 14. At Olvi, director Tarmo Noop left the audit committee to run the Estonian subsidiary A. Le Coq on an interim basis, and board chair Nora Hortling replaced him.

September split the finance pipeline by company size

September broke the lateral CFO run, but only at the smaller end of the market: Vincit and WISA filled their finance seats from inside, while Tieto and Relais kept hiring sitting finance chiefs. At chief executive level, Arvo promoted from its own board and SSH went outside. Most management-team changes followed reorganizations rather than departures. On boards, the committee changes came from directors moving into executive roles, and most other activity was nomination-board formation for 2027. With interim finance cover at Kempower and Relais and an open seat at Terveystalo, the next test is whether larger issuers start filling finance seats from within. 

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