Two Helsinki demergers are locked in, a third is under review

Konecranes fell because others raised around it

Konecranes did not cut its fee. It lost ground because other boards moved past it. Fortum raised its chair fee from €155,000 to €175,000 and climbed four places to 14th. Neste went from €165,000 to €195,000 and rose three places to 10th. Sanoma, which paid €144,000 a year ago, now pays the same €160,000 as Konecranes.

Even a raise above the typical rate cost Elisa three places

Elisa's 3.1% raise was slightly above the typical 2.8% across all 32 companies. It still cost Elisa three places, because the boards around it raised by more: Hiab by 6.3% and Kalmar by 5.0%.

Thirteen boards held their fee, and their peers moved past them

Thirteen large caps held their chair fee this year. Much of the segment is tightly packed: 12 companies pay their chair between €150,000 and €200,000, so small differences in raises quickly reorder the ranking. That is what a nomination board will see when it compares next year's proposal with its peers.

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.