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Niko Haavisto, former CFO of Nokian Tyres, will join Fiskars Group as chief financial officer on Aug. 10, 2026, succeeding Jussi Siitonen after five years in the role. Haavisto arrives as the Helsinki-listed consumer goods group begins executing its new 2026–2030 strategy, with responsibility for strengthening capital allocation, improving financial transparency, and supporting the company's deleveraging efforts.
Haavisto will become a member of the group leadership team, reporting to President and CEO Jyri Luomakoski, Fiskars announced recently. Siitonen, who has also served as deputy to the CEO, will remain through a transition period before leaving to pursue opportunities outside the company.
Experienced listed-company CFO joins at pivotal stage
Haavisto brings more than 25 years of finance leadership experience across listed companies, private equity, audit, and healthcare. Most recently, he served as CFO of Nokian Tyres between 2023 and 2025. Before that, he spent 13 years at CapMan as CFO and later senior adviser, developing expertise in capital allocation, portfolio management, and investor relations.
Earlier roles at Oriola-KD, GE Healthcare, and PricewaterhouseCoopers broadened his experience across financial control, treasury, and corporate governance. He also serves on the boards of Kuusakoski Group, Kuusakoski, Tulikivi, and SAKA.
"I am excited to join Fiskars Group, which is known for its iconic brands. I look forward to shaping, together with our teams, the Group's role as an effective portfolio and capital steward," Haavisto said. Fiskars owns homeware and outdoor brands including Gerber, Iittala, Royal Copenhagen, Wedgwood, and Georg Jensen.
CEO Luomakoski said Haavisto's experience as CFO of two listed companies made him well-suited to Fiskars' operating model.
"I am happy to welcome Niko Haavisto to our team. With his background as CFO of two listed companies, one of them being a private equity sponsor, he has the experience and relevant track record for our structure," he said.
Siitonen departs after completing organizational overhaul
Siitonen leaves after overseeing one of the most significant organizational changes in Fiskars' recent history. During his five-year tenure, the company shifted from a centrally managed organization to two operationally independent business areas — BA Vita and BA Fiskars — each with its own profit-and-loss and balance-sheet accountability.
The restructuring, announced in 2024 and completed during the first quarter of 2026, is expected to deliver annual run-rate cost savings of around EUR 12 million.
Siitonen also helped develop the group's new long-term financial framework, unveiled at Capital Markets Day in May, making him one of the architects of the strategy Haavisto will now be responsible for delivering. Fiskars has not announced a successor to Siitonen's deputy CEO responsibilities.
What Fiskars is trying to accomplish
Haavisto takes over as Fiskars shifts its focus from restructuring to execution. At its May Capital Markets Day, the company introduced new financial targets through 2030 aimed at delivering faster profitable growth, stronger cash generation, and a more disciplined balance sheet while increasing accountability within its two business areas.
Fiskars is targeting a marked improvement from 2025, aiming to lift its comparable EBIT margin to at least 12% by 2030 from 6.7% last year, while reducing net debt-to-comparable EBITDA to no more than 2.5x from 3.31x. BA Vita targets annual organic sales growth of 4%–6% and BA Fiskars 3%–5%. The group also plans cash conversion of at least 75% of EBIT, a stable, gradually increasing dividend, and expanded Business Area-level financial reporting.
"The new financial targets provide a clear framework and ambition for 2026–2030 and a path towards sustainable profitable growth, while taking into account the dynamic operating environment we continue to navigate," Luomakoski said when presenting the strategy. "They also reflect our current way of operating with increased accountability at the Business Area level and continued central oversight at Group level."
Financial context
Haavisto inherits a finance function with several priorities already underway.
Fiskars generated EUR 1.1 billion in net sales during 2025 across its portfolio of brands. In the first quarter of 2026, comparable net sales increased 2% to EUR 282.9 million, but comparable EBIT declined 7% to EUR 25 million from EUR 26.8 million, partly due to a more than EUR 2 million currency headwind from the stronger euro against the US dollar.
The balance sheet remains a focus. Net debt stood at EUR 545.8 million at the end of March, leaving leverage at 3.55x comparable EBITDA—well above the board's long-term target of 2.5x. Earlier this month, the company completed a EUR 50 million tap of its sustainability-linked bond to support refinancing and general corporate purposes, making treasury and capital allocation immediate priorities for the incoming CFO.
Operationally, BA Vita also continues to face pressure. In May, Fiskars Finland (Vita) launched change negotiations at the Iittala glass factory involving 132 employees, with plans to eliminate up to 15 positions as part of a broader transformation and organizational renewal program. Progress on improving BA Vita's profitability will be one of the earliest tests of the group's new operating model.
Investor watchpoints
Investors will be watching whether Haavisto can accelerate progress toward Fiskars' financial targets while maintaining discipline on costs and capital allocation.
Key areas include improving BA Vita's margins following the restructuring program, reducing leverage toward the 2.5x net debt-to-EBITDA target, optimizing the group's debt portfolio ahead of the 2028 maturity of its sustainability-linked bond, and determining whether Fiskars permanently separates the deputy CEO responsibilities from the CFO role.
The leadership transition comes less than three months after Fiskars completed its organizational overhaul and only weeks after unveiling its new five-year strategy, making Haavisto's early execution a key focus for investors.
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