Savox, Varjo explore IPOs as defense tech draws investor interest

The raises were spread across the table, not just among low payers

This was not a round of low-paying boards catching up. A year earlier, the boards that went on to raise their chair fee and the boards that held it had the same typical chair fee, €160,000.

At the very top, most boards held. Nokia, UPM, Stora Enso and KONE, four of the six highest payers, left every fee unchanged.

Board members got similar raises to their chairs

The rest of the board was not left behind. Nineteen boards also raised the fee for ordinary members. At the boards that raised fees, the typical increase was 5.2% for the chair, 5.3% for the vice chair and 4.4% for members, so the gap between the roles hardly changed.

In total, the chairs of the 32 large caps are now paid about €5.6 million a year, roughly €205,000 more than in 2025.

Nordea gave its chair a bigger raise than the rest of its board

The rest of the Nordea board received smaller raises. Ordinary members went up 3.1%, to €115,500, and the vice chair 5.6%, to €190,000. As a result, Nordea's chair now earns 3.8 times what an ordinary board member earns, up from 3.6 times a year ago. No other large cap has a wider gap between its chair and its members.

Nokia pays every board seat at the top of the market

Nokia spreads its money differently. An ordinary member of the Nokia board earns €185,000 a year, more than the chair is paid at 21 of the 32 large caps. Nokia's vice chair earns €210,000, the highest vice chair fee in the segment. Nordea pays most for the chair; Nokia pays the most, or joint most, for every seat.

The top fee has not risen, but two boards now pay it

For nomination boards preparing next year's proposals, the highest chair fee in Helsinki has not moved: Nokia already paid €440,000 in 2025. What has changed is that it is no longer a single outlier. Two of the largest boards in the market now pay the same top fee, and no other board comes close.