Chief People Officer Taru Salo is leaving Siili Solutions for Attendo, handing the people agenda to Timo Miiluniemi on an interim basis as the AI-focused digital development company navigates a leadership reset while continuing to invest in AI and international growth.

Salo, who joined Siili in 2021, will leave her post at the end of August. Timo Miiluniemi, currently director, people and learning, will become interim CPO on September 1 while the company begins the search for a permanent successor, the Finnish technology consultancy announced yesterday.

Salo's departure marks the fifth change to Siili's management team since September 2025 and comes as the company continues its search for a permanent chief executive following Tomi Pienimäki's departure in May.

Interim CEO Markku Savusalo thanked Salo for her contribution. ”I want to thank Taru for the past five years at Siili – especially for her strong approach to competence development and driving Siili’s AI transformation," he said.

On the same day, Attendo revealed Salo’s next destination. The HR executive will join the Nordic care-services company as chief human resources officer on Sept. 14.

Attendo said the appointment is intended to strengthen its HR capabilities, leadership and organizational renewal as technology and AI reshape care delivery and competition for skilled workers. The company highlighted Salo's experience leading Siili's AI transformation program and noted that she received AI Finland's AI Forerunner Female Award in 2025.

Leadership reset continues

Salo's departure marks the latest executive change during a year of transition for Siili.

In May, CEO Tomi Pienimäki stepped down by agreement with the board of directors after leading the company for four years into what the board described as a “new strategic phase.” Markku Savusalo, previously VP of digital engineering, was appointed interim CEO while the search for a permanent chief executive continues.

The leadership changes have coincided with a difficult operating environment. In April, Siili launched change negotiations covering around 311 employees in Finland after management said AI adoption among Finnish customers had progressed more slowly than expected. The process concluded with temporary layoffs affecting consultants, fixed-term employees and members of management during 2026. Savusalo said the measures were intended to safeguard profitability while the company continued strengthening its sales organization and service offering.

Financial pressure remains

The management changes have unfolded against a weaker operating backdrop. Revenue declined over 3% to EUR 108.1 million in 2025, while adjusted EBITA fell to EUR 4.1 million after Siili cut its earnings guidance in December, citing postponed customer decisions and a technical accounting correction.

The pressure carried into 2026. First-quarter revenue fell over 14% year over year to EUR 25.7 million and adjusted EBITA slipped to a loss of EUR 0.2 million from a EUR 1.3 million profit a year earlier.

Despite the weaker start, Siili reaffirmed its full-year guidance of EUR 102 million to EUR 126 million in revenue and adjusted EBITA of EUR 3.7 million to EUR 6.9 million, and said the layoff negotiations would not affect that outlook.

Few Nordic finance leaders have seen as many industries from the CFO chair as Pia Aaltonen-Forsell. Forestry at Munksjö and Ahlstrom Munksjö. Steel at Outokumpu. Batteries at Northvolt. Aviation at Finnair. She chairs UPM’s Audit Committee, and by January she takes on her next role as CFO of Valmet.

Each industry has its own logic, its own cycles, its own shocks. Yet across all of them, Finnair CFO Aaltonen-Forsell says, the fundamentals that decide whether a company survives disruption barely change.

"We just have to accept the world as it is. There are surprises, there is volatility, and we have to build the way we think, the frameworks we use and the way we act around that," the financial leader of Finland’s flag carrier told Listeds in an exclusive interview.

Before joining Finnair as CFO in 2024, Aaltonen-Forsell held senior finance roles at Vacon, Munksjö, Ahlstrom Munksjö, Outokumpu and Northvolt. She also chairs UPM's Audit Committee and will become CFO of industrial technology supplier Valmet by next January. The experience has shown that resilience depends less on accurate forecasts than on preserving the flexibility to adapt.

Few companies have tested that idea as thoroughly as Finnair. Russia's closure of its airspace dismantled the airline's long-standing advantage on Europe-Asia routes almost overnight, forcing longer flight times and a fundamental rethink of its network. More recently, conflict in the Middle East triggered another wave of disruption as oil prices climbed and airlines adjusted operations.

Many carriers felt the impact immediately. Scandinavian Airlines canceled hundreds of flights because of higher fuel costs. Finnair largely avoided cancellations and fuel surcharges, helped by a fuel hedging strategy that had locked in much of its fuel costs before prices surged. At the same time, reduced capacity from several Middle Eastern airlines increased demand on long-haul routes to Asia, supporting a record comparable operating profit of €78.4 million in the second quarter and prompting Finnair to raise its revenue guidance for 2026.

For Aaltonen-Forsell, the lesson is not how Finnair handled one disruption but how it prepared for many.

Optionality is a strategy

Ask Aaltonen-Forsell what resilience means, and the seasoned CFO starts with the balance sheet.

"From my perspective, resilience means that you have a certain readiness through the structure of your balance sheet, your cash reserves, your factual understanding of the situation, your shared knowledge and your shared view of the situation."

Preparation, however, is only part of the equation. "Because things can change, part of resilience is having that optionality. Not just saying, 'Here's the only right way to do it,' but thinking upfront that there may be two different alternatives. Depending on how things go, we can go this way, or we can go that way."

Few industries feel geopolitical shocks as quickly as aviation. When the Strait of Hormuz closed in late February, global jet fuel prices nearly doubled within weeks, reaching $188 a barrel in April. They eased briefly before jumping almost 30% again in July as renewed tensions disrupted shipping. For the airline industry, the volatility is expected to add around $100 billion to fuel bills this year.

It is why Aaltonen-Forsell returns to the idea of optionality. Rather than betting on a single forecast, companies need enough financial and operational flexibility to change course as conditions shift.

A veteran finance executive, Pia Aaltonen-Forsell has held CFO roles at Finnair, Northvolt, Outokumpu, Ahlstrom-Munksjö, and Vacon, alongside board appointments at several listed companies. Image credit: Finnair

Managing risk without predicting it

Airlines take different approaches to fuel price risk. Some, including American Airlines, have largely abandoned fuel hedging. Most European network carriers continue to hedge, although to varying degrees.

Finnair follows the latter approach. The airline relies on a hedging policy, but Aaltonen-Forsell says it still requires a close understanding of market conditions.

"We have a hedging policy that really gives us direction. But we also need to have our feet on the ground and understand the market. In very volatile markets, it's not a thing that you just call the bank and say, 'I would like to do this.' You still need to be very informed about what's going on and choose the right moments."

The strategy proved its value this summer. By the end of the second quarter, Finnair had hedged roughly three-quarters of its expected fuel consumption for the second half of the year, reducing its exposure as prices rose.

That discipline matters because markets rarely move in predictable ways. "You need to have a certain framework for your thinking. It can't jump around day to day based on the latest news or tweet. Here's the basic plan. Then here are some things we could potentially change in different situations."

Rather than reacting to each headline, whether a breakthrough in peace talks or a fresh escalation, Finnair follows a defined framework while adjusting its decisions as conditions evolve.

Sampo Immonen, head of research and development for Valmet's paper and board machines business, will join Spinnova Plc as chief technology officer no later than Oct. 1, 2026, as the Finnish textile-fiber company reshapes its technology leadership while working to restart production and prepare for industrial-scale manufacturing following a difficult 2025.

Immonen will join the management team and report to CEO Janne Poranen, while longtime CTO Juha Salmela moves into the newly created role of chief technology strategy and innovation officer, remaining on the management team, the sustainable fiber pioneer announced recently. The new roles divide responsibility between industrial-scale operations and future technology development.

Founded in 2009, Spinnova develops patented technology for producing textile fiber from wood pulp and waste materials without harmful chemicals or dissolving. The technology originated from research by Juha Salmela at VTT inspired by the way spiders spin silk. The company has already collaborated with brands including The North Face, Puma, Bestseller, H&M Group, Adidas, Ecco and Marimekko. 

Spinnova has been reshaping its leadership throughout 2026 while advancing its production restart plans. Immonen's appointment follows Chief Commercial Officer Mikko Lassila's arrival in April and comes less than two weeks after the company announced Chief Product and Sustainability Officer Shahriare Mahmood would leave in October after five years on the management team, as reported by Listeds earlier.

CEO Janne Poranen said Immonen will help support the company's industrial-scale ambitions. "Sampo is an excellent addition to our team and will play an important role in the company's development and in scaling our technology to industrial scale." 

Immonen joins after more than 14 years at Valmet, where he held a series of technology and R&D leadership roles, most recently heading R&D for the paper and board machines business. His experience spans technology portfolio management, strategic partnerships, piloting and new business development. He said his fiber-industry experience and professional network would help create value for Spinnova and support the company's next stage of development.

Technology leadership split reflects changing responsibilities

The new structure separates responsibility for operating Spinnova's current technology from developing its future technology platform. As CTO, Immonen will oversee industrial-scale technology operations, while Salmela—whose research formed the basis of Spinnova's fiber technology—will concentrate on future technologies, intellectual property and strategic opportunities.

The appointment is the third management team change Spinnova has disclosed this year. As of Oct. 1, the management team will comprise CEO Janne Poranen, CFO and People Officer Santeri Heinonen, CTO Sampo Immonen, CMO Mikko Lassila, Chief Product and Sustainability Officer Shahriare Mahmood until Oct. 20, CTSIO Juha Salmela and General Counsel Johanna Valkama. Mahmood's departure leaves the product and sustainability portfolio without a long-term leader.

The management changes come after a challenging 2025, when Spinnova’s revenue declined almost 55% to EUR 344,000, and operating loss more than doubled to EUR 41.3 million, partly because of an EUR 18.4 million impairment related to the Woodspin joint venture. Since then, Spinnova has focused on preparing to restart production at the Woodspin demonstration facility in Jyväskylä while broadening the commercial network supporting its fiber technology. 

Unlike the management team, the board has remained largely unchanged. At the April 2026 AGM, shareholders re-elected the board and authorized a share issuance. More recently, Pirkka Palomäki replaced Ilkka Kivimäki on the shareholders' nomination board, the body responsible for proposing future board candidates, ahead of the 2027 AGM cycle. 

New role follows reorganization of Neste's fastest-growing business

Elim Yeoh, vice president, Biofuels Growth Americas at oil and gas giant BP, will join Neste as president, Renewable Products, North America on Sept. 1, 2026, to lead the Finnish company's new North American business unit as Neste strengthens executive oversight of Renewable Products, one of its two largest operating businesses.

Yeoh will oversee the North American business unit, including commercial operations, feedstock sourcing and the Martinez Renewables joint venture, while reporting to President and CEO Heikki Malinen, the world's leading producer of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel announced recently.

The position has been held on an interim basis by SVP Carl Nyberg since April, when Neste established the regional business unit as part of a broader reorganization of its renewable products business that the company said was designed to accelerate value creation.

New structure puts greater emphasis on renewables

Renewable Products, which produces renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel, delivered Neste's strongest earnings growth in 2025, with comparable EBITDA rising nearly 49% to EUR 764 million, making it one of the company's two largest operating segments alongside Oil Products.

Against that backdrop, North America remained Neste’s second-largest market for Renewable Diesel and SAF in 2025, accounting for 28% of sales volumes, compared with 72% in Europe.

Reflecting the segment's growing significance, Neste established the Renewable Products, North America business unit to oversee regional commercial operations, feedstock sourcing and the Martinez Renewables joint venture with Marathon Petroleum. The company said the new structure will support long-term growth without altering its financial reporting structure.

BP executive brings more than two decades of industry experience

Yeoh brings more than 20 years of leadership experience across the downstream, midstream and renewable fuels sectors. At BP, she led biofuels growth across the Americas, focusing on commercial partnerships and business development. Before joining the London-headquartered multinational, she held leadership positions at Chevron spanning refining, chemicals and renewable fuels.

President and CEO Heikki Malinen highlighted Yeoh's track record and industry experience, adding that: "This will be invaluable as we continue to strengthen our regional presence and drive the growth of our Renewable Products business in North America."

Jussi Siitonen, CFO and deputy CEO of Fiskars Group, will join Finnair as chief financial officer on November 1, 2026, as the airline enters the next phase of its turnaround with stronger earnings, higher revenue expectations and an ambitious multi-year growth strategy. He succeeds Pia Aaltonen-Forsell, who is leaving after roughly a year in the role to join another employer.

Siitonen, 57, has served on Finnair's board of directors since 2024 and stepped down from the board on the day his appointment was announced. He replaces Aaltonen-Forsell, who joined the flag carrier in August 2025. Her next destination was revealed the same day, with Valmet appointing her as CFO and a member of its executive leadership team, effective no later than the end of January 2027. 

The CFO appointment is the latest step in a broader reshaping of Finnair's leadership. Over the past eighteen months, the airline has appointed Sini Kivekäs as chief people officer, refreshed several board positions and completed another governance cycle at its 2026 AGM. Unlike many companies undergoing significant executive turnover, Finnair is refreshing its leadership while financial performance is improving rather than deteriorating.

A board insider moves into one of Finnair's most important roles

Few incoming finance chiefs arrive with the level of familiarity Siitonen already has with the company. Alongside his executive career at consumer goods company Fiskars Group, he has spent the past two years on Finnair's board, where he most recently served on the audit committee. That gives him an understanding of the airline's strategy, capital allocation priorities and industry challenges before formally taking responsibility for its finances.

For Finnair, the appointment also brings continuity to a finance function that has changed rapidly. Aaltonen-Forsell's departure marks the airline's second CFO transition since mid-2025. Between Kristian Pullola's exit, Aaltonen-Forsell's short tenure and Siitonen's arrival, Finnair will have had three CFOs in just over a year.

The finance function is changing at a very different moment than it was a year ago. When Aaltonen-Forsell joined, Finnair was still working to restore profitability following years of disruption to its long-haul business. Today, the airline is reporting stronger operating performance while beginning to execute a new long-term strategy.

CEO Turkka Kuusisto thanked Aaltonen-Forsell for her contribution and welcomed Siitonen to the finance chief role. "I warmly thank Pia for her short but distinguished time at Finnair and wish her the best of success also in future," he said.

"At the same time, I warmly welcome Jussi to Finnair,” Kuusisto added. Through his role on Finnair's Board, Jussi has a thorough understanding of our strategy and industry, which creates a strong foundation for rapid value creation in the key role of CFO.”

Siitonen said his priority will be ensuring Finnair's financial position supports its long-term ambitions. Having served on the board, he said he already understands the company's high standards and sees the CFO's role as providing the financial foundation needed to achieve them.

A stronger business, but a more complex operating environment

Siitonen inherits a business whose financial trajectory has improved sharply over the past year.

Finnair reported second-quarter revenue of €916.7 million, an increase of over 16% from the same period a year earlier, while comparable operating profit climbed to €78.4 million from €10.3 million. The recovery has been equally visible over the first half of the year, with revenue increasing over 14% to €1.69 billion and the comparable operating result improving to a profit of €77.8 million from a loss of €52.3 million in the first half of 2025.

The stronger performance prompted management to raise its full-year revenue guidance to €3.4 billion-€3.5 billion from €3.3 billion-€3.4 billion, while maintaining its comparable operating profit outlook of €120 million-€190 million.

The outlook is not without trade-offs, however. While management has become more optimistic about revenue, it has reduced planned capacity growth for 2026 from roughly 5% to around 1% as Middle East route suspensions and continuing network adjustments weigh on the flying programme. The revised outlook suggests Finnair expects stronger pricing, ancillary revenue and network optimization—not additional capacity—to underpin second-half performance.

Underlying operating trends have remained supportive. Passenger numbers increased over 7% during the first quarter, while June traffic data showed passenger volumes rising 9%, revenue per available seat kilometre increasing over 10% and cargo volumes growing more than 20%. On-time performance, however, declined because of weather disruption across Europe.

Leadership change comes amid broader strategic reset

Pia Aaltonen-Forsell, former CFO of Finnair, will join Valmet as chief financial officer and a member of the executive leadership team no later than the end of January 2027, as the Helsinki-listed industrial technology company advances a strategic review that could separate its two core businesses into independently listed companies. 

Aaltonen-Forsell succeeds Katri Hokkanen, who will leave the role by the end of September 2026 after nearly four years as CFO and almost two decades with the company, Valmet announced on July 24.

On the same day, the board launched a strategic review to assess whether separating the two businesses of Biomaterial Solutions and Services and Process Performance Solutions into independently listed companies would create greater shareholder value.

Valmet is a Finnish industrial technology company serving process industries through two businesses. Originally established as the state-owned Valtion Metallitehtaat in 1950 and re-established as an independent listed company following its demerger from Metso in 2013, its larger Biomaterial Solutions and Services segment accounts for about 70% of revenue and supplies production equipment and maintenance for pulp, paper, tissue and renewable energy plants. Process Performance Solutions generates the remaining revenue, providing industrial automation, software and flow control systems for customers across industries including chemicals, energy, water treatment and paper manufacturing.

Valmet also announced on July 22 that Sami Riekkola, executive vice president of Pulp, Energy and Circularity, will leave for an external opportunity no later than Jan. 22, 2027. The company has begun recruiting his successor.

The business she inherits

Aaltonen-Forsell takes over the finance function as Valmet navigates a mixed financial picture. The company delivered record profitability in 2025 and has reaffirmed its 2026 guidance for net sales to remain at the 2025 level and comparable EBITA to remain at or exceed last year's result. However, orders received declined in both the first and second quarters of 2026, first-half operating cash flow fell to EUR 100 million from EUR 297 million a year earlier, and gearing increased to 39% from 35% at the end of 2025.

Aaltonen-Forsell joins from Finnair, where she has served as CFO since June 2025, helping steer the flag carrier through geopolitical disruptions and higher fuel costs. Most recently, Finnair reported a record Q2 adjusted EBIT of EUR 78 million. Aaltonen-Forsell previously held CFO positions at Northvolt, Outokumpu, Ahlström-Munksjö, Munksjö and Vacon, and earlier worked in finance leadership roles at Stora Enso. She also serves on the board of UPM-Kymmene, where she chairs the audit committee.

CEO Thomas Hinnerskov said Aaltonen-Forsell's experience across global industrial companies will strengthen the company's finance leadership. "As we continue to develop Valmet and execute our strategy, her leadership will be important in driving our financial performance, cost competitiveness, and long-term value creation for our stakeholders."

After five years on Spinnova's management team, Shahriare Mahmood will leave his role as chief product and sustainability officer, as the textile technology company works to restart fiber production during 2026 following a challenging year and a series of leadership changes.

Mahmood will remain in the role until October 2026, and Spinnova has not named a successor, according to the recent press release. The departure follows several management team changes at the textile innovation company over the past 16 months, including a founder returning to lead as the CEO.

CEO Janne Poranen thanked Mahmood for his work. "I would like to thank Shahriare for his contribution to Spinnova's development. Shahriare has played an important role in advancing our product and sustainability work, and we wish him all the best for the future."

Inspired by an idea from VTT researcher Juha Salmela on how spiders spin silk, Spinnova has developed patented technology to produce textile fiber from wood pulp and waste materials without harmful chemicals or dissolving. Founded in 2009, the Finnish company has already made inroads into commercializing its biodegradable fiber with brands including The North Face, Puma, Bestseller, H&M Group, Adidas, Ecco and Marimekko.

Leadership changes continue

Mahmood's departure follows a difficult 2025 for Spinnova. Revenue fell almost 55% to EUR 344,000 from a year earlier, while the operating loss more than doubled to EUR 41.3 million, partly due to an impairment of EUR 18.4 million on the company's stake in the Woodspin joint venture, which operates Spinnova's main commercial-scale production site. The company proposed no dividend for 2025 and is not providing financial guidance for 2026. 

The product chief’s departure extends a period of high management turnover. Former CEO Tuomas Oijala stepped down in 2025, with founder Janne Poranen returning as CEO. Lasse Holopainen and Ben Selby also left the Management Team, while Mikko Lassila joined as chief commercial officer by April 15, 2026.

At the April 2026 AGM, shareholders re-elected all seven board members. Poranen continued as both CEO and chair, with the company citing its stage of development for departing from the Finnish Corporate Governance Code's recommendation to separate the roles. Shareholders also authorized the board to issue up to 5.2 million new shares, or about 10% of those outstanding, through June 30, 2027.

The appointments support Tokmanni's push to improve Dollarstore and redefine its strategy 

Tokmanni Group has strengthened its leadership team with two appointments to lead Dollarstore and oversee group strategy, underscoring new CEO Sampo Päällysaho's effort to rebuild the retailer's leadership around the weakest part of its Nordic expansion.

Martin Sörenhag, managing director for the Nordic countries at Flying Tiger Copenhagen, will join Tokmanni as managing director of Dollarstore on Nov. 1, 2026, as the retailer accelerates efforts to restore profitability at its struggling Swedish discount chain, Tokmanni Group, the Finnish discount retailer that owns Dollarstore and Click Shoes, announced yesterday.

Moreover, Ulrika Göransson, director of retail and associations at Swedish fuel company OKQ8, will become Tokmanni’s chief strategy and transformation officer on Sept. 1, where she will help shape the group's next strategic phase.

Tokmanni is one of the Nordic region's largest discount retailers, operating Finland's Tokmanni chain alongside Sweden's Dollarstore and Denmark's Big Dollar. The 2023 acquisition of Dollarstore marked the group's first major expansion outside Finland and underpins its ambition to build a leading Nordic value retailer.

The appointments mark Päällysaho's second executive team reshuffle since taking over as CEO on July 6 following Mika Rautiainen's retirement. Both executives will report directly to Päällysaho. Dollarstore Managing Director Timo Heimo will remain in the role until Sörenhag joins before returning to Finland by the end of the year. 

Two retail executives with Nordic operating experience

Päällysaho said Sörenhag's international retail background and commercial expertise make him well suited to build on the initiatives already underway to improve customer traffic and strengthen Dollarstore's market appeal. He said the new leader will help advance those efforts and support the chain's long-term growth and profitability.

Sörenhag has led Flying Tiger Copenhagen's Nordic business since 2019, overseeing about 160 stores across five countries. He previously managed the retailer's Swedish operations and has held senior positions at COOP, K-Rauta, Apoteket Hjärtat and Lidl, giving him more than two decades of Nordic retail leadership experience.

Göransson joins after serving at OKQ8 since 2025. Earlier roles include CEO positions at Zetas Garden and Teknikmagasinet's Swedish and Norwegian operations, along with senior strategy, business development and marketing roles at Clas Ohlson. 

The CEO also said Göransson "will play an important role in shaping and executing our future strategy and supporting the development of our business."

Dollarstore turnaround becomes an early priority

The appointments come as Dollarstore remains a key focus for Tokmanni. In the first quarter of 2026, the segment increased revenue by over 7% year over year, but comparable EBIT declined over 35% to a loss of EUR 10.5 million as weak like-for-like sales weighed on profitability.

The challenges have also affected the wider group. Tokmanni said Dollarstore's integration contributed to significant additional costs in 2025, when full-year comparable EBIT declined 15% to EUR 84.8 million. In the third quarter, higher Dollarstore expenses weighed on group comparable EBIT despite record comparable EBIT in the core Tokmanni segment. The board also withheld a second 2024 dividend installment to strengthen the balance sheet ahead of planned investments.

Against that backdrop, Sörenhag has been brought in to help drive Dollarstore's turnaround, while Göransson joins as Tokmanni prepares its next phase of strategy under CEO Sampo Päällysaho.

Promotion extends leadership overhaul as CEO oversees North America

Tiina Frazer, previously vice president, brand, marketing and communications at Nokian Tyres, has been appointed senior vice president, brand, marketing and communications, effective Aug. 1, 2026. She joins the management team as the Finnish tiremaker continues to strengthen its premium positioning while searching for a permanent leader for its North American passenger car tires business.

Frazer becomes the fourth management team appointment or departure at Nokian Tyres in the past eleven months. She succeeds no departing executive in the role, based on the company’s recent announcement. 

The Finland-based premium tire manufacturer has reshaped its leadership team over the past year with appointments including Chief Financial Officer Timo Koponen. Frazer’s promotion also follows the announced departure of Christopher Ostrander, SVP, Passenger Car Tyres, North America, who will leave the company on July 31. President and CEO Paolo Pompei has assumed responsibility for the key market on an interim basis until a successor is appointed.

Frazer brings broad brand and commercial leadership experience gained across the consumer goods, healthcare, and design sectors. Before joining Nokian Tyres in September 2025, Frazer was vice president, brands and marketing at HKFoods Finland Oy. She has also held senior leadership roles at Lumene, Roche Pharmaceuticals, and Fiskars. 

"I am delighted to welcome Tiina to the Nokian Tyres Management Team. Her experience in building impactful brands make her an excellent addition to our team as we continue to strengthen our premium position in our key markets," CEO Pompei said.

Financial backdrop

Frazer's promotion comes as Nokian Tyres' earnings recovery gathers pace. In the second quarter of 2026, net sales increased 11% year over year to EUR 379.9 million, while operating profit more than doubled to EUR 34.8 million. For the first half, net sales increased 8% to EUR 659.6 million and operating profit surged to EUR 17.0 million from a loss of 21.1 million. The company reaffirmed its 2026 guidance for continued net sales growth and segments operating profit of 8% to 10% of net sales.

What the company is trying to accomplish

The appointment comes as Nokian Tyres executes its strategy through 2029 under the theme "Making the unpredictable predictable in any weather condition." The company is aiming to build on its heritage in premium tires for demanding weather conditions while reducing its exposure to geopolitical risks following its exit from Russia.

Management has set targets of EUR 1.8 billion to EUR 2 billion in net sales by 2029, segments' EBITDA above 24%, and segments' operating profit above 15%. The strategy centers on accelerating growth in North America and Central Europe, maintaining its strong position in the Nordic markets, generating more than EUR 100 million in profitability improvements through performance initiatives, and strengthening its premium brand. Alongside its growth ambitions, the company is pursuing a net-zero emissions target across Scope 1, 2 and 3 by 2050.

Leadership transition comes as cybersecurity firm works to restore profitability

Rami Raulas will retire as chief executive of SSH Communications Security Oyj after less than three years in the role, with the board launching a search for his successor as the Helsinki-listed cybersecurity company works to restore profitability while expanding its recurring software business and strengthening its position in defense and critical infrastructure.

Raulas will remain CEO until a replacement is appointed, ensuring continuity, SSH announced recently. The search will consider both internal and external candidates with the support of an external advisor. 

SSH Communications Security is a Helsinki-listed cybersecurity company specializing in privileged access management and quantum-safe network security. The company is expanding its presence in defense and critical infrastructure, supported by a strategic partnership with Italian defense group Leonardo, its largest shareholder following a EUR 20 million investment in 2025.

The board credited Raulas with strengthening SSH's strategic position. Board Chair Henri Österlund said Raulas helped strengthen SSH's position in defense and critical infrastructure, including the company's strategic partnership with Leonardo. 

Raulas said it had been "a privilege" to lead SSH over the past two and a half years, adding that the company had built momentum in its chosen markets and was on the right path.

The CEO change coincides with weaker earnings despite continued revenue growth. Second-quarter net sales rose almost 7% to EUR 5.7 million and first-half revenue increased almost 3% to EUR 11.1 million, but first-half EBITDA turned to a EUR 0.4 million loss from a EUR 0.6 million profit a year earlier. Subscription annual recurring revenue grew over 14% to EUR 14.8 million, while PrivX, its platform for securing privileged access to critical systems, expanded more than 25% to become the company's largest business area.

What SSH is trying to accomplish

SSH's strategy is centered on building a larger recurring software business while capitalizing on growing cybersecurity demand from defense, public-sector and critical infrastructure customers. Subscription ARR has continued to expand, as the company shifts its revenue mix away from traditional license sales.

A key priority is converting its strategic partnership with Italian defense group Leonardo into revenue. SSH expects the partnership to contribute more meaningfully during 2026 after integration work and personnel training delayed the commercial rollout. Management has repeatedly identified the relationship as a long-term growth driver.

SSH continues to expand PrivX. The company continues to add capabilities for non-human identities and agentic AI workloads while expanding deployments across financial services, energy, government, telecommunications, aviation, defense and manufacturing. At the same time, SSH is investing in quantum-safe network security as a longer-term growth opportunity.

The company now faces the challenge of delivering those growth ambitions while restoring profitability after first-half EBITDA turned negative. Growing recurring revenue, commercializing the Leonardo partnership and restoring margins are likely to remain the company's principal priorities over the coming quarters.

CEO transition comes as logistics group expands its European rail network while restructuring North Rail

Mikko Kuusilehto, chief executive of drilling tools maker Robit Oyj, will join Nurminen Logistics Oyj as CEO on Jan. 1, 2027, after leading Robit for less than 16 months. The appointment comes as the international rail logistics operator expands in Central Europe while responding to higher Russian railway tariffs through efficiency measures and the restructuring of North Rail.

Kuusilehto succeeds Olli Pohjanvirta, who will remain CEO through Dec. 31, 2026, before becoming an advisor while retaining his board seats at Nurminen Logistics and subsidiary North Rail Oy, the Helsinki-listed logistics company announced yesterday.

The new CEO joins as Nurminen Logistics responds to a tariff-hit outlook. Chair Irmeli Rytkönen said the board is “convinced that he has the right prerequisites to lead Nurminen Logistics in its next phase of development and strengthen the company's position in the international market.”

The incoming CEO said Nurminen Logistics has established a solid position in international rail logistics and believes the company has a strong platform for further development.

Kuusilehto has led Robit since August 2025 after more than seven years at Kuusakoski, where he served as COO before becoming CEO and president. He is expected to remain with Robit through a six-month notice period while the board searches for a successor.

During his tenure, Robit moved into the early stages of an operational recovery. After a weaker 2025, first-quarter 2026 results showed orders received rising 19% year over year and comparable EBIT more than doubling, while the company maintained its 2026 guidance.

What Kuusilehto inherits at Nurminen Logistics

Nurminen Logistics enters the CEO transition after a mixed financial performance. Full-year 2025 net sales increased by over 4% to EUR 109.4 million, with comparable EBITA of EUR 18.3 million and operating cash flow improving to EUR 20.1 million. The first quarter of 2026 was weaker, however, as net sales fell over 21% year over year to EUR 25.5 million and comparable EBITA declined to EUR 3.5 million, reflecting lower Baltic transport volumes and severe ice conditions at Finnish ports.

Alongside those near-term challenges, the company continues to pursue its international expansion strategy. It plans to double capacity on its Italy-Sweden block train route and launch a Sweden-Spain rail connection in January 2027, building on its expansion into Sweden and Central Europe. At the same time, Nurminen Logistics is implementing approximately EUR 1.5 million in efficiency measures and continuing the restructuring of subsidiary North Rail, where change negotiations target around EUR 3 million in annual savings.

The company lowered its 2026 outlook on July 2 after Russia increased railway tariffs for transport to Finland. Nurminen Logistics estimates the tariff changes will reduce 2026 net sales by around EUR 4 million to EUR 5 million and now expects full-year net sales to reach or fall slightly below the 2025 level. Comparable operating profit is expected to decline year over year while remaining at what the company describes as "a good level" of profitability.

SEB changes Baltic division head and Finland country manager

Sonata Gutauskaitė-Bubnelienė, CEO of SEB Lithuania, has been appointed head of SEB's Baltic division and will join the group executive committee on Sept. 1, 2026. Niina Äikäs, who has led the Baltic division since 2021, will become country manager of SEB in Finland as the Swedish bank merges its Baltic subsidiaries into a single entity to streamline operations across the region.

Gutauskaitė-Bubnelienė will retain her role as country manager and CEO of SEB Lithuania while leading the Baltic division during the ongoing merger process. Äikäs will leave the group executive committee and join SEB's senior leadership committee as part of her move to Finland, SEB announced on July 15. 

The legal merger is expected to be completed in early 2027, creating SEB Bank AS, headquartered in Estonia, while the bank's operations in Latvia and Lithuania will continue as local branches. SEB said earlier that the new structure is intended to increase its corporate financing capacity, simplify governance, and speed up product rollouts across the Baltic markets.

Explaining the decision, President and CEO Johan Torgeby said on July 15: "With more than 25 years at SEB and proven leadership skills across the Baltic organization, Sonata has successfully led our business in Lithuania, delivered strong results and driven important transformation initiatives." He added that Äikäs had successfully led the Baltic business, including the ongoing merger.

Gutauskaitė-Bubnelienė joined the Nordic banking group in 1999. She has held several senior leadership positions, including head of Baltic Retail Banking, and has served as country manager and CEO of SEB Lithuania since 2021. Äikäs joined SEB in 2008 and has held leadership roles, including head of Large Corporates Coverage in Finland and head of SEB in Shanghai, before becoming head of the Baltic division five years ago.

Strong quarter supports leadership transition

The appointments were announced alongside SEB's second-quarter 2026 results. Operating profit before items affecting comparability increased 14 percent year over year to SEK 10.8 billion, while net profit rose 5 percent to SEK 8.7 billion. Return on equity reached 15.7 percent, and the CET1 capital ratio was 17.2 percent. SEB attributed the results to higher net interest income from lending growth, increased Corporate & Investment Banking activity, growth in fee and commission income, and continued cost discipline.

During the earnings call, SEB reaffirmed its long-term financial targets and 2026 cost guidance, while management said fee income is expected to normalize after a record second quarter and that third-quarter activity is likely to be quieter.

Appointments expand executive leadership after June reorganization

Canatu Plc has appointed a new chief technology officer and chief marketing officer as the Finnish deep technology company builds the leadership structure needed to deliver its updated 2030 strategy.

Walter Braun, who has held senior leadership roles at Scrona AG, a Swiss developer of precision microfabrication and semiconductor printing technology, will join as CTO on Sept. 1, 2026. Bernd Meier, most recently vice president of global service sales at American robot developer Teradyne Robotics, will join the same day as CMO, the tech company announced recently. 

Vantaa-headquartered Canatu develops carbon nanotube materials, components and manufacturing equipment used in semiconductor manufacturing, automotive technologies—including windshield and ADAS camera heaters—and point-of-care medical diagnostics.

The two appointments follow Canatu's June leadership restructuring, which introduced a new management model under which executive management, business unit leaders, and operational leaders report directly to CEO Maximilian Slawinski. The changes are intended to create clearer accountability and strengthen alignment between business units and corporate functions. 

"Walter and Bernd bring an impressive track record of leadership that combines deep technical expertise with strong commercial execution," said CEO Slawinski, who joined Canatu in May.

Braun brings experience from SÜSS MicroTec SE, Manz AG and Homag Machinery Shanghai across industrial automation, semiconductor equipment and advanced manufacturing. Meier has more than 25 years of leadership experience in sales, product management, and executive leadership across semiconductor, industrial technology, and robotics markets, including Semikron Danfoss and Infineon Technologies.

What Canatu is trying to accomplish

The appointments come as Canatu moves on with its strategy approved in March after withdrawing its previous long-term financial targets earlier that month. By 2030, the company aims to generate EUR 100 million to EUR 150 million in revenue while achieving an EBIT margin of 25% to 30%, adjusted for goodwill amortization under Finnish Accounting Standards.

Semiconductors are expected to become Canatu's primary growth driver through a predominantly recurring revenue model. The company aims to become the leading provider of carbon nanotube pellicle membrane technology for EUV lithography, supported by an installed base of 10 to 20 CNT100 SEMI reactors by 2030.

In automotive, Canatu is targeting commercial adoption of its carbon nanotube technology in full-windshield heaters, ADAS camera heaters and solar cell applications. It aims to have at least one customer reach commercial market entry for windshield heater or solar cell applications by 2030 and to manufacture ADAS camera heaters for at least one high-volume vehicle model.

The company is also seeking a leading position in point-of-care diagnostics for hormone and sepsis testing while manufacturing electrochemical biosensors for at least one commercial hormone-testing application. Alongside its core businesses, Canatu plans to develop two to five focused product families through its New Business Development activities. Capital expenditure is expected to peak at EUR 14 million to EUR 18 million in 2026 before returning to an annual average of EUR 5 million to EUR 6 million.

The ambitious targets follow a challenging 2025. Revenue declined over 29% to EUR 15.6 million as delayed customer approvals postponed revenue recognition and semiconductor reactor orders. Gross profit fell by almost 18% to EUR 11.3 million, EBITDA declined to EUR -8.4 million, and the operating loss widened to EUR -10.7 million. 

Despite the weaker financial performance, Canatu has gained some new orders. It signed a 17-month joint development agreement with DENSO Corporation, entered a separate 24-month automotive development agreement with a global technology supplier, secured a follow-on semiconductor reactor order and achieved ISO 13485 certification for its point-of-care diagnostics program during the first half of 2026.

US inflation slowed more than expected in June, reducing market expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate increase this month but doing little to convince policymakers that inflation has been defeated.

The Consumer Price Index fell 0.4 percent from May, the largest monthly decline since April 2020, while annual inflation slowed to 3.5 percent from 4.2 percent in May. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, eased to 2.6 percent year over year and was unchanged on the month. Lower gasoline prices drove much of the decline, while shelter and food prices continued to rise, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Inflation nevertheless remains above the Federal Reserve's 2 percent target.

Financial markets welcomed the report yesterday. According to Kauppalehti, citing CME FedWatch data, the implied probability of a July interest rate increase fell to 17 percent from 42 percent the previous day. Major US stock indexes edged up.

Mustaniemi will oversee the Säkylä factory and contract farming as Apetit pursues its 2028 earnings targets

Timo Mustaniemi, most recently factory manager at Huhtahyvät Oy, will join Apetit Plc as production director on Sept. 1, 2026, taking responsibility for the food company's Säkylä factory and contract farming operations as it works through a factory restructuring, integrates a recent acquisition and pursues a multi-year profitability plan.

Mustaniemi will report to CEO Esa Mäki and join Apetit's corporate management team, the Finnish producer of plant-based food products and oilseed products, announced on July 13. He succeeds Ari Kulmala, who announced his resignation in March after serving on the management team since 2019. Kulmala will remain with Apetit through the end of 2026 in project-based assignments to support the transition. 

Mustaniemi brings more than two decades of operational and manufacturing leadership in the food industry. Before joining Huhtahyvät in 2023, he served as chief operating officer at Landeli Group, CEO of Maalaistuote Vataja, operated a K-Supermarket in Ikaalinen, and held production director and factory manager roles at HK Ruokatalo. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Bio and Food Technology and a Master of Engineering in Bioeconomy and Energy Production Management. 

"I warmly welcome Timo to Apetit to develop Apetit's Food Solutions further," CEO Esa Mäki said. Apetit said Mustaniemi will oversee production at its Säkylä facility in southwestern Finland together with contract farming, including the Räpi experimental farm.

Mustaniemi joins Apetit following a series of leadership and operational changes. Since late 2025, the company has refreshed its management team, appointed a new board chair and three new directors, completed the Foodhills acquisition, announced the closure of its Pudasjärvi frozen pizza factory and sold its Kantvik biosteam plant.

Financial backdrop

The production leadership change comes after a series of weaker financial updates.

In April, Apetit lowered its 2026 earnings guidance, saying operating results are expected to clearly decline from the comparable 2025 operating result of EUR 5.9 million, excluding the Foodhills acquisition accounting gain. The company cited Foodhills' integration costs and around EUR 2.3 million of one-off expenses related to closing the Pudasjärvi factory.

A week later, Apetit reported a first-quarter operating loss of EUR 1.4 million compared with an operating profit of EUR 2.3 million a year earlier, while net sales increased over 5% to EUR 46.1 million. Management attributed the weaker result to integration costs, higher electricity prices, and continued pressure in its Oilseed Products business.

Michael Eastabrook, former president and CEO of Canadian solid-waste equipment manufacturer Labrie Environmental Group, joins Hiab as president of Environmental Vehicle Solutions and a member of its leadership team, as the Finnish industrial machinery company deepens its presence in the North American waste and recycling market through its USD 1 billion acquisition of Labrie.

Eastabrook, who has led Labrie since 2021, will head Hiab's newly created Environmental Vehicle Solutions business area, built around the acquired operations. The appointment follows Hiab's reorganization from six divisions into broader business areas to improve scalability and customer focus. According to Hiab's recent press release, Environmental Vehicle Solutions becomes the company's fourth business area.

Eastabrook previously spent more than two decades at 4Front Engineered Solutions, an Assa Abloy division, including as president and CEO from 2018 to 2021 after serving in senior operations roles. Earlier, he was operations manager at Entrematic. He holds a BBA from Baylor University and an MBA from the University of Dallas. 

A leadership rebuild after the Cargotec demerger

Hiab, a provider of smart and sustainable load-handling solutions, became an independent listed company through Cargotec's multi-year demerger last year. Following the spin-off of Kalmar and the divestment of MacGregor, shareholders approved renaming the parent company to Hiab Oyj, which began trading on Nasdaq Helsinki under the ticker HIAB in April 2025.

Hiab enters the integration phase after a broad leadership overhaul following its separation from Cargotec. According to the Listeds CEO Index 2025, produced in partnership with SAM Headhunting, Hiab CEO Scott Phillips oversaw 19 management changes after becoming CEO, the largest post-CEO leadership transformation among Finnish listed companies. Eastabrook's appointment extends the top-level build-out.

Phillips called Hiab's acquisition of Labrie "a significant milestone in our growth journey" and said it is "perfectly aligned with our strategy of profitable growth communicated in 2024." The USD 1 billion transaction is Hiab's largest since becoming an independent listed company and is expected to contribute significantly to sales, profit, and cash flow from the third quarter of 2026.

What Hiab is trying to accomplish

The Labrie purchase advances the profitable growth strategy Hiab outlined in 2024. The acquisition is the company's second in six months, following the purchase of Brazilian loader-crane manufacturer ING Cranes, and expands Hiab's presence in two priority markets: North America and Brazil. Together with the new operating model, the acquisitions are intended to strengthen scalability and customer focus.

The expansion follows a year of resilient profitability despite softer demand. In 2025, sales declined 6% to EUR 1.6 billion, while the comparable operating profit margin increased to a record 13.7% from 13.2%, supported by record Services performance and cash flow from operations before finance items and taxes of EUR 308 million. After weaker US demand weighed on the second half of 2025, first-quarter 2026 orders increased to EUR 402 million, the order book grew to EUR 562 million, and the comparable operating profit margin recovered to 13.5%.

Hiab has maintained its 2026 guidance for a comparable operating profit margin above 13.5% following the acquisition. The transaction was financed with bank loans and cash on hand, while the company reported net cash of EUR 219 million and cash conversion above 100% before closing the deal. Hiab also continues to expand its services business, increase sales of its eco-portfolio products—which represented 46% of first-quarter 2026 sales—and pursue its climate targets of net-zero emissions from its own operations by 2040 and across its value chain by 2050.

When Kyrö Distillery announced a Game of Thrones whisky partnership this spring, the collaboration seemed unusually ambitious for a company from Isokyrö, a municipality of fewer than 5,000 people on Finland's west coast.

The bottles may grab the headlines. The more interesting story is how Kyrö earned Warner Bros' attention in the first place. For many Finnish founders, global entertainment brands, luxury groups, and multinational corporations can feel inaccessible. Partnerships of that scale appear to belong to a different league. Kyrö found the gap was smaller than it looked.

According to Global Brand & Marketing Director Matti Kovanen, the partnership did not begin with a grand licensing strategy. The deal traces its origins to a chance introduction. A mutual contact introduced Kyrö to HBO Finland. The initial discussions focused on events and activations. 

Kyrö soon floated a bigger idea. "We kind of put out the idea that, hey, would it be possible to create proper collaborative products?"

The company was eventually introduced to Warner Bros' licensing organization. Discussions moved through several franchises before landing on Game of Thrones, resulting in two limited- edition rye whiskies inspired by House Targaryen and its motto, Fire and Blood.

"It's a matter of asking the first question rather than being afraid of the answer already," Kovanen says.

Matti Kovanen joined Kyrö in 2022 and became the global brand and marketing director in January 2026.

The real challenge came after the agreement

Securing the deal turned out to be the easy part. The agreement was signed in December. By January, key decisions around product concepts, packaging, approvals, and production needed to be finalized.

"We think of ourselves as being very agile. But even then, the schedule was very ambitious." The timeline would have been challenging for any consumer products company. Whisky added another layer of complexity.

"Whisky is not a hasty product to create," Kovanen says. While designers, licensing teams, and marketers worked against deadlines, Kyrö's distillers had to create products that could stand alongside both brands.

Kovanen is quick to credit the team. "Luckily, our distillers are so great at producing these beautiful liquids. They quickly came up with the answers to this concept and the proper products and liquids to put in the bottles."

Opportunities rarely arrive on a convenient schedule. By the time they appear, the capabilities already need to be there.

All of Kyrö's whiskies are produced at its distillery in Isokyrö, a municipality in Finland's South Ostrobothnia region near Vaasa.

Why Warner Bros took Kyrö seriously

Kyrö's story began more than a decade ago when five friends sat in a sauna drinking rye whisky and asking a simple question: why wasn't anyone making Finnish rye whisky?

That question eventually became a distillery. There was one problem. Whisky takes years. Once the first barrels were maturing, the founders realized they needed something else to sell while they waited. So they made a gin. As it turned out, the side project changed everything.

In 2015, while co-founder Miika Lipiäinen was on a cycling trip in Estonia, he received an unexpected phone call. Kyrö Napue Gin had been named the world's best gin for gin and tonic at the International Wine and Spirit Competition in the United Kingdom.

The recognition helped introduce Kyrö to audiences far beyond Finland. The company sold out of its gin within days.

More recently, Kyrö's whisky business has built a reputation that extends well beyond Finland. The distillery has appeared in Drinks International's World's Most Admired Whiskies list for five consecutive years, most recently in 2025. By the time Warner Bros entered the picture, Kyrö was no longer an unknown Nordic distillery.

Kovanen suspects that familiarity helped. "They already knew us, and they were kind of fans of our brand. They felt secure enough from the very beginning that this is a respected premium brand."

Many founders focus on the pitch. Kovanen's experience suggests that partnerships are often won long before the first conversation takes place.

Find your version of Finland

Kyrö's brand is deeply Finnish. The company was founded in a sauna. Its spirits are made from Finnish wholegrain rye. Production remains in Isokyrö.

Yet Kovanen draws a distinction between using Finnishness and relying on it. "We are not selling Finland abroad. We are selling ourselves and our brand."

The difference is subtle but important. For Kyrö, Finnishness works when it is connected to something specific: the founding story, the ingredients, the production methods, or the people behind the company.

A recent conversation with an American distributor reinforced that point. The distributor encouraged Kyrö to talk more about Finland's long summer days, foraging culture, and growing conditions. To Finns, those details can feel unremarkable. To international audiences, they can help explain why the product is different.

"Because of the long growth season, our crops tend to have a different taste profile than somewhere else in the world," Kovanen says. The lesson is not to hide where you're from. It is to understand which parts of your story matter to people who are not from there.

Ahlsell Finland CFO Antti Akkanen will join Reaktor Group as chief financial officer on October 1, 2026, succeeding Ilkka Kosola as the Finnish software and technology company prepares for its first reporting cycle as a listed business following its oversubscribed June IPO.

The appointment will see Akkanen report to CEO Pekka Horo as a member of the global leadership team, the Finnish technology company that designs, builds, and sells software products and digital solutions announced yesterday.

Kosola, who has led Reaktor's finance function for several years, will leave at the end of September following a planned succession first announced in spring 2026. 

Akkanen joins just weeks after Reaktor raised around EUR 20 million in its IPO. Trading began on Nasdaq Helsinki in June after investor demand exceeded the shares available. As Listeds reported when the offering closed, the IPO attracted strong institutional backing and positioned Reaktor to accelerate its software products business and international growth. 

Akkanen joins from Ahlsell, where he served as CFO of the technical wholesale company's Finnish operations. Earlier in his career, he held senior finance leadership roles at Kone, Oriola, Microsoft, and Nokia, with experience spanning financial planning, controlling, business finance, and mergers and acquisitions. He holds a Master of Science in Finance from the University of Vaasa.

"Antti has built and steered global finance functions through real change. He has great experience from publicly listed companies and understands how technology businesses grow and create value. We are glad to have him with us," CEO Pekka Horo said.

Akkanen said he aims to strengthen the company's financial platform. "Reaktor has shaped some of the most demanding digital products and services in the world while building an exceptional company culture. As CFO, I want to help ensure the company's financial foundation is as strong as the engineering that powers its success."

IPO shifts focus to growth

The appointment marks Reaktor's next phase as a listed company, with investor attention moving from the success of the IPO to the company's ability to deliver on the growth ambitions it presented to the market.

Reaktor began trading on Nasdaq Helsinki in June after pricing its IPO at EUR 8.25 per share, giving the company a market capitalization of around EUR 210 million. In the morning session today, the shares traded at around EUR 7.80, leaving the stock modestly below its IPO price.

Akkanen joins during Reaktor's first reporting cycle as a listed company. The company will publish its half-year report on August 19 during the transition period, followed by its January-September interim report on November 11 after he has assumed the CFO role.

Incoming CFO inherits stronger financial momentum

Reaktor reported a sharp improvement in first-quarter performance. 

Revenue increased over 30% year-on-year to EUR 39.1 million, while EBITDA almost quadrupled to EUR 10.1 million. Operating profit increased nearly sixfold to EUR 9.1 million, profit for the period climbed over 330% to EUR 7.4 million, and return on equity rose to 155.7% from 20.7% a year earlier, helped by a major Defence & Security licence agreement and higher billable hours.

The balance sheet remains an important focus. The reported equity ratio improved to 16% from 11.9% a year earlier, while net debt moved to negative EUR 1.5 million. Reaktor also reports an adjusted equity ratio of 56.2% after accounting adjustments, an area that will remain under close scrutiny as the company settles into life on the public market.

Aspocomp has elevated quality management to the executive level as demand for advanced printed circuit boards continues to outpace European manufacturing capacity.

Former Acon Chief Operating Officer Ilkka Lohi joins Aspocomp as quality director on Sept. 2, 2026, becoming the first executive to hold a dedicated quality role on the printed circuit board manufacturer's management team.

Lohi will report to President and CEO Manu Skyttä and become the seventh member of Aspocomp's management team, according to the Finnish PCB maker’s recent press release. The role does not replace an outgoing executive but adds quality management to the leadership level for the first time. 

"As Aspocomp's strategy and our ongoing investment program progress, quality plays an increasingly central role," Skyttä said, adding that the company expects the new role to improve production quality, throughput, and profitability. "This is a strategically important new role for us that helps us systematically manage production quality and promote the company's quality culture.

Two decades of quality leadership

Lohi brings more than 20 years of quality-management experience across electronics and industrial manufacturing. At Finnish trampoline manufacturer Acon, he most recently served as chief operating officer after previously serving as CEO and leading supply chain and quality. Earlier in his career, he held quality leadership roles at Innohome, a provider of smart fire safety products, and Tongyu Technology Oy, a telecommunication component manufacturer.

Aspocomp, a Finnish manufacturer of high-end printed circuit boards used in semiconductor testing equipment, defense systems, telecommunications, and industrial electronics, is elevating quality as it builds on its financial turnaround. 

Net sales increased almost 40% to EUR 38.2 million in 2025, while the company returned to an operating profit of EUR 0.9 million after two years of losses. It is now investing more than EUR 10 million to modernize its only manufacturing plant, in Oulu, Finland, where it produces advanced high-density interconnection and high-layer-count circuit boards, to improve production quality and increase capacity by up to 50% by 2027.

Appointment follows 56% EBITDA decline and first-quarter loss

Cristian Arias, CFO of Neural DSP Technologies, will join SSH Communications Security as chief financial officer and a member of the executive management team by Oct. 1, 2026, following the withdrawal of the company's previous CFO appointee. He joins the Helsinki-listed cybersecurity company as it works to convert its Leonardo partnership into revenue, expand recurring software sales and return to stronger profitability.

Arias succeeds Michael Kommonen, who will remain CFO until the end of July, SSH announced yesterday. The appointment follows an unusual leadership sequence after Maria Alahuhta, who was appointed CFO in April, decided not to take up the role and joined another employer instead, prompting SSH to reopen the search.

Founded in 1995, SSH Communications Security develops cybersecurity software that helps organizations control access to critical systems and protect communications from emerging cyber threats.

Arias arrives as SSH looks to improve its financial performance after a weaker 2025 and a soft start to 2026. Last year, net sales declined 2% to EUR 21.6 million, and EBITDA fell 56% to EUR 1.5 million. The pressure continued into the first quarter, when net sales slipped another 2% to EUR 5.3 million and EBITDA moved to a EUR 0.6 million loss from a EUR 0.2 million profit a year earlier. One bright spot was operating cash flow, which improved to EUR 2.1 million from EUR 0.7 million. Management attributed the weaker profitability to increased investment in PrivX integrations and expanded sales and marketing, while maintaining its guidance for positive full-year EBITDA and operating cash flow.

CEO Rami Raulas said Arias' experience leading international finance organizations and supporting growth made him well-suited to the role. "His strategic mindset and broad operational experience make him an excellent addition to our Executive Management Team," Raulas said. Arias previously held senior finance positions at Nokia and Techint in Italy, where his responsibilities included finance, strategy, business development, and business transformation.

Arias said SSH's technology foundation and growth ambitions attracted him to the role. "I look forward to working together to strengthen the company's financial performance and accelerate its long-term growth," he said. 

Leadership activity eased in June, but companies continued adding senior executives as board changes fell sharply following the AGM season.

According to Listeds data, Finnish listed companies recorded 69 board and management changes during the month, down 26% from May's 93 changes. Boards accounted for 18 changes, a 53% decline from May, while management teams recorded 51 changes, down just 7% month over month.

The figures suggest that the annual governance cycle has largely run its course. After April's extensive board renewal and May's return to executive hiring, June was characterized by targeted leadership appointments aimed at strengthening operating teams rather than reshaping governance.

Board renewal slows after AGM season

Board activity declined sharply from the previous two months, with changes concentrated in only a handful of companies rather than spread across the Finnish listed market.

Summa Defence recorded the month's largest board renewal with 10 board changes after shareholders ordered a special audit into the company's finances and replaced the entire board, as reported by Listeds earlier. Juha Pinomaa was appointed chair alongside new members Ville Jaakonsalo, Ville Heikkinen, Tapani Kiiski, Jyrki Heinimaa, and Mikko Haapala. 

Biotech company Biohit followed with three board changes, appointing Kari Syrjänen as chair and Anssi Kariola as a board member. Car dealership Wetteri added Aarne Simula, the largest shareholder, to its board while Mika Aho assumed the role of chair, continuing the leadership renewal that has characterized the company lately. Listeds reported in June that Simula has returned as CEO while Wetteri plans to return to a positive adjusted operating profit this year. QPR Software also strengthened its board with the appointment of Patrik Sallner. 

The pattern differed from the previous two months. Rather than broad-based board renewal across the market, June's governance changes were concentrated in a handful of companies.

New CEO inherits growth and margin pressure

Sampo Päällysaho, former SVP of groceries at SOK, became chief executive of Tokmanni Group today, succeeding Mika Rautiainen after his eight-year tenure. He takes over the Nordic discount retailer as it prepares a new strategic and financial plan following the end of its previous strategy period.

The succession, first announced in July 2025, completed a year-long transition. Rautiainen retired after leading Tokmanni, one of Finland’s largest variety discount retailers, since 2018. Tokmanni operates the Tokmanni, Dollarstore, Big Dollar, Click Shoes, and Shoe House retail chains across Finland, Sweden, and Denmark.

In today’s press release, Päällysaho said he will focus on profitable growth by opening new stores, strengthening the assortment, improving execution and capturing further benefits from recent acquisitions. He also plans to spend his first months meeting employees across Finland, Sweden, and Denmark before finalizing the group's next strategy. 

Effective July 6, Päällysaho also joined the boards of the Finnish Commerce Federation and the Finnish Grocery Trade Association and became vice chairman of Tokep Sourcing.

A new CEO takes over amid margin pressure

Päällysaho inherits a business that continued to grow in 2025 but saw profitability weaken. Revenue rose over 3% to EUR 1.7 billion, while comparable EBIT declined 15% to EUR 84.8 million as higher costs at its Swedish discount retailer chain Dollarstore offset record profitability in the Tokmanni segment. Comparable EBIT also finished just below the company's narrowed guidance range, highlighting the importance of improving margins as Tokmanni enters its next stage.

With Päällysaho, Tokmanni appointed a retail executive with nearly three decades of experience across grocery, consumer goods, and specialty retail. Päällysaho most recently served as SVP of groceries at SOK, the owner of retail brands Prisma, S-market, and Alepa, after previously leading its consumer goods business. Earlier, he was the managing director of Clas Ohlson Oy and held commercial leadership positions at Kesko. 

Tokmanni highlighted Päällysaho’s experience in category management, sourcing, assortment development and omnichannel retailing as well suited to its current priorities, including expanding the SPAR grocery concept and strengthening sourcing across the group. 

On his first day, Päällysaho emphasized the importance of the company's workforce: "The foundation of Tokmanni Group's success is its skilled personnel, and I look forward to getting to know my new colleagues and building the future together with them. Together, we will lead Tokmanni Group into its next strategy period."

Tuukka Paavola, former CFO of Nightingale Health, has left Bioretec as chief financial officer with immediate effect after serving less than six months, making him the medical device maker’s third finance chief within roughly a year. 

Controller Anna-Mari Venola will assume the CFO role on an interim basis while Bioretec begins recruiting a permanent successor, extending a period of management turnover that had appeared to stabilize when Paavola joined in January.

Bioretec and Paavola mutually agreed he would not continue in the role, the company announced yesterday. No reason beyond the mutual agreement was disclosed, and the company said no financial reporting issues were associated with the departure. 

Listeds reported earlier that Paavola had joined Bioretec early this year, succeeding interim CFO Anne-Mari Matikainen, who had taken over following Johanna Salko's departure. His appointment had marked what appeared to be a return to permanent leadership in the finance function after a period of interim management. 

A short tenure during a company reset

Paavola entered the company as it sought to reset its strategy after a turbulent 2025 marked by withdrawn financial targets, restated financial results, and changes across the executive team.

His first quarterly report as CFO showed net sales declining 13% year over year to EUR 1.2 million. The decline was driven by Rest of the World sales, while the company's priority markets expanded rapidly. US sales surged by more than five times to EUR 0.3 million, and European sales tripled to EUR 0.4 million. Adjusted sales margin improved to 70.1%, although EBITDA widened to a loss of EUR 1.4 million.

Following the quarter, Bioretec completed a rights issue raising around EUR 12.9 million in gross proceeds to strengthen its balance sheet and fund targeted growth.

Paavola also became one of the company's more heavily invested executives during his brief tenure, subscribing for EUR 20,000 of shares in April before purchasing a further EUR 9,900 on the market in May. Company records show he held almost three million shares at the time of his departure.

Thomas Morin, former chief executive at TC Transcontinental, will join Huhtamäki Oyj as president, Fiber Packaging, on Sept. 1, strengthening the executive team as the packaging group executes its 2030 strategy and reports improving sales trends.

Morin will report to President and CEO Ralf K. Wunderlich, the Finnish maker of sustainable packaging for food, beverages, and personal care products, announced recently. He succeeds Sara Engber, who recently became Huhtamäki’s president for North America following Ann O'Hara's departure. Engber has led Fiber Packaging on an interim basis since then. 

With Morin, Huhtamäki is bringing in an executive with more than 25 years of global packaging experience as business momentum begins to improve. He has led packaging businesses across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, having previously held senior roles at Amcor, Alcan and Pechiney. He has served as CEO of TC Transcontinental and holds a master's degree in finance from EM Lyon Business School. 

The Fiber Packaging business Morin will lead accounted for 10% of Huhtamaki's 2025 net sales, and manufactures molded fiber products, including consumer egg cartons and transport trays, fruit and vegetable trays, and berry boxes.

Completing a broad leadership reset

Morin's appointment caps an extensive rebuilding of Huhtamäki's leadership under Wunderlich, who became president and CEO in January 2025 after serving on the company's board. 

Since the new CEO joined, the company has made several key appointments. It chose Changsheng Wu to lead procurement, Engber to North America, Axel Glade to lead Flexible Packaging, Katariina Kravi to head HR, Safety and Communications, and Riikka Tieaho to lead Sustainability, Corporate Affairs and Legal. 

When Morin joins in September, only CFO Thomas Geust and President, Foodservice Packaging Fredrik Davidsson will have served on the executive team before the transition.

Vincit Oyj, a Finnish software development and digital services company, has added the leaders of its three revenue-generating business areas to its management team, aligning its top leadership with an AI-integrated strategy and a business-unit-led operating model.

Suvi Albert, business director of Core, Data & Analytics; Riku Kärkkäinen, business director of Composable Commerce; and Jarno Rikama, business director of Digital Solutions, joined the management team after previously serving in Vincit's extended leadership group. All members report to Chief Executive Officer Julius Manni. 

The company said the appointments strengthen decision-making and reinforce the role of business-area leaders in executing its strategy. 

Business-unit leaders move to the center of decision-making

Albert joined Vincit in February 2025 as business director of SAP Solutions & Core Processes after serving as head of SAP at KONE. She previously held roles at Fujitsu, Innofactor, and the Finnish Prime Minister's Office. She now leads the newly established Core, Data & Analytics unit, which combines SAP, data, and analytics capabilities following the Data Clinic acquisition.

Kärkkäinen, who joined Vincit in 2017, has led the Composable Commerce business since 2025 after earlier positions at Reima and Fiskars.

Rikama joined Vincit from Siili Solutions in January 2026 after serving there as a business director and management team member between 2022 and 2025. Earlier in his career, he held roles at Accenture and Solita.

The management team now comprises CEO Julius Manni, Chief Revenue Officer Mika Immo, Chief People Officer Mari Kuha, CFO Kimmo Kärkkäinen, and the three business directors.

Leadership overhaul completes broader restructuring

The appointments cap roughly a year of changes to Vincit's leadership. In August 2025, the company moved several executives, including Anssi Kuutti and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Petra Sievinen, from the management team into an extended leadership group. In January 2026, Deputy CEO and Chief Growth Officer Jens Krogell left the company, with his responsibilities absorbed by Julius Manni and the remaining leadership team.

The management changes have coincided with a board refresh. At the March 2026 annual general meeting, shareholders elected Taaleri CEO Ilkka Laurila and Posti Group SVP, General Counsel and M&A, Kaarina Ståhlberg to the board, adding listed-company finance and transaction experience as Vincit continues to pursue acquisitions.

IQM Quantum Computers shares climbed 21.3% to €18.20 in early trading on Nasdaq Helsinki today, extending momentum after the Finnish quantum computing company began trading in the US a day earlier.

The company's American depositary shares closed their first session on Nasdaq at USD 13.03, up 2.1% from the previous close, before easing to USD 12.90 in after-hours trading. The US listing became effective on July 2 under the ticker IQMX, marking the company's arrival on public markets through a dual listing in Helsinki and New York.

The strong opening in Helsinki suggests investors are placing a premium on direct access to Europe's first publicly traded pure-play quantum computing company. Trading volume reached roughly €6.3 million during the morning session, with the stock touching an intraday high of €19.00.

Duell has streamlined its management team as the Finnish powersports distributor accelerates a broader organizational reset under CEO Tomi Virtanen.

Effective July 1, the management team has been reduced from seven members to four. It now consists of Virtanen, Chief Financial Officer Caj Malmsten, Chief Digital Officer Heidi Markkanen, and Supply Chain Director Jukka Smolander. Virtanen will also assume a more active role in sales management as Duell pursues a leaner operating model centered on supply chain management and digital services, the company announced yesterday.

Duell added that Commercial Director Jarkko Ämmälä, UK Managing Director Pete Lloyd, France Managing Director Jean Marc Autheman, and Customer Service, Marketing and Communications Director Marianna Kiviranta will report directly to the CEO. Investor Relations Director Pellervo Hämäläinen will report to the CFO.

The restructuring is the latest step in a period of sustained leadership change. Last month, Listeds reported that Chief People Officer Anne May Asplund will leave the company in September, marking the fourth senior leadership appointment or departure in 10 months. Those changes followed the departure of former CEO Karl Magnus Miemois in March, Virtanen's appointment as interim CEO and confirmation as permanent CEO in May, and the appointment of new leadership for Duell's French business. 

Former Spark Therapeutics Vice President, Clinical Development, Juha Savola, joins Herantis Pharma as chief medical officer as the biotech company prepares to test HER-096, an experimental therapy designed to slow the progression of Parkinson's disease rather than simply manage its symptoms.

Savola will oversee clinical development, regulatory strategy, and partnering efforts as Herantis enters its next phase of development following positive FDA feedback and recent financing milestones, the drug developer announced recently.

Founded in 2008, Herantis Pharma is a Finnish clinical-stage biotech company focused on neurodegenerative diseases. Its lead program, HER-096, is advancing toward Phase 2 testing, while the company remains pre-revenue with no approved products.

CEO Antti Vuolanto said Savola’s appointment strengthens the company's ability to execute on its clinical ambitions. "We are delighted to welcome Juha as our Chief Medical Officer. He brings a rare combination of scientific, clinical and strategic leadership experience, with a proven track record of guiding innovative therapies through critical development and regulatory milestones."

Savola said joining Herantis aligns with his mission to develop disease-modifying treatments for Parkinson's disease.

Before joining Herantis, Savola served as vice president, clinical development at Spark Therapeutics, where he led ophthalmology and neurology programs spanning Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease, and epilepsy. Earlier, he held senior roles at Teva Pharmaceuticals, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Santhera Pharmaceuticals and Juvantia Pharma, contributing to clinical development and regulatory programs across the US, Europe and Asia. 

A physician-scientist, Savola holds MD and PhD degrees from the University of Oulu, previously served as an associate professor at the University of Turku, and has authored more than 70 peer-reviewed publications.

Finance chief exits as Tieto advances leadership reset and 2026–2028 transformation

Tomi Hyryläinen, chief financial officer of Tieto, will leave the software and digital-engineering company at the end of December 2026 after nearly eight years in the role, opening a search for his successor as the company advances its software-led strategy and works toward its 2026–2028 financial targets.

Hyryläinen decided to leave on his own initiative to pursue opportunities outside the company and will remain on the group executive team through December to ensure an orderly handover, Tieto announced yesterday.

The search for a new chief financial officer begins immediately. Hyryläinen’s departure follows a board refresh, a series of executive team changes and the appointment of a new chief executive over the past year.

One of the architects of Tieto's transformation

Hyryläinen joined Tieto in 2018 from PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he served as assurance leader and partner. Born in 1970, he holds an MSc (Econ.) from the Helsinki School of Economics and Business Administration and has worked internationally, including in Sweden and Silicon Valley.

During Hyryläinen’s tenure at Tieto, he helped oversee the company’s transformation from Tietoevry into a more focused software and digital-engineering business. The group divested its Tech Services business, adopted the renewed Tieto brand, and reorganized around four businesses: Tieto Banktech, Tieto Caretech, Tieto Indtech, and Tieto Tech Consulting.

President & CEO Endre Rangnes credited Hyryläinen with playing a central role in the transformation. "I would like to thank Tomi for his leadership and commitment in driving the strategic transformation of Tieto. His finance leadership capabilities combined with solid business understanding have been highly valued and recognized across the company. I wish Tomi every success in his future endeavors," Rangnes said.

Leadership transition continues

The finance succession is the latest step in a wider leadership overhaul. Kimmo Alkio stepped down as chief executive in May 2025, with board member Endre Rangnes initially taking over on an interim basis before becoming permanent president and CEO. In May 2026, Bent Phillipps became interim managing director of Tieto Indtech, Johan Enger Nygaard moved to interim managing director of Tieto Tech Consulting, and Pär Johansson left the group executive team.

Hyryläinen's departure removes one of the longest-serving executives from the leadership team that led the company's transformation and leaves another key appointment to complete as management implements its new strategy.

Finland's economy is showing firmer signs of recovery than many economists expected just a few weeks ago. Fresh data suggest the upswing that began earlier this year is continuing, offering cautious optimism after a prolonged period of weak growth, Kauppalehti reported today, citing two chief economists.

Finland's total output increased 2.8 percent in May compared with the same month last year, adjusted for working days, Akava Chief Economist Pasi Sorjonen posted on X today, citing official data. Output also rose 0.8 percent from April, while April's growth figures were revised upward. Sorjonen said the second quarter has started "much stronger than expected."

Kurt Bossuyt, one of Raute's longest-serving executives, will leave the Lahti-based wood technology company as executive vice president of services and a member of the executive board by Sept. 24, 2026, as the company continues reshaping its leadership during a sharp downturn in demand. Raute has launched the search for his successor immediately.

Bossuyt joined Raute in 2016 and has served on the executive board since September 2019, making him, alongside EVP, Wood Processing Jani Roivainen, one of the longest-tenured members of the current leadership team and its only non-Finnish member. His departure will temporarily reduce the executive board from seven members to six until a successor is appointed. 

The company acknowledged Bossuyt's role in developing its services business. "I would like to thank Kurt for his valuable contribution in the Executive Board and the development of Raute's Services business unit, and wish him success in his future endeavors," President and CEO Mika Saariaho said in the company’s recent press release.

Bossuyt's departure caps a year of management changes. Arto Kaikkola was confirmed permanently as chief commercial officer in May after initially joining on an interim basis in late 2025, while Timo Kupsanen became EVP, Analyzers, and an executive board member on May 1, 2026, replacing long-serving executive Markus Sirviö in the leadership team. 

At board level, Anna Hyvönen joined as a director following the April AGM, while Chair Laura Raitio and Vice Chair Joni Bask remained in place, providing continuity as the executive team evolved.

Finnish quantum computing company IQM Quantum Computers has taken the final step toward becoming a publicly listed company by applying to list its shares on Nasdaq Helsinki. Trading is expected to begin on July 3 under the ticker IQMX.

The Helsinki debut follows IQM's merger with Nasdaq-listed special purpose acquisition company Real Asset Acquisition Corp., according to IQM’s press release. Trading in American depositary shares representing IQM stock is expected to begin on the Nasdaq Stock Market in New York on July 2, giving the company a dual listing in the US and Finland.

The listing gives Nordic investors direct exposure to one of Europe's most advanced quantum hardware companies at a time when investment in quantum technologies continues to accelerate.

Unlike a traditional IPO, the transaction does not include a new public share offering. Instead, IQM is entering the public markets by merging with an already listed SPAC, allowing it to complete its listing using capital previously raised from private investors.

Two senior departures leave strategy and pureplay leadership unresolved

Sami Tanner, head of strategy at Musti Group, will leave the Nordic pet care retailer in autumn 2026 after serving on its group management team since 2018, as the company works to integrate its Portuguese acquisition and sustain double-digit growth.

Tanner is leaving to pursue a role outside the company and will remain through autumn to support the transition, Musti announced recently.

His departure follows the April announcement that Annamaija Hujala, head of Group Pureplay, will also exit at the end of September, leaving two vacancies in Musti's ten-member management team. The company has not named successors or said whether either role will be replaced or restructured.

CEO David Rönnberg thanked Tanner for his contribution during his eight years on the management team. "I would like to express my warmest thanks to Sami for his extensive contribution at Musti Group and wish him all the best in his future endeavours," Rönnberg said.

Musti Group, a Nordic pet care retailer operating across seven markets, is expanding following its acquisition of Portuguese chain ZU, whose General Manager Tobias Azevedo joined the group management team after the deal closed in late 2025. The acquisition contributed EUR 8.4 million of revenue in the first quarter of 2026 as the company continued integrating the business while expanding its store, veterinary, and grooming network.

Tommi Valento, CFO of Finnish electricity distribution company Elenia, will join Lumo Kodit Oyj, Finland's largest private residential rental company, as chief financial officer and a member of the management team no later than Jan. 13, 2027, to lead its post-Varma financing priorities.

Valento succeeds CFO Erik Hjelt, who retires on July 1 after 11 years in the role, the property company, previously known as Kojamo, announced yesterday. CEO Reima Rytsölä said Valento brings "strong CFO experience in a capital-intensive industry and very strong expertise in capital structure management."

The appointment completes a three-stage succession plan. Hjelt will retire after serving as CFO since 2015 and as interim CEO between November 2024 and June 2025. Antti Syvänen, director of group accounting and financial administration, will serve as interim CFO until Valento assumes the role. 

Leadership renewal continues

Valento joins amid the most extensive leadership renewal in the company's recent history. Since Rytsölä became CEO in June 2025, Lumo Kodit has appointed Tuomas Kaulio as EVP, data & technology, and Katri Viippola as EVP, people, brand & sustainability. 

By the time Valento starts, five of the company's six senior management positions will have changed since it operated under the Kojamo name, while EVP Ville Raitio and EVP Janne Ojalehto provide continuity across investments and housing operations. 

The management changes coincide with the company's rebranding to Lumo Kodit, the integration of a 4,760-plus-apartment portfolio acquired from Varma, and a broader strategic reset.

The appointment brings in an executive with deep experience managing capital-intensive businesses. Valento has served as CFO of Elenia since 2015, leading the finance function during a period of significant investment in electricity network infrastructure. Earlier, he was CFO of Pohjolan Voima and held a debt advisory role at KPMG, bringing experience in capital-intensive businesses, financing structures, and debt markets that aligns with Lumo Kodit's priorities.

Valento said he was drawn to the company's strong foundation and ambitions for its next phase. "I am delighted to have been given the trust and excited about the opportunity to join the Lumo team at this exciting stage in the company's development. The company has a strong foundation, ambitious goals, and an important role in Finnish society. I look forward to working with Lumo's employees, management team, and board of directors in building the company's next development phase," he said.

What Lumo Kodit is trying to accomplish

Valento arrives as Lumo Kodit works to return to growth after reshaping its portfolio. 

The acquisition of over 4,760 rental apartments from Varma is expected to restore growth following apartment disposals in 2025, while management seeks to improve funds from operations per share and strengthen recurring earnings. The company is also refinancing a €600 million acquisition facility through the capital markets, maintaining a high hedge ratio against interest-rate risk and preserving balance-sheet flexibility.

Operational priorities include improving customer experience after achieving a record Net Promoter Score of 60 in March 2026 and completing the transition to a single Lumo brand following the company's name change from Kojamo earlier this year. 

Lumo Kodit reaffirmed its full-year 2026 guidance for revenue of €484 million to €497 million, implying 6%–9% annual growth, and funds from operations of €147 million to €157 million, implying 4%–11% growth, excluding non-recurring items. Management expects the recently acquired Varma portfolio to drive much of the second-half contribution needed to reach those targets.

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."

Trading in Piippo Oyj, a Finland-based manufacturer and distributor of ropes, twines, and net wraps, will end on Nasdaq First North Growth Market Finland on June 29, completing the company's planned delisting after a six-month protection period.

In the morning, Piippo's shares traded at €1.77, giving the company a market capitalization of around €2.3 million. The share price was down almost 80% from March 2015, when the company went public. 

The delisting follows Piippo's application to Nasdaq Helsinki in December 2025 to terminate trading in its shares. Nasdaq approved the request last December. Piippo already ended its operating business at the end of 2025 after selling its core assets and has said it has no plans to start a new business.

The company's latest half-year report reflects the transition. Revenue fell to €838,000 in the first half of fiscal 2026 from €6.3 million a year earlier as operations ended. Operating profit improved to €1.9 million, primarily because of gains from asset sales. Average headcount declined to six employees from 60 a year earlier.

Aarne Simula, Wetteri's largest shareholder and former CEO, has returned as chief executive officer with immediate effect after Pietu Parikka stepped down by mutual agreement. Simula will forgo his CEO salary until August 2027 as he leads the automotive retailer's plan to restore profitability through higher new-car sales and industry consolidation.

Parikka had served as CEO for less than 11 months after succeeding Simula last August. As part of the leadership changes, Mika Aho was elected chairman, replacing Simula, who had held the role since the May AGM, according to Wetteri’s press release from yesterday. Simula remains a member of the board while serving as CEO. 

The board is bringing back a familiar operator as Wetteri enters the execution phase of its 2026-2028 strategy. After a loss-making first quarter, management is seeking to restore profitability by increasing new-car sales, expanding its used-car business through trade-ins, and pursuing acquisitions in Finland's consolidating automotive retail market.

Veteran executive returns to lead next phase

Simula, 61, brings more than four decades of automotive industry experience. He led Wetteri Oy from 2008 and became CEO of the listed group in 2022 before stepping aside last year to remain the company's largest shareholder, board member, and adviser to management.

Chairman Mika Aho said the board believes Simula's experience, manufacturer relationships, and knowledge of Wetteri's operations will accelerate execution of the company's strategy for profitable growth.

"Over his long career, Aarne has gained an exceptionally strong and wide-ranging understanding of the car business and of the strengths of Wetteri's operations," Aho said.

Simula has also agreed to forgo CEO salary until Aug. 1, 2027, with the board approving the arrangement.

What Wetteri is trying to accomplish

Simula returns to accelerate Wetteri's existing 2026-2028 "Ohittamaton (Unbeatable)" strategy rather than introduce a new one. The plan centers on growing new-car sales to generate more trade-in vehicles for the used-car business, improving profitability, and pursuing consolidation in Finland's fragmented automotive retail market.

The company targets annual organic revenue growth of more than 10%, adjusted operating profit of 3% of revenue, an equity ratio of at least 25%, and doubling used-car sales from 2025 levels. The strategy follows a 2025 restructuring expected to generate about EUR 4 million in annual cost savings and is supported by expansion initiatives, including new Mazda operations in Kuopio, the Sports Car Center Airport Helsinki maintenance acquisition, and strong growth in used EV sales.

"The volume of car sales is growing, and Wetteri offers the country's best brands across a nationwide sales network. We are therefore now directing our resources towards growing new car sales," Simula said.

Summa Defence shares fell 4.1% to €0.58 in the afternoon after shareholders ordered a special audit, refused to grant discharge from liability to the previous board and CEOs, and replaced the company's entire board. The latest decline extends an almost 90% slide over the past year and follows weeks of mounting concerns over the defense technology group's finances. 

The AGM yesterday approved a special audit covering the period from January 1, 2025, to June 24, 2026. The review was requested by shareholder Oy Haapalandia Invest Ltd, with support from Jerovit Investment Oy and PM Ruukki Oy, and will examine the use of IPO proceeds, the rapid depletion of funds during 2025, the company's financial crisis, acquisitions, disclosures, and the administration and use of corporate assets. The supporting shareholders said they collectively hold more than one-tenth of the company's voting rights, meeting the threshold required under the Finnish Companies Act. 

The AGM also marked a complete boardroom reset. Shareholders elected Ville Jaakonsalo, Ville Heikkinen, Juha Pinomaa, Tapani Kiiski, Jyrki Heinimaa, and Mikko Haapala as directors, replacing the previous board in full. At its first meeting, the new board appointed Pinomaa as chair and established an audit committee led by Jaakonsalo.

Artificial intelligence is creating two distinct labor markets, and companies that use AI to strengthen expertise rather than simply automate routine work are pulling ahead in productivity, hiring, and wages, according to PwC Finland.

"The companies seeing the greatest benefits from AI use it to strengthen human expertise, accelerate innovation, and create entirely new sources of value," Juuso Laatikainen, partner, markets leader, and strategy consulting at PwC Finland, said in the Finnish release today on the 2026 Global AI Jobs Barometer. "As a result, they are increasing productivity and growing their business faster than companies focused primarily on automation."

PwC argues that AI is reshaping jobs in two ways. For some occupations, the technology removes repetitive work and raises the value of judgment, creativity, and specialist knowledge. For others, it lowers the skill threshold, allowing less experienced employees to perform tasks that previously required deeper expertise.

The conclusions are based on PwC's global report, released on June 15, which analyzed more than one billion job advertisements across 27 countries alongside company and productivity data. The study finds that occupations where AI increases the need for human expertise are growing twice as fast as jobs where the technology reduces the expertise required. Workers with AI skills now command a 62 percent wage premium, while demand for AI specialists grew 69 percent in 2025, nearly eight times faster than the overall labor market.

Soila Söderström, Betolar Plc's general counsel and management team member whose remit extends across legal affairs, human resources, communications and sustainability, will leave the company on July 15, 2026, less than three weeks before incoming CEO Vibeke Krohn takes office.

The departure comes less than a week after Betolar appointed Vibeke Krohn as its next president and CEO, effective August 1, 2026. This means that Söderström's exit will precede the leadership handover by roughly two weeks. Outgoing CEO Tuija Kalpala will remain with the company as an executive advisor until the end of 2026.

Kalpala said in today’s press release that Söderström "has had an important role in the company's strategic transformation." Kalpala credited Söderström with building and leading Betolar's legal function while supporting the board and management team through a period of significant change.

"Her expertise and ability to lead complex functions during times of change have strongly supported Betolar in achieving its objectives," Kalpala said. Betolar said it has started the search for a successor. 

Betolar's leadership structure has been changing steadily since 2024. Söderström's departure is the latest change in a management team that has added Chief Growth Officer Jyri Talja, EVP Circular Materials Amir Wafin and incoming CEO Vibeke Krohn over the past 18 months.

June alone has brought a series of announcements, including a new CEO, a financing partnership, a long-term raw material supply agreement and now a management team departure.

Wider remit than a typical general counsel

Söderström joined Betolar as general counsel and secretary to both the board of directors and management team, placing her at the center of the company's governance structure. She was appointed to the management team in May 2024, expanding her responsibilities beyond legal affairs to include public affairs and advocacy, intellectual property, human resources, communications and sustainability.

Her role also made her one of the main links between the board and executive organization, combining governance responsibilities with oversight of several corporate functions.

Her departure removes one of the company's most institutionally embedded executives at a time when Betolar is executing several complex initiatives. In recent days, the company secured exclusive rights to around 10 million tonnes of titanium-bearing tailings from the Otanmäki Mine and announced a strategic partnership with Lithuanian investment firm Scalewolf, including an initial EUR 3 million convertible financing commitment and a planned EUR 8 million equity investment tied to a dedicated metal extraction technology subsidiary.

What Betolar is trying to accomplish

Söderström's exit comes as Betolar pursues a more focused strategy built around three priorities.

The first is scaling its metal extraction technology toward industrial production. The recently announced Otanmäki feedstock agreement provides access to approximately 10 million tonnes of material containing titanium and vanadium, while the EU-backed MINERVA project is intended to support technology validation.

The second is commercializing critical infrastructure protection products. Betolar's partnership with Enersense targets growing investment in electricity grid resilience across Europe, a market the company views as one of its fastest routes to revenue growth.

The third is reaching positive EBITDA by the end of 2027. In Q1 2026, Betolar reported revenue of EUR 441,000, almost triple the level a year earlier, while order intake increased 146% to EUR 221,000. EBITDA remained negative at EUR 972,000, although losses narrowed slightly from the prior year. Cash and short-term investments stood at EUR 5.2 million at the end of the quarter, down from EUR 10.3 million a year earlier.

The company entered 2026 with momentum from a record 2025, when order intake reached EUR 2.3 million. The challenge now is converting that growing commercial activity into recurring revenue quickly enough to meet its 2027 profitability target.

Christopher Ostrander, former member of Nokian Tyres' board of directors, will leave his role as SVP, Passenger Car Tyres, North America, on July 31, 2026, creating a leadership vacancy in one of the markets Nokian Tyres is counting on to achieve its 2029 financial targets.

President and CEO Paolo Pompei will assume responsibility for the business on an interim basis until a successor is appointed, the Finnish tiremaker announced yesterday.

Ostrander joined the management team on Sept. 1, 2025, after stepping down from the board days earlier to take operational responsibility for the company's North American passenger car tire business. His tenure lasted less than 11 months. No reason for the departure was disclosed. 

"I would like to thank Christopher for his contributions in leading our North American business and for laying a solid foundation for the future development of our operations. We wish him all the best in his future endeavors," Pompei said. 

From boardroom to operating role

Ostrander's move from non-executive director to senior executive was one of the more unusual governance decisions at Nokian Tyres' post-Russia reset. The appointment signaled the board's confidence in his ability to help rebuild a business that had lost its largest manufacturing base following the company's exit from Russia in 2023.

His departure comes amid a broader period of leadership change. In September 2025, EVP Heavy Tyres Manu Salmi left the company, prompting interim management arrangements across both the Heavy Tyres and Manufacturing functions. Nokian Tyres also completed a CFO succession this year, with former Normet CFO Timo Koponen joining in April 2026. Board turnover has stabilized since the March 2026 AGM, when Jouko Pölönen succeeded Jukka Hienonen as chair.

Recovery gains traction

The leadership change comes as the company's financial recovery continues to strengthen. First-quarter 2026 net sales rose 4% year-on-year to EUR 279.6 million, while operating profit improved to EUR -17.8 million from EUR -35.9 million a year earlier. Cash flow from operations improved to EUR -71.4 million from EUR -121.8 million.

For full-year 2025, net sales increased 7% to EUR 1.4 billion from 2024, while operating profit jumped over 20-fold to EUR 35.8 million, marking the company's first meaningful earnings recovery since the Russia exit.

North America remains central to the strategy

North America has become an increasingly important market for Nokian Tyres as it rebuilds after exiting Russia. The region generated EUR 298 million of net sales in 2025, or about 22% of group revenue, and accounted for roughly 24% of sales in the first quarter of 2026.

Management highlighted North America as significantly outperforming the broader market in 2025, while the company continued investing in production capacity through its US factory and the ramp-up of its new Romanian plant.

Against that backdrop, Ostrander's departure creates a leadership vacancy in a market expected to play a key role in Nokian Tyres' plan to grow revenue by as much as 46% by 2029.

Nokia was the highest-ranked Finnish company in TIME and Statista's World's Most Sustainable Companies 2026 ranking, placing fourth globally, up from 37th last year.

With a score of 90.80, Nokia was also one of only two Nordic enterprises in the top 10 this year, alongside Swedish real estate company Castellum (#8), according to the ranking released yesterday. No Nordic company made the global top 10 in the 2025 edition. The annual ranking evaluates firms based on sustainability-related criteria, including environmental impact, transparency, and accountability. 

The top spot went to French energy management and automation company Schneider Electric, followed by Japanese consulting and IT services firm Nomura Research Institute and Italian luxury fashion brand Moncler.

Nineteen Finnish companies appeared on the list of 750 companies. After Nokia, telecommunications operator Elisa ranked 61st with a score of 84.87. Tire manufacturer Nokian Tyres placed 100th, followed by retail and wholesale group Kesko at 103rd and forestry and renewable materials company UPM-Kymmene at 107th. Software and IT services provider Tieto ranked 182nd, while industrial technology supplier Metso and crane manufacturer Konecranes placed 285th and 306th, respectively.

Investors gave Savox a positive reception on its first day of trading, pushing the defense communications company's shares above their IPO price following a heavily oversubscribed offering.

Savox shares opened at €10.90 on Nasdaq Helsinki's Prelist market today, 1.7 percent above the final subscription price of €10.72. By 10:24 a.m., the stock had traded between €10.75 and €11.06, giving the company an intraday market value of as much as €196 million. At the time of writing, shares were trading at around €10.85, with volume exceeding two million shares and turnover reaching €21.6 million.

The market debut follows strong demand for Savox's IPO. The company announced yesterday that both its share offering and secondary share sale had been multiple times oversubscribed.

Alexandra Åquist, chief revenue officer and country manager for Spain and Portugal at Karnov Group, will join Enento Group as country director for Sweden and a member of the executive management team no later than the beginning of 2027. The appointment comes as Sweden returns to growth, with local sales increasing 2% at comparable exchange rates in the first quarter after a difficult period for one of Enento's most important markets.

Åquist will report directly to CEO Teppo Paavola, the Finnish credit information provider announced recently. Carl Brynielsson, who has served as interim country director for Sweden, will return full-time to his role as country director for Norway and Denmark. The appointment is the latest management team change since Paavola joined Enento in January 2026, following a broader restructuring of the company's leadership and operating model.

The hire follows a stronger start to 2026 for Enento after a challenging period in Sweden. The group’s first-quarter net sales increased 5% to EUR 39.6 million, adjusted EBITDA rose 9% to EUR 13.5 million, and free cash flow climbed 59% to EUR 11.1 million.

Sweden moves from restructuring to recovery

Åquist joins as Enento seeks to build on early signs of improvement in Sweden.

The market weighed on group performance through 2024 and 2025, as regulatory uncertainty affecting loan brokers suppressed demand for consumer credit information services. Full-year 2025 net sales were EUR 152.7 million, flat at comparable exchange rates, with growth primarily driven by Business Insight operations in Finland.

Management responded by introducing a country-based operating model in March 2026, creating separate profit-and-loss responsibility for Finland and Sweden. Brynielsson assumed interim responsibility for Sweden while the search for a permanent leader was conducted.

The first quarter showed signs of improvement, with consumer credit volumes stabilizing, real estate services delivering growth, and compliance services securing new contracts.

Compliance and growth experience

Åquist joins from Karnov Group, where she most recently served as CRO and country manager for Spain and Portugal. Her career has included leadership positions across insurance, fundraising and legal information services, with much of her senior executive experience coming within Karnov's legal information and compliance business.

"We are excited to welcome Alexandra Åquist to Enento,” CEO Paavola said. “Her experience in transformations and driving growth will be instrumental to our next steps in Sweden. The role is crucial in supporting our growth agenda, improving speed-to-market, and delivering even stronger value to our customers." 

Åquist said she looks forward to leading Enento's Swedish business and building on the company's market position through innovation and customer value creation.

Olvi has completed its acquisition of Värska Originaal, bringing Estonia's leading mineral water producer into the Finnish beverage group's growing portfolio of non-alcoholic brands.

The transaction closed on June 19 after receiving approval from Estonia's Competition Authority and overcoming a challenge from a third party, whose request for interim legal protection temporarily delayed completion, Olvi announced recently. The acquisition was carried out through Olvi's Estonian subsidiary, A. Le Coq, which acquired 100% of Värska Originaal's shares.

The deal was first announced in September 2025 as part of Olvi's strategy to increase the share of non-alcoholic products in its business. At the time, the company said the acquisition would increase its non-alcoholic beverage sales volume by about 10% while strengthening its position in a category benefiting from growing consumer demand for healthier drinks.

"Already, more than 40% of our total sales volume comes from non-alcoholic products," Olvi Group CEO Patrik Lundell said when the acquisition was announced. He described the deal as "another concrete step in executing our multi-local growth strategy."

Conan Cavanagh, currently chief operating officer and head of research & development at HidraMed Solutions, will join Bioretec Oy as head of R&D on Sept. 1, as the Finnish absorbable orthopedic implant developer works toward launching new products and reaching more than EUR 10 million in annual sales by 2028.

Cavanagh will join the management team and report to CEO Sarah van Hellenberg Hubar-Fisher, the medical technology company announced recently.

Cavanagh’s appointment follows the hiring of CFO Tuukka Paavola in January and the restructuring of the company's technology organization, which included CTO Timo Lehtonen's transition to an external executive advisor role effective July 6 and the creation of separate product development and clinical affairs positions. 

Orthopedic device veteran joins leadership build-out

Cavanagh brings more than 25 years of experience across medical device and biomaterial development, from concept generation through commercialization.

He currently serves as COO and head of R&D at HidraMed Solutions, a wound care and tissue engineering company. Previously, he was the engineering director at Smith & Nephew, where he led the development and commercialization of orthopedic and sports medicine products.

His experience spans clinical studies, regulatory affairs, and intellectual property management, areas that are becoming increasingly important as Bioretec expands its portfolio of bioresorbable metal alloy RemeOs™ internationally.

"We are thrilled to welcome Conan Cavanagh to Bioretec," van Hellenberg Hubar-Fisher said. "We look forward to his leadership and input as we continue on our mission to become the global market leader in absorbable orthopedic implants."

Cavanagh said he was joining the company at an important stage in its development and looked forward to advancing growth through innovation and new technology.

R&D sits at the center of the growth plan

Bioretec has set two financial targets for its 2026–2028 strategy period: exceed EUR 10 million in annual net sales by the end of 2028 and maintain an average adjusted sales margin above 70%.

The company has tied those ambitions to a series of operational priorities. Proceeds from its April 2026 rights issue are earmarked to support commercial expansion, particularly in the United States, advance the development pipeline, launch three new products within 18 months, improve production capabilities and fund working capital requirements.

Cavanagh's responsibilities map directly onto those objectives. As head of R&D, he will oversee research strategy, product portfolio management, and execution of the development program behind the planned launches.

The appointment also fills one of the leadership positions created when responsibilities previously held by Lehtonen were split into dedicated product development and clinical affairs functions.

Growth markets are expanding, but the financial backdrop remains demanding

The hire comes as Bioretec continues to invest in growth while operating at a loss.

First-quarter net sales declined 13% year over year to EUR 1.2 million, while EBITDA widened to a loss of EUR 1.4 million. Cash and cash equivalents stood at EUR 1.9 million at the end of March, down from EUR 4.4 million a year earlier.

The headline decline masked stronger performance in the company's priority markets. US revenue increased over fivefold year over year to EUR 292,000, while European revenue tripled to EUR 434,000. Adjusted sales margin improved to 70.1%, reaching the level Bioretec has targeted for the current strategy period.

Management has also been reducing costs. In June, the company concluded change negotiations affecting its Finnish production operations, resulting in three job reductions and around EUR 0.2 million in annual savings. Together with measures announced in late 2025, the cuts reflected management's assessment that production capacity exceeded current sales volumes.

Vibeke Krohn, executive chair of Infinited Fiber, will join Betolar Plc as president and CEO on Aug. 1, 2026, as the Finnish materials technology company accelerates commercialization of its metal extraction technology and critical infrastructure protection businesses. 

Krohn succeeds Tuija Kalpala, who will remain in the role through July 31 before transitioning to executive advisor through the end of 2026, the company focused on metal recovery and low-carbon construction solutions announced yesterday.

The leadership change comes days after Betolar sharpened its focus on metal extraction technology and critical infrastructure protection as its two primary growth areas. Kalpala will support the transition to ensure continuity as the company scales those operations.

Betolar is turning to Krohn's experience in scaling industrial and sustainability-focused businesses as it seeks to convert technology development into larger commercial opportunities. Krohn most recently served as executive chair of Finnish textile circularity company Infinited Fiber and previously was CEO of Tomra Textiles, part of Norwegian recycling technology group Tomra Systems. Earlier in her career, she was an associate partner at McKinsey & Company and held international leadership positions across the telecom and financial services sectors.

"I am excited to join Betolar at a pivotal time for the company," Krohn said. "I am truly impressed with the Betolar deep materials technology expertise and see great potential in developing solutions with customers and partners to meet global needs. I am delighted to join the team to accelerate commercialization and create long-term value for shareholders."

Experience aligned with Betolar's next phase

Krohn's background closely matches the company's current priorities. At Tomra Textiles, she gained experience in industrial waste stream recovery and resource efficiency, capabilities that align with Betolar's efforts to extract critical and strategic metals from mine tailings and industrial sidestreams. At Infinited Fiber, she helped guide the commercialization of a deep-technology circular economy company, offering a relevant blueprint for Betolar's own journey from technology development to broader market adoption.

Board Chair Anders Dahlblom said Krohn brings "a strong track record in leading growth companies and commercialization of technology-based solutions," adding that her experience is "well aligned with Betolar's strategic focus and the opportunities we see in our selected growth areas."

Kalpala leaves after advancing technology and commercial milestones

Kalpala departs after leading Betolar through a period of transformation. During her tenure, the company advanced its metal extraction technology, which it says can recover up to 99% of critical and strategic metals from mine tailings, and secured its first commercial order from Anglo American for the Sakatti project.

She also oversaw record order intake of EUR 2.3 million in 2025, more than double the prior year, and guided the company's expansion to the OTCQX International marketplace in the United States.

"I would like to thank the entire Betolar team as well as our partners and stakeholders for the collaboration during my tenure," Kalpala said. "Having brought the company to this stage, I am pleased to hand over the leadership to Vibeke Krohn."

The transition follows several management changes over the past 18 months, including the appointment of Chief Growth Officer Jyri Talja in April 2025 and Executive Vice President, Circular Materials, Amir Wafin in December 2025, reflecting the company's increasing focus on commercial execution.

What the company aims to accomplish

Krohn takes over as Betolar enters a critical execution period. The company's first priority is scaling its metal extraction technology from demonstration projects to industrial deployment.

A key milestone is the EUR 2.1 million EU LIFE-funded MINERVA project in Eastern Lapland, which is expected to run for about three and a half years. Betolar says the project will demonstrate the technology under Arctic mining conditions and help advance it beyond the proof-of-concept stage.

The second priority is commercializing its critical infrastructure protection business. Betolar has developed modular protective structures for electrical substations using its materials technology platform. A letter of intent signed with Enersense International in May 2026 provides an early commercial route into a market supported by rising investment in European electricity grids.

Financially, Betolar is targeting positive EBITDA by the end of the fourth quarter of 2027. The company plans to reach that milestone through growth in circular materials sales, infrastructure-related projects, and broader commercialization of its technologies.

Research published by Harvard Business Review suggests AI is evolving from a productivity tool into something far more personal.

For the past three years, AI has largely been framed as a workplace tool. It drafts emails, summarizes reports, writes code, and automates routine tasks.

But according to the latest AI in the Wild study, published in the Harvard Business Review, people are increasingly using AI for something else: support. The research analyzed more than 12,000 real-world AI use cases between March 2025 and February 2026 and found that therapy and companionship remained the most common use case for a second consecutive year. Relationship advice, workplace guidance, and decision support also ranked among the most popular applications.

The biggest shift from last year is not what sits at number one. It is what has risen around it. In 2025, users frequently turned to AI for enhanced learning, finding purpose, generating ideas, and organizing their lives. Those categories have largely given way to more interpersonal uses. People increasingly rely on AI to navigate relationships, workplace interactions, and difficult decisions.

The trend is visible across the dataset. Personal and professional support now accounts for 34% of observed AI use cases, up from 17% in 2024.

The new sounding board

For many professionals, AI has become a place to test ideas before sharing them with others.

One user described using it to pressure test arguments rather than generate them: "I use AI all the time to evaluate an argument I've written and have the AI try to poke holes in it. I then assess if I'm missing something and go back to refine it myself. AI is a mirror, not a genie."

Used this way, AI functions less as an assistant and more as a sparring partner. It helps users challenge assumptions, refine arguments, and think through decisions before taking action.

Aki Gynther, who has served as Alisa Bank's interim CFO and deputy CEO since March, has been appointed chief executive officer with immediate effect, becoming the permanent successor to Sampsa Laine, who left the role in February.

Gynther joined the Helsinki-based digital bank in January to prepare for CFO cover responsibilities and stepped into the management team following Laine's departure. His appointment ends four months of interim leadership and gives Alisa Bank a permanent chief executive as it seeks to turn a completed restructuring into profitable growth in SME financing.

He brings more than 20 years of leadership experience in Finland's financial sector, having held senior positions at S-Bank and OP Group, including CFO, chief risk officer, and business line leadership roles. The board said his background positions him to combine technology, business, and risk management as Alisa Bank scales its SME financing operations.

A turnaround completed, growth now the challenge

Gynther takes over as Alisa Bank emerges from a significant strategic reset. The company exited consumer lending and completed the sale of around three-quarters of its consumer loan portfolio to Sweden's Bankaktiebolaget Nordiska in January 2026 for EUR 51 million.

The transaction generated a EUR 2.4 million one-off gain but also resulted in EUR 0.8 million of impairment losses tied to the withdrawal from consumer finance.

The bank's 2025 results reflected a business in transition. Operating income declined 12% to EUR 14.9 million from EUR 17 million a year earlier, while operating expenses increased 7% to EUR 13.7 million. Result before non-recurring items and taxes fell to a loss of EUR 3.4 million, compared with a EUR 0.1 million loss in 2024.

The restructuring also reshaped Alisa Bank's balance sheet. The business customer loan portfolio declined 5% to EUR 45.4 million, while the consumer loan portfolio contracted 87% to EUR 13.4 million as the exit progressed. Total lending fell 61% to EUR 58.9 million at year-end 2025 from EUR 149.5 million a year earlier.

One outcome of the transformation was a substantially stronger capital position. The total capital adequacy ratio nearly doubled to 34.6%, while the liquidity coverage ratio stood at 1,210% at year-end 2025, giving the bank a well-capitalized platform for growth.

Growth momentum has been strongest in partner channels. Payments processed through Alisa Bank's financial software partner network increased by more than fivefold in 2025, and more than half of all invoice financing customers were acquired through those channels. The network now reaches around 160,000 SMEs, making partner distribution the bank's largest acquisition channel.

Board backs Gynther to execute growth strategy

Chairman Olli-Petteri Lehtinen said Gynther's experience at S-Bank and OP Group provides the right foundation for the company's next phase.

“We are pleased to welcome Aki Gynther as the new CEO of Alisa Bank. Aki has extensive experience and strong credentials in long-term, result-oriented business leadership, both at S-Bank and OP Group.

“We are confident that his background provides an excellent foundation for combining technology, business and risk management in a way that supports the company’s strategy of scalable growth in SME financing. Aki is well positioned to move Alisa Bank forward together with the rest of the management team.”

The appointment follows broader management renewal during 2026. Marko Ahola joined as chief risk and compliance officer in April, while Satu Uski became chief information officer on June 1.

Two additional appointments took effect alongside Gynther's promotion. Katja Vähäsilta was named deputy CEO, and Sari Salmi interim CFO, both covering for CFO Kukka Lehtimäki during parental leave. Lehtimäki briefly served as interim CEO following Laine's departure before Gynther assumed deputy CEO responsibilities in March.

All three appointments remain subject to the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority not raising objections.

Sebastian Seppänen, Relais Group's director of M&A and business development, has been appointed interim chief financial officer, as the vehicle aftermarket consolidator shifts its focus from acquisition-led expansion toward profitability, cash generation and returns on capital. 

Seppänen succeeds Thomas Ekström, whose departure was announced in April and will take effect no later than October, the company announced yesterday.

Seppänen will retain responsibility for M&A and business development while overseeing the finance function, giving him a dual mandate at a pivotal point in Relais' development. The company continues to search for a permanent CFO. 

"Sebastian knows our business and strategy well,” CEO Christian Gebauer said. “Through his M&A role, he has been deeply involved in Relais Group's financing processes over the past four years, and I am confident in his ability to lead our finance function during this transition." 

An insider takes the finance helm

Seppänen is one of the executives most closely associated with Relais' acquisition strategy. During the past four years, he has been involved in transactions, financing arrangements, and business development initiatives that helped transform the company into one of the Nordic market's most active consolidators.

The scale of that expansion accelerated in 2025. Relais completed eight acquisitions during the year, extending its presence beyond the Nordic region into markets including the Benelux. Net sales increased to EUR 383.4 million from EUR 322.6 million in 2024.

His appointment suggests continuity rather than a change in direction. By keeping M&A responsibilities with Seppänen, management is signaling that acquisitions remain part of the growth agenda even as the company places greater emphasis on profitability and returns.

Growth remains strong, but the finance agenda is changing

The leadership change comes against a backdrop of strong operating performance.

Relais reported record first-quarter net sales of EUR 119 million, up 44% from EUR 82.8 million a year earlier. Adjusted EBITA increased 40% to EUR 12.8 million, while adjusted earnings per share rose 13% to EUR 0.38.

The most important figure may have been cash generation. Operating cash flow increased to EUR 10.4 million from EUR 2.7 million in the prior-year period.

For investors, that improvement reflects a broader shift underway inside the company. During the past several years, the priority was building scale through acquisitions. The next phase requires turning that larger platform into stronger cash generation and higher returns on invested capital.

That changes the nature of the CFO role. The focus is no longer solely on financing acquisitions and integrating new businesses. It increasingly involves capital allocation, balance-sheet discipline, and ensuring that acquired businesses generate acceptable returns.

Leadership and governance continue to evolve

Seppänen's promotion is the latest step in a broader reshaping of Relais' leadership structure.

Christian Johansson Gebauer became CEO in January 2026, succeeding founder Arni Ekholm, who later joined the board. Earlier this year, Relais reorganized its operations into three business segments: Commercial Vehicle Services, Products and Solutions, and Technical Wholesale.

Governance has also become more structured. At the June board meeting, directors established an Audit and Risk Committee chaired by Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo and a Financing and Investment Committee chaired by Board Chair Jesper Otterbeck.

The new committee structure reflects the company's increasing focus on capital allocation. As Relais moves beyond its most aggressive acquisition phase, decisions about investment returns, financing, and portfolio priorities become more important than simply adding revenue through deals.

Sami Asikainen, former head of Wulff Group's personnel services business, has been appointed chief executive officer of Wulff Group Plc, effective immediately. The 54-year-old succeeds Elina Rahkonen after less than nine months on the group executive board and takes charge as the company pursues an ambitious plan to nearly double revenue by 2030.

Asikainen will also serve as chair of the group executive board while continuing to lead the personnel services business, the company's newest business segment, the Nordic provider of workplace products, staffing, and accounting services, announced yesterday. 

The appointment comes just 25 days after Rahkonen announced her departure and nearly two months before her formal handover date of August 14, suggesting the board moved quickly to elevate an internal successor already viewed as a key figure in the group's growth plans, as reported by Listeds earlier.

Asikainen joined the group executive board in October 2025 after building Wulff's personnel services business, which launched in 2024 and includes staff leasing, recruitment, direct search and consulting. The segment sits within the broader worklife services division, which grew 47% year-on-year in the first quarter, making it the fastest-growing part of the group. His promotion places the executive responsible for that expansion in charge of the wider company at a time when growth, rather than restructuring, has become the priority.

"Sami Asikainen is a leader that people trust and are happy to follow. He combines a strong commercial vision, a result-oriented approach and a human, equal way of leading," Chair of the Board Heikki Vienola said. "He has the ability to see growth opportunities and get people involved in change."

The leadership transition takes place against a backdrop of boardroom stability. Former Wulff CEO Heikki Vienola returned as chair in April 2026, providing operational familiarity during the handover period. New board member Petteri Kilpinen, former CEO of TBWA Helsinki and current chair of the Finnish Olympic Committee, adds marketing and brand expertise, while directors Jussi Vienola, Kristina Vienola and Lauri Sipponen provide continuity.

From restructuring to growth

Asikainen inherits a company that has already completed much of its operational reset. Under Rahkonen, Wulff conducted three rounds of workforce negotiations between 2024 and January 2026, affecting 142 employees and eliminating 24 positions. The measures generated annualized savings of EUR 1.8 million and helped return the Finnish products business to positive operating profit growth in the first quarter.

The financial backdrop is favorable. First-quarter net sales rose 16% year-on-year to EUR 31.5 million, while EBIT increased to EUR 2.5 million from EUR 0.3 million a year earlier. The quarter also included a EUR 1.8 million gain from the sale and leaseback of the company's Tuusula warehouse.

The challenge facing the new CEO is less about restructuring and more about balancing growth across three different businesses. He now oversees personnel services, which he built; accounting services, where management expects acquisitions to play a central role; and products for work environments, a mature distribution-focused business emerging from several years of restructuring.

"It is great to be able to lead Wulff in its next growth phase. We have a clear direction: we are building profitable growth in three complementary business areas: Personnel services, Accounting services, and Products for Work Environments," Asikainen said.

What Wulff is trying to achieve

The leadership transition comes with a clear strategic roadmap already in place. Wulff reaffirmed its 2025–2030 strategy at its AGM in April, targeting net sales of EUR 230 million by 2030, nearly double the EUR 122.3 million reported in 2025. The company is also aiming to increase comparable operating profit to EUR 20 million by the end of the decade.

The growth plan combines organic expansion in personnel services and consulting with acquisition-led growth in accounting services. Management has also identified opportunities across Scandinavia, where product sales increased during the first quarter. The strategy, branded "A better world one encounter at a time," places customer experience, sales culture, and sustainability at the center of the group's development.

Asikainen's first comments as CEO closely align with that framework. His focus on sales execution, customer encounters, and people leadership suggests continuity rather than a change in direction, reinforcing the board's decision to promote from within.

Finland’s economy performed better than expected in 2025, but the recovery remains uneven. Revised figures show GDP grew 0.8 percent, four times the pace initially estimated, driven largely by stronger exports and a rebound in several industrial sectors.

Exports were the main force behind the upgrade. Statistics Finland revised its earlier growth estimate from 0.2 percent to 0.8 percent today after stronger data from foreign trade and key industries. Growth was strongest in information and communications, mining, pharmaceuticals, oil refining, and defense manufacturing.

The improvement in external demand is beginning to filter through to the labor market. Industries that expanded exports added jobs even as total employment across the economy declined. Finland’s current account also returned to surplus in 2025, reflecting stronger trade performance.

Anne-May Asplund will leave Duell Corporation as chief people officer on September 15, 2026, becoming the fourth senior leadership departure or appointment at the company in the past 10 months as CEO Tomi Virtanen reshapes the management team.

Duell announced that Asplund, a member of the management team since July 2025, will depart in September and that a recruitment process for her successor will begin immediately. Her departure comes six weeks after Tomi Virtanen was confirmed as permanent CEO following a two-month interim period. 

Asplund joined Duell's management team in 2025. During her tenure, the Finland-based importer and wholesale distributor continued to develop its European operations while navigating weaker demand across several markets. Duell serves around 8,500 dealers across Europe, offers more than 100,000 products from over 500 brands, and operates logistics centers in Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands, France, and the UK.

"I would like to thank Anne-May Asplund for her contribution to Duell and the development of the company," Virtanen said.

Leadership changes continue

Asplund's departure follows a period of change across Duell's leadership structure. The company saw board changes at its annual general meeting in November 2025, while former CEO Karl Magnus Miemois left the company in March 2026. Virtanen was appointed interim CEO the following day and was confirmed as permanent CEO on May 7.

The CPO role becomes the latest vacancy within the leadership organization as Duell continues recruitment efforts for key positions.

What the company aims to accomplish

Since his appointment as permanent CEO, Virtanen has outlined three priorities for Duell: restoring profitable growth, strengthening the company's position in target markets, and improving working capital efficiency.

The company has already taken several steps aligned with those objectives. In April, Duell established a dedicated supply chain organization focused on working capital management. The same month, it announced a distribution agreement with Quad Lock covering Finland, Sweden, and Norway, expanding its product offering in the Nordic market.

Duell has also sought to strengthen its position in France. Earlier this year, the company appointed Jean-Marc Autheman to lead French operations as it works to improve performance in the market through a stronger product portfolio and updated sales plan.

Alongside those initiatives, Duell has continued investing in operational efficiency. In May, the company's Mustasaari warehouse received the Warehouse Excellence Award 2026 from Elisa Industriq Finland after improving warehouse efficiency by nearly 40% and increasing peak-season order handling capacity by 30% to 40%.

Janne Kuivalainen, CTO and head of technology at Danfoss Power Electronics and Drives, will join Kempower Oyj as chief technology officer and a member of its global leadership team in October 2026. The appointment brings more than 25 years of experience in power electronics, software platforms, and international R&D leadership to the Finnish EV charging company as it expands internationally, invests in AI-driven engineering capabilities, and works to improve profitability.

Kuivalainen joins from Danfoss, where he led global technology strategy, international R&D teams, and AI-based engineering productivity initiatives. Before that, he served as senior vice president responsible for next-generation product platforms at Danfoss Drives and held leadership positions at ABB and Vacon. He succeeds the interim arrangement under Chief Operating Officer Sanna Otava, who has overseen the CTO function since the role was created earlier this year, Kempower announced yesterday.

The hire completes a six-month restructuring of Kempower's leadership organization. The company created the CTO role in January as part of a broader effort to strengthen innovation, customer responsiveness, and execution. The overhaul also saw Chief Markets Officer Jussi Vanhanen become chief product officer, expanded North America President Monil Malhotra's responsibilities to include digital solutions leadership, and established a dedicated services and aftermarket function led by former Kone executive Katri Piirtola from May 2026.

“As Kempower continues to scale globally, technology leadership is at the core of our competitiveness and growth,” CEO Bhasker Kaushal said. The company said Kuivalainen's experience in power electronics, software-driven products, and international technology organizations will support its next phase of growth.

Final piece of a broader leadership reset

Kuivalainen's appointment caps a period of significant leadership change since Kaushal became CEO in June 2025. Since then, Kempower has added a chief services and aftermarket officer, appointed a new CIO effective August 2026, and announced the departure of CFO Jukka Kainulainen, who will leave in September after five years with the company. A search for his successor is ongoing. Four of the company's eleven leadership team positions have changed hands since mid-2025, with the finance function still unresolved.

The changes come as Kempower pursues a more technology-focused strategy. By separating product management, technology development, and aftermarket operations into dedicated executive functions, management is aiming to accelerate innovation while improving execution and customer support. The addition of both a CTO and CIO role within months of each other also reflects a growing emphasis on AI-enabled productivity across engineering, product development and internal operations.

Finland's economy is still growing, but the recovery now looks more fragile than the finance ministry expected six months ago.

In its summer forecast published today, the ministry said rising energy prices, higher interest rates, and uncertainty linked to the Middle East crisis are slowing the country's return to stronger growth. GDP is forecast to expand by 0.8 percent in 2026, before accelerating to 1.6 percent in 2027 and 1.7 percent in 2028.

That marks a downgrade from the ministry's December 2025 forecast, which projected 1.1 percent growth in 2026. At the time, officials expected improving household consumption, stronger employment, and a gradual recovery in construction to support the economy.

The biggest change is the external environment. Higher oil prices have pushed inflation higher, weakened household purchasing power, and darkened export market prospects. Consumer confidence remains subdued, while the labor market has deteriorated more than expected. The ministry now expects unemployment to reach 10.4 percent in 2026. In December, it anticipated employment would begin improving this year, and that unemployment would gradually fall.

Sami Huusari, most recently division manager at Carpenter Co., will join Eagle Filters Group Oyj as chief executive officer on Aug. 24, 2026, as the filtration technology company enters a new phase of growth backed by a record €7.7 million order backlog. Huusari succeeds Acting CEO Jussi Joki-Tokola, who will step down from the executive role and continue as vice chairman of the board.

Huusari brings more than two decades of industrial manufacturing experience from companies including Carpenter Co., Recticel, and Evonik Finland. Eagle Filters said the recruitment process was launched to support the company's production expansion and the execution of its growth plans. 

The appointment follows the June 10 promotion of Daniel Lähde to CFO, completing a leadership transition across the company's top operational and financial roles, as Listeds reported earlier. 

Eagle Filters Group, a Finnish filtration technology company focused on clean energy and industrial applications, is entering the next stage of its development after a sharp improvement in demand. Huusari served as division manager at Carpenter Co. from 2023 to 2026. Before that, he was operations manager at Recticel between 2019 and 2023 and plant manager at Evonik Finland from 2014 to 2019. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Industrial Engineering and Management and an MBA in International Business Management.

"The Board considers Sami Huusari to be the best candidate to lead Eagle Filters Group and to strengthen the company's position in its key focus areas," the company said.

Continuity alongside change

The transition is notable because Joki-Tokola is not leaving the company. By remaining vice chairman, he preserves continuity between the board and the management team as Eagle Filters moves into its next operating phase.

The arrangement allows the company to bring in an external CEO with deep manufacturing experience while retaining institutional knowledge at the board level. The board said the CEO search was initiated to support production expansion and the execution of the company's growth plans.

A double leadership reset

Monday's announcement follows another senior leadership change disclosed less than a week earlier. On June 10, Eagle Filters appointed Daniel Lähde as CFO after promoting him from his role as group controller.

Lähde succeeded Timo Linnainmaa, who announced his resignation in January and left the company during the spring.

Together, the appointments place new leaders in the company's two most important executive positions within five weeks. The combination pairs an internally developed finance leader with an externally recruited chief executive officer whose background is rooted in industrial operations.

What Eagle Filters aims to accomplish

The leadership changes come as Eagle Filters seeks to turn improving commercial momentum into sustainable financial performance.

Management has identified production expansion as a key priority. The company plans to increase production staffing and make targeted manufacturing investments to support deliveries against its growing order book. The board directly linked Huusari's appointment to that objective, stating that the recruitment process was launched to support the production scale-up phase and the execution of growth plans.

Profitability is the second major objective. While Eagle Filters remains loss-making, recent results suggest progress. First-quarter EBITDA improved to a loss of €132,000 from a loss of €934,000 a year earlier, bringing the business close to breakeven.

The company is also strengthening its financial position to support future growth. A €2.6 million capital raise completed in May and June provides additional funding for investment, while shareholders have authorized the board to issue up to 80 million shares and 10 million stock options, giving the company flexibility to pursue future expansion initiatives.

Recent demand has been driven by continued growth in the clean energy business area, which contributed to a 190% increase in order intake during the first quarter.

Kesko has agreed to acquire Dahl's operations in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark from French building materials group Saint-Gobain in a deal valued at €1.2 billion, excluding lease commitments. The acquisition, the largest in Kesko's history, would add nearly €2.1 billion in annual revenue and strengthen the retailer's position in one of the Nordic construction market's more resilient segments.

The timing is notable. Kesko's sales grew 3% in May to €1.13 billion, driven largely by building and technical trade. Division sales increased 10%, while technical trade sales rose 9% on a comparable basis. Grocery sales were broadly flat, and car trade sales fell 9%, reinforcing the importance of the division Kesko is now expanding most aggressively.

Dahl is a leading distributor of heating, plumbing, air conditioning, and infrastructure products across Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. The business operates around 190 stores, serves more than 70,000 customers, and generates roughly half of its sales from renovation projects, with another third linked to infrastructure construction.

The acquisition would significantly increase Kesko's international footprint. More than 70% of sales in its building and technical trade division would come from outside Finland, up from 58% today. The company believes long-term demand will be supported by infrastructure investment, urbanization, renovation activity, and the increasing technical complexity of buildings.

The transaction remains subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in early 2027.

A notable insider sale at Puuilo has drawn attention just as the discount retailer accelerates its expansion plans.

Board Member Markku Tuomaala sold 400,000 Puuilo shares on June 11 at a volume-weighted average price of €15.47 per share, according to a managers' transactions filing. The transaction was worth around €6.2 million.

The sale carries particular weight because Tuomaala is not a typical board member. He founded Puuilo and served as CEO from 1995 to 2017, overseeing the company's transformation from a local discount retailer into a national chain. He returned to the board in 2025 and remains closely associated with the company's long-term development.

The transaction came one day after Puuilo reported strong first quarter results. Net sales increased 16% year on year to €103.8 million, while adjusted EBITA rose 50% to €16.3 million. The company reiterated its full-year guidance and continues to target the opening of its first Swedish store within 15 months.

Maria Alahuhta will no longer join SSH Communications Security Corporation as chief financial officer, reversing a high-profile executive appointment announced just two months ago and extending the cybersecurity company's search for finance leadership.

Alahuhta, CFO and COO at Yousician Oy, had been appointed CFO and a member of SSH’s executive management team in April, with a planned start date of Oct. 1, 2026. The company said today that she has decided to join another employer and will therefore not take up the position. 

SSH has launched a new recruitment process while putting measures in place to ensure continuity of its finance function. The change is not expected to have a material impact on financial reporting or business operations.

Mikko Kuusilehto, who has led Robit Plc's turnaround efforts since August 2025, will leave the Finnish drilling tools manufacturer as chief executive in December 2026 after less than 16 months in the role, the company announced today. His departure comes as Robit works to return to growth following a difficult 2025 and prepares to execute a newly secured pipeline of mining supply agreements worth EUR 7 million to EUR 10 million across Australia, North America and South Africa.

Kuusilehto succeeded Arto Halonen as CEO in August 2025 and is expected to remain with the company through a six-month notice period ending around Dec. 11, 2026. The board has initiated a search for his successor. No reason was provided for the departure beyond the standard statement that he will pursue opportunities outside the company. 

"The company thanks Kuusilehto for his contribution to Robit and for his work in developing the company's business. Robit wishes him all the best in his future endeavors," Chair of the Board Harri Sjöholm said. 

Turnaround showed early signs of progress

Kuusilehto inherited Robit, a Nasdaq Helsinki-listed supplier of drilling consumables and solutions for mining, construction and geotechnical applications, during a challenging period. 

The company's 2025 results showed net sales declining 13% to EUR 78.8 million from EUR 90.3 million a year earlier, while comparable EBIT fell 32% to EUR 1.7 million. A profit warning had already been issued in October 2025 as construction market demand weakened.

His mandate was clear: restore growth and improve profitability.

By the first quarter of 2026, early signs of progress had emerged. Received orders increased 19% year-over-year to EUR 24.1 million, while comparable EBIT more than doubled to EUR 1.4 million. Comparable EBIT margin expanded to 6.5% from 2.9%. Net sales remained broadly flat at EUR 21.3 million, but the Americas grew 31%, and the Geotechnical business expanded 53%. Management attributed the improvement to increased sales activity, distributor support, operating model changes, and lower fixed costs. Robit subsequently reaffirmed its guidance for improved net sales and comparable EBIT in 2026.

Architect of Robit's commercial expansion

Much of Robit's commercial activity during the first half of 2026 carried Kuusilehto's signature.

He served as the company's primary public spokesperson while Robit renewed a long-term supply agreement with Agnico Eagle's Kittilä mine, signed new long-term agreements with Endomines' Pampalo and Hosko mines, appointed Jan Schroeder as VP Canada, and recruited Kimmo Kuusela from Glaston as incoming VP sales & marketing.

Only one week before his departure was announced, Kuusilehto welcomed Kuusela to the company and emphasized the importance of strengthening sales leadership to support growth.

The company also announced a portfolio of new mining supply agreements worth EUR 7 million to EUR 10 million in Australia, North America, and South Africa. In that announcement, Kuusilehto said the agreements reflected customer confidence in Robit's products and validated years of work testing products in demanding mining environments.

The timing is notable. The executive who spent recent months rebuilding the sales organization, securing new contracts, and positioning the company for growth will not oversee much of their execution. Deliveries under the newly announced agreements are expected to begin in the third quarter of 2026, during the CEO transition period.

Leadership changes continue across the company

Kuusilehto's departure is the most prominent move in a broader reshaping of Robit's management team.

Since March 2025, the company has recorded at least five senior departures and four appointments. Former CFO Ville Peltonen exited in April 2025 and was replaced by Ari Suokas. Halonen departed as CEO in August 2025 before Kuusilehto took over. More recently, VP Down the Hole Perttu Aho announced his departure effective Aug. 16, 2026, while Schroeder and Kuusela were recruited to strengthen Robit's North American and global sales organizations.

The overlap creates additional execution risk. Aho's departure will leave a vacancy in the Down the Hole business only months before Kuusilehto exits, creating simultaneous transitions in two senior leadership positions during a period when Robit is attempting to convert a stronger order book into sustained growth.

Reaktor's IPO attracted far more demand than available shares, prompting the company to close its public offering early. According to Kauppalehti, the retail tranche was multiple times oversubscribed, underscoring investor appetite for one of Finland's most closely watched technology listings in recent years.

The response validates a story Reaktor began telling when it unveiled its listing plans in May. As Listeds reported at the time, the company is positioning itself as more than a traditional IT consultancy, highlighting growth opportunities in AI, defense software, and international expansion. The IPO is expected to raise roughly €20 million in new capital to support those ambitions.

Investor demand was helped by strong institutional backing. Anchor investors including Ilmarinen, Mariatorp, the Herlin family's investment company, WIP Asset Management, and funds managed by Danske Bank, Aktia, and SP committed around €45 million before the offering closed.

The IPO is also creating a new group of Reaktor millionaires. Existing shareholders are selling shares worth a combined €34.6 million, according to Kauppalehti. Among the biggest beneficiaries are founders and major shareholders including Hannu Terävä. Chief Executive Pekka Horo is selling less than €1 million worth of shares but will retain shares valued at more than €2.5 million. Most founders will remain significant shareholders after the listing.

LeadDesk Oyj is overhauling its leadership team, appointing Pekka Alli as chief technology officer, preparing for the departure of CFO Teemu Rautiainen, and moving VP of Engineering Jarno Tenni out of the group management team as the company enters its next growth phase.

Alli, director of engineering & architecture at Finago Group, will join LeadDesk on Sept. 15, 2026. At the same time, Tenni will step down from the group management team and continue as VP of engineering, reporting to the new CTO. Rautiainen, who joined the company in April 2025, will remain in his role until Oct. 2 as LeadDesk searches for a successor. 

LeadDesk, a Finland-listed provider of cloud-based customer communications and contact center software, said Alli brings experience in software architecture, SaaS product development and technology leadership. He joins from Finago Group and previously served as CEO of workforce management software company Planier and held senior architecture roles at Accountor HR Solutions. His background includes software company integrations and platform consolidation, capabilities that have become increasingly relevant following LeadDesk's recent acquisition activity.

"Pekka brings to LeadDesk strong experience in software architecture, SaaS product development and leading technology organizations. He also has practical experience in connecting software companies and platforms from a technology perspective," CEO Olli Nokso-Koivisto said. "Our goal is to build LeadDesk into Europe's most trusted AI-powered customer interaction platform, with a particular strength in the voice channel," he added. 

Alli said he looks forward to developing the company's technology, product development organization, and artificial intelligence solutions together with the existing team.

CFO exits after finance transformation

CFO Rautiainen leaves after roughly 18 months in the role, during which LeadDesk strengthened its reporting capabilities, expanded the use of SaaS metrics in decision-making and completed a broad overhaul of its finance organization.

"I am particularly proud that we have successfully carried out a major transformation of the finance function and established the organisation and operating model needed to support LeadDesk's next phase of growth," Rautiainen said.

His departure comes after a period of improving profitability. LeadDesk reported EUR 39.4 million in revenue in 2025 and achieved a record EBITDA margin of 16.9%. The company has yet to name a successor.

Management team continues to evolve

The June 10 announcements extend a broader reshaping of LeadDesk's leadership team over the past 14 months.

Former CFO Kaisa Rönkkö left in March 2025 and was succeeded by Rautiainen the following month. Saija Pouru departed as VP of operations in June 2025, while Samuel Lehtonen joined the management team in January 2026. In October 2025, Michael Ramm Østgaard, former CEO of acquired subsidiary Zisson, became chief revenue officer as LeadDesk integrated the business into its wider organization. At the same time, VP of Sales Kai Leppänen left the management team and moved into the revenue organization.

Following the September and October transitions, LeadDesk's management team will consist of CEO Nokso-Koivisto, CRO Østgaard, COO Samuel Lehtonen, CTO Alli, and a CFO yet to be appointed.

Finns are planning to spend more on their summer vacations this year, offering one of the clearest signs yet that consumer confidence is recovering.

According to the results of a new Nordea survey, the average summer vacation budget for 2026 is €1,279, up 9% from last year. It is the highest figure recorded since the bank began tracking the data in 2019.

The increase comes after several years in which rising living costs constrained household spending. While nearly half of respondents said inflation still affects their vacation plans, that share has declined steadily over the past four years. The result suggests that many households are beginning to feel more comfortable spending on experiences rather than focusing solely on essential expenses.

“The growth in summer vacation budgets is once again a strong signal of strengthening consumer confidence and an improving economy,” said Jani Eloranta, head of personal banking at Nordea Finland.

The European Central Bank is expected to raise interest rates today for the first time since 2023, marking a significant shift in Europe’s monetary policy stance. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect the ECB to lift its deposit rate by 25 basis points to 2.25% as policymakers respond to inflationary pressure linked to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Inflation in the euro area reached 3.2% in May, well above the ECB’s 2% target. Higher energy prices have been the primary driver, but policymakers are increasingly concerned that price pressures are spreading more broadly across the economy. Updated ECB forecasts are expected to show higher inflation projections for both 2026 and 2027.

The more important question for markets is what comes next. Here, economists are unusually divided.

According to Kauppalehti, Danske Bank expects the ECB to deliver two rate increases this summer before beginning to cut rates in early 2027. Nordea sees a very different path. Chief analyst Jan von Gerich expects two additional hikes after the summer, taking the policy rate to 3.0%, with no rate cuts next year.

Incap Corporation has promoted three executives and added a new C-suite position as the Finnish electronics manufacturing services group reorganizes its leadership around regional operations following a series of acquisitions.

Murthy Munipalli was appointed regional president Asia Pacific, Dr. Ralf Hasler was named regional president Europe, and Helena Maripuu became chief corporate affairs officer and joined the management team. President and CEO Otto Pukk will also assume responsibility for the Americas and the rest of the world until a regional president is appointed, the company announced today.

The changes reflect the growing scale of Incap's business following several acquisitions, most recently Germany-based Lacon Group, which added operations in Germany and Romania and more than 600 employees. Munipalli will retain his role as managing director of Incap India until a successor is appointed, while Hasler will continue as managing director of the German and Romanian operations during the transition. Incap employs more than 3,000 people across Europe, Asia, and North America.

"As a result of our acquisitions in the past few years, we operate on a broader geographical scale than before," CEO Pukk said. "Organising our management structure by regions on the group level supports more effective leadership, enables us to manage the company in a more efficient way and supports the execution of our growth strategy and decentralised business model."

Regional structure aligns leadership with growth priorities

The restructuring replaces a country-based operations model with three geographic regions: Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Americas. The move comes as Incap integrates Lacon and prepares an updated group strategy expected later this year.

Munipalli's promotion places one of Incap's longest-serving executives in charge of the company's largest operational region. India accounted for almost three-quarters of the group's workforce at the end of 2025 and hosts three production facilities, making Asia Pacific the backbone of Incap's manufacturing network. Munipalli joined the company in 2008 and previously served as director of operations, India, and sales APAC.

Hasler's appointment underscores the importance of Europe following the Lacon acquisition. Europe generated EUR 125.2 million of revenue in 2025, making it Incap's largest customer market, while the acquisition established a platform for further expansion in Germany, Europe's largest EMS market. Hasler joined Incap's management team in February after the acquisition closed and previously served as CEO of Lacon.

Pukk will oversee the Americas on an interim basis. While operationally smaller than Europe and Asia Pacific, North America generated EUR 63.7 million of revenue in 2025, up from EUR 44.6 million a year earlier, highlighting the region's growing importance to the group.

The leadership changes follow a period of mixed financial performance. First-quarter 2026 revenue rose 7% year-over-year to EUR 56 million, while comparable EBITA declined 14% as foreign exchange headwinds and component availability issues weighed on profitability. Incap expects both revenue and comparable EBITA to increase in 2026, supported by the contribution from Lacon.

Separately, Director of Operations UK Jamie Maughan is expected to leave the company by the third quarter of 2026 after resigning earlier this year.

Daniel Lähde, group controller at Eagle Filters Group, has been appointed CFO effective today, completing a five-year rise through the company's finance organization as the filtration technology company enters a new phase of production expansion backed by a recent €2.6 million capital raise.

Lähde succeeds Timo Linnainmaa, who announced his resignation in January and departed no later than April. The appointment fills a vacancy that remained open for nearly five months while Eagle Filters completed a directed share issue, published its first-quarter results, and strengthened its balance sheet. 

Eagle Filters Group, a Finnish material science company focused on filtration solutions for the energy industry, promoted from within rather than recruiting externally. Lähde joined the company in 2021 after a career in auditing at KPMG, where he most recently served as an Authorized Public Accountant (KHT). He holds a Master's degree in Economics and Business Administration and has overseen group-level financial reporting and controls as group controller. His appointment brings continuity as the company works through a record order backlog and scales production capacity.

"Lähde has broad experience in financial management and a wide range of financial and business management skills," the company said in the bourse release today.

Internal successor takes finance helm during recovery

The promotion closes a succession process that began when Linnainmaa announced his departure on January 20, 2026. His resignation came before the company published full-year results that later showed revenue had fallen 59% and EBITDA reached negative €2.7 million, creating a leadership gap during a challenging period for the finance function.

Rather than bringing in an external executive, the board selected a finance leader who had already worked inside the business throughout both the difficult 2025 period and the stronger start to 2026. Lähde was also part of the finance team during the company's recent directed share issue, which raised €2.6 million and resulted in the issuance of 37.7 million new shares.

Sitowise has agreed to sell its Swedish subsidiary, Sitowise Sverige AB, to engineering and consulting giant Sweco, marking a significant step in the Finnish engineering consultancy’s efforts to improve profitability and sharpen its strategic focus.

The transaction follows several years of challenges in the Swedish market, where weak construction activity, intense competition and declining demand weighed heavily on performance. In 2025, the Swedish business generated net sales of €26.3 million and employed around 265 people, but remained loss-making despite extensive restructuring efforts.

The sale comes less than a year after Sitowise recorded a €39.6 million goodwill impairment related to its Swedish operations, reflecting lower expectations for the business's future earnings potential. Since then, management has implemented cost reductions, reorganized operations and strengthened sales efforts, creating what it describes as the conditions necessary for a successful divestment.

Under the agreement, Sweco will acquire the entire Swedish consulting business for an enterprise value of around €3 million. The deal also includes a potential earn-out of up to €2 million linked to long-term lease liabilities, payable between 2027 and 2029 if certain conditions are met.

Kaj Koskela, Kesla Plc's sales and customer care director and a management team member since 2025, will retire on July 1, 2026, as the Finnish machinery maker enters a pivotal period shaped by surging defense demand and an ongoing profitability turnaround.

Koskela will continue as a senior advisor focused on developing Kesla's distribution network while the company searches for his successor, the engineering group announced yesterday. CEO Pasi Nieminen will assume responsibility for the sales and customer care function in the interim. Kesla also announced that it has initiated recruitment for a new sales and customer care director. 

CEO Nieminen thanked Koskela for his one-year contribution. "I would like to extend my warm thanks to Kaj for his valuable work and contribution to Kesla. On behalf of the entire company, I wish Kaj all the best in this new phase of life and in his role as senior advisor," he added.

Second management exit in six weeks

The retirement marks the second management team departure disclosed by Kesla in less than six weeks. Jukka Sadinmäki, the company's product development manager and a management team member since 2022, left in May following the announcement of his resignation in April. Recruitment processes are underway for both positions as Kesla seeks to execute a year that management has described as critical for new product launches, operational improvements, and defense growth.

The departures leave vacancies in two functions central to the company's near-term priorities: commercial execution and product development.

Board-level continuity has provided a degree of stability during the management transition. Shareholders re-elected all existing directors at the annual general meeting in May, while Kristiina Helenius joined as the board's only new member.

Defense orders change the picture

The leadership changes come against a markedly improved order backdrop. First-quarter revenue declined 3.5% year-on-year to EUR 8 million, and the operating result remained negative at EUR 740,000, but orders received more than doubled to EUR 27.8 million. The increase was driven primarily by Kesla Defence, including a EUR 17 million order from a NATO country for Kerberos multi-purpose trailers announced in March.

Deliveries under the defense contract are scheduled to begin during summer 2026 and continue for around one year. The order helped lift Kesla's order backlog to EUR 27.5 million, almost tripled from a year earlier, while operating cash flow improved to EUR 929,000 from negative EUR 229,000 in the comparison period.

CEO Pasi Nieminen previously said the NATO order would significantly improve factory utilization and create a stronger foundation for profitability improvement.

Departure marks the fourth management-level exit since October as Eezy pushes for growth, profitability, and a broader shift toward technology-enabled staffing.

Markus Muurinen, business director for staffing services in Turku and Seinäjoki, will leave Eezy Plc on July 31, 2026, stepping down from the group's management team after serving in several senior sales and business leadership roles. His departure comes as the Finnish staffing and recruitment company works through an ambitious turnaround program aimed at restoring growth and lifting profitability.

"Markus has worked in many central sales and business roles at Eezy. He has driven Eezy's strategy forward with determination, always ensuring that customer needs remain at the core of all activities," CEO Johan Westermarck said in the bourse release. "I would like to thank Markus for his excellent work at Eezy and wish Markus all the best for the future."

Eezy has divided responsibility for Muurinen's business areas during the transition period. Nora Räbinä, commercial director of staffing services, will assume responsibility for operative staffing services in Turku and report directly to CEO Johan Westermarck, while Heikki Tyrväinen, business and sales director, will take responsibility for the Seinäjoki business unit in addition to his current responsibilities. The company has begun recruiting a successor. 

Management team in motion

Muurinen's departure is the latest change in what has become a period of notable executive turnover. Since October 2025, Eezy has recorded four management-level departures and two senior appointments.

Communications and Sustainability Director Marleena Bask left in October 2025 following a broader reduction of communications activities. Business Solutions Director Päivi Salo departed in February 2026 after overseeing the nationwide rollout of Eezy's AI-assisted ERP platform, while interim CFO Sari Lehto left the management team in January 2026 following the appointment of Esko Puolusmäki as chief financial officer.

The additions have included Tyrväinen, who joined the management team in October 2025 as business and sales director for the franchise entrepreneur network and national customers, and Puolusmäki, who assumed the CFO role in January 2026. The pattern is not one of wholesale turnover, but it does reflect an organization reshaping itself while executing a significant strategic shift.

Financial pressure remains

The leadership changes come during a prolonged period of revenue pressure. In the first quarter of 2026, group revenue declined 8% year-on-year to EUR 30.9 million from EUR 33.7 million, while chain-wide revenue fell to EUR 51.4 million from EUR 53.0 million. For full-year 2025, group revenue totaled EUR 139.3 million and chain-wide revenue reached EUR 233.8 million.

Profitability showed signs of improvement despite weaker sales. EBITDA increased to EUR 1.9 million in the first quarter from EUR 1.3 million a year earlier, while EBIT improved to negative EUR 0.2 million from negative EUR 0.4 million. Management attributed part of the revenue decline to the transfer of operations into the franchise entrepreneur network and continued weakness in the staffing market.

The company also strengthened its financial position through a fully underwritten rights issue that raised around EUR 10 million in gross proceeds. The funding is intended to accelerate implementation of the strategy unveiled in December 2025 and support the balance sheet during the transformation.

What Eezy is trying to accomplish

Eezy's updated strategy sets ambitious targets for 2028: chain-wide revenue exceeding EUR 330 million, group revenue exceeding EUR 200 million, and EBIT exceeding 5% of group revenue.

Those targets imply a substantial improvement from FY2025, when group revenue stood at EUR 139.3 million, and EBIT margin was 0.1%. Achieving them will require both renewed growth and a significant increase in operating efficiency.

A central element of the strategy is Eezy's AI-assisted staffing platform. By the end of 2025, the system was fully deployed across staffing operations. According to the company, 74% of shift orders in December were entered directly by customers, artificial intelligence assigned nearly half of all shifts ordered through the Eezy Asiakkaat service, and one-quarter of orders were filled within one minute. Management has described the platform as a competitive advantage through faster matching, improved efficiency, and a better customer experience.

A second priority is the expansion of the franchise entrepreneur network. During 2025, Eezy added entrepreneur-led operations in Jyväskylä, Vaasa and Kuopio. While the model has weighed on reported group revenue as operations move outside the consolidated structure, management views it as an important component of future growth.

The third pillar is concentration on core staffing and recruitment services. In April 2025, Eezy sold Farenta Oy's pharmacist and pharmacy technician staffing business, saying the divestment would allow greater focus on its core operations.

Four new CEO appointments and six new CFO hires marked a return to executive hiring among Finnish listed companies in May, as leadership activity shifted away from the boardroom after April's AGM-driven peak.

According to Listeds data, Finnish listed companies recorded 93 board and management changes during the month. Boards accounted for 38 changes, including 21 appointments and 17 departures. Management teams recorded 55 changes, consisting of 38 appointments and 17 departures.

The contrast with April is notable. April produced an exceptional 226 leadership changes as the AGM season reached full intensity. May still reflected the same governance cycle, but the pace became more selective as companies completed the largest board renewals and shifted attention back toward executive teams.

Board renewal remains active

Several companies continued reshaping their boards during May.

Car dealership Wetteri recorded seven board changes, the highest number among listed companies during the month. The company appointed Aarne Simula as chair alongside Mika Aho, Minna Kurunsaari, and Jarmo Rankinen as new board members, while Hannu Pärssinen, Mikael Malmsten, and Martti Haapala departed.

Revenio recorded five board changes following its acquisition of Visionix International, which closed on May 28. As part of the transaction, Marc Abitbol, Charles Vilgrain, and Nicklas Hansen joined Revenio's board, while Ann-Christine Sundell and Pekka Tammela stepped down. The appointments expand the board's expertise as Revenio integrates Visionix, a deal that significantly increases the company's scale in ophthalmic diagnostics.

Sanoma, the owner of Helsingin Sanomat and Aamulehti, also refreshed its governance structure. Timo Lappalainen became chair while Tiina Alahuhta-Kasko joined the board. The changes coincided with the departures of long-time chair Pekka Ala-Pietilä and board member Anna Herlin.

Elsewhere, KH Group and Modulight each recorded four board changes, while Faron Pharmaceuticals completed a three-person board reshuffle.

The pattern differs from April's broad-based AGM wave. Instead of dozens of companies making simultaneous changes, May's activity was concentrated in a smaller group of companies undertaking more extensive board renewals.

Finnish satellite company Iceye has raised more than €1 billion in fresh funding, becoming one of Europe's most valuable privately held defense technology companies.

The company announced a €450 million primary funding round today led by General Atlantic. Combined with a secondary share sale, the transaction exceeded €1 billion. Investors include Solidium, Tesi, Varma, Ilmarinen, Nokia, Lifeline Ventures, Qatar Investment Authority, and TCV.

According to Tesi, the round values Iceye at €10.5 billion, making it Finland's third decacorn after Supercell and Oura. Tesi described the transaction as one of the largest growth funding rounds ever completed by a Finnish company.

The valuation reflects growing demand for technologies that give governments direct access to intelligence and surveillance capabilities. Iceye operates the world's largest synthetic aperture radar satellite constellation, producing imagery regardless of weather conditions or time of day.

Seven governments have procured sovereign satellite systems from Iceye, according to the company. Earlier this year, it delivered a fully operational space intelligence system to the Polish Armed Forces within 12 months of contract signing. The company says it is now replicating the model across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

Veli-Pekka Paloranta will leave Lehto Group at the end of August. His successor will join a company still operating under a restructuring program while pursuing ambitious growth plans in battery energy storage.

Lehto Group announced recently that CFO Veli-Pekka Paloranta and the company had agreed to end his employment by the end of August 2026. Once known for construction, Lehto Group is a Finnish company now focused on developing and operating battery energy storage projects.

Paloranta will remain available to the company in an advisory capacity following his departure. Lehto said the arrangement is intended to ensure continuity in financial reporting and the fulfillment of listed-company obligations while a successor is recruited.

Paloranta has served as CFO through one of the most challenging periods in the company's history. During his tenure, Lehto navigated the bankruptcy of three operating subsidiaries in 2024, continued under a court-confirmed restructuring program, and began building a new business in battery energy storage.

A search for a new CFO is underway.

A different company than it was two years ago

Lehto's 2025 financial statements show the extent of the transformation.

Revenue increased to EUR 1.4 million from EUR 1.1 million in 2024, while the operating loss narrowed to EUR 2.6 million from EUR 5.7 million. The improvement was driven largely by lower personnel and operating expenses as the company scaled down its legacy construction operations.

Cash stood at EUR 2 million at year-end, compared with EUR 2.2 million a year earlier.

The sale of the Oulainen factory by subsidiary Lehto Components Oy in November 2025 generated EUR 4.7 million and enabled the repayment of all secured restructuring debt. About EUR 3.2 million of unsecured restructuring liabilities remain payable through 2029.

The company ended 2025 with a negative equity ratio of 17.9%.

The focus has shifted to energy storage

Battery energy storage now sits at the center of Lehto's strategy.

By the end of 2025, the company had eight battery storage units with a combined capacity of approximately 11.4 MW either operating or under installation. Four units had entered productive use and were participating in electricity markets.

In the company's 2025 financial statement release, CEO Hannu Lehto described energy storage as a business that builds on capabilities developed in construction.

"The energy storage business has many similarities to traditional construction. We develop projects, secure permits and financing for them, and design and build the facilities."

Lehto's largest announced project is located in Kalajoki. In January 2026, the company signed an agreement to acquire rights, contracts, and permits related to a battery storage project that includes a 30 MW grid connection agreement, with the possibility of increasing capacity to as much as 100 MW.

Construction is expected to begin during the second half of 2026, with productive operations targeted for the first half of 2027.

Glaston's appointment of Tuomo Nuottimäki to its executive leadership team is notable. The restructuring behind it is more so.

The Finnish glass-processing technology company announced today that Nuottimäki will become SVP EMEAI and a member of the executive leadership team, effective July 1. He succeeds Kimmo Kuusela, who leaves the company at the end of June.

At the same time, Glaston is dismantling the regional structure it put in place only a year ago.

The former EMEA and APAC organization will be split into two management areas. Nuottimäki will lead Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and India (EMEAI). China and Southeast Asia will report directly to President and CEO Miika Äppelqvist.

The change reduces the span of control of one of Glaston's largest commercial roles and places responsibility closer to individual markets.

"I am very pleased that we can fill this role from within Glaston with a person who has a thorough knowledge of our customers and industry. Tuomo brings decades of experience to our commercial leadership and is committed to developing how we serve customers and enable growth," Äppelqvist said in the company's stock exchange release.

A key market gets dedicated leadership

The decision matters because EMEA remains Glaston's most important region.

In 2025, EMEA generated around 45 percent of group revenue, compared with 31 percent from the Americas and 24 percent from APAC. For a company whose fortunes are closely tied to customer investment cycles, the region remains the center of gravity.

Most of Glaston's equipment ends up in the architectural glass industry, serving residential and commercial construction markets. Those markets have been weak for an extended period. Customers have postponed investments, demand for new tempering capacity has been limited, and activity in insulating glass equipment has slowed.

Management has pointed to potential support from recovery programs in countries including Germany and Austria. The Middle East also showed signs of improving activity toward the end of 2025.

If demand recovers, EMEA is likely to be one of the first places where it becomes visible in Glaston's order book.

An internal appointment with deep market knowledge

Nuottimäki brings more than 20 years of experience at Glaston and has spent most of his career in customer-facing roles.

Most recently, he led sales across the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, and India. His promotion gives the leadership team someone with long-standing customer relationships across many of the markets that now form the new EMEAI region.

That experience could prove valuable in a market where equipment purchases are infrequent, sales cycles are long, and service relationships often continue for years after an installation is completed.

The appointment also continues a broader pattern within Glaston. Since Äppelqvist became CEO in 2025, the company has largely rebuilt its executive team through a combination of internal promotions and targeted external hires.

Although Nuottimäki is the newest member of the leadership team, his tenure at the company makes him one of its most experienced executives.

As SpaceX prepares for what could become the largest IPO in history, Morningstar has delivered a stark warning: the company may be worth less than half of what investors are being asked to pay.

The research firm values SpaceX at roughly $780 billion, compared with the company's planned IPO valuation of about $1.77 trillion. Morningstar argues that SpaceX is "significantly overvalued" and warns that xAI, the company's artificial intelligence division, poses a "material threat of value destruction" due to the uncertainty surrounding its long-term profitability, CNBC reported, citing Morningstar.

That skepticism stands in sharp contrast to the story SpaceX is presenting to investors. The company plans to raise $75 billion by selling around 555.6 million shares at a fixed price of $135 each, an unusual approach for a US IPO. At that price, SpaceX would become one of America's most valuable public companies from day one, according to Bloomberg.

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.

UPM has appointed Joonas Rauramo executive vice president of UPM Energy and a member of the group executive team, effective October 1. He will report directly to CEO Massimo Reynaudo.

The appointment comes at a notable time for the company. In May, UPM agreed to place its Communication Papers business into a joint venture with Sappi. The business generated €2.5 billion in revenue in 2025, equivalent to roughly a quarter of UPM's €9.7 billion group sales.

While the transaction remains subject to regulatory approval, it ranks among the company's most significant recent portfolio decisions. Against that backdrop, UPM has chosen an executive whose career has been built in power generation, renewable energy development, and industrial decarbonization.

An energy executive joins the group executive team

Rauramo arrives with nearly two decades of experience in the energy sector.

Most recently, he served as chief executive officer of Coolbrook, the Finnish industrial decarbonization technology company. Before that, he spent 14 years at Fortum, where he held several leadership positions, including vice president, wind, and vice president, solar and wind development.

He also serves on the board of renewable energy developer Korkia and on the International Energy Agency's Technology and Innovation Advisory Board.

His academic background combines engineering and business. Rauramo holds a Master of Science in Technology from Helsinki University of Technology and a Master of Science in Economics from Aalto University School of Economics.

In announcing the appointment, Reynaudo highlighted Rauramo's experience in power generation, industrial decarbonization, energy markets, project financing, mergers and acquisitions, and global partnerships.

"These are capabilities that are increasingly critical as demand for reliable, emission-free electricity continues to grow and the energy system undergoes profound transformation," Reynaudo said.

The appointment also comes after a strong start to the year for UPM Energy. In its first-quarter results, UPM described the business as having delivered record first-quarter results, supported by high electricity consumption in Finland.

Leadership changes continue across UPM

Rauramo's appointment is the latest in a series of leadership changes across the company.

In September 2025, Tuija Suur-Hamari joined the management team as executive vice president of UPM Plywood. At the annual general meeting in April 2026, shareholders elected Magnus Groth and Piia Karhu to the board, while Piia-Noora Kauppi and Kim Wahl stepped down. Henrik Ehrnrooth was re-elected chair, and Martin à Porta became deputy chair.

Taken together, the changes amount to a meaningful refresh of UPM's leadership structure over the past year.

Marimekko's appointment of Karolin Stjerna comes with a broader change to the way the company is organized.

The Finnish design house announced yesterday that Stjerna will join the management group as chief operating officer, supply chain, reporting directly to CEO Tiina Alahuhta-Kasko. At the same time, Marimekko is separating supply chain management from product portfolio management, two functions that previously sat under a single executive.

The decision creates separate leadership structures for operations and product direction as the company continues its international expansion.

A new supply chain leader

Stjerna joins from Danish fashion brand Ganni, where she served as COO and a member of the executive committee. Before that, she held leadership positions in supply chain, logistics, and customer service at both Ganni and L'Oréal.

Announcing the appointment, CEO Tiina Alahuhta-Kasko highlighted Stjerna's experience scaling international operations:

"I am excited to welcome Karolin to our management group. Her versatile experience in leading global operations in our industry to support international scaling is a great asset for us on our growth journey. Strategic supply chain management has an increasingly important role in building Marimekko's future competitiveness and enhancing our productivity, flexibility and agility."

The appointment places an executive with international operations experience in charge of sourcing, logistics, quality control, product development, and Marimekko's printing factory in Helsinki.

The end of a combined role

Stjerna's arrival follows the departure of Tina Broman, who served as chief supply chain and product officer. Broman stepped down on June 2 by mutual agreement.

Her role combined responsibility for sourcing, production, logistics, product development, and portfolio management. Those responsibilities will now be divided between separate functions.

Supply chain activities will move under Stjerna's leadership. Product portfolio management and development will move to the merchandising team, which is responsible for shaping the product range in line with Marimekko's brand and business objectives.

The company has started recruiting a permanent merchandising director. Until then, CMO Sanna-Kaisa Niikko will oversee the function.

Alahuhta-Kasko credited Broman with building the foundation for the next stage of development. "Under Tina's leadership, Marimekko's sourcing, own production and logistics as well as product development and portfolio management have been lifted to a new level. Together with her team, Tina has created a strong foundation for us to now move on to a new phase in supply chain and product portfolio management according to Marimekko's SCALE strategy."

Danske Bank has cut its 2026 growth forecast for Finland to 1.1% from 1.5% and more than halved its 2027 forecast to 0.8% from 1.9%, citing higher energy prices, rising interest rates and renewed uncertainty following the disruption to global energy markets. 

The shift marks a clear change from the more optimistic outlook seen earlier this year, even as exports, industrial activity and data center investments continue to support growth, according to the Nordic Outlook report published today.

The downgrade comes after a surprisingly strong start to the year. Finland's economy expanded by 0.9% in the first quarter, the fastest quarterly growth rate since 2021. The recovery that began in late 2025 had been gaining traction, supported by improving manufacturing activity and resilient export demand.

The main drag on the outlook is households. Higher fuel costs and rising mortgage rates are reducing purchasing power, while consumer confidence remains weak. Although real earnings are expected to continue growing and inflation is forecast to remain below 2% on average in both 2026 and 2027, the labor market remains soft. Danske Bank expects unemployment to average 10.5% this year and 10.1% next year.

The housing sector continues to weigh on growth. Residential construction remains close to post-financial-crisis lows, new building permits are scarce, and house prices are expected to fall 2.8% this year before recovering modestly in 2027. Housing transactions and mortgage lending have improved from their lows, but activity remains subdued.

Patient satisfaction declined across Finland's private healthcare sector this year, while public healthcare improved from last year, according to poll results. The shift narrowed the gap between the two sectors, although private providers continue to enjoy a clear lead in patient perceptions.

Public healthcare's satisfaction score rose to 60.6, according to the latest report on Finnish healthcare from Stockholm-headquartered market research company EPSI Rating Group. Private healthcare remained significantly higher at 70.2, but the sector's overall score weakened compared with 2025 as two of its largest providers lost ground. The study is based on interviews with over 870 Finnish healthcare users conducted in spring 2026.

The sharpest declines were recorded by the listed operators. Terveystalo's satisfaction score fell to 67.7 from 71.4 a year earlier, while Pihlajalinna dropped to 68.4 from 72.3. Mehiläinen, which is not listed, moved in the opposite direction, improving to 74.6 from 74.1 and strengthening its position as the sector leader. 

Anthropic, the developer of Claude, has taken a significant step toward becoming a public company, confidentially filing draft paperwork for an initial public offering that could arrive as early as this fall. If the timeline holds, the company may reach Wall Street before its longtime rival OpenAI.

The filing marks another milestone in what has become the defining corporate rivalry of the artificial intelligence industry. Over the past year, Anthropic and OpenAI have competed aggressively for enterprise customers, talent, and investor capital. Increasingly, the contest is also about scale.

Anthropic's position has strengthened rapidly. The company recently raised funding at a reported valuation of $965 billion, surpassing OpenAI's valuation for the first time, Bloomberg reported yesterday. Its Claude models have gained traction in areas such as software development and cybersecurity, helping attract large corporate customers and driving revenue growth.

Savox plans to launch an IPO and list on Nasdaq Helsinki as the Finnish maker of critical communications systems seeks funding for its next phase of growth.

The planned transaction consists of a share issue worth approximately €30 million and a secondary share sale by Savox S.A., the company's largest shareholder and an entity controlled by Chairman Paul Ehrnrooth, the company announced today.

The planned listing comes as activity begins to return to Finland's IPO market following a prolonged slowdown. Earlier this year, Auroora Group listed on Nasdaq Helsinki, while investment company KPY opened subscriptions for its First North offering this week.

Bittium, Savox's listed peer in Helsinki, has been performing strongly, surging almost five times in value in the past 12 months.

Savox said Danske Invest Finnish Equity Fund, DNB Asset Management, Elo, Protean Funds Scandinavia, and Tesi have committed to subscribe for around €26 million of shares, subject to certain conditions, including a pre-money valuation of no more than €160 million.

Finnish environmental services company Lamor entered 2026 with three priorities: restoring growth in its environmental services business, bringing the Kilpilahti circular oil plant into production, and refinancing a green bond maturing later this year. The first quarter showed progress in cost control, but little evidence yet that the broader turnaround is taking hold.

The provider of pollution response, remediation, recycling, and water treatment services reported a 25% year-over-year slump in revenue to €14.3 million, while EBIT declined to a loss of €0.4 million from a profit of €1.6 million a year earlier, according to the recent first-quarter report. Orders received dropped to €8.3 million from €27.6 million, and the order backlog contracted 39% to €60.4 million.

The numbers do not invalidate Lamor's full-year guidance of €80–92 million in revenue, but they increase the amount of execution required in the second half.

Order intake raises the pressure on H2

The revenue decline was largely anticipated. Lamor had already indicated that the first half would be weak and that performance would be weighted toward the second half of the year.

The more important signal was order intake. New orders totaled €8.3 million during the quarter, down nearly 70% from the comparison period. Although the company ended March with a €60.4 million backlog, that figure was down from €98.9 million a year earlier.

Revenue remained heavily concentrated. The Kuwait soil remediation project contributed €4.3 million, broadly unchanged from €4.2 million a year earlier. Equipment deliveries in Europe and service projects in South America accounted for much of the remaining revenue.

The largest new orders announced during the quarter were a €2.5 million environmental protection technology order in Kazakhstan and around €1 million orders from the UAE and Peru. While meaningful, they are modest relative to the revenue required to reach full-year guidance.

Kilpilahti remains the key strategic project

The Kilpilahti circular oil plant remains central to Lamor's long-term growth plans. The facility is designed to convert plastic waste into certified circular oil and support Finland's broader recycling objectives.

During the first quarter, work focused on preparations for the ramp-up of the first production line. According to the company, supplementary installations related to exceptional operating situations are still being completed in cooperation with the Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency (Tukes). The target remains to begin production ramp-up by the end of June.

CEO Fred Larsen highlighted the project's long-term potential:

"We see significant long-term value-creation potential in the chemical recycling of plastics and in certified circular oil, and we are progressing systematically with the commercialisation of the concept."

Lamor expects revenue from circular oil production to increase gradually toward the end of the year. The company is also evaluating partners for a future majority sale of the recycling plant.

Lassila & Tikanoja's appointment of Arttu Lindroos as senior vice president of human resources is more than a routine executive hire. It is another step in the company's effort to build the leadership team that will carry it through its next phase as a standalone circular economy business.

The appointment comes less than a year after one of the biggest changes in the company's history. At the end of 2025, L&T completed a demerger that split the group into two separately listed companies.

The former Lassila & Tikanoja became Luotea Plc, focused on property services. The Circular Economy business was separated into a new listed company that retained the Lassila & Tikanoja name. The demerger was approved by shareholders at an Extraordinary General Meeting on December 4, 2025, and completed on December 31, 2025.

The result is a more focused company, but also one facing a new set of challenges.

A hire built for operational change

Lindroos will join L&T on September 1, 2026, reporting to president and CEO Eero Hautaniemi and joining the group executive board, the company announced today. He arrives from VR Group and has previously held HR leadership positions at Teknos and Posti.

The common thread across those organizations is operational complexity. Each relies on large frontline workforces and faces the challenge of balancing productivity, workforce planning, and organizational change.

That experience appears well aligned with L&T's current priorities.

The company employs approximately 2,300 people across Finland and Sweden and entered 2026 under pressure to improve profitability. First-quarter net sales increased 6 percent to EUR 94.8 million, but adjusted EBITA fell to EUR 0.2 million from EUR 2.6 million a year earlier. Management cited lower waste volumes, rising fuel costs, pressure on waste treatment pricing, and higher amortization expenses.

L&T has already launched a review of its waste management cost structure and implemented price increases. Restoring margins is now one of management's most immediate priorities.

Hilppa Rautpalo heads to Terveystalo

Lindroos succeeds Hilppa Rautpalo, who will leave L&T in August 2026.

Rautpalo currently serves as senior vice president of legal affairs, human resources and EHSQ and is a member of the management team. She has been appointed senior vice president, human resources, and a member of the management team at Terveystalo, where she will start no later than August 14, 2026, Listeds reported in February.

Her departure marks the loss of one of L&T's most experienced executives. It also signals a subtle organizational shift.

Rautpalo's role combined legal affairs, HR, environmental health, safety, and quality under a single executive. Lindroos arrives with a dedicated HR mandate, suggesting people, culture, and organizational development are becoming more prominent priorities as the company adapts to life after the demerger.

Just over a week after unveiling its listing plans, Finnish investment company KPY has launched its First North Helsinki IPO.

The subscription period opened on June 1 and is expected to run until June 9 for retail and employee investors, according to KPY’s website. Trading is scheduled to begin on June 12, assuming the offering proceeds as planned.

Listeds reported on KPY's listing ambitions in May, when the company outlined plans to use IPO proceeds to fund expansion across its investment operations. The offering consists entirely of newly issued shares priced at €5.10 each.

The listing marks the latest chapter in a transformation that has reshaped KPY from a regional telecommunications cooperative into a diversified investment company. Founded in 1883, the organization today counts around 19,000 owners and manages investments across infrastructure, private equity, and balance sheet holdings. Its largest asset is Novapolis, the Kuopio-based business campus operator.

KPY reported 2025 revenue of €167.4 million and operating profit of €14.8 million. Net asset value stood at €246.3 million, or €9.65 per share, according to the company's listing materials. The offer price, therefore, represents a notable discount to the reported net asset value.

Chief Executive Officer Anssi Lehikoinen described KPY as "an active owner" seeking to build growth through its three investment portfolios. Management has previously argued that a public listing would improve access to capital, broaden the shareholder base, and strengthen the company's profile among investment partners and acquisition targets.

KPY's IPO also adds to a growing group of Finnish listed investment companies. Following Auroora Group's market debut earlier this year, investors are once again being asked whether they see value in backing long-term owners rather than traditional operating businesses. The answer should become clearer over the next nine days.

Wetteri's shareholders approved a significant boardroom overhaul at the company's latest AGM, replacing three of five directors and appointing a new chair.

Only two directors from the previous board, Aarne Simula and Satu Mehtälä, retained their seats, the car dealership announced recently. Joining them are three new members: Mika Aho, Minna Kurunsaari, and Jarmo Rankinen. Meanwhile, former Chair Hannu Pärssinen and Directors Mikael Malmsten and Martti Haapala left the board.

The changes were largely mapped out in advance. In April, Wetteri's Shareholders' Nomination Committee proposed a five-member board and argued that the new composition would provide the expertise needed to execute the company's strategy and support shareholder value creation.

The most consequential appointment is Simula's elevation to chair. He served as CEO between 2022 and 2025 and has been a board member since the company's listing. His appointment suggests shareholders are seeking fresh perspectives in the boardroom without breaking from the company's strategic direction.

Finland's software sector is sending a notably different signal than much of the broader economy.

More than 76 percent of software companies expect revenue growth over the next six months, according to the findings of the latest Sykemittari survey from the Software Finland Association. More than half plan to recruit new employees during the same period, based on the poll conducted among the organization’s over 600 members, including software companies and their leaders. 

The contrast with the wider SME market is striking. In the Spring 2026 SME Barometer from the Federation of Finnish Enterprises, only 41 percent of companies expected growth. Software companies appear to be operating on a different trajectory.

Software Finland CEO Rasmus Roiha sees the results as evidence that investment appetite is returning despite continued economic uncertainty. "Year 2023 was marked by a focus on improving profitability, but since then, we have been on an upward growth path. This year's results show that the positive development is continuing and strengthening," Roiha said.

Artificial intelligence is emerging as a key driver. Earlier member research conducted by the association found that more than 80 percent of companies had already acquired AI expertise through hiring or external services. More than one-quarter said they expect to recruit specifically for AI roles.

Restructuring gives way to expansion

The hiring outlook also contrasts with recent workforce restructuring among Finland's listed technology companies. 

During the first quarter of 2026, several publicly listed companies in the information technology & services sector, such as Digia, Vincit, Solteq, and Netum, announced change negotiations covering a potential 195 positions, based on Listeds data. The final outcome was considerably smaller: 94 confirmed reductions, with three of the four negotiations concluded within the same quarter. The figures suggest the sector's adjustment cycle may have been shorter and less severe than many feared.

The latest survey results point to a different phase. More than half of software companies now expect to recruit during the next six months, while over three-quarters anticipate revenue growth. If those expectations materialize, the sector could move from workforce optimization back to net job creation faster than many other parts of the Finnish economy.

Shares of Summa Defence slumped 32.6 percent to €0.55 in the afternoon after the Finnish defence technology company said negotiations related to a planned rights issue had ended without result, raising further concerns about the group’s liquidity position.

The decline leaves the stock down almost 80 percent since the start of the year. Shares traded still at €2.50 in early January but have fallen steadily as financing pressure and operational challenges have intensified.

In a company announcement today, Summa Defence said it continues to pursue alternative equity and debt financing solutions to strengthen its financial position. The company added that its liquidity position remains “extremely tight.”

The statement follows an earlier warning issued on May 13, when Summa Defence said its existing working capital would not be sufficient for the next 12 months without new financing or payment arrangements. At the time, the company estimated its current liquidity would cover roughly two months of operations if planned financing arrangements progressed as expected.

F-Secure’s leadership reshaping continues.

The Finnish cybersecurity company said recently that Chief Product Officer TL Viswanathan will leave in mid-August to pursue new opportunities. His departure marks the fifth senior leadership transition at the company in less than a year, following changes across finance, strategy, and technology.

His exit comes as F-Secure moves deeper into the commercial rollout of the telecom partnerships, embedded security products, and AI-driven development initiatives built over recent years.

Viswanathan helped build much of that foundation.

The executive behind embedded security

Viswanathan joined F-Secure roughly four years ago and became one of the central figures behind the company’s product expansion strategy.

During his tenure, he led the creation of F-Secure’s Embedded Security business and oversaw the acquisition and integration of Lookout Life, which expanded the company’s consumer identity protection capabilities.

“I want to sincerely thank TL for his outstanding contributions to F-Secure over the past years,” CEO Timo Laaksonen said in the company announcement. “TL has played a central role in setting up our Embedded Security business as well as the Lookout Life acquisition and integration.”

Laaksonen also credited Viswanathan with rebuilding the company’s product organization and strengthening its focus on consumer experience.

Viswanathan described the role as “some of the most meaningful” work of his career and said he leaves with “full confidence in the mission, the strategy, and the people executing it.”

The business he helped shape is now entering a more commercially demanding phase.

In March, F-Secure raised its 2026 revenue outlook after announcing a partnership with Verizon and stronger-than-expected business performance. The company said new Tier 1 services are expected to begin generating revenue during 2026. A separate Tier 1 Communications Service Provider agreement signed in December 2025 is also expected to reach consumers during the second half of this year.

The focus is shifting from deployment to scale.

An interim successor while the search continues

Katja Kuusikumpu, currently director of portfolio governance & operations, will become interim chief product officer effective August 17.

F-Secure has not announced a permanent successor or a timeline for the appointment.

The next product leader will inherit a business already under pressure to prove that its Embedded Security model can scale profitably through telecom operator relationships.

That makes the appointment more than a routine replacement. Product execution now sits close to the center of the company’s growth strategy.

Nearly every major leadership function has changed

Viswanathan’s departure is part of a broader turnover cycle that has reshaped much of F-Secure’s executive structure since late 2025.

In October 2025, the company appointed Santeri Kangas as CTO. In December, CFO Sari Somerkallio announced her departure, with former Revenio Group finance chief Robin Pulkkinen named as successor.

In February, former F-Secure executive Jyrki Tulokas returned as chief strategy officer after leadership roles at Verkkokauppa.com. Earlier this year, SVP of Corporate Development Antero Norkio also exited the company.

Taken together, the changes point to a company rebuilding key parts of its leadership structure while preparing for a different stage of growth. 

The appointments also reveal a clearer operational direction. Kangas brings a stronger AI-native engineering focus. Tulokas combines previous F-Secure experience with channel and e-commerce strategy expertise. Pulkkinen arrives with a mandate likely centered on profitability discipline and leverage reduction.

The company’s priorities increasingly appear aligned around three areas: scaling telecom partnerships, improving operational efficiency through AI, and expanding margins.

A generational shift is underway in Finnish listed companies, but it is happening at the edges rather than at the core, according to the latest CEO Index — Finland | Q1 2026, produced in partnership with SAM Headhunting.

New CEO appointments in the first quarter of 2026 point to a clear change in profile. The average age of newly appointed CEOs dropped to 49-50 years, as much as five years below the overall CEO population, which stands at 53-54. At first glance, this suggests a meaningful renewal of leadership. Look closer, however, and the broader structure changes far more slowly.

“We are seeing a gradual shift toward younger CEOs, particularly those with strong operational backgrounds,” says Leena Hellfors, managing director at SAM Headhunting. “Boards are looking for leaders who can combine execution with adaptability in uncertain environments.”

The emphasis on operational capability is visible across appointments. Several of the new CEOs have stepped directly from senior execution roles: Anna Wäck at Sitowise was previously executive vice president for digital solutions, Juho Ahosola at Talenom served as deputy CEO, and Markku Taskinen at Dovre Group led a subsidiary as CEO of Suvic. 

Others bring similarly hands-on experience, such as Matti Erkheikki at QPR Software, who was chief product officer, and Pauli Anttila at EcoUp, who stepped up from the CFO role. These are not outsiders brought in to redefine strategy, but operators with deep familiarity in running businesses and delivering results. In a context where most of the companies in question reported declining profitability, this is not surprising.

“While some companies are undergoing significant changes, these should be viewed in the light of longer-term sector pressures. Industrial transformation, regulatory demands in financial services, and profitability pressures continue to shape leadership decisions,” says Taru From, senior partner at SAM Headhunting.

From also points to a clear shift in what companies are asking for. “Nearly every leadership search now asks for a step change and for renewal. Companies are looking for leaders who can bring, create, and lead through change. That means having a clear vision, alongside the experience and track record to back it up.”

Continuity beneath the surface

What is more striking is what has not changed. Despite the influx of younger leaders, diversity metrics remain largely static. Women account for just 8.8% of all CEOs and 7.7% of new appointments in the quarter. Nationality follows a similar pattern. While new hires are slightly more international, the CEO population is still overwhelmingly Finnish, at more than four out of five.

This creates a clear divide between entry and structure. Renewal is happening at the point of selection, but it is not yet reshaping the system itself.

A similar pattern is visible across Europe. Data from European listed companies show that while a slight majority of CEO appointments in 2025 were external, larger firms continued to rely heavily on internal candidates, with two-thirds of appointments in companies above $20 billion coming from within (Spencer Stuart, 2025). This reflects a broader preference for continuity across Europe, as boards invest in succession pipelines and promote leaders with proven operational experience.

Individual cases illustrate the shift in age. Juho Ahosola of Talenom and Anna Wäck of Sitowise, both born in 1988, represent a move toward earlier leadership transitions. At the same time, appointments such as Teppo Paavola at Enento show that experience remains in demand, particularly in roles requiring financial and technological depth.

The result is not a clean break between generations, but a layering of profiles. Younger CEOs are entering the system, yet they are doing so within a framework that continues to favor familiar backgrounds and networks.

For boards, this raises a more strategic question. If the goal is adaptability in uncertain markets, is refreshing the age profile enough? Or does real renewal require a deeper shift in how leadership potential is defined and sourced?

For now, the data suggest a cautious answer. Finnish companies are opening the door to a younger generation of CEOs. They are just not changing the room that those leaders walk into.

A senior Nokia executive has increased his exposure to the Finnish telecom equipment maker through two share purchases worth a combined roughly $1.1 million, marking the company’s largest insider purchase disclosed so far this year.

Konstanty Owczarek, Nokia’s chief corporate development officer, acquired 32,595 shares on May 22 at an average price of $15.35 on the New York Stock Exchange, a transaction worth about $500,000. Four days later, he purchased another 37,405 shares at $15.99 per share, worth nearly $598,000. The two transactions amount to 70,000 shares bought in less than a week.

The purchases stand out not only for their size, but also because large-scale insider buying remains relatively uncommon among large European technology companies outside compensation-related programs. Nokia’s only larger manager transaction this year moved in the opposite direction. In March, Chief Customer Officer Raghav Sahgal disclosed a €1 million share disposal after selling 150,000 shares at an average price of €6.71 each.

A new chief financial officer is stepping into one of the most demanding finance roles in Nordic infrastructure.

GRK Infra announced recently that Perttu Piilo will become CFO and a member of the group management team from July 1, succeeding Markku Puolanne after a transition period. 

Piilo arrives as GRK moves through its most expansionary phase since listing: a record order backlog, a major acquisition, larger infrastructure contracts in Sweden and Finland, and a broader push beyond its traditional public sector base.

The appointment looks less like routine succession planning and more like preparation for a more financially complex company.

A CFO hire aligned with the next phase

Piilo joins from Fira Oy, where he served as CFO. Earlier finance leadership roles at Nordic Waterproofing AB and Aro Systems Oy gave him experience in construction and telecommunications, sectors where project execution, capital allocation, and working capital discipline tend to matter more than headline growth alone.

CEO Mika Mäenpää framed the hire explicitly around GRK’s expansion plans.

“I am pleased to welcome Perttu to GRK at this strategically important stage, as the company is transitioning into the next development phase and seeking growth both organically and through acquisitions. Perttu's strong experience in financial management excellently supports the implementation of GRK's strategy.”

That strategy is becoming clearer. GRK is no longer operating purely as a Nordic infrastructure contractor competing for domestic public projects. It is building a broader infrastructure platform with greater exposure to energy, industrial construction, rail, and data center related work across multiple countries.

The outgoing CFO leaves behind a different company

Puolanne departs after overseeing GRK’s transition into listed company life and a period of rapid growth. During his tenure, the company expanded revenue to EUR 872.3 million in 2025, up 20% year over year, while building a significantly larger project pipeline.

Mäenpää acknowledged that transformation in the announcement.

“At the same time, I would like to thank Markku for his important role at GRK during these significant years. We have grown rapidly, started a new phase as a listed company and made determined progress towards our strategic goals. We wish Markku all the best in the future.”

Puolanne’s departure coincides with what is likely the most operationally demanding financial transition in the company’s history. His successor inherits not a stabilization brief, but an integration and scaling challenge.

The acquisition that explains the timing

The clearest signal came four days before the CFO announcement.

On May 18, GRK signed an agreement to acquire Keski-Suomen Betonirakenne Oy and its subsidiaries in a transaction valued at up to EUR 97.55 million including earn-outs. The structure includes roughly EUR 58.7 million in cash and 1.67 million new GRK shares valued at EUR 16 each.

KSBR generated EUR 124 million in revenue and EUR 10.9 million in operating profit in 2025, while growing revenue by 63% year over year. Its year-end order book stood at EUR 110.3 million.

The acquisition is expected to close on July 1, the same day Piilo officially assumes the CFO role.

That alignment is unlikely to be accidental.

The deal materially changes GRK’s financial profile. It expands the company deeper into concrete structures, energy infrastructure, industrial projects, and data center construction. It also broadens the customer mix toward private sector clients, reducing reliance on public procurement cycles that have historically shaped Nordic infrastructure contractors.

More importantly, it increases financial complexity immediately. Integration costs, acquisition financing, working capital requirements, and multi-year earn-out obligations now sit alongside a rapidly expanding project portfolio.

Martela has chosen a familiar face to lead the next phase of its transformation. The Finnish workspace company appointed Panu Ala-Nikkola as chief executive officer, starting today, ending Ville Taipale’s five-year tenure and extending a broader leadership reset already underway at the company.

The appointment arrives at a difficult moment for Martela. The company is navigating a sharp slowdown in Nordic office demand, weakening order intake, and pressure on profitability, while simultaneously trying to reposition itself around lifecycle services and circular workspace solutions.

The board appears to have concluded that the next phase of the transition requires less operational restructuring and more commercial execution.

A returning executive, not an outside hire

Ala-Nikkola is not new to Martela. He spent more than a decade at the company between 2001 and 2013, holding senior commercial and business leadership roles, including director, business unit Finland, sales director, and group product & marketing director.

That background matters. Martela’s challenge is no longer simply operational efficiency. The harder task is rebuilding growth in a structurally changing office market while defending customer relationships across the Nordics.

Since leaving Martela, Ala-Nikkola has built broader industrial and governance experience through senior leadership positions at Huhtamäki and later as chairman of the board and chief operating officer at Aina Group.

Chairman Tapio Pajuharju framed the decision around continuity and sector understanding.

“Panu knows Martela, the industry and our customers extremely well. His strategic vision and extensive experience strongly support Martela's ongoing transformation.”

The wording is notable. The emphasis is not on disruption or reinvention. It is on familiarity, execution, and customer understanding.

The end of the Taipale era

Outgoing CEO Ville Taipale joined Martela in 2018 as vice president of operations before becoming CEO in 2021. His background was heavily operational, spanning supply chain and industrial leadership roles at Nokia, Fiskars, Componenta, and Patria Land Systems.

That profile fit the company’s earlier priorities: cost discipline, operational efficiency, and stabilizing performance after difficult years in the office furniture sector.

The company said the departure was mutually agreed. Chairman Pajuharju publicly thanked Taipale “for his work in advancing Martela’s performance.”

Still, the timing suggests a broader reassessment of what Martela now needs from leadership.

A sharper reset cycle, but a narrower one

Produced in partnership with SAM Headhunting

Finnish listed companies appointed 13 new CEOs in the first quarter of 2026.  At that quarterly pace, 2026 would deliver roughly 52 CEO changes, compared with 44 in 2025 — a step change in the rate of renewal at the top of the Finnish stock market.

But pace is only part of the story. Against the 2025 annual index, four shifts stand out in Q1 2026: Large Cap turnover has collapsed from more than one in three companies in 2025 to zero in Q1 2026; external hires now account for 62% of appointments, up from 45%; new CEOs are averaging 49-50 years, roughly five years younger than the active population; and the share of women among new appointments has slipped to 7.7%, below the 9.3% baseline. The reset is sharper at the point of entry — and narrower, concentrated at the smaller end of the market.

Highlights

• 13 new CEOs in Q1 2026 — annualized pace of ∼52 vs 44 in 2025

• Zero CEO changes in Large Cap, down from >33% turnover in 2025

• External hires: 62% of Q1 appointments, up from 47% in 2025

• Average age of new CEOs: 49-50 years as of May 2026, vs 53-54 for the active population

• Women: 1 of 13 new CEOs (7.7%), below the 9.3% active CEO population share

• Two international hires, leaving the overall nationality mix essentially unchanged

The findings draw on the Listeds Executive Intelligence platform and cover all CEO appointments in Finnish listed companies in the period 1 January to 31 March 2026. Baseline figures for the active CEO population refer to the CEO Index — Finland | 2025 published in February 2026.

New CEOs stepped into challenging circumstances

Most of the 13 companies that changed CEO in Q1 2026 reported a decline in profitability in their most recent fiscal year, according to their annual reports. Enento Group and Duell Corporation were among the notable exceptions, both reporting improved operating profits.

Enento and Sitowise both recorded modest net-sales growth of around 3% in the fourth quarter of 2025 and are among the cases where new CEO appointments coincided with wider management changes. These situations represent the more active end of the spectrum; the full picture of follow-on organizational change will only become visible in the Q2 index, when a longer post-appointment window is available.

Large cap goes from most active to most stable

The most striking shift in the quarter is where CEO change did not happen. In 2025, large cap had the highest turnover rate of any segment, with more than one in three of the 32 large-cap companies changing CEO during the year. In Q1 2026, large cap recorded zero appointments.

Every change in the quarter happened below that tier:

• Small cap: 6 CEO changes

• Mid cap: 4

• First North: 3

• Large cap: 0

The burden of renewal has moved one tier down the market, where companies operate with tighter resources and fewer layers, and where leadership changes translate more directly into execution moves.

“While some companies are undergoing significant changes, these should be viewed in the light of longer-term sector pressures. Industrial transformation, regulatory demands in financial services, and profitability pressures continue to shape leadership decisions,” says Taru From, senior partner at SAM Headhunting.

From also points to a clear shift in what companies are asking for. “Nearly every leadership search now asks for a step change and for renewal. Companies are looking for leaders who can bring, create, and lead through change. That means having a clear vision, alongside the experience and track record to back it up.”

Renewal at the point of entry: new CEOs are five years younger

New CEOs appointed in Q1 2026 average 49-50 years of age, compared with 53-54 across the active CEO population. The nearly five-year gap is one of the clearest signals in the quarter that renewal is happening at the margins, even while the overall leadership base shifts only slowly.

At the lower end of the range, Juho Ahosola (Talenom) and Anna Wäck (Sitowise), both born in 1988, illustrate this move toward earlier leadership transitions. At the other end, Teppo Paavola (Enento), born in 1967, reflects the continued demand for experienced financial and technology leaders.

“We are seeing a gradual shift toward younger CEOs, particularly those with strong operational backgrounds. Boards are looking for leaders who can combine execution with adaptability in uncertain environments.” — Leena Hellfors, managing director, SAM Headhunting

Boards are hiring externally more than before

Of the 13 appointments in Q1 2026:

• 8 were external hires

• 4 were internal hires

• 1 came from the board

In 2025 as a whole, external hires accounted for 20 of 44 appointments (45%). The Q1 2026 share is 62%, a meaningful jump. Internal experience remained a factor — several new CEOs were drawn from COO, business unit, or CFO roles — but the quarter leaned more decisively on outside talent than the 2025 average.

The examples illustrate the mix of backgrounds rather than a single pattern:

• Aki Gynther (Alisa Bank) and Alexander Schoschkoff (Alexandria) bring sector-specific financial expertise.

• Anna Wäck (Sitowise) and Matti Erkheikki (QPR Software) represent internal operational continuity.

• Fred Larsen (Lamor) and Markku Taskinen (Dovre Group) bring governance and project leadership backgrounds.

“Boards are becoming more deliberate in CEO selection. The mandate is often clearer from day one, which reduces the need for a long transition period.” — Leena Hellfors

Across both internal and external hires, the common thread across the quarter is readiness to execute rather than transition gradually.

Gender representation moves in the wrong direction at the point of entry

Women accounted for 7.7% of Q1 2026 appointments — one of 13 new CEOs — below the 9.3% share of women in the active CEO population as measured in the 2025 annual index. Single-quarter figures are volatile given the small base, but the direction matters: renewal at the point of entry is not currently narrowing the gender gap.

Sector-level patterns have shifted compared to the 2025 index. Industrials now show the highest representation of female CEOs, followed by health care, with consumer staples, financials, and consumer discretionary forming a middle tier. Basic materials and technology remain at the lower end, with only limited female representation at the CEO level.

International hires remain the exception

The quarter saw two international appointments, leaving the overall nationality mix largely unchanged.

Individual cases highlight where international recruitment adds value. Jean-Charles Gaudechon, a French gaming-industry veteran, now steers Remedy Entertainment. Christian Gebauer, a Swedish expert in decentralized management, was appointed to lead Relais Group in January. Both illustrate targeted international hires where specific expertise is required, rather than a broader shift toward international leadership across the market.

Sector pressure continues from 2025

Leadership changes in Q1 2026 are visible across sectors, with industrials, financials, technology, utilities, and consumer-facing businesses all represented. Industrials led with Sitowise, Dovre Group, and Talenom. Financials were represented by Alisa Bank and Alexandria. Technology saw QPR Software, utilities saw Lamor, and consumer discretionary saw Remedy Entertainment change hands.

Industry-level data show that CEO changes remain concentrated in a few sectors, but the pattern has evolved since 2025. Industrials continue to account for the largest number of new CEO appointments, while financials and consumer discretionary now follow closely behind. Technology remains active but at a lower level, and utilities continue to see limited turnover.

Follow-on management change: too early to generalize

The 2025 index reported an average of 4.2 group management changes per new CEO (2.3 hires, 1.9 resignations), with the appointment of Scott Phillips at Hiab driving the largest post-CEO restructuring of the year (19 changes, linked to the Cargotec/Kalmar demerger).

For Q1 2026, it is too early to report a comparable figure: most appointments only happened in February or March, and the full pattern of post-CEO management change will not be visible until the Q2 index. Early indicators from Enento and Sitowise suggest that leadership transitions are again coinciding with wider management adjustments at more than isolated companies.

Conclusion

Thirteen appointments in a single quarter, at a pace that would exceed 2025’s full-year total, is the sharpest signal yet that the CEO reset cycle is tightening. Boards are moving faster, hiring more externally, and appointing younger leaders than the active population would suggest.

But the reset is narrower than the headline numbers suggest. Large Cap is quiet after a year of unusual activity. Women remain underrepresented at the point of entry, and international hires are the exception rather than the norm. The renewal is real. The profile of who is being renewed, less so.

The CEO Index — Finland will next be updated at the end of Q2 2026. Readers can follow the CEO Newsletter for interim leadership signals. They can also discover a more visual and concise version of the CEO Index Q1 2026 by viewing or downloading a slide deck.

At a glance: 2025 annual vs Q1 2026

About the data

The analysis draws on the Listeds Executive Intelligence platform and covers all CEO appointments in Finnish listed companies made between 1 January and 31 March 2026. Active-population figures are carried forward from the CEO Index — Finland | 2025 published in February 2026, which covered 183 active CEOs across 184 listed companies as of 29 January 2026.

Kempower CEO Bhasker Kaushal spent May reshaping the company’s leadership team around a clear strategic direction: more global operations, more software capability, and a larger services business.

Within two weeks, the company appointed Sami Teininen as chief information officer, confirmed the departure of CFO Jukka Kainulainen, and continued building out roles tied directly to services and international expansion. The moves come as Kempower launches its new Kempower 2.0 strategy and prepares for a more operationally demanding phase of growth.

The leadership changes matter because Kempower is trying to become more than a charging hardware company.

The Finnish EV charging group wants to reach a top-three global position in DC fast charging by 2030 while expanding recurring revenue from software, services, and aftermarket operations. That shift requires different capabilities than the company needed during its earlier expansion phase.

Sami Teininen’s appointment reflects the growing role of software and data

On May 25, Kempower appointed Sami Teininen as CIO and member of the global leadership team, effective August 2026.

Teininen joins from industrial automation company Fastems, where he oversaw global IT strategy, cybersecurity, analytics, governance, and digital transformation. Before that, he held senior international IT leadership roles at Nokian Tyres, including responsibility for North American operations.

Kaushal framed the appointment as part of Kempower’s broader scaling effort:

“As Kempower scales globally, IT has become central to how we operate, serve customers, and compete. It is no longer a support function, but a strategic enabler and differentiator.”

The emphasis on digital infrastructure aligns closely with Kempower 2.0. The company expects its installed base to expand more than 2.5 times by 2030, while aftermarket and services revenue are expected to grow faster than the company overall.

Energy delivered through Kempower chargers already increased 104% year over year in the first quarter of 2026, reaching 311,830 MWh. That growth increases demands for software, cybersecurity, data management, and operational visibility across markets.

Teininen’s background in industrial IT environments appears closely aligned with those needs, particularly as Kempower expands internationally.

Jukka Kainulainen exits during a critical stage of the company’s growth

Earlier in May, Kempower announced that CFO Jukka Kainulainen will leave the company after five years to pursue new opportunities. He will remain in the role until early September while the company searches for a successor.

Kainulainen helped lead Kempower through two important capital markets milestones: its Nasdaq First North listing in 2021 and its move to the Nasdaq Helsinki Main Market two years later.

His departure comes as Kempower introduces updated long-term financial targets and prepares for its Capital Markets Day presentation.

The company is targeting:

• 15% to 25% annual revenue growth between 2025 and 2030

• 10% to 15% operative EBIT margins by 2030

• A top-three global position in DC fast charging

First-quarter figures showed continued momentum. Revenue rose 54% year over year to €66.8 million, while North American revenue more than tripled. Operative EBIT improved to negative €3.5 million from negative €7.3 million a year earlier. Order backlog stood at €140.7 million.

The CFO transition does not change those targets, but investors will likely watch closely how the company manages execution and capital allocation during the leadership handover.

Elina Rahkonen is leaving Wulff Group at a moment of unusual strength for the Helsinki-listed worklife services and products group. Just three and a half weeks before announcing her resignation, Wulff reported its strongest quarterly result in years: Q1 2026 net sales rose 16% to EUR 31.5 million, while operating profit climbed +730% to EUR 2.5 million.

Rahkonen, who has led Wulff since 2019, will remain CEO until August 14 while the board searches for a successor. The departure closes a seven-year period in which Wulff shifted from a traditional office products company into a broader Nordic worklife services group, with staffing, consulting, and accounting services becoming increasingly central to growth.

A CEO who knew the company before leading it

Rahkonen’s tenure was shaped by unusually deep familiarity with the business. Before becoming CEO, she served as Wulff’s CFO between 2014 and 2017 and briefly as interim CEO in 2016–2017. She returned to lead the company after serving as CEO of Aallon Group and CFO of Ahlsell Finland.

Her background combines finance, auditing, and operational leadership. Earlier in her career, she worked at Deloitte and held several financial management positions between 2002 and 2011. Alongside her executive role, she currently serves on the boards of Kreate Group, LapWall, Olas Group, and Duell.

As of December 31, 2025, Rahkonen held 40,000 Wulff shares, representing 0.6% of the company’s shares and votes.

From office products to worklife services

The board’s framing of the transition reflects how substantially the company changed during Rahkonen’s tenure. Wulff’s FY2025 net sales reached EUR 122.3 million, up from EUR 102.8 million in 2024 and more than double the level when she took over. Operating profit and market value also more than doubled during the period.

“It has been a privilege to help transform a traditional workplace product company into a diversified partner for the modern workplace,” Rahkonen said in the resignation announcement. “Our growth has been made possible by our colleagues, partners, and customers.”

A major part of that shift came through acquisitions and the expansion of Wulff’s workplace services platform. Staples Finland, acquired in 2021, now operates as an integrated part of the group after effectively doubling Wulff’s net sales through the transaction. The business serves large companies and public sector organizations with contract supply solutions covering workspaces, breakrooms, and IT services.

Alongside that, Wulff’s Products for Work Environments segment provides workplace solutions across Finland, spanning offices, remote workstations, and industrial sites. Its catalog includes more than 40,000 products, ranging from office and IT supplies to cafeteria products, ergonomics, cleaning equipment, and first aid solutions.

The transformation included repeated restructuring inside the Finnish Products for Work Environments segment. Between 2024 and early 2026, Wulff conducted three rounds of change negotiations tied to the Staples Finland integration, organizational simplification, and strategic renewal. In total, 142 employees were involved, 24 roles were eliminated, and the measures are expected to generate EUR 1.8 million in annualized savings.

The pattern across those negotiations suggests a company steadily reducing legacy complexity rather than responding to a single operational shock. The first round in February 2024 focused on integrating Staples Finland, acquired in 2021. The second, announced in March 2025, centered on reallocating resources toward customer impact and sales capability. The third round concluded in January 2026 and focused on improving service capability in customer interactions.

The effect became visible in Q1 2026, when the Finnish products business returned to positive operating profit growth. Wulff also strengthened its balance sheet in March through the sale and leaseback of its Tuusula warehouse, recording a EUR 1.8 million one-off gain.

Finnish tech stocks have struggled through the AI transition. Reaktor believes it can emerge as an exception.

The Finnish software and consulting company said today that it plans to list on Nasdaq Helsinki’s main market and raise roughly €20 million in new capital to fund growth in defense software, international expansion, and acquisitions.

Reaktor’s listing comes at an unusual moment. Helsinki has largely missed the AI listing wave that has swept through US markets, leaving Reaktor positioned as one of the first companies in Finland to test investor appetite for an AI-led equity story. Helsingin Sanomat described the company as “the first AI IPO on Fabianinkatu,” referring to the street where Finland’s stock exchange is located.

The IPO also comes during a difficult period for Finnish IT consulting stocks. Shares in Gofore have fallen roughly 38 percent over the past year, while Siili Solutions has dropped nearly 59 percent, reflecting broader investor concerns about slowing consulting demand and the long-term impact of AI on software development work.

Finnish investment titan KPY is preparing for a listing on Nasdaq First North Finland, a move that would give the over 140-year old company broader access to capital markets as it expands its investment operations.

The planned IPO would consist entirely of newly issued shares, with no existing shareholders selling stock in the offering. Proceeds are earmarked for anchor investments in funds, development projects within existing holdings, expansion of fund operations, and working capital. Danske Bank is acting as lead adviser.

KPY traces its roots back to 1883 and today has around 19,000 owners, reflecting its history as a regional telecommunications cooperative. Over the past decade, it has reshaped itself into a diversified investment company with three focus areas: infrastructure, private equity, and balance sheet investments. Its largest asset is Novapolis, a business campus-operator based in Kuopio.

The company reported 2025 revenue of €167.4 million and EBITDA of €22.4 million. Net asset value stood at €245.1 million at the end of March 2026, equivalent to €9.61 per share.

Casimir Lindholm, Justin Hotard, and Torbjörn Magnusson led Finland’s chief executive pay rankings last year, though only one of them still runs the company behind the payout. 

Lindholm, the former Hiab chief executive, topped the list with €14.3 million in compensation for 2025, while Nokia’s recently appointed Chief Executive Justin Hotard earned €6.8 million and former Sampo leader Torbjörn Magnusson collected €6.4 million, Kauppalehti reported today, citing listed companies’ remuneration reports.

The ranking underlines how long-term incentives, restructuring bonuses, and exit agreements increasingly shape executive compensation in Nordic listed companies.

Lindholm’s payout stood far above the rest of the field. He worked at Hiab for only part of the year before moving on to become chief executive of Meyer Turku. Most of the compensation came through long-term share-based incentives linked to the restructuring of Cargotec into Hiab and Kalmar, a process he helped oversee.

Hotard ranked second after joining Nokia from Intel, where he led the company’s data center and artificial intelligence operations. His compensation package reflected both Nokia’s global search for technology leadership and the need to replace unvested stock awards from his previous employer.

Magnusson, who previously led Sampo through a major strategic reshaping into a more focused Nordic insurance group, received most of his compensation through short and long-term incentive programs rather than salary.

Oura, the Finnish-founded smart ring maker, has taken its first formal step toward a US stock market listing, joining a growing queue of technology companies heading for public markets.

The wearables company said yesterday it has confidentially filed registration papers with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, a process that allows companies to prepare an IPO behind closed doors before publicly revealing financial details.

The move marks a notable shift in tone from last autumn, when Chief Executive Tom Hale told Yle that Oura had no concrete timetable for going public. At the time, the company had just completed a record €776 million funding round that valued the business at roughly €9.5 billion.

The timing now looks more deliberate than sudden. Earlier this year, Oura moved its headquarters to Delaware, the corporate home of much of the listed America because of its business-friendly legal framework. In practice, Oura’s leadership and commercial operations have already been heavily US-centered for years, even as the company continued to lean on its Finnish identity and engineering roots.

Summa Defence has divested its renewable energy subsidiary Rasol Oy to the company’s management for EUR 5,000, down from the acquisition price of EUR 3.9 million two and a half years ago, marking the first concrete move in the strategic review the defence technology group announced last week.

The review covers IntLog Oy, Lightspace Group Inc and its subsidiaries, Aquamec Oy, and Rasol Oy. In a press release today, CEO Robert Blumberg said the process is intended to support Summa Defence’s long-term strategy, strengthen its capital structure, and accelerate growth in its defence businesses.

Sold for EUR 5,000

The sale price for Rasol could be described as modest since just over two years ago, Rasol was acquired at a valuation of roughly EUR 3.9 million.

However, Summa Defence said all intercompany debts between Rasol and the group will be settled in connection with the transaction.

As a result of the sale, the company expects to recognize an impairment of about EUR 2 million in its full-year 2025 results. After the impairment, the carrying amount of group goodwill will be around EUR 167 million.

Renewable energy business remained weak

Rasol supplies and installs solar power systems, battery packs, and air source heat pumps in Germany, Denmark, and France.

The company generated EUR 2.7 million in revenue in 2025, down from EUR 3.1 million in 2024. EBIT remained negative at EUR -0.2 million in both years. Rasol employs around 15 people, all of whom will transfer to the buyer.

Weak profitability in renewable energy operations had already appeared in Summa Defence’s latest business review. The company reported that its Renewable Energy business posted an operating loss of EUR -2.7 million during January–September 2025.

Finnair is looking outside aviation for one of its most important leadership appointments.

The Helsinki-based carrier has named Sini Kivekäs, 51, as chief people officer and a member of the executive board from June 1, 2026. Kivekäs joins from financial services after nearly three decades at Nordea and Aktia, a move that says as much about Finnair’s strategic priorities as it does about her background.

The appointment, disclosed in a stock exchange release today, comes at a moment when Finnair’s operational performance is strengthening, and its leadership team is being reshaped around the next phase of the airline’s strategy.

Kivekäs succeeds Kaisa Aalto-Luoto, who announced in January 2026 that she would leave Finnair by the end of June for a position outside the company.

Why Finnair hired outside aviation

Kivekäs holds a Master of Laws and most recently served on Aktia’s group executive committee, where she oversaw group functions and HR. Before joining Aktia, she held several senior leadership roles at Nordea. She arrives without aviation industry experience, but with deep exposure to talent management, organizational change, and leadership development in one of the Nordic region’s most competitive white-collar sectors.

That appears intentional.

“I warmly welcome Sini to Finnair, as we continue to develop our employee experience as a key enabler of our Finnair strategy,” CEO Turkka Kuusisto said in the release. “Sini brings with her a wealth of experience, and a solid understanding of how a holistic people plan and leading employee experience contribute to a company’s success.”

Kivekäs framed the role in similar terms. “Finnair’s clear strategy and values, and its determined forward-looking approach in a changing and increasingly unpredictable world, strongly resonate with me,” she said. “ I believe that engaged and highly skilled personnel are key to a company’s success, as employee and customer experience ultimately form one shared experience and differentiating factor.”

That distinction matters for Finnair. The airline has won Skytrax’s Best Airline in Northern Europe award 15 consecutive times, and service quality remains one of the few defensible advantages available to a mid-sized Nordic carrier competing against larger European rivals and Gulf airlines with structurally lower costs.

A broader leadership reset

The appointment also fits into a broader reshaping of Finnair’s leadership group.

In August 2025, Pia Aaltonen-Forsell joined as chief financial officer, replacing Kristian Pullola. At the board level, three long-serving directors departed at the March 2025 AGM and were replaced by Andreas Bierwirth, Nicolas Boutin, Lisa Farrar, and Mika Ihamuotila. All four were re-elected in March 2026 alongside Chair Sanna Suvanto Harsaae.

Taken together, the changes point to a company that has refreshed much of its senior leadership within a relatively short period while keeping continuity at the top.

The latest talent survey suggests employer reputation is becoming a long-term competitive advantage, especially in the race for experienced specialists.

Bakery and confectionery brand Fazer has been named Finland’s most attractive employer for 2026, according to a new Taloustutkimus survey commissioned by Duunitori. Gaming company Supercell, elevator manufacturer Kone, aerospace company Iceye, and defense behemoth Patria rounded out the top five in a ranking based on responses from 5,440 Finns aged 15 to 64.

The results reveal a pattern that extends beyond recruitment marketing. Finland’s strongest employer brands are increasingly built on familiarity, credibility, and employee advocacy rather than visibility alone, according to Duunitori’s report released today.

Several companies in the top 10 — including Fazer, Valio, Paulig, and Hartwall — are consumer brands deeply embedded in Finnish daily life. Others, such as Iceye and Patria, reflect growing interest in technologically advanced and strategically important sectors.

Pasi Flinkman is leaving Raisio less than two years after taking over as CEO of the Finnish food company. The announcement landed today as an inside information release on the Helsinki stock exchange, nine days after Raisio reported one of its strongest quarterly profitability improvements in recent years.

Flinkman will remain in the role until November 2026 or until a successor is appointed. The board has already started the search process.

The timing is unusual because Raisio is not in crisis. The company enters the transition with improving profitability, a more focused portfolio, and a strategy already in motion. In practice, the next CEO inherits a business that has largely completed its restructuring phase and is now trying to turn operational discipline into sustained growth.

Chairman Arto Tiitinen framed the handover as continuity rather than redirection. In the company’s release, he credited Flinkman with renewing Raisio’s operations and improving profitability, adding that the company now has “strong foundations to continue the determined execution of its strategy.”

That strategy has become considerably clearer during Flinkman’s tenure.

The executive who simplified Raisio

Flinkman, 56, joined Raisio in June 2024 after spending most of his career inside Nordic consumer goods and food companies.

Before Raisio, he served as CEO of Orkla Suomi between 2018 and 2024, having previously worked as deputy CEO and earlier as CEO of Orkla Confectionery & Snacks Finland. Earlier roles included leadership positions at Chips, Leaf, and CSM in Finland, the Baltics, China, and the Netherlands. He holds a Master of Science in Economics and lives in Turku.

He also serves on the board of the Finnish Food and Drink Industries Federation and sits on Varma’s consultative committee for employers.

At Raisio, his main task was simplification.

The company had spent years balancing businesses with uneven strategic fit and inconsistent profitability. Under Flinkman, Raisio sold its plant protein business and concentrated resources around two areas where it still had category strength and pricing power: Benecol® and Elovena®.

The financial impact became increasingly visible during 2025 and early 2026.

Comparable EBIT from continuing operations reached EUR 28.5 million in 2025 on net sales of EUR 224.2 million, equivalent to a margin of 12.7%. In the first quarter of 2026, comparable EBIT rose to EUR 7.5 million on net sales of EUR 57.5 million, lifting the margin to 13.1% from 10.6% a year earlier. Cash flow improved, and return on invested capital increased to 11.3%.

The company also maintained enough balance sheet flexibility to continue investing while distributing EUR 0.15 per share in dividends in April.

More importantly, Raisio now looks strategically coherent in a way it did not several years ago.

The next phase is harder

The next CEO will not be starting with a turnaround mandate. The operational cleanup is largely done.

Instead, the challenge shifts toward execution: scaling brands internationally, maintaining margin discipline, and modernizing the company’s operating systems simultaneously.

Raisio’s current strategy rests on three connected priorities.

Benecol® still carries the international ambition

The Heart Health division remains central to Raisio’s long-term plans even though recent performance has been mixed.

First-quarter net sales in the segment declined 2.0% to EUR 29.3 million, partly because of pound sterling weakness and the timing of industrial sales. Flinkman nevertheless described the business foundation as solid and pointed toward expected improvement during the rest of the year.

The company is investing heavily in the Benecol® brand.

In March, Raisio launched Benecol® yogurt drinks in Spain, extending the brand further into Southern Europe. At the same time, the company is carrying out the largest redesign of Benecol®’s visual identity and communications in more than three decades.

The shift is not cosmetic. Raisio is trying to reposition the brand from a narrowly clinical cholesterol product toward a broader lifestyle and wellness proposition.

That creates both opportunity and risk.

Benecol® remains Raisio’s most internationally exposed business, and European consumer health categories are expensive to build across fragmented markets with different retail structures and consumer habits. The next CEO will inherit that expansion effort midway through execution.

Elovena® has become Raisio’s strongest operating asset

The stronger momentum currently sits inside Breakfast, Snacking & Food Solutions.

Net sales in the segment increased 4.8% in the first quarter to EUR 27.3 million. The Elovena® brand grew by almost 11%, supported by strong domestic demand and favorable raw material costs.

Elovena® matters strategically because it combines several trends at once: health-focused consumption, oats, sustainability, and domestic sourcing credibility. In March, consumers once again ranked it as Finland’s most sustainable brand.

The division is now led by Noora Pöyhönen, who joined Raisio as chief business officer in February 2026. Her arrival adds another relatively new executive voice to the company’s growth phase.

One of the larger unanswered questions for Raisio is whether Elovena® can remain primarily a strong Finnish category leader or evolve into a broader Nordic consumer brand over time.

Chinese courts have ruled that AI adoption alone does not justify dismissing workers. Finnish employers have far broader discretion — but the legal risk emerges earlier than many boards realize.

When a Hangzhou tech company tried to replace its AI quality-assurance supervisor with a large language model — offering him a 40% pay cut to a different role, then firing him when he refused — China's courts ruled the dismissal illegal. The Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court decision, published in late April as part of a set of typical AI-related labor cases, established a principle now drawing international attention: AI adoption alone does not justify firing workers.

Finnish employers operate under very different rules, but the underlying question Chinese courts raised is one Finnish boards will face soon, if they aren't facing it already: at what point does deploying AI shift from being a productivity-driven investment to a decision that results in a reduction of the workforce?

"There is no black and white answer to that," says Sanna Honkinen, head of employment practice at Hannes Snellman. And that ambiguity, she warns, is where the legal risk lives.

The Chinese precedent

The Hangzhou ruling, upheld on appeal on April 28, centered on a quality assurance supervisor identified only as Zhou. Hired in 2022 at a monthly salary of 25,000 yuan (USD3,676) to oversee his employer's AI output, Zhou was told in 2025 that the company intended to replace his role with a large language model. He was offered a different position at 15,000 yuan — a 40% pay cut — and dismissed when he refused.

The Intermediate People's Court ruled that AI-driven job replacement does not constitute a "major change in objective circumstances" under China's Labor Contract Law, the legal threshold normally required to justify redundancy-based termination. The court also found the reassignment offer unreasonable on its own terms. The ruling built on a December 2024 Beijing arbitration decision involving a map data worker dismissed after AI took over his role, reaching the same conclusion: adopting AI is a business choice, not an unforeseen event, and its costs cannot be shifted unilaterally onto employees.

The cases have drawn international legal attention because they cut against the assumption — common in at-will jurisdictions like the United States — that AI-driven restructuring is a straightforward business decision. Finland's framework sits between these poles.

The Finnish legal reality

Finnish employers have considerably more discretion than their Chinese counterparts to restructure around AI.

"In Finland, the employer has the right to decide what business activities are operated and how business and roles within the company are organized," Honkinen says.

Roles can be terminated for financial, production-related, or reorganization reasons linked to technological development, including AI adoption, provided the amount of work has genuinely declined. But that discretion comes with procedural strings attached.

Under Finland's Co-operation Act, employers with at least 50 employees must begin change negotiations if planned measures could materially affect employees' work tasks, working methods, working hours, or lead to layoffs or dismissals on financial or production-related grounds. Employers with 20 to 49 employees face similar obligations in cases involving broader personnel reductions.

Employers must also assess whether employees can be reassigned or retrained before dismissals take place. "The employer has to consider whether the employee can be placed into another role or trained for another role," Honkinen says.

That retraining obligation is narrower than it sounds. Companies do not have to educate employees into entirely new professions — the expectation is shorter-term training into adjacent roles where employees already possess the core capabilities needed.

The timing trap

The harder question for Finnish boards is not whether they can reduce roles, but when AI adoption becomes serious enough to trigger the formal negotiation process.

That is Honkinen's central warning. Companies that drift from AI experimentation into operational deployment without recognizing the transition can find themselves on the wrong side of the procedural line.

"At what point does the company have sufficient information on the estimated impacts on employees?" she says. There is no clean answer in the statute — and the timing matters, because employers cannot make business decisions that directly result in headcount reductions before change negotiations have been completed. 

At the same time, change negotiations cannot be held on a “just in case” basis without a concrete plan and an assessment of workforce impacts. "That is something that needs to be remembered," Honkinen says.

As understanding of AI’s concrete impact on business operations grows, it becomes increasingly likely that we will see more change negotiations carried out already at the stage when new AI investments are being considered, she adds.

The Chinese rulings flagged a structurally similar issue from the opposite direction. Courts there argued that if AI restructuring becomes necessary, employers should first prioritize retraining workers, offer reasonable reassignment terms, and provide support measures before moving to dismissals. Two very different legal systems have landed on overlapping employer obligations.

Global bond markets are repricing inflation risk at a speed not seen since the financial crisis. The US 30-year Treasury yield slightly retreated this morning after hitting 5.2% the previous day, its highest level since 2007, while long-dated bond yields in the UK and Japan remain near multi-decade highs.

Investors are pulling money from government debt as fears grow that inflation will remain stubbornly high amid the Iran war, rising energy prices, and widening fiscal deficits. CNN reported yesterday that the US 10-year Treasury yield has also surged toward 4.7%, reflecting expectations that interest rates may stay higher for longer. Bloomberg reported today that a global gauge of sovereign debt yields has reached its highest level since July 2008.

The immediate trigger is oil. Brent crude has climbed above $110 a barrel after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz disrupted global energy flows, according to Bloomberg. Higher energy prices are feeding through into transport, food, and industrial costs, raising concerns that inflation will spread deeper into the global economy.

Markets increasingly expect central banks to maintain elevated interest rates and possibly tighten further. The arrival of Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve chair has reinforced expectations of a more hawkish policy stance. Investor sentiment has shifted accordingly. Bondholders are demanding higher compensation for inflation risk and fiscal uncertainty, while equity investors are reassessing valuations in a higher-rate environment.

Satu Uski, Alisa Bank’s compliance officer since January 2025, has been promoted to chief information officer, effective June 1, 2026, as the Helsinki-listed digital bank completes a year-long reconstruction of its leadership team and sharpens its focus on scalable SME banking and regulatory-heavy growth areas. 

The appointment, still subject to FIN-FSA approval, places a compliance and financial crime specialist at the center of the bank’s technology strategy at a time when Alisa is repositioning around Banking-as-a-Service, SME financing, and tighter operational discipline.

Uski succeeds Tomi Pulkkinen, who will remain at the company as head of IT, preserving technical continuity while shifting management emphasis toward the intersection of technology, compliance, and business execution. 

“Scalability of our services and technology-driven development play a key role in our strategy,” Acting CEO Aki Gynther said in the company’s announcement today, also linking the move to the recent appointment of Marko Ahola as chief risk and compliance officer. Together, the changes mark another major step in Alisa Bank’s unusually broad management reset over the past 12 months.

A CIO shaped by regulation and digital banking

The promotion changes the balance of power inside the organization. Uski is not a traditional infrastructure CIO. Her background sits at the increasingly strategic layer between banking technology and regulatory control: Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures, Anti-Money Laundering (AML) frameworks, fraud prevention, identity verification, and digital customer lifecycle management. 

Before joining Alisa Bank, she spent five years at Tieto in senior financial services business development and compliance roles focused on financial crime prevention and regulated digital banking processes. Earlier in her career, she led Tieto’s eBanking unit with profit-and-loss responsibility across four countries and held transformation roles at Aktia. 

That profile matters because Alisa’s future growth depends less on adding lending volume and more on building a scalable, compliant digital banking infrastructure that can support SME lending and embedded banking partnerships.

Annu von Weymarn, who has served as interim CFO since January, has today been appointed chief financial officer and management team member at Puuilo Plc, effective immediately, cementing the Finnish discount retailer’s finance leadership as it prepares to enter Sweden and continues an aggressive domestic store rollout.

The appointment closes the succession process that began after former CFO Ville Ranta departed and gives Puuilo permanent finance leadership at a moment when the company is balancing expansion, governance changes, and shareholder returns. Von Weymarn had already been leading the finance function for more than four months before the permanent appointment. 

Puuilo also announced last week that Venetia Messini will join as country manager of Swedish subsidiary Puuilo Varuhus AB on June 1, giving the retailer a dedicated in-country leadership structure ahead of its first Swedish pilot stores.

Internal succession after external search

Puuilo, a Finland-based discount retail chain, promoted von Weymarn from within after nearly seven years at the company. She joined in 2019 as financial controller, became head of financial controlling in 2021, and stepped into the interim CFO role at the start of 2026.

Her background is heavily weighted toward retail finance and compliance. Before joining Puuilo, she spent seven years as an IFRS specialist at Kesko and six years as an auditor at KPMG, giving the company a finance chief with deep technical accounting and reporting experience as its operating structure becomes more complex through international expansion.

The wording around the appointment is notable. CEO Juha Saarela specifically referenced a ‘thorough recruitment process’ before confirming von Weymarn permanently in the role after more than four months as interim CFO. The move reduces execution risk at a time when Puuilo is simultaneously expanding its Finnish store network and preparing its first market entry outside Finland.

Von Weymarn linked the role directly to the company’s international strategy. “It is great to continue contributing to Puuilo’s growth in my new role as CFO,” she said. “The company is in a strong phase of development, and as international expansion progresses, it is exciting to support the company’s success in international markets.”

Kimmo Hakkala, vice president of customer success at Martela Oyj, will leave the Finnish office furniture company’s group management team on June 1, 2026, extending a broader leadership reshaping underway at the Helsinki-listed company as a newly configured board settles into place.

Hakkala, who joined Martela’s management team in January 2023, will remain with the company through an agreed transition period after stepping down from the executive group. His departure removes the company’s dedicated customer-facing commercial executive at a moment when Martela is trying to convert its sustainability positioning and Workplace-as-a-Service model into more recurring customer relationships and long-term growth. 

No successor has been named, leaving open whether Martela opts for continuity through an internal promotion or uses the opening to reset the commercial structure more broadly. 

“I would like to thank Kimmo for his contribution to developing Martela's sales and customer success function, and I wish him success for the future,” CEO Ville Taipale said in a press release on 13 May. 

Customer success function loses leadership voice

Martela, which specializes in workplace and office furniture solutions, kept customer-facing operations central during Hakkala’s tenure. 

In Finland’s Työelämän Päättäjät survey of 586 business decision-makers in 2023, the company ranked first overall among office furniture suppliers for the ninth consecutive year. Martela also received leading scores in professional customer service, product quality, ergonomics, and delivery reliability, reinforcing the strategic importance of the function Hakkala oversaw. His exit now creates uncertainty around how the company maintains that commercial momentum during a period of wider leadership transition.

The move follows several management and governance changes that have gradually reshaped the company since mid-2023. Suvi-Maarit Kario joined as vice president of HR & sustainability in August 2023, followed by Henri Berg as CFO in October that year. 

Board continuity meets executive turnover

At the board level, shareholders largely maintained continuity at the April 8, 2026 AGM while still reshaping leadership at the top. 

Eero Martela, Hanna Mattila, Jan Mattsson, Anni Vepsäläinen, and Jacob Kragh were re-elected, while Tapio Pajuharju joined as a new board member and was immediately elected chair of the board. Vepsäläinen was confirmed as vice chair. The combination of board stability and executive turnover suggests Martela’s owners are tightening governance oversight while preparing the company for a potentially broader strategic or operational transition.

Iiris Heiskanen, former CFO of Abloy Oy and a finance executive within ASSA Abloy’s Global Solutions division, has been appointed chief financial officer of Scanfil effective immediately, succeeding Kai Valo after a decade in the role. 

The appointment caps a broader management refresh that has unfolded across the Finnish electronics manufacturing services group over the past year.

Heiskanen joined Scanfil in early 2025 as director of group reporting and tax and spent roughly sixteen months inside the organization before taking the finance helm. Her appointment also brings her into the group management team, replacing Valo, who has led Scanfil’s finance organization through a decade of expansion and operational modernization. 

“Her strong drive, profound understanding of accounting and finance, and high ambitions make her an ideal person for this role,” CEO Christophe Sut said in the company’s announcement on 13 May. 

A planned succession, not a reactive hire

The succession appears carefully staged rather than reactive. Sut described Valo as “the driving force behind the modernization of Scanfil’s finance function” and said he had built capabilities that now allow the role to pass “to one of his colleagues.” The wording matters. During Valo’s tenure, Scanfil evolved into a company now targeting EUR 940–1,060 million in annual turnover, with a larger international manufacturing footprint and rising operational complexity following acquisitions and expansion into new geographies.

That context helps explain the profile of the incoming CFO. Before joining Scanfil, Heiskanen spent more than seven years at Abloy Oy in finance roles before becoming CFO of ASSA Abloy’s Global Solutions division, later returning to Abloy as CFO from 2022 to 2025. The experience gave her exposure to multi-currency treasury management, cross-border reporting structures, and finance operations inside one of Europe’s largest industrial groups, capabilities increasingly relevant for Scanfil as it scales internationally.

Management renewal underway since 2025

The CFO transition is part of a wider reshaping of Scanfil’s leadership structure that has been underway since mid-2025. Teemu Ohtamaa joined the group management team in June 2025, while Christina Wiklund moved into a new role within the team. Riku Hynninen exited the management team in July, followed by Mari Tuominen-Reini joining in August. Heiskanen’s appointment now completes a year-long sequence of leadership changes that together suggest a company repositioning itself for a more expansionary phase rather than responding to operational disruption.

At the same time, the board has largely chosen continuity. At Scanfil’s annual general meeting on 24 April 2026, all six existing board members were re-elected, with Harri Takanen continuing as chair. The company also reorganized its audit committee, appointing Juha Räisänen as chair alongside Christina Lindstedt and Minna Yrjönmäki.

The pattern inside the finance organization is particularly notable. Both Ohtamaa and Heiskanen were executives already known internally before stepping into larger leadership responsibilities. Heiskanen’s sixteen-month progression from director of group reporting and tax to CFO suggests the succession decision may have been under evaluation long before it became public.

Kempower, a Finnish EV charging manufacturer that rode two Nasdaq listings to global ambition, now faces a major executive transition, just as it expands across Europe and launches megawatt charging hardware. The choice of successor will shape how Kempower navigates its next phase.

Shortly before the Ascension Day break, Kempower announced that CFO Jukka Kainulainen will leave the company after five years in the role. He will remain until early September to support the transition while the board searches for a successor.

Hours later, Revenio Group announced Kainulainen as its incoming CFO and leadership team member, effective no later than 1 September 2026.

The release itself was short. The significance is not.

Kainulainen joined Kempower before its public market era and became one of the key executives behind the company’s transition into a listed Nordic growth company. During his tenure, Kempower completed its 2021 listing on Nasdaq First North Growth Market Finland before moving to the Nasdaq Helsinki Main Market in 2023, a step that broadened the company’s institutional investor reach as it expanded internationally.

“Jukka has played a key role at Kempower over the last 5 years, in particular the company’s listing on Nasdaq First North Growth Market Finland in 2021 and the transfer to the Nasdaq Helsinki Main Market two years ago,” CEO Bhasker Kaushal said. “On behalf of the entire Kempower team, I want to thank Jukka and wish him every success in the next chapter.”

The emphasis in Kempower’s statement was notable. The company framed Kainulainen’s contribution primarily through the lens of listings, governance, and corporate development rather than operational finance.

That reflects the role he played during Kempower’s transition from growth company to publicly traded industrial technology group. His departure leaves a gap at a moment when investor communication and capital discipline remain central to the company’s credibility story.

Expansion continues while profitability remains in focus

Kainulainen exits during an active period for Kempower commercially and strategically. In the same week, the company announced an expanded European charging infrastructure partnership with Circle K, building on more than 200 charging points already deployed in Sweden and Norway. The agreement extends the relationship into additional European markets over the coming years.

Kempower also introduced its Mega Satellite Flex charger at the ACT Expo in Las Vegas on 6 May. The new system supports both high power CCS charging of up to 560 kW and Megawatt Charging System charging of up to 1.2 MW. Commercial availability in Europe and North America is scheduled for July 2026.

At the same time, the company is still working through the economics of scaling. Kempower reported a net loss of EUR 26.2 million for 2025, and shareholders approved no dividend at the 2026 AGM.

The board itself remained largely stable at the AGM held on 6 May in Lahti. All eight directors were re-elected. Vesa Laisi became chair, while Antti Kemppi was confirmed as vice chair.

Shareholder authorizations approved at the meeting also give management flexibility during the transition period. The board received authorization to repurchase up to 5% of outstanding shares and issue up to 10% new shares, including up to 2 million shares for incentive programs.

General Counsel Hanna Kyrki will leave Summa Defence Plc by 13 November 2026, ending a nine-month tenure that began shortly after the Finnish defence and security technology group was formed through its merger with Meriaura Group.

Her departure follows a six-week stretch of executive turnover at the Nasdaq First North Growth Market-listed company. Robert Blumberg assumed the role of CEO on 13 April alongside new CFO Petter Ruda, while Interim CEO Timo Huttunen stepped down from the position. 

Summa Defence said Kyrki is leaving for personal reasons and that her responsibilities will be absorbed by the existing management team rather than assigned to a direct replacement, the company announced on 13 May.

Defence-sector legal experience exits during integration phase

Kyrki joined Summa Defence’s executive management team on 4 August 2025, weeks after the merger between Meriaura and Summa Defence closed. Her background brought deep defence-sector governance experience to the newly assembled company. Before Veikkaus, she served as general counsel, chief compliance officer, and executive management team member at Finnish defence company Patria. Earlier roles at Nokia, Tellabs, Sonera, and Kone gave her experience across telecoms, technology, and industrial engineering.

The timing adds further pressure to a company still integrating multiple corporate transformations. On the same day it disclosed Kyrki’s departure, Summa Defence warned that its current working capital is expected to be sufficient for only around two months without additional financing arrangements. The company estimated it will require EUR 10–20 million in additional funding over the next 12 months. Following the Ascension Day market holiday, shares fell 36.8% to EUR 0.80 this afternoon, underscoring investor concern over the company’s liquidity position.

Against that backdrop, the decision not to immediately recruit a successor suggests management is keeping a close watch on costs while the post-merger organization stabilizes.

Rapala VMC, the Finnish fishing tackle maker, surged more than 20% shortly after reporting stronger first-quarter profitability and maintaining its outlook, sharply outperforming a weaker Helsinki market where the OMX Helsinki 25 index fell 0.35% in the afternoon. Marimekko also gained nearly 7%, while Qt Group rose modestly and Relais Group traded lower despite beating analyst expectations. Citycon is scheduled to publish its first-quarter report after the market close.

Rapala said first-quarter net sales rose 6% to EUR 69.5 million, or 13% at comparable exchange rates, while comparable operating profit increased 39% to EUR 7.8 million. Operating profit rose to EUR 7.7 million from EUR 6 million a year earlier.

CEO Cyrille Viellard said demand was supported by new product launches including the CrushCity Mooch Minnow and Claptail lures, as well as strong fill rates for seasonal retailer orders.

“A positive start to 2026 with 13% sales growth at comparable exchange rates, supported by exciting new product introductions and efficient supply chain execution,” Viellard said.

The company maintained guidance for full-year comparable operating profit to improve from 2025 despite continued geopolitical uncertainty and inflationary pressure on raw materials.

Marimekko, the Finnish lifestyle and textile design company, reported a 5% increase in first-quarter net sales to EUR 41.4 million, while comparable operating profit rose 19% to EUR 5.3 million. The company said growth was driven particularly by wholesale sales in Scandinavia and Finland, while international sales climbed 9%.

Nokia has spent the past six weeks reshaping key parts of its leadership structure, from the board and management team to its largest business unit.

Between its April AGM and today’s appointment of Emma Falck as president of mobile infrastructure, the Finnish telecom company refreshed its board, expanded its leadership team, and named a new leader for its biggest business segment.

Individually, the changes look incremental. Together, they suggest Nokia is positioning itself for a more AI-driven phase of network infrastructure. 

Falck’s appointment is the clearest signal yet. She will take over mobile infrastructure on 1 September and join the group leadership team, moving from Siemens, where she most recently served as executive vice president, products, smart infrastructure buildings. The unit she inherits is not peripheral. Mobile Infrastructure remains Nokia’s largest business and the division most exposed to competitive pressure from Ericsson and Huawei.

The choice to recruit externally matters. Rather than selecting a longtime telecom executive, Nokia chose a leader whose background spans industrial automation, operational transformation, software, and large-scale systems businesses. That choice aligns with Nokia’s recent emphasis on operational execution and software-led infrastructure.

Why Nokia chose an outsider

Falck’s background combines technical depth, international operational experience, and transformation management. Before Siemens, she spent five years as a partner and managing director at Boston Consulting Group. Earlier, she held senior roles at KONE, including responsibilities tied to the Greater China market. She also holds a PhD in engineering physics from Aalto University.

The emphasis from both Falck and Hotard was notably operational rather than visionary. “As AI moves toward physical AI, networks need to become AI-native by design for both 5G Advanced and 6G,” Hotard said in Nokia’s announcement.

Falck framed the challenge even more directly. “Customers need partners who can deliver with speed and predictability, and turn technology roadmaps into real-world performance.”

That framing reflects how Nokia has recently positioned its infrastructure business. Alongside network performance and scale, the company has increasingly emphasized software-led infrastructure, AI-native networks, automation, and operational execution in both its leadership messaging and recent product announcements.

Rather than presenting AI as a standalone product category, Nokia has increasingly framed it as part of how future networks will be designed, managed, and monetized. That ambition has become visible across several recent moves, including Nokia’s 12 May 2026 launch of agentic AI capabilities for home and broadband networks.

At Mobile World Congress in March, Nokia and Telia announced a collaboration around AI-RAN commercialization, targeting industrial and mission-critical use cases. Earlier the same month, Nokia expanded its long-running relationship with Virgin Media O2 through a multi-year 5G RAN agreement in the UK. The company has also continued investing in data center networking and software-led infrastructure.

Its new 55,000 square meter “Home of Radio” campus in Oulu, opened last year, is designed to centralize R&D and manufacturing around future network technologies. Meanwhile, the company’s Aurelis data center management platform reflects a broader push into software-defined infrastructure with lower power consumption and fewer hardware dependencies.

Kamux, Raisio and Outokumpu all reported first-quarter earnings today, with investors sending the Finnish used-car retailer sharply lower while lifting food products maker Raisio and pushing stainless steel producer Outokumpu slightly below the broader market. Kamux fell 5.5% in the afternoon, Outokumpu slipped 0.6% and Raisio gained 2.0%, compared with a 0.8% rise in the OMX Helsinki 25 index.

Kamux, the Finnish used-car retailer, reported an 11.8% drop in revenue to EUR 205.1 million in the January-March period as the number of cars sold declined 6.6% to 13,727 vehicles. Adjusted operating profit improved to a loss of EUR 1.0 million from a loss of EUR 1.9 million a year earlier, while gross profit per sold car rose 12.4% to EUR 1,386.

CEO Juha Kalliokoski said weak consumer confidence and higher energy and fuel costs continued to weigh on demand. “Competition remained fierce, and the purchasing market was also tight,” he said. Kamux maintained its guidance for adjusted operating profit to improve in 2026.

Raisio, the Finnish food products maker behind the Benecol and Elovena brands, posted improved profitability despite broadly flat sales. Comparable EBIT increased to EUR 7.5 million from EUR 6.1 million a year earlier, while comparable EBITDA rose to EUR 9.8 million from EUR 8.5 million. Net sales edged down 0.7% to EUR 57.5 million.

CEO Pasi Flinkman said the company had moved into “the phase of accelerating growth” after laying the groundwork last year. Growth in the Breakfast, Snacking & Food Solutions business, including an almost 11% increase in Elovena sales, supported earnings. Raisio reiterated its guidance for both net sales and comparable EBIT to increase in 2026.

Etteplan Board Chair Robert Ingman has made the company’s largest managerial share purchase in more than a year shortly after the engineering services group reported weakening profitability and a falling share price.

Two managers’ transactions published on May 11 show Ingman buying a combined 55,000 Etteplan shares on May 8 at €7.19 per share.

The larger purchase came through closely associated entity Ingman Group Oy Ab, which acquired 50,000 shares worth roughly €359,500. Ingman also directly purchased 5,000 shares worth about €36,000. Combined, the transactions totaled around €395,000.

The insider purchases suggest Ingman is willing to increase exposure while sentiment around the stock remains weak. At roughly €395,000, the May purchases are the company’s largest insider acquisition since February 2025, when Ingman Group Oy Ab acquired 90,000 shares at €10.625 per share in a transaction worth roughly €956,000.

The purchases substantially increase Ingman’s direct disclosed ownership in Etteplan. Management ownership data dated April 30 showed Robert Ingman holding 65,000 shares, equivalent to 0.26 percent of shares and votes, only second to CEO Juha Näkki.

Buying into weakness

The timing is notable. Etteplan shares are down roughly 16 percent year to date and traded at €7.80 this afternoon, close to the company’s 52-week low of €7.02.

One day before Ingman poured into the shares, Etteplan reported that its first-quarter revenue fell 4.6 percent year over year to €90.5 million, while EBITA declined 36.1 percent to €3.7 million. EBIT margin slipped to 2.4 percent from 4.4 percent a year earlier.

CEO Juha Näkki described market conditions as “very difficult,” citing geopolitical tensions, delayed customer decisions, and postponed industrial projects across most customer industries outside defense and energy.

Despite the slowdown, Etteplan continued investing in AI-related services. The company said the share of revenue derived from AI driven solutions rose to 6 percent in the quarter, up from 2 percent a year earlier.

Etteplan maintained its 2026 revenue guidance of €360 million to €380 million but narrowed its EBIT guidance to €19 million to €23 million, from the previous €19 million to €25 million range.

Nordea has lowered its growth outlook for Finland next year, warning that higher energy prices and rising interest rates are beginning to weigh on the recovery that appeared to strengthen earlier this year.

In January, the bank forecast Finnish GDP growth of 1 percent for 2026 and 2 percent for 2027, supported by recovering exports and stronger household consumption. In its updated outlook published yesterday, Nordea kept this year’s growth forecast unchanged at 1 percent but lowered next year’s estimate to 1.5 percent as geopolitical tensions and energy market disruptions cloud the outlook.

The revised forecast comes despite stronger than expected economic data in recent months. Finland’s economy expanded at the end of last year and continued growing during the first quarter as private consumption, industrial production, and investments improved.

“Card data from March and April suggest consumption has remained strong despite rising fuel prices and interest rates,” Nordea Economist Juho Kostiainen said in the bank’s related press release today.

Canatu is entering a new phase of growth. After a decade leading the Finnish carbon nanotube company, CEO Juha Kokkonen stepped down today as the board appointed Dr. Maximilian Slawinski as his successor, effective immediately.

The leadership transition, disclosed as inside information, marks the end of a transformative chapter for the Nasdaq First North Helsinki-listed deep tech company. Kokkonen will remain as an advisor through the end of 2026 to support the handover.

“Leading Canatu has been a privilege,” Kokkonen said in the company release. “When I joined in 2016, the company was a promising technology. Today, I am proud of what Canatu's highly talented team has achieved—growing revenue by nearly 100x, increasing the company's valuation tenfold, and especially establishing a leadership position in CNT pellicle membranes in these ten years.”

Under Kokkonen, Canatu evolved from an early-stage university spin-off into a commercial supplier serving semiconductor, automotive, and medical diagnostics markets. Its CNT pellicle membranes are now used in the EUV lithography process behind advanced AI chips, placing the company inside one of the world’s most strategically important technology supply chains.

From research project to AI infrastructure supplier

Chair Timo Ahopelto framed the achievement in unusually direct terms.

“I want to thank Juha for his exceptional contributions to Canatu, leading Canatu from a project capable of manufacturing a stamp sized CNT piece to a globally operating company that supplies a critical part of the AI enabling EUV chip process,” Ahopelto said.

The timing of the transition appears deliberate. At its Capital Markets Day in March, Canatu presented updated strategy targets extending to 2030 and refreshed its leadership structure for what it describes as the company’s scaling phase.

That next phase now falls to Slawinski, a German semiconductor executive whose background closely mirrors Canatu’s strategic priorities. He joins from French semiconductor materials company Soitec, where he led the automotive and industrial division. Earlier, he spent six years at German chip manufacturer Infineon Technologies in senior product and marketing leadership roles.

Ahopelto described the appointment as a strategic fit for an IP-driven materials company operating across semiconductors and automotive technology.

“He brings a rare blend of deep semiconductor expertise, understanding of IP-centered advanced materials platforms, and high clock speed of execution,” Ahopelto said.

Asset management companies paid the highest average salaries among companies listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange last year, according to a review of annual reports compiled by Kauppalehti Analyst Ari Rajala.

EQ topped the ranking with an average monthly salary of €13,681, followed by CapMan at €12,340 and Taaleri at €9,472, the report published today shows. The figures were calculated by dividing reported salary and compensation costs, including board remuneration, by average headcount. The dataset excludes companies with fewer than 50 employees.

The data highlight how scalable the wealth management business can be. Large pools of capital are often managed by relatively small teams, while performance-related compensation can significantly lift earnings in strong years.

At the other end of the ranking was electronics manufacturer Incap, where the average monthly salary stood at €717. Much of the company’s manufacturing workforce is based in India. Scanfil, another contract manufacturer with operations across Eastern Europe and Asia, reported an average monthly salary of €2,447.

Finnish energy and infrastructure company Enersense is handing its finances to someone who already knows where everything is buried.

Today Jan-Elof Cavander officially stepped into the CFO role after less than a year on the company’s board. The move is unusual in Finnish listed companies, where directors rarely cross directly into executive management unless ownership wants continuity and close control during a critical phase.

That appears to be exactly the case at Enersense.

Cavander arrives with a background built around financially demanding businesses. Before joining Enersense’s board in August 2025, he served as CFO at Purmo Group and Rapala VMC, overseeing international operations, investor communication, and balance sheet discipline. Most recently, he worked as COO at Virala Oy Ab, the parent company of Nidoco AB, one of Enersense’s largest shareholders.

The ownership connection is notable. Both Cavander and Chair Anders Dahlblom work at Virala, giving Enersense’s largest owner strong influence over both strategy and financial execution at a time when the company is shifting from restructuring to growth.

And the restructuring phase has been significant.

From turnaround to growth

Outgoing CFO Jyrki Paappa leaves behind a much stronger balance sheet than the one he inherited in 2024. By the end of Q1 2026, Enersense had improved its equity ratio to 34.8% while cutting net gearing to 36.8%, following divestments, refinancing measures, and a tighter strategic focus.

Now the company is turning outward again.

Just a day before Cavander officially started, Enersense raised its long-term growth target and sharpened its focus on electrification and data centers. The company’s order book climbed to a record EUR 413 million, driven by growing demand for grid infrastructure and energy-related projects across the Nordics.

For the new CFO, that creates a different kind of challenge.

The turnaround years were about stabilizing the company. The next phase is about turning a growing order book into profitable and cash-generative growth while managing long project cycles, supply chain delays, and working capital pressure.

The OMX Helsinki 25 index fell 1.2% over the past five trading days, as gains in industrial and software shares were outweighed by declines in energy and telecom names.

Tire manufacturer Nokian Tyres was the strongest performer in the index, rising 6.9% during the week as of this afternoon. The company recently reported first-quarter 2026 net sales of EUR 279.6 million, up 3.8% year over year, while operating profit improved significantly. CEO Paolo Pompei said the company achieved its fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth and reaffirmed its 2026 guidance.

Steelmaker SSAB gained 6.4%, while software company Qt Group advanced 6.1%. In April, Qt announced a broad operational reorganization aimed at improving efficiency and capturing acquisition synergies. The company expects annual cost savings of around EUR 20 million, fully realized by 2027.

Hiab climbed 5.9% after securing a EUR 37 million order in the United States for MOFFETT truck-mounted forklifts from a home-improvement-sector customer. Deliveries are expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026. Mining technology company Metso also posted a 4.1% gain.

Duell has confirmed Tomi Virtanen as permanent chief executive officer after a two-month interim period, concluding a leadership transition that began when Karl Magnus Miemois, former CEO, stepped down in March.

The decision comes during one of the toughest periods in Duell’s recent history. The Nordic powersports and cycling distributor reported a 6.6% decline in net sales during the first half of fiscal 2026 and lowered its full-year guidance, now expecting a 9% organic sales decline.

Virtanen only joined Duell in January as logistics director before stepping into the interim CEO role the day after Miemois announced his departure. Rather than recruiting an external turnaround specialist, the board promoted a leader already working inside the company’s operational core.

An operator, not an outsider

Duell’s biggest challenges are tied closely to inventory management, supply chains, and working capital efficiency, areas where Virtanen has built much of his career. He brings experience in international operations, aftermarket distribution, and distributor sales.

Anna Hyvönen, chair of the board, said Virtanen’s operational background and international experience provide “an excellent foundation” for strengthening the company and executing its strategy.

The new direction is already visible. In April, Duell established a dedicated Supply Chain organization focused on improving net working capital management, a move that carries clear signs of Virtanen’s influence. For distributors, inventory discipline often determines whether weak demand becomes manageable pressure or a prolonged financial problem.

Mandatum, the Finnish financial services group, rose 0.8% in the afternoon while Tokmanni Group, the Nordic discount retailer, plunged 16.5%, as investors reacted to sharply different first-quarter earnings reports against a 2.6% decline in the OMX Helsinki 25 index.

Mandatum reported a first-quarter pretax loss of EUR 25.9 million compared with a EUR 62 million profit a year earlier, mainly due to a EUR 36.2 million one-off negative impact from a change in discount rate assumptions. Excluding the accounting-related item, pretax profit totaled EUR 10.3 million.

The company’s capital-light pretax profit increased 35% to EUR 26.8 million, while fee result rose 10% to EUR 20.6 million as client assets under management climbed 10% to EUR 15.4 billion. CEO Petri Niemisvirta said the quarter was “successful despite the unstable environment,” citing strong net inflows and growth in private wealth management. Mandatum kept its 2026 outlook unchanged and still expects fee result growth this year.

Glaston Corporation is losing one of its longest-serving commercial leaders as Kimmo Kuusela, EVP sales & service for EMEA & APAC, departs after 21 years to join Robit Plc as VP sales & marketing. The move leaves Glaston with a leadership vacancy across two of its largest geographic markets during a period of weak industrial demand and extensive executive restructuring.

Robit said yesterday that Kuusela will join the mining technology company and its management team on August 24, 2026, with responsibility for global sales and marketing.

Glaston announced the departure yesterday but did not name a successor. Kuusela joined the company in 2005 and became a member of the executive leadership Team in May 2025, when he was appointed EVP sales & service for EMEA & APAC. His promotion came at the same time Joe Butler joined the management team as EVP sales & service for the Americas, while former Chief Sales Officer Sasu Koivumäki exited the leadership group.

The changes formed part of a broader restructuring period under President and CEO Miika Äppelqvist, who assumed the CEO role in 2025 and has since overseen a substantial reshaping of the executive team.

“I would like to warmly thank Kimmo for his contribution to Glaston’s development over many years and the many positions he has held in the company,” Äppelqvist said. “On behalf of all Glaston, I wish him success for the future.”

Finnish stocks traded near record levels this morning, with the OMX Helsinki 25 index rising 0.2% and hovering close to its all-time high, as investors rewarded strong earnings from sauna equipment maker Harvia and renewable materials group Stora Enso. 

Harvia surged more than 12%, outperforming the broader market, while Stora Enso gained over 4%. Pet care retailer Musti Group also edged higher, while Sanoma and Oma Savings Bank lagged the benchmark. These are some of the largest companies based on market cap that reported their first-quarter earnings today.

Harvia, which makes sauna and spa products, posted record first-quarter revenue of EUR 58.6 million, up 12.7% year-on-year and driven entirely by organic growth. Adjusted operating profit increased to EUR 12.9 million from EUR 11.9 million, with a margin of 22.0%. CEO Matias Järnefelt said healthy demand in North America and Northern Europe, combined with newer products, supported growth. The company said upgrades at its Muurame factory and IT systems could temporarily move EUR 3-5 million of deliveries into the third quarter.

Stora Enso, the packaging and renewable materials company, reported stable sales of EUR 2.36 billion in the first quarter, while adjusted EBIT fell 9% to EUR 159 million as the ramp-up of its Oulu consumer board line and foreign exchange effects weighed on profitability. CEO Hans Sohlström said the company continued to “drive performance through our own actions across operations, costs, commercial excellence, and procurement” despite weak demand and geopolitical uncertainty. Stora Enso reiterated that the Oulu line should reach full capacity during 2027.

Musti Group rose nearly 1% after reporting 15.6% revenue growth to EUR 138.5 million, helped by strong sales in Norway and the acquisition of Portuguese pet retailer ZU. Gross margin improved to 44%.

The OMX Helsinki 25 remained near record levels this morning as investors reacted positively to signs of a possible diplomatic breakthrough between the United States and Iran.

The index traded at 6,413 points after reaching a new high of 6,463.01 on Monday. The rally followed strong gains on Wall Street, where both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at record highs yesterday. The S&P 500 rose 1.5 percent, and the Nasdaq gained 2 percent, according to public broadcaster Yle.

Investor sentiment improved after reports that Washington and Tehran are discussing a framework agreement that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz and ease sanctions on Iran. Bloomberg reported that the proposal would reduce military tensions while broader negotiations continue. 

The prospect of lower geopolitical risk helped stabilize oil markets after weeks of volatility tied to fears of supply disruptions in the Middle East. Brent crude trades around $102 per barrel.

For Nordic investors, easing energy concerns and improving global sentiment are supporting a market rebound after several difficult years marked by inflation, higher interest rates, and weak industrial demand.

Leadership turnover among Finnish listed companies accelerated sharply in April, as AGM season pushed governance changes to their highest level of the year so far.

According to Listeds data, companies recorded 226 board and management changes during the month. Boards clearly dominated the activity. April included 168 board changes, consisting of 104 appointments and 64 departures. Management teams accounted for another 58 changes, with 33 appointments and 25 departures.

The contrast with the beginning of the year is striking. January recorded 73 total leadership changes, most of them within management teams. February activity then eased slightly to 65 changes, including only five board moves, largely because the AGM season had not yet started. March marked the turning point, with total activity jumping to 155 changes and boards overtaking management teams for the first time this year.

AGM season reshapes Finnish boardrooms

April took that governance shift much further.

Several companies carried out broad board renewals during the month. Apetit recorded five board appointments, continuing an active leadership cycle after strengthening management earlier this year with the appointment of Karl Vilhelm Beckman, CEO of Apetit Sweden, to the group management team. HKFoods and Honkarakenne each added four new board members. Alma Media, Atria, Nokia, Raisio, and UPM-Kymmene also logged multiple board appointments as shareholders approved refreshed governance structures.

Among the recurring names in April’s board reshuffles was Mammu Kaario, who appeared in the AGM season changes while continuing to hold five active board seats across Finnish listed companies, including Puuilo, CapMan, NoHo Partners, and Gofore. Kaario, former managing director of Partnera Oy (now known as Foamit Oyj) and a long-time finance and governance executive, has become one of Finland’s most visible professional board directors.

Anna Hyvönen also featured in the April data and currently holds board positions at Neste, Raute, and Duell, where she serves as chair. Hyvönen most recently worked at Nokian Tyres, where she held several senior leadership positions between 2016 and 2025, including executive vice president of passenger car tyres and Vianor. The prominence of both executives also highlights how a relatively concentrated group of experienced operators continues to shape governance across Finland’s listed market.

Helsinki-listed companies reporting first-quarter earnings traded mixed today against a firmer broader market, with the OMX Helsinki 25 index up 0.9% in the afternoon.

Private equity investor CapMan led gainers, climbing 7.2% after reporting a 22% increase in fee income to EUR 15.9 million and a 48% rise in fee profit to EUR 2.2 million. Assets under management remained stable at EUR 7.2 billion, while operating profit slipped to EUR 5.6 million from EUR 6.9 million a year earlier.

“We continue to deliver on our growth strategy,” CEO Pia Kåll said, citing fundraising momentum and expansion into European infrastructure debt.

Nordic property and casualty insurer Sampo outperformed the benchmark with a 3.3% rise after lifting its 2026 underwriting result outlook and launching a EUR 350 million share buyback program. Operating result rose 17% to EUR 347 million, while underwriting result increased 10% to EUR 368 million, and insurance revenue climbed 8% to EUR 2.36 billion. Reported net profit fell to a EUR 46 million loss due to market volatility.

Food company HKFoods also beat the OMX Helsinki 25, rising 1.4% after comparable EBIT improved 23.7% to EUR 5.7 million on stronger retail and food service sales. Net sales grew 3.8% to EUR 242.5 million, and the company maintained its guidance for comparable EBIT growth in 2026.

Minni Lempinen, former CFO of Endomines Plc, will join KH Group Plc as chief financial officer on Aug. 17, 2026, to help the company hone its focus on heavy machinery.

Lempinen succeeds Tommi Rötkin, who will leave the company by June 3 after serving as CFO for two years, while Pekka Raatikainen will act as interim CFO during the transition period, the owner of KH-Koneet announced today.

Lempinen joins KH Group as the Helsinki-listed company continues its strategic transformation from a private equity-focused firm into a heavy machinery-focused corporation. She was awarded the Future CFO of the Year 2025 by the Nordic Listed Leaders. She previously worked as group business controller at the mining company, auditor at Business Finland, and group finance manager at Solwers Plc.

“Minni brings strong experience and knowhow to KH Group as our company is on a strategic journey to transform from a stock listed private equity company to a corporation focusing on heavy machinery,” said CEO Carl Haglund, who joined KH Group last year.

Finland’s economic recovery is losing momentum after Swedbank lowered its 2026 GDP forecast from 1.2 percent to 0.9 percent, citing higher energy prices and weaker consumer confidence tied to the conflict in the Middle East.

The downgrade reflects what the bank describes as “a temporary interruption in the recovery” in its report published today. Inflation is now expected to reach 1.9 percent this year, 0.6 percentage points higher than Swedbank’s January forecast, as rising fuel and raw material costs spread through the economy. Consumer confidence weakened sharply in March and April, although sentiment among companies has remained relatively stable.

Despite the weaker outlook, Finland’s economy began the year on firmer footing than expected. Preliminary data showed GDP growing 0.9 percent in the first quarter compared with the previous quarter. Swedbank still expects domestic demand to support growth through 2026 and 2027.

Households are expected to regain some purchasing power as wages rise faster than inflation. Swedbank forecasts wage growth of 3.5 percent this year, helping offset higher living costs and supporting private consumption over time.

Four out of five Finnish companies expect their revenue to either grow or remain stable during the next six months, according to a new business survey by the Finland Chamber of Commerce.

The survey, conducted in April among 1,310 companies across Finland, found that 36 percent expect revenue growth while 45 percent expect turnover to remain unchanged. About 19 percent anticipate a decline, the business organization that represents Finnish companies wrote in a report published yesterday.

The findings were slightly weaker than in January’s survey, but still point to largely positive business expectations.

“The recovery has not been canceled,” said Jukka Appelqvist, chief economist at the central body for Finland’s regional chambers of commerce.

Companies also reported relatively positive expectations for order books and exports. Around 31 percent expect order volumes to increase over the next six months, while fewer than 19 percent foresee a decline.

Export expectations weakened somewhat compared with January, but remained strong overall. Nearly 32 percent of exporting companies expect exports to grow this year, while 13.5 percent predict a decline.

Markku Savusalo, VP of Digital Engineering at Siili Solutions, has been appointed interim CEO of Siili Solutions Plc, effective immediately, due to CEO Tomi Pienimäki's departure.

Savusalo takes over following the departure of Tomi Pienimäki, who has agreed with the board to step down after leading the company for four years. The board has initiated a process to appoint a permanent successor, as the company looks to advance its next phase focused on strategy execution, customer value creation, and international growth, Siili Solutions Plc announced today.

Jan Schroeder, an experienced mining and industrial technology sales executive, joins Robit Plc as vice president, Canada, effective May 4, 2026. He will lead the company’s sales development in the Canadian market, focusing on distributor partnerships, customer relationships, and growth initiatives.

The appointment comes as Robit strengthens its North American sales organization to support its broader growth strategy. At the same time, Michael Williams, VP North America, will shift his focus to driving sales development in the United States and Mexico, key growth markets from 2026 onward, Robit Plc, a manufacturer of drilling consumables, announced today.

Schroeder brings more than 20 years of global experience across mining, capital equipment, and industrial technology markets. He has led strategic market expansion efforts, built distributor networks, and driven aftermarket growth for major mining and construction companies.

“We want to invest significantly in growth in the large North American markets. This new appointment supports Robit’s strategic objective to strengthen its position as a global supplier of drilling consumables and lay the foundation for the next phase of development,” said Group CEO Mikko Kuusilehto.

Otava Oy acquired 700,000 Alma Media shares today for EUR 10.2 million, nudging its ownership past a critical threshold and solidifying its position as the Finnish media company’s largest shareholder.

The move follows regulatory approval from Finland’s Competition and Consumer Authority, clearing the way for Otava to move from a strong minority position to effective control. After the transaction, Otava holds just over 40 percent of Alma Media’s shares and voting rights, Alma Media’s bourse notice shows today.

The shift is notable when set against Otava’s position only weeks earlier. At the end of March, the company held 39.22 percent of Alma Media, equivalent to roughly 32.3 million shares. 

Otava’s Chief Executive, Alexander Lindholm, struck a careful tone in outlining the company’s intentions. In February, he described Alma Media as “well managed” and emphasized continuity, adding that Otava aims “to remain a long-term, significant shareholder.”

He also underlined that the goal is “to keep Alma Media independent” and “to preserve its status as a listed company,” pointing to the stability public markets provide for future growth.

Alma Media is a digital media and marketplace company operating in 10 European countries, with brands including Kauppalehti, Talouselämä, Iltalehti, Etuovi.com, and Nettiauto. In 2025, it generated €327 million in revenue, 86 percent from digital business, and is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki.

Aktia Bank, a Finnish financial services group, fell 5.6% to EUR 10.84 in the afternoon, sharply underperforming a 1.9% gain in the OMX Helsinki 25 benchmark, after first-quarter earnings were hit by weak life insurance income. Incap and Sunborn International, two other companies that revealed their early-year earnings today, also traded lower, down 1.6% and 3.6% respectively.

Aktia reported a comparable operating profit of EUR 18.7 million, down 35% year-on-year, as net income from life insurance dropped 84% to EUR 1.1 million due to negative market value changes linked to geopolitical tensions, rising long-term interest rates, and falling equity markets. Net interest income declined 9% to EUR 32.0 million, while net commission income rose 5% to EUR 32.3 million, supported by asset management. 

CEO Anssi Huhta said market volatility, particularly in life insurance investments, weighed heavily on results, though underlying operations remained stable and broadly in line with expectations. Aktia expects its 2026 comparable operating profit to remain roughly in line with 2025.

The European Central Bank is expected to leave interest rates unchanged today, maintaining its deposit rate at 2 percent, after similar restraint shown by the Fed yesterday amid surging oil prices.

Policymakers are assessing the economic effects of the Iran war, with a focus on medium-term impacts rather than immediate energy price movements. President Christine Lagarde has pointed to the “double uncertainty” around how long the shock will last and how strongly it will pass through to inflation, Bloomberg reported today.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect the ECB to begin raising rates later this year, with a quarter-point increase projected for June and additional moves priced in by markets.

Ville Mansikkamäki, former VP, Europe at Ponsse Plc, joins Nokian Tyres as senior vice president, heavy tyres, and a member of the management team on October 1, 2026. 

Mansikkamäki succeeds Tron Gulbrandsen, who has led the heavy tyres unit on an interim basis alongside his role as SVP, passenger car tyres, Nordics, Nokian Tyres announced yesterday. 

Mansikkamäki brings broad machinery industry experience, having held senior roles at CNH Industrial, Valtra, and AGCO. In his new role, he will be based in Nokia, Finland, reporting to President and CEO Paolo Pompei. 

Besides this appointment, Nokian Tyres has made one management team addition this year, naming Timo Koponen CFO two weeks ago, based on Listeds data.

Neste and Kesko rose after earnings today, outperforming a slightly weaker OMX Helsinki 25 benchmark, while Konecranes and Kone declined sharply despite broadly solid quarterly updates.

The OMX Helsinki 25 index was down 0.2% in afternoon trading. Against that backdrop, Neste, the renewable fuels and oil refining company, jumped 5.6%, the strongest move among the group of large caps. Kesko, the retail operator, gained 2%. In contrast, Konecranes, which makes material handling equipment, dropped 9.8%, while Kone, the elevator and escalator manufacturer, fell 4.4%. Fortum, the Nordic energy company, slipped 2%, and UPM-Kymmene, the materials solutions provider, was broadly flat.

Neste’s rally followed a sharp improvement in profitability, with comparable EBITDA surging to EUR 861 million from EUR 210 million and net profit reaching EUR 533 million from a loss a year ago. The jump was driven by soaring product prices and volatility tied to the Middle East conflict, alongside gains from its performance program.

Fortum posted solid growth but still trailed the market, with comparable EBITDA rising to EUR 600 million from EUR 538 million and operating profit climbing to EUR 536 million. Higher power prices and generation volumes supported results, even as cash flow declined.

The idea that Europe is regulating itself out of competitiveness has become a familiar refrain. It surfaces in policy debates and boardrooms alike, often as a simple explanation for why the continent lags behind the United States in technology. But according to Anu Bradford, Henry L. Moses Professor of Law and International Organization at Columbia Law School, that diagnosis misses the point.

“The debate about digital regulation is a sideshow to the main problems underlying Europe’s technical system.”

Bradford does not dismiss the importance of competitiveness. On the contrary, she frames it as fundamental. “There’s no security without prosperity. Europe needs more economic growth, and technology is key to that.”

But focusing on regulation, she argues, risks distracting from deeper structural constraints that have shaped Europe’s tech ecosystem for years.

A fragmented market at home

The most immediate of these constraints is internal fragmentation. Despite decades of integration, Europe remains far from a seamless market.

“There’s no true digital single market in Europe. We still have a very fragmented marketplace.” For companies, this makes scaling fundamentally different from the United States. Instead of expanding within one large market, European firms must navigate many.

“European tech companies have to scale across 27 different markets, with different languages, consumer preferences, and regulatory fragmentation.”

The cost of this fragmentation is not abstract. “If you translate those internal barriers into tariff equivalents, it’s about 60% for goods and close to 100% for services.”

These are not formal tariffs, but they illustrate how difficult it is to operate across Europe as if it were a single market.

Why scaling remains difficult

Bradford zeroes in on four issues that explain why this competitiveness problem persists: market fragmentation, capital, risk culture, and talent.

She has already pointed to fragmentation as a core constraint. Capital is another. “European companies do well in early funding rounds, but when they need larger amounts of capital, they often turn to US investors or get acquired.”

Risk culture also plays a role. “In Europe, if you fail, you’re often done. It’s very hard to raise money again.”

She contrasts this with the United States. “In the US, failure is part of the model. After bankruptcy, investors may still back you if you’re working on something ambitious.”

Talent flows reinforce the gap. “Europe is losing talent to the US, where the capital, top universities, and concentration of talent are.”

Taken together, these factors describe a system where innovation exists, but scaling remains constrained.

Anu Bradford is the Henry L. Moses professor of law and international organization at Columbia Law School and director of its European Legal Studies Center. Her research focuses on international trade law, EU law, and antitrust.

A world without a dominant model

The global environment is also shifting. The expectation that one model of technology governance will prevail is fading.

“There won’t be a single regulatory model that becomes global.” Bradford explores this dynamic in Digital Empires, where she outlines competing American, Chinese, and European approaches to regulating technology.

In the interview, she notes that each model faces its own pressures. “They’re all having a moment, but also facing headwinds.”

The result is not convergence, but coexistence.

The rise of tech sovereignty

For companies, this fragmentation is already reshaping strategy.

“Tech companies are now expected to offer sovereign solutions, where governments retain control over data and operations.”

Meeting those expectations often requires duplication. “That means replicating infrastructure, like building data centers in different parts of the world.”

Global operations are becoming less uniform and more complex, as firms adapt to political and regulatory demands.

Finnish software company Tieto, formerly known as Tietoevry, has looked within and found two interim managing directors for its business units, signaling the first executive appointments this year.

Johan Enger Nygaard, former managing director of Tieto Indtech, joins Tieto Tech Consulting as interim managing director on May 1, 2026, to accelerate the unit’s strategic transformation and performance uplift, while Bent Philipps steps in as interim managing director of Tieto Indtech effective the same date. Nygaard succeeds Pär Johansson, who will pursue opportunities outside the company, the software and digital engineering services company announced today.

Tieto operates through specialized software businesses—Tieto Caretech, Banktech, and Indtech—delivering industry-specific solutions, alongside its Tech Consulting unit, which provides advisory and implementation services across data, cloud, and AI. In the first quarter of 2026, the company reported revenue of EUR 448.3 million, down 3% organically, while adjusted EBITA margin improved to 14.7% from 10.6%, supported by strong performance in software businesses despite weaker consulting markets.

After recording as many as nine management team additions last year, the latest moves mark the first appointments this year, based on Listeds data.

Kone has agreed to combine with Germany-based rival TK Elevator in a cash and share transaction that would create one of the world’s largest elevator and escalator companies.

According to Kone’s stock exchange release today, the combined group would generate around €20.5 billion in annual sales and more than €2.7 billion in adjusted EBIT, based on the latest financial year. Around 65 percent of revenue would come from service and modernization activities.

The total transaction value is about €29.4 billion, including debt. Finnish public broadcaster Yle reports that the deal would be Finland’s largest corporate transaction to date.

Under the agreement, Kone will acquire TK Elevator through its holding structure. The sellers, a consortium led by Advent and Cinven, will receive €5 billion in cash and up to 270 million newly issued Kone class B shares. Following completion, they would hold roughly 33.8 percent of Kone’s shares and 18.3 percent of voting rights.

Leadership of the combined company will remain with Kone. Philippe Delorme will continue as CEO, Ilkka Hara as CFO, and Antti Herlin as chairman. Herlin is expected to retain over 50 percent of voting rights, ensuring control.

Tamara de Gruyter, former president of Wärtsilä energy storage, joins Kalmar Corporation as president of services on September 1, 2026, replacing a long-term executive after a record of logged orders.

She will also become a member of the Kalmar leadership team, reporting to President and CEO Sami Niiranen. De Gruyter succeeds Thomas Malmborg, who will step down after more than 36 years with the company and remain until year-end to support the transition, Kalmar Corporation announced today.

In the role, de Gruyter will lead Kalmar’s global services operations and drive its transition toward a more service-driven business model, overseeing the full lifecycle of the company’s service portfolio. De Gruyter brings almost three decades of experience from Wärtsilä, where she most recently led the energy storage business. 

Kalmar Corporation, a Finland-based provider of material handling equipment and services for ports, terminals, and logistics operations, was formed following the partial demerger of Cargotec in June 2024 and listed on Nasdaq Helsinki in July 2024. The company reported 2025 sales of €1.74 billion, with comparable operating profit of €223 million and a margin of 12.8%, alongside record order intake of €1.82 billion.

“We are excited to welcome Tamara,” said CEO Sami Niiranen, citing her track record in transformational leadership. De Gruyter added that she looks forward to accelerating Kalmar’s services growth journey and delivering stronger customer value.

Tuuli Kiiski, former HR director at vehicle repair network Suvia Group, joins Kamux as chief people officer and a member of the group management team by August 1, 2026, at the latest.

Kiiski will be based in Espoo and report to CEO Juha Kalliokoski. She will oversee human resources, including payroll and occupational health and safety, supporting Kamux’s focus on employee engagement and harmonized ways of working across its markets, Kamux Corporation announced today.

This marks the second 2026 addition to the management team after the appointment of Niklas Eriksson as the managing director of Kamux Sweden, based on Listeds data. The Finnish retail chain specializing in used cars reported declining revenue in 2025 and profitability amid a challenging market, although operating cash flow remained strong.

Finland’s strained public finances leave little room for error. For Youssef Zad, that makes one thing clear. Growth funding needs to be far more deliberate.

“We are operating within very tight constraints,” says Zad, who recently moved from the startup world into politics. “That means we have to be extremely deliberate about where we allocate resources for growth.”

Earlier this month, Zad moved from chief economist at the Finnish Startup Community to a one-year economist position within the Social Democratic Parliamentary Group. The shift brings him closer to policymaking, even if indirectly. “I don’t hold decision-making power myself,” he notes, “but I now have a more direct channel to contribute ideas that shape policy.”

Capital is more pressing than talent in scaling phase

If one constraint stands out in his thinking, it is capital, though not at the expense of talent. “Talent is a challenge, but it is manageable through policy,” he explains, pointing to immigration and tax incentives. “The more pressing issue is access to capital.”

He notes that the United States has built much of its innovation capacity on the back of highly skilled immigration, a model Europe could draw from. In that sense, the talent question is solvable. Capital, however, becomes decisive as companies scale. “Competing with the scale of investment in the United States is difficult, and Europe needs stronger local funding mechanisms.”

Before his latest appointment, Zad served the Finnish Startup Community first as an economist and later as chief economist for four years. Photo provided by Zad.

That perspective reflects his background in the startup ecosystem, where access to funding often determines whether ideas scale. The move into politics, however, has changed the pace of decision-making. “The biggest change is the pace of work,” he says. In the startup world, there is time to analyze and reflect. In politics, decisions move quickly. “You have to respond in real time, often without the luxury of deep background work.”

The shift itself is less ideological than it might appear. “Founders tend to be pragmatic. They are willing to work with any party that brings forward good ideas.” His own path followed a similar logic. “This wasn’t a predetermined choice. It evolved over time through collaboration and dialogue.”

Helsinki-listed steelmaker SSAB’s shares rose about 1 percent on Tuesday afternoon, outperforming the OMX Helsinki 25 index, which was down roughly 0.6 percent. The rest of the reporting companies declined more than the broader market after releasing first-quarter results.

SSAB bucked the downward trend after reporting an operating profit of SEK 2.2 billion (EUR 203.2 million), up from SEK 1.35 billion a year earlier, driven by stronger performance in its Europe and Americas divisions. “The shipments of advanced steels were at a good level in the first quarter,” the Swedish company said, pointing to its focus on higher margin products.

Bank of Åland shares fell around 2 percent. Net operating profit decreased 6 percent to EUR 17.2 million, while return on equity remained above its long-term target. The bank said it delivered “good results in a world marked by rising geopolitical turbulence and increasing uncertainty,” with higher commission income partly offsetting lower net interest income.

Wärtsilä, which provides technology and lifecycle solutions for marine and energy markets, and construction group YIT both dropped just over 5 percent. Wärtsilä reported a 10 percent increase in order intake to EUR 2.1 billion and a 16 percent rise in comparable operating profit to EUR 199 million, supported by growth in energy and marine equipment. Chief executive Håkan Agnevall said the company saw “a strong start to the year in Marine and Energy,” although cash flow weakened due to higher working capital.

YIT reported an operating loss of EUR 18 million, compared with a profit a year earlier, with results impacted by negative fair value changes and restructuring costs despite stable revenue.

Kati Kaksonen, vice president, investor relations & sustainability at private clinic operator Terveystalo Plc, joins office pod producer Framery Plc as investor relations director in July 2026.

She will report to CFO Lauri Isotalo and lead the company’s investor relations efforts as it continues to expand globally, Framery announced yesterday. 

Kaksonen brings extensive experience from guiding Terveystalo’s investor relations since its 2017 IPO, as well as more than a decade at Finnair, where she most recently served as investor relations officer. 

A group of Finnish listed companies reporting interim earnings on Monday saw varied share price reactions, diverging from the broader Helsinki market, which rose 0.4% in the afternoon.

Framery, which produces soundproof office pods, surged 15.4% to EUR 7.73. Revenue remained at EUR 58.4 million, while earnings per share increased to EUR 0.13. CEO Samu Hällfors said, “Organic growth in the first quarter, excluding our largest customer, was an excellent 15.2%.” Framery is doubling down on building its first factory in the US this year to serve the North American market.

Kreate, an infrastructure construction company, gained 9.4% to EUR 18.65. Revenue increased to EUR 97.6 million from EUR 52.4 million, marking a record quarterly revenue, while its order backlog rose to EUR 689.0 million, also a record level. CEO Timo Vikström said this represents “an entirely new level in the company’s history.” 

Wulff, which provides workplace services and office supplies, rose 6.4% to EUR 3.47. Net sales grew 16.0% to EUR 31.5 million, and comparable operating profit increased to EUR 0.9 million. CEO Elina Rahkonen said the comparable operating profit more than doubled.

Nordic wealth manager Evli Plc has formed a new role to strengthen its global outreach and appointed Kaisa Paatsola, former head of Finnish business and client operations at Fidelity International, as the head of international business today.

The appointment underscores Evli’s push to expand its global footprint and deepen relationships with institutional investors, with Paatsola tasked with strengthening and scaling international operations. The role is central to building on the firm’s presence across more than 14 countries, where international clients already account for a significant share of assets, the company announced today.

AI-focused ETFs' recent surge highlights both strong returns and a concentration in companies developing the technology, according to Kauppalehti's analysis of three major AI-oriented investment funds.

The Global X AI UCITS ETF delivered returns of up to 50 percent over the past year. The fund focuses on companies building AI systems, with a large share of its holdings in electronics and semiconductor firms. Its total market value has reached around 6.8 billion dollars.

A comparable fund, Xtrackers AI and Big Data ETF, returned 44.3 percent during the same period. In addition to AI developers, it includes companies involved in Big Data and cybersecurity. The fund’s market value stands at around 5.7 billion euros.

Both funds share similar top holdings, including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, though their weightings differ. Samsung accounts for more than seven percent of the Xtrackers fund, while Global X distributes its holdings more evenly. Across the funds reviewed, US companies make up more than 60 percent of total assets.

S&P Global Ratings has revised Finland’s credit outlook from stable to negative while affirming its AA+ rating, the second highest on its scale, the finance ministry announced recently.

The American credit rating agency cited persistent risks to public finances driven by low economic growth, an aging population, and rising defense and interest costs. It also noted significant spending pressures that limit the impact of the government’s adjustment measures and warned that public debt may continue to rise between 2026 and 2029.

A negative outlook signals that a downgrade is possible if economic and fiscal conditions do not improve. In practice, this can raise borrowing costs for the government and ripple through to the wider economy.

Finance Minister Riikka Purra said the decision was expected. “Unfortunately, Finland’s figures have made it quite clear that this was coming. Our economic growth has been slower than we expected, and the crisis in the Middle East is the latest bad news,” she said.

S&P said policymakers will need to advance fiscal adjustments while supporting economic activity, while also managing the effects of higher energy prices linked to geopolitical tensions.

Purra emphasized that reforms are underway. “The Government has implemented significant growth measures and structural reforms. Naturally, it is a pity that these measures are not having a visible effect at the moment, but they will boost our economy moving forward,” she said.

Thomas Ekström, chief financial officer of Relais Group, will step down from his role and the group management team no later than October 2026 after more than three years of service to pursue opportunities outside the company.

Ekström’s departure comes after a period in which he supported the company through significant growth and development, and the process to appoint a successor will begin immediately, the Finland-based serial acquirer announced today. 

Since Relais appointed its new Swedish CEO, Christian Gebauer, in January, it has added three management team members amid its expansion strategy in the vehicle aftermarket, according to Listeds data. The company reported net sales of EUR 383.4 million in 2025 and has operations across eight countries, employing approximately 1,700 people.

“I would like to thank Thomas for his strong commitment and valuable contribution to Relais Group,” said CEO Christian Gebauer. “During his time with the company, he has supported the Group in an important phase of growth and development. I wish him all the best for the future.”

Helsinki stocks were broadly mixed over the past week, with energy and industrial names leading gains while tech and chemicals lagged on the OMX Helsinki 25.

Neste stood out among the top performers, climbing about 12% over five days as oil prices kept rising amid the prolonged Iran War. Cargo-handling equipment maker Hiab followed with a roughly 9% gain, supported by its latest quarterly update showing a 7% rise in organic orders, a growing order book, and a solid 13.5% comparable operating margin. 

Tire maker Nokian Renkaat rose over 7%, after reporting higher sales across all regions and a sharp improvement in operating profit, driven by better pricing and lower costs as its turnaround strategy gains traction. Engineering group Wärtsilä, known for marine and energy solutions, added nearly 6%, and telecom giant Nokia gained about 5%. 

Finnish equities have delivered an unexpected performance, and Timo Heikkilä, a co-founder of investment information platform Sijoittaja.fi, sets out to explain the reasons behind the rally in a new column. 

The OMX Helsinki 25 index returned 35.2 percent in 2025, outpacing Europe’s 25.8 percent and far exceeding the 3 percent achieved by US equities in euro terms, Heikkilä wrote in a column for Arvo today.

The strength is striking because it runs counter to the domestic backdrop. Finland’s economy has struggled for four consecutive years, with unemployment among the highest in Europe. Yet equity markets, as Heikkilä reminds readers, rarely move in lockstep with the real economy.

Part of the explanation lies in timing. Helsinki’s stock market endured a prolonged decline beginning in late 2021, creating a low base from which the recent rally could build. “When you rebound from the bottom, percentage returns look strong,” Heikkilä writes. In relative terms, Finnish equities had also lagged global peers for years, making a period of catch-up almost inevitable.

Hiab, Vaisala, and Telia moved higher after today’s first-quarter earnings, while Kemira and Terveystalo declined, underscoring a split market reaction across Nordic listed companies.

Hiab, which provides load handling equipment and services for logistics and construction, led the group with a 10.3 percent gain in the afternoon. Orders increased 7 percent organically to EUR 402 million, and the order book expanded, even as sales fell 7 percent. Comparable operating profit margin improved sequentially to 13.5 percent, suggesting some stabilization in profitability despite lower volumes.

Vaisala, a measurement technology company serving industries such as weather, energy, and data centers, followed with a 3.4 percent rise. Orders grew 5 percent, and net sales increased slightly. Profitability remained steady, with an EBITA margin of 15.1 percent. Growth was supported by its industrial measurements segment, while other business areas were more stable.

Helsinki-listed telecom operator Telia gained 3.1 percent. Revenue remained flat at SEK 20.0 billion, but service revenue increased 2.1 percent. Adjusted EBITDA rose 4.0 percent, and net income more than doubled year over year to SEK 1.8 billion. The results point to improved profitability alongside limited top-line growth.

Global artificial intelligence sentiment received a booster shot as struggling American chipmaker Intel reported a better-than-expected sales forecast.

California-based Intel, which surged almost 25% higher in pre-market trading, revealed a sales forecast of $13.8 billion to $14.8 billion in the June quarter, exceeding Wall Street expectations of $13 billion, Bloomberg reported last night.

Even Finland’s OMX Helsinki 25 index rose 0.83% to 6,271.70 in morning trading despite no direct impact from Intel’s projected expanding sales.

Global investors welcomed the chipmaker’s comeback after a multi-year decline in profitability, which made it even post a net loss in 2025 despite the booming AI industry. The expected reversal uplifted even other semiconductor companies, such as Taiwan-based TSMC, which jumped over 7% amid the festive sentiment today.

Electricity prices in Finland are expected to remain moderate through the rest of the year, offering a more predictable outlook after a volatile winter, according to Talouselämä.

Futures-based estimates suggest prices will stay below six cents per kilowatt hour during the summer, before rising gradually. In the final quarter, the average is forecast to peak at around 8.09 cents, the financial magazine wrote today.

This follows a sharp correction earlier in the year. In January and February, average prices reached 14.72 and 17.22 cents per kilowatt hour. Warmer weather then reduced demand, pushing March down to 3.49 cents. More recently, prices have stabilized, with the past week averaging 9.16 cents and the 30-day average at 6.17 cents.

Demand, however, is clearly rising. Electrification and the expansion of data centers are adding sustained pressure on the system and reshaping consumption patterns.

A busy earnings day in Helsinki saw major names such as Nokia and Orion report first-quarter results, with markets delivering a mixed verdict across sectors.

Nokia stood out as the clear winner, its shares rising 10.7 percent to EUR 9.42 in the afternoon after results that combined modest growth with a sharp improvement in margins. The move had a broader consequence. With a market value of roughly EUR 54 billion, Nokia overtook Nordea Bank to become the largest company listed in Helsinki. Nordea’s shares slipped today after yesterday’s earnings release.

Investors appear to have focused less on Nokia’s 4 percent comparable revenue growth and more on the acceleration in AI and cloud demand, which management highlighted as a key driver.

Behind Nokia, Fiskars delivered a quieter but still notable gain, with the stock up 5.4 percent to EUR 13.20. The market response suggests that investors welcomed improving cash flow and signs of progress in restructuring its Vita segment, even as comparable EBIT declined slightly.

Atria also moved higher, rising 2.9 percent to EUR 18.00, continuing the trend of defensive consumer names holding up relatively well during the session.

Tallink Grupp’s shares edged up just 0.5 percent to EUR 0.63. Its earnings showed improving volumes and a return to positive EBITDA, but losses remain substantial, leaving investors cautious.

Wärtsilä has promoted Magdalena Granö, project management director in Wärtsilä’s marine business, to CEO of Wärtsilä Finland Oy, effective May 1, 2026. She will continue in her current role alongside the new position.

Wärtsilä Finland Oy, the Finnish subsidiary of Wärtsilä, announced today that Granö succeeds Hannu Mäntymaa, who will transition to global sales director for the marine business, the Finland-based provider of technologies and lifecycle solutions for the marine and energy sectors announced today.

This marks the second management team hire at Wärtsilä this year, besides legal expert Nora Steiner-Forsberg, according to Listeds data. 

Wärtsilä, which has more than doubled its share price in the past 12 months, reported a 16% increase in operating result last year. It expects improving demand in its Energy and Energy Storage segments, while Marine demand is projected to remain stable over the next 12 months, per its 2025 earnings bulletin.

Evli and OP are leading the pack of Finland-focused equity funds, even as their portfolios closely resemble those of their competitors, Kauppalehti reported today.

Evli Suomi Select and OP Suomi delivered over 25 percent returns over the past year, placing them at the top of the rankings, based on the March report by Suomen Sijoitustutkimus Oy. Close behind are funds from Säästöpankki and POP, while players like Eq Suomi lag, despite holding many of the same names.

The largest holdings of Finland-focused equity funds are largely the same large companies, so the differences in returns mainly arise from how portfolio managers weight individual stocks, the report revealed.

Wärtsilä offers a clear example. It is a top holding in both Evli and OP funds and has rallied strongly, helping explain their lead. Nokia and Nordea, also widely held, have supported returns across most portfolios. The real divergence begins just below these core holdings, where managers take different views on position sizes and secondary bets.

It is becoming increasingly clear that interest rates could rise as inflation pressures build, Kauppalehti reported today, citing Nordea CEO Frank Vang-Jensen, who points to energy markets and geopolitical tensions as key drivers.

His remarks add a more explicit macro view to Nordea’s first-quarter earnings release, which remained more restrained. The bank noted that markets were affected by “unexpected sharp increases in EUR and SEK interest rate expectations,” which “led to exceptional losses across certain desks.” 

“However, it is very difficult to say how much and how quickly interest rates will rise. Energy consumption is such a central part of the production of many goods and services, so changes in energy prices spread more widely across society, and then inflation accelerates and interest rates rise,” Vang-Jensen told Kauppalehti. “This has a negative impact on economic growth globally and also in the Nordic countries.” 

At the same time, uncertainty remains elevated. The pace and scale of rate increases will depend on how the geopolitical situation evolves and how persistent the energy shock proves to be. 

Earnings day in Helsinki produced a mixed pattern. The index moved little, but individual stocks told very different stories. The OMX Helsinki 25 edged lower, even as sharp post-result moves highlighted where investors see momentum.

The strongest reaction came from Digital Workforce Services. The software company rose roughly 9 percent in the afternoon, making it the day’s clear outperformer. CEO Jussi Vasama said in the financial statement: “In the first quarter of 2026, we reached a 45 % revenue growth leap, resulting from both organic growth and the acquisition of October 2025,” referring to the acquisition of UK-based healthcare company e18 Consulting.

Nokian Renkaat followed. The tire maker initially surged more than six percent before settling around a 2 to 3 percent gain. CEO Paolo Pompei said: “Nokian Tyres increased net sales across all regions, while operating profit improved significantly. This marked the fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year improvement in both sales and operating profit, demonstrating that our disciplined strategy execution is delivering tangible results.”

Aktia Bank Plc is reorganizing its executive committee and business structure, splitting its banking operations into private and corporate segments and integrating group business support functions into core operations.

Part of the changes, Karin Rekola and Ilari Abdeen will join the leadership team in new executive vice president roles effective May 1, 2026, and by September 1, 2026, respectively, the Finnish lender announced today.

Rekola, who has held profit-and-loss leadership roles at Aktia since 2021, has been appointed EVP of private customer business and executive committee member. Moreover, Abdeen, former CEO of Kivra Oy, will become EVP of corporate customers and a member of the committee.

The announcement signals the first 2026 management team additions for the provider of banking, asset management and life insurance services, based on Listeds data.

Two Finnish defense technology companies are quietly exploring stock market listings in Helsinki, underscoring how Europe’s shifting security priorities are reshaping both industry and capital markets.

Savox Communications and Varjo Technologies have begun early discussions with investors about potential initial public offerings, Bloomberg reported yesterday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Savox, which produces communication systems for defense and emergency services, is reportedly considering a listing that could raise around €100 million. Varjo, known for its advanced virtual reality headsets used in military training, may pursue a smaller offering. 

Kauppalehti disclosed more financial details of the startups. Varjo remains in a growth phase, with revenue of €19.5 million in 2024 and an operating loss of €12.3 million, employing 192 people. Savox, by contrast, appears more established, generating €52.1 million in revenue and €5.9 million in operating profit with a workforce of 278.

Juha Kauppinen, former CFO and COO of Sanoma Media Finland, joins Olvi Oyj as chief financial and information officer during the third quarter of 2026.

Kauppinen will also become a member of the group executive team, overseeing finance, IT, funding, and reporting, and contributing to strategy development. He will report to CEO Patrik Lundell, the Finnish beverage company announced today.

Olvi reported net sales of EUR 665.3 million in 2025, with operating profit reaching EUR 81.8 million, reflecting stable performance despite challenging market conditions. The group is focused on integrating recent acquisitions and driving growth across both alcoholic and non-alcoholic categories in 2026.

Kristiina Simola, chief financial officer of Digia Plc since 2017, will leave the company by the end of October 2026 to pursue a career as a board professional.

Simola will remain in her role until her departure to ensure a smooth transition, as Digia has begun the search for her successor, the consulting, software, and services company announced today.

The next CFO is slated to become the first management team hire since 2024, according to Listeds data.

The leadership change comes as the company continues strategy-aligned growth investments and advances its 2026–2028 plan to expand across Europe through organic growth and acquisitions. Digia also recently reported 2025 net sales of EUR 217.0 million, with continued profitable growth and a strong fourth quarter performance, including double-digit revenue growth and improved margins. 

A new ranking of Helsinki-listed companies shows that quality is abundant, but attractively priced quality is not. 

Arvopaperi Analyst Ari Rajala’s latest quality screen puts asset manager United Bankers first with 236 points, followed by electronics manufacturer Incap at 238, drugmaker Orion at 248, investment company Alexandria at 259, and marine and energy equipment maker Wärtsilä at 260, according to a report released today.

The methodology is deliberately structured and long-term. It evaluates companies across seven criteria that measure profitability, financial risk, growth, and the consistency of earnings. Key inputs include return on equity over a 10-year median, net debt to equity, revenue and earnings growth, and earnings volatility, measured through a coefficient of variation. 

“The framework is built on three pillars: profitability, safety, and earnings quality,” Rajala says. “Together they define a company’s financial strength.” Stability plays a central role. “A stable and predictable earnings profile signals a structural competitive advantage,” he adds.

The top candidate, United Bankers, illustrates this well. The asset manager combines high returns on capital with steady growth and relatively low risk. Its capital light model, focused on wealth management and fee-based services, allows it to scale without tying up significant balance sheet resources. This efficiency translates into consistently strong returns on equity.

Incap, ranked second, stands out for its exceptional profitability. The electronics contract manufacturer has delivered unusually strong margins, reflecting operational efficiency and a focused production model. However, forecasts suggest some normalization in return on equity in the coming years, which tempers the overall picture.

Orion, in third place, represents a different kind of quality. The pharmaceutical company combines high profitability with modest leverage and steady earnings development. The nature of the industry supports predictability, but much of this stability is already reflected in a relatively high valuation.

Jan-Elof Cavander, former chief operating officer of industrial group Virala Oy, who was part of Enersense International’s board until now, joins Enersense as its chief financial officer on May 8, 2026.

Cavander will also become a member of the group leadership team, while stepping down from Enersense’s board of directors, where he has served since August 2025. The board will continue with four members, the Finnish provider of energy and infrastructure services announced today.

His appointment follows the planned departure of current CFO Jyrki Paappa, who will leave after a handover period in May 2026, after leading a financial turnaround. 

Enersense’s turnaround progressed in 2025, with full-year revenue of EUR 306.9 million and EBITDA of EUR 25.3 million, while operating profit reached EUR 16.4 million, compared with a loss a year earlier. The company’s order book grew to EUR 392 million at year-end, supported by divestments of non-core businesses and efficiency improvements under its Value Uplift program. 

The CFO appointment follows several leadership updates in 2026, including hires across energy transition, HR, and communications functions, Listeds data show.

Cavander brings extensive financial leadership experience, having previously served as CFO of Purmo Group and CFO of Rapala VMC. “I am happy to join Enersense as CFO. Having served as a Board member, I already know the company. I am convinced that with our lifecycle partner strategy, we can create profitable growth and generate shareholder value,” he said.

Stocks on the OMX Helsinki 25 posted modest gains over the past week, with the index rising about 1.3% over five days, signaling a relatively stable market environment.

Qt Group, which develops software tools for cross-platform applications, led the winners with a sharp gain of over 18%. Interestingly, Arvopaperi reported today that Qt Group is also the most shorted stock in Helsinki at the moment. 

Nokia, the telecommunications equipment provider, climbed more than 7% in the past week despite a weaker-than-expected earnings of its Swedish rival Ericsson today. Steel producer SSAB advanced around 5%, while Kone, known for its elevators and escalators, gained roughly 3.5%. IT services company Tieto also edged higher, rounding out a strong week for technology and industrial names.

On the losing side, energy companies faced notable pressure. Neste, a producer of renewable fuels that has been feeling the brunt of the rising oil prices amid the Iran War, fell about 9%, making it the weakest performer of the week. Utility group Fortum declined over 7%, reflecting broader softness in the energy sector. Chemical company Kemira dropped more than 3%, while Hiab, which provides load-handling equipment, slipped about 2.4%. Telecom operator Elisa also saw a modest decline of around 2.4%.

Overall, the week showed a clear split in the Helsinki market, with investors favoring technology and industrial stocks while moving away from energy-related names.

Short sellers are circling a select group of Helsinki-listed companies, even as the broader market has climbed, while one name stands above all others.

Public data show at least 14 companies with disclosed short positions above the 0.5 percent reporting threshold, offering a window into where institutional skepticism is concentrated, Arvopaperi reported today, citing data platform Holdings.

Qt Group, the developer of software tools such as Qt Creator and Qt Design Studio, stands out. Short interest has surged from just over 3 percent to 9.46 percent of shares outstanding within months. At the same time, 11 separate investors have disclosed positions, an unusually high figure in the Finnish market. Roughly 8.19 percent of Qt’s shares are also on loan, reinforcing the scale of bearish positioning.

Qt Group’s 2025 earnings weakened despite modest top-line growth, with net sales increasing 3.5 percent to €216.3 million while EBITA fell to €51.8 million, reducing margins to 24.0 percent from 34.1 percent and cutting earnings per share nearly in half to €1.25. For 2026, the company expects a return to stronger growth, guiding for at least 10 percent revenue increase at comparable exchange rates and an EBITA margin of at least 15 percent.

For years, Nordic companies optimized for efficiency. Lean supply chains, just-in-time logistics, and global sourcing defined the model. That model is now under strain.

“Geopolitics has become a key driver for economies and markets,” says Minna Kuusisto, head of macro research in Finland at Danske Bank. Kuusisto has been closely following the Iran War and its implications for Finland.

The International Monetary Fund has warned that the conflict is a “major test” for the global economy, while a tentative ceasefire between Iran and the US hinges on keeping the Strait of Hormuz open, a route that carries roughly 20 percent of global oil and LNG flows.

For companies, the change is now visible on the ground in their operations. “You need to understand your critical supply chains and your supplier network,” Kuusisto says. “Study different risk mitigation possibilities.”

That can mean uncomfortable trade-offs. “Maybe you should diversify your supplier network. Maybe you should consider holding larger inventories in key components.”

Finnish companies may be better prepared than peers, but gaps remain

Preparedness is uneven across Europe. “My overall perception is that in Finland, many companies are more alert and more awake than companies elsewhere,” Kuusisto says.

The reason is recent history. Exposure to Russia forced many firms to reassess geopolitical risk earlier than others.

But even in Finland, blind spots remain. “We may be used to seeing the Middle East solely through the lens of energy,” she says. “But they also produce a bunch of other key raw materials.”

She points to helium used in semiconductors and fertilizers critical for food production. “There are still a lot of companies that have not necessarily understood that events like this can affect their supply chains quite drastically.”

Minna is head of macro research in Finland at Danske Bank, leading analysis on the Finnish economy. Her background spans roles at Finnfund, the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and Gaia Consulting, shaping a broad view on global risk and strategy.

Jet fuel shortages could be the first real-world signal of a deeper crisis

The first signals may not come from macro indicators. They may come from logistics.

“In some airports in Europe, we might actually see that jet fuel is not available to all flights,” Kuusisto says.

“If the situation still drags on, by summer, we will be in a situation that perhaps 10 to 20 percent of the flights planned in Europe will actually be cancelled.”

Even before cancellations, the transmission has started. Higher fuel costs are already visible and will continue to spread through supply chains into industrial inputs and consumer prices.

The era of weaponized economics is here to stay

This is not only a market shock. It is also a shift in how economic power is used. “Economic tools are being weaponized across the globe,” Kuusisto says.

The Strait of Hormuz illustrates the mechanism. But the assumptions behind it did not fully hold. “I think everyone very much underestimated Iran,” she says.

In particular, the expectation that Iran would avoid closing the strait because of its own reliance on oil exports proved incomplete. In practice, Iran has shown it can restrict the waterway while still maintaining parts of its own exports.

The result is a different kind of leverage, where supply constraints can be used strategically.

Energy shocks are no longer temporary. Markets may be misreading the Iran conflict

Markets have reacted, but not consistently. “I am slightly concerned that the market is mispricing the longer-term impacts,” Kuusisto says.

The divergence is visible within energy markets themselves. “It has been particularly these refined products that have become more expensive,” she notes, with jet fuel among the hardest hit.

Her concern is what happens next. “The truth is that a lot of the damage has already happened,” she says. Even if a ceasefire holds, the system does not reset. Infrastructure across the Gulf has been damaged, supply chains disrupted, and geopolitical risk premiums are likely to persist.

On top of that, countries will need to rebuild buffers. They will need to refill strategic reserves, creating additional demand even as supply recovers.

“We cannot just go back to where we were in February.”

Stagflation risk is rising quietly in Europe

The macro picture is becoming more complex. “This is strictly a supply-side shock,” Kuusisto says.

That distinction matters. Lower supply pushes prices higher while weighing on growth at the same time. “I would not yet say that we end up in stagflation, but stagflationary risks are on the rise.”

The effects are already moving through the economy. Higher costs feed into inflation, while uncertainty slows hiring and investment.

For households, the transmission runs through both prices and confidence. “The main factor pulling down consumer confidence is the fear of unemployment,” she says.

That creates a feedback loop. Uncertainty affects hiring, hiring affects confidence, and confidence affects consumption.

“We might actually end up in a situation where real wages decline again,” she adds, if inflation accelerates faster than wage growth.

There is only so much policymakers can do. “They cannot do anything to affect oil supply,” Kuusisto says. “There is very little they can actually do in this situation.”

Finnish workplaces are becoming easier to navigate day to day, but harder to trust from the top. Fresh data from Eezy’s annual survey, covering around 200,000 respondents, suggests that while everyday work has improved, confidence in leadership is slipping.

The PeoplePower® index fell slightly from 70.9 in 2024 to 70.6 in 2025, Eezy reported today.

Behind that modest decline lies a sharper shift in sentiment. Trust in leadership weakened, with the share of critical assessments rising by 13 percent. Employee commitment also declined, with engagement dropping by four percentage points and critical views increasing by 7 percent.

“At the same time, working life shows both uncertainty and the results of long-term development. While the overall experience weakens in the short term, daily operations and frontline management practices are in many organizations at a better level than before,” said Johanna Lehmus, director of insight and data at Eezy Flow.

Finnish pension insurers started the year in rare agreement. Ownership platform Holdings data show pension insurers’ net sales of €670 million in Helsinki-listed equities in the first quarter, Arvopaperi reported today.

At the center was Neste, with roughly €425 million in net sales, followed by Wärtsilä and Metso. Renewable energy giant Neste’s share price has fallen from its March high amid fluctuating energy prices due to the Iran War, yet remaining more than three times elevated in value in the past year. Even Wärtsilä, a developer of solutions in marine and energy industries, has doubled its share price.

Insurers also sold banking giant Nordea, especially early this year, after a bourse rally late last year, but some turned into buyers as valuations softened. The pattern suggests disciplined profit-taking after strong runs in cyclicals and energy. 

Youssef Zad, former chief economist of Finland’s Startup Community, joins the Social Democratic Party’s parliamentary group as an economist, effective immediately.

The appointment marks a push by SDP to strengthen its economic policy expertise with startup and growth-company insight, as the party looks to balance fiscal measures with pro-growth initiatives, Talouselämä reported today. 

Zad, 33, is known in Finland’s startup ecosystem for his data-driven analysis and commentary. He holds a master’s degree in economics and is currently working on a doctoral dissertation at the University of Jyväskylä. He has also appeared as a commentator on public service broadcaster Yle’s “Jälkipörssi” program. The Social Democratic Party is a major Finnish political party focused on economic and social policy.

“SDP has a genuine ambition to get Finland’s economy growing, and startups play a central role in that,” Zad said. “This role offers a chance to influence economic policy direction and help remove barriers to growth.”

Liisa Pursiheimo, former global director, human resources at American chemicals giant SACHEM, Inc., joins Suominen as chief human resources officer on April 21, 2026.

Pursiheimo, who relocated to Finland in 2025, will also serve as a member of the Suominen leadership team, strengthening the company’s global people strategy amid ongoing transformation efforts. She succeeds Minna Rouru, who is leaving the company to pursue other opportunities, the manufacturer of nonwovens for wipes announced today.

Pursiheimo brings decades of international leadership experience, having spent much of her career in the United States leading global HR initiatives across diverse markets. Besides her, Suominen welcomed one other leader this year, namely Marika Väkiparta, chief strategy and transformation officer and interim general counsel, according to Listeds data.

A quiet shift at Finnish defense group Patria Oyj may signal something larger than a routine leadership change. 

With Panu Routila, a former Konecranes chief executive, stepping in as CEO and Jyri Häkämies, a former Finnish defense minister and business lobby head, taking the chair, the company appears to be preparing for a more ambitious phase, one that could eventually include a stock market listing, Alberto Claramunt wrote in a commentary published on Kauppalehti today.

The timing is not accidental. Europe’s defense sector is expanding rapidly, driven by geopolitical tension and a renewed push for strategic autonomy. Patria, best known for its armored vehicles, is riding that wave. Orders reached a record €2.1 billion last year, pushing the backlog to €3.5 billion. Revenue and profits, while solid rather than spectacular, suggest a business with both momentum and discipline.

Anthropic, the developer of the Claude large language models, is edging toward what could become one of the largest public listings in history, Salkunrakentaja reported today.

Signals from private markets point to a rapidly rising valuation. Caplight suggests a level approaching 700 billion dollars, while Jupiter implies more than 850 billion. Reports indicate that Anthropic is targeting a Nasdaq listing in October 2026. The offering could exceed 60 billion dollars, making it the second-largest IPO in history after SpaceX.

Founded in 2021, the company has captured investor attention with a surge in revenue. Annualized revenue surpassed 30 billion dollars in early April, up from just one billion at the start of 2025. Growth at this scale is rare, even in technology, and is driven largely by enterprise demand. About 80 percent of revenue comes from corporate clients, in contrast to OpenAI’s stronger reliance on consumer usage.

Briefly after reporting on the transition of the previous long-term CEO to chairman, Investors House Oyj said today that Jukka Akselin, former head of service business who recently made a more than EUR0.5 million stock purchase, has been appointed chief executive, effective today.

Akselin has led the company’s service business since December 2024 and previously served as head of subsidiary Infonia. He brings extensive experience from leadership and expert roles in Finland’s real estate sector. 

The signs of Akselin’s widening involvement could be seen earlier this month when the executive acquired roughly 120,000 shares worth over €0.5 million from existing insiders on April 1, in a move aimed at broadening management ownership. 

Akselin succeeds Petri Roininen, who will step down as CEO at the annual general meeting held today. Roininen has served more than 11 years as CEO of the listed company and six years in the unlisted entity, totaling 17 years. 

Investors House Oyj reported a strong 2025 performance, with net profit of €4.6 million and return on equity of 13.6%, alongside its 11th consecutive year of growing dividends.

Chair of the board Petri Roininen said: “We are pleased to make an internal appointment for CEO. Jukka has strong industry experience and has successfully led subsidiary Infonia. He also brings valuable entrepreneurial experience, which aligns with one of our core values.”

Investors House Oyj is a Finland-based real estate investment and services company focused on property ownership, development, and service operations.

Investors may be overestimating the long-term damage from the Middle East crisis. S-Pankki expects the conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran to ease within weeks, with only limited economic fallout if energy supply stabilizes quickly. 

As the bank put it in its news release today: “We see a short duration conflict as more likely for several reasons, so our estimate for key economic indicators is that they will soften only moderately.”

That relatively calm baseline stands in contrast to the sharp market reaction in March. Oil prices surged, equities fell, and rate expectations shifted upward. Yet the underlying assumption from S-Pankki is that these moves may prove temporary, provided that geopolitical tensions do not escalate further.

The central variable is energy. A normalization of supply, particularly through the Strait of Hormuz, would ease inflation pressures and allow growth expectations to recover. From an investor perspective, “it is essential that energy supply normalizes within a relatively short period of time. If this happens, the effects on the economy are likely to remain moderate.”

Honkarakenne Oyj announced today that Magnus Hindström, former vice president, Kerto LVL sales at Metsä Wood, will become the Finnish log house builder’s next president and CEO on August 3, 2026.

Hindström succeeds long-serving President and CEO Marko Saarelainen, who will remain in the role until the transition date and then continue as CEO of the company’s Japanese subsidiary, as previously announced last week.

Hindström brings experience in driving growth and transformation across domestic and international markets. He said that “going forward, we will focus even more strongly on execution, strengthening our market position, and fully leveraging the strengths of the company’s brand, design, and production together with our personnel.” 

Chairman Timo Kohtamäki said: “Magnus’s strong experience and proven track record in building international business are extremely valuable in accelerating the growth of Honkarakenne’s exports.”

In 2025, Honkarakenne reported net sales of EUR 37.2 million, up 1.2% year-on-year, while adjusted operating profit declined to EUR -3.9 million from EUR -2.3 million.

Tero Hannuksela, currently segment director for construction management and special services, joins Sitowise Group Plc as senior vice president of the buildings business area on May 1, 2026, alongside Elisa Rusama, currently HR manager, who will become chief human resources officer on the same date.

Hannuksela will also join the group executive management team, where he will lead a strategically important business focused on accelerating growth, expanding customer segments, and improving operating models. Rusama will oversee people strategy and culture as the company aims to strengthen its position as a preferred employer. She succeeds Taija Lehtola, who will leave the company on April 30, 2026, Sitowise announced today.

The moves accelerate Sitowise’s management renewal this year, adding to the previous six group appointments, including CEO and CFO, based on Listeds data. Hannuksela has been with Sitowise since 2015 in various leadership roles, while Rusama joined in 2019 and has held HR leadership positions within the infra business area.

After years of offshoring, Europe’s printed circuit board industry is entering a new phase. Demand is rising, fueled by AI and defense, but supply is not following. The result is a growing imbalance in a €10 billion global market. European PCB manufacturing accounts for roughly €2 billion of that total, yet the industry underpins modern electronics.

“The first element of any defense system is the PCB, yet it is missing from most European defense policy discussions.” That omission, according to Aspocomp CEO Manu Skyttä, says a lot about Europe’s industrial blind spots.

For decades, those blind spots were masked by globalization. Production of printed circuit boards steadily moved to Asia, particularly to China, in search of lower costs and scale. Found in everything from defense systems and data centers to cars and medical devices, PCBs underpin modern electronics.

“China today accounts for roughly 65 percent of global PCB manufacturing,” Skyttä says. But the shift came with trade-offs. As manufacturing consolidated around volume, Europe’s capability in complex, high-specification boards weakened. Now, that dynamic is beginning to reverse.

“2025 is the first year since 2000 that the value of European PCB manufacturing has increased,” he says. After years of decline, demand is returning. But the recovery is uneven, and capacity is struggling to keep up.

Manu Skyttä, an aeronautical engineer by training, became the CEO of Aspocomp in 2024.

From survival to surge

The change is recent, and for Aspocomp, abrupt.

“When I joined, the order book was empty. The first priority was survival,” Skyttä says.

That was early 2024, when Skyttä, an aeronautical engineer by training, stepped into the role after a career in operations-heavy industries, including defense group Patria, aviation at Finnair, and industrial services at Wärtsilä.

Within 18 months, the company moved from weak demand to full utilization. Net sales rose 38 percent in 2025 to €38.2 million, and the operating result turned positive at €0.9 million, compared to a €4.0 million loss the year before.

The turnaround was driven by two core segments: semiconductors and defense.

AI and defense reshape demand

Aspocomp’s largest segment is now semiconductors, specifically boards used in chip testing equipment. In 2025, net sales in this segment more than doubled to €17.5 million from €8.5 million the year before.

The shift is not company-specific. The rise of AI is driving a surge in semiconductor demand, fueled by rapid data center expansion and new computing needs, McKinsey recently pointed out.

“The demand is increasingly coming from AI-related development. Data centers are growing rapidly, and chip testing requires more complex boards,” Skyttä says. He points to a deeper technical shift.

“Chip development now requires more and more testing, and that increases the requirements for the testers themselves.”

As chips become more advanced, testing infrastructure must follow. That pushes demand toward high-density interconnect boards, an area where European manufacturers still compete. “These testers require highly complex HDI boards, and we have a strong position in that segment.”

Alongside semiconductors, defense has become a second growth engine. The Security, Defense, and Aerospace segment generated €9.3 million in 2025, up 44 percent year-on-year. While smaller in absolute terms, its role is different.

“This segment provides important stability for the company alongside the semiconductor industry,” Skyttä says. Unlike semiconductors, defense demand is less cyclical and increasingly shaped by geopolitics.

“What we see now is mainly stockpiling,” he says. “For us, this is only the beginning. The real increase in demand will come in the 2030s.”

In that sense, geopolitics is no longer a backdrop, but a direct driver of demand and investment decisions.

Demand rises, capacity does not

The broader European PCB market remains fragmented and constrained.

The scale gap is significant: Aspocomp’s €38 million in revenue is less than one percent of that of the global PCB leader, Taiwan’s Zhen Ding Technology.

“Out of around 170 manufacturers in Europe, about 140 have revenue below €10 million,” Skyttä says. Most companies lack the financial capacity to invest in new equipment or expand production. As a result, supply is tightening even as demand grows.

Europe remains structurally dependent on external electronics supply chains, with capacity still concentrated in Asia despite growing strategic demand, as recent European policy debates have highlighted.

“European capacity is actually decreasing at the same time,” Skyttä says. “That creates a void in Europe.” That void is already visible in customer behavior.

“We see customers being more proactive. They are already asking how to secure capacity in the future.” 

For Aspocomp, the imbalance is immediate. “Our factory has been running at full capacity since early 2025,” Skyttä says. “We could increase capacity by 50 percent immediately if we had it.”

In this environment, operational performance becomes decisive. “Maintenance people are effectively defining our net sales,” he says. “And now the focus is quality, quality, and quality.”

A strategic shift away from China

The company has adjusted its supply strategy in response.

Historically, Aspocomp complemented its own production by sourcing lower-cost boards from China. That approach no longer fits its positioning.

“Trading from China is a volume game, and we don’t have that scale,” Skyttä says. Instead, the company is expanding partnerships in Europe and Southeast Asia.

“We have shifted our strategy to increase partnerships outside China,” Skyttä says, adding that Apsocomp is not competing in high volumes like in China. “Our strength is in highly complex boards.”

Finland’s economic recovery is losing momentum. Finnish banking and insurance behemoth OP-Pohjola has cut its 2026 GDP growth forecast to 1 percent, down from 1.5 percent, reflecting rising geopolitical risks and energy costs, Yle reported today.

The downgrade highlights how exposed small, open economies remain to global disruptions. The conflict in the Middle East has pushed oil prices higher, feeding inflation and dampening consumer confidence. Businesses, facing greater uncertainty, are expected to delay investment decisions in the coming months.

OP-Pohjola notes that the outlook hinges heavily on energy markets and broader international conditions. A prolonged crisis could tip Finland into recession. The bank’s baseline assumes oil prices ease to around $70 per barrel by summer, stabilizing inflationary pressures.

Petri Roininen, who has led Investors House for more than a decade, will step down as chief executive in connection with the company’s annual general meeting on April 14, 2026, Investors House Oyj, a Finland-based real estate investment and asset management company, announced today.

Roininen had previously indicated his intention to leave the role during 2026. He is nominated for election to the company’s board at the same meeting and plans to remain a significant shareholder. The board has initiated a search for his successor and will announce the appointment once finalized.

Investors House has a tight, three-member management team, including a CFO and a subsidiary CEO. Roininen has served as CEO of the listed company for over 11 years, and previously led it in its unlisted form for six years. In 2025, Investors House reported a strong financial performance with net profit of €4.6 million and return on equity of 13.6%. The year also marked its 11th consecutive dividend increase, reinforcing its status as a "dividend aristocrat."

Stocks on the Helsinki OMX 25 index posted a strong week, with the benchmark rising more than 4% over five days, led by industrial names, while energy stocks lagged. The move came against a volatile global backdrop, as a fragile Pakistan-brokered ceasefire between the US and Iran took effect, momentarily paring high oil prices.

Among the top gainers, Hiab stood out with a double-digit weekly rise. The company provides load handling equipment for logistics and construction. Metso, which supplies technology to the mining and aggregates industries, also advanced over 10 percent.

Moreover, Steelmaker Outokumpu and Wärtsilä, known for marine and energy solutions, moved higher. Telecom equipment maker Nokia posted more modest gains, and Konecranes, which produces lifting equipment, also climbed over 8 percent.

Cityvarasto shares fell 12.5% to EUR 16.15 in the afternoon, following a notification of a major shareholder cutting its holdings.

Ferncliff TIH AS reduced its indirect holding to 7.28%, equal to 584,403 shares, crossing below the 10% threshold, the self-storage company announced in a press release. Ferncliff is an Oslo-based investment company.

In contrast to Cityvarasto’s stock price slump, the OMX Helsinki 25 index rose 0.26% to 6,180.80, gaining 16.04 points. 

Cityvarasto previously reported 2025 revenue of EUR 27.1 million and adjusted EBITDA of EUR 12.1 million, both exceeding its guidance.

Marko Saarelainen, current CEO of Honkarakenne Oyj, will assume the role of chief executive of Honka Japan Inc. following the end of his tenure, relocating to Japan to lead the subsidiary.

Saarelainen will continue in his current position until a successor is appointed, after which he will transition to the new role as part of the company’s strategy to drive growth in the Japanese market, the home builder announced today.

Honkarakenne Oyj, a Finland-based manufacturer of log homes and wooden building solutions, established Honka Japan Inc. in 1991. Saarelainen previously led the Japanese subsidiary as CEO from 1996 to 2015, bringing extensive regional experience back to the role as the company seeks expansion in Japan.

Finnish listed companies accelerated leadership changes in March, shifting from February’s management-heavy churn to board-level renewal. According to Listeds data, companies recorded 155 board and management moves, with activity clearly moving up the governance chain.

The contrast with February is stark. Companies made just five board changes then, alongside 60 management moves split evenly between 30 appointments and 30 departures. In March, that balance flipped.

Boards took center stage with 112 changes, including 65 appointments and 47 departures. The surge reflects AGM season, but also timing. March sits in the middle of earnings season, when results and strategy updates often trigger board-level recalibration.

Some companies stood out. Enento led with 10 total moves, followed by Tieto with eight and Fiskars with seven. Terveystalo logged six, while Konecranes, Metsä Board, and Alisa Pankki each recorded five, often combining board and executive changes within the same reporting cycle.

C-suite changes continue, but at a slower pace

Management moves eased to 43 changes, down from 60 in February, suggesting that much of the operational reset happened ahead of earnings releases.

The month saw four CEO appointments. Among them was Alexander Schoschkoff, named CEO at Alexandria Pankkiiriliike. Schoschkoff is a seasoned insurance and asset management executive who previously led Fennia Life. Another bank, Alisa Pankki, appointed Aki Gynther as CEO. Gynther is a banking veteran and former deputy CEO of S-Bank, with deep experience across finance, risk, and retail banking.

Duell, for its part, brought in Tomi Virtanen as CEO, an industrial and supply chain operator with prior CEO roles and senior positions at Nokian Tyres and Kone. Remedy Entertainment also appointed Jean-Charles Gaudechon as CEO, adding international gaming industry experience.

Among CFO hires, Antti Ojala stepped in at Aiforia Technologies. He brings more than 15 years of experience in health technology finance and a track record in strategic financing and investor relations.

Technology and product roles also featured. Antti Aalto was named CTO at Easor, arriving from Swappie, where he led product development. At Enento, Francesca Smedberg, formerly VP of product at payments software company Rillion, was appointed chief product officer. Finally, at Metso, Teija Saari took on the role of chief people officer, bringing global HR leadership experience from Wärtsilä and Grundfos.

Spinnova’s stock rose sharply to €0.51 on this morning, up 18% intraday, reflecting renewed investor optimism as the company moves closer to restarting production at its Woodspin demo factory.

The rally follows today’s news that trial runs are beginning, marking a critical step in scaling the company’s wood-based textile fiber technology. The trials will focus on improving efficiency and fiber quality, two factors that have constrained commercialization so far. The company's goal is to restart production on a larger scale this year.

“Our aim is to proceed with the ramp up of the demo facility step by step,” said CEO Janne Poranen, describing the trials as “an important step towards starting actual production.” 

Finnish venture capital has entered a new phase of maturity. In 2025, funds raised a record €678 million, while startups attracted €1.9 billion, underscoring both domestic momentum and strong international interest in the ecosystem.

The headline figure came from Lifeline Ventures, whose €425 million fund reshaped expectations in a market where €150 million was once considered large, the Finnish Venture Capital Association noted in a report today. Some of the startups whose funding rounds raised the most last year included Oura (€777M), IQM (€275M), and ICEYE (€150M). 

Assets under management by Finnish venture capital funds have tripled over the past decade, while the total amount of funding raised by Finnish startups has surged by sixfold, said Jonne Kuittinen, deputy chief executive of the FVCA.

Qt Group has made its interim CFO Ann Zetterberg the Finnish software company's permanent chief financial officer less than three months after entering the role.

Zetterberg has served as interim CFO since January 2026 following the departure of former CFO Jouni Lintunen and is now confirmed as a permanent member of the management team, Qt Group said yesterday. 

Besides the addition of Zetterberg, Qt Group has hired three management team members this year, involving fields such as sales and software systems, based on Listeds data.

Zetterberg brings extensive experience from finance leadership roles in technology-driven companies. Before joining Qt Group, she was the CFO of Qt Group's Swedish subsidiary, IAR Systems Group, starting in 2021. Her earlier roles include CFO positions at Brighter and Accent Equity Partners, alongside experience in technology start-ups and the non-profit sector. 

Sari Jussila, an M.Sc. (Econ.), joins Dovre Group Plc as interim chief financial officer and member of the executive management team effective April 13, 2026, succeeding Timo Saarinen.

Saarinen, who has served as interim CFO and executive management team member since September 29, 2025, will leave the company on April 12, 2026, after informing the board of his decision to step down, Dovre Group Plc announced today.

The transition comes as Dovre navigates significant financial challenges, including ongoing debt restructuring proceedings following the bankruptcy of its key subsidiary Suvic Oy. The hard times have been accompanied by a management shake-up. Besides several appointments last year, Dovre hired a new CEO this year, naming Suvic chief Markku Taskinen as its CEO, according to Listeds data.

Dovre Group Plc is a Finland-based project management and consulting company focused on renewable energy, infrastructure, and industrial sectors. The company’s financial position deteriorated sharply in 2025 due to major losses in wind power projects within Suvic Oy, culminating in the subsidiary’s bankruptcy in January 2026 and pushing the parent company into insolvency and restructuring. Interim CFO Saarinen was brought in during 2025 to help stabilize financial reporting and improve transparency amid mounting project losses.

Chairman of the Board Kalervo Rötsä commented on Saarinen's departure. “I would like to warmly thank Timo for his time and contribution at Dovre. He took on the role of CFO in a challenging situation and has played an important role in company’s efforts to handle the challenging conditions. At the same time, I welcome Sari to her new roles.”

Serial acquirer Auroora Yhtiöt has made a steady entrance onto Nasdaq Helsinki. The shares, which began trading on April 2 following an oversubscribed IPO, surged above the public subscription price on the second day of trading.

The stock closed at €5.60 today, up just over 5 percent on the day. That places it comfortably above the €5.20 paid by public and institutional investors in the offering, and roughly 19 percent above the €4.68 level reserved for employees and management. 

Auroora reported several managers’ transactions today. It said that on April 1, just ahead of the listing, 10 insiders subscribed to a combined 174,421 shares at an average price of €4.68, investing a total of €816,395.32.

Several executives committed nearly identical sums. Board Chairman Pekka Tammela, Board Members Johanna Lamminen, Ville Voipio, CEO Antti Rauhala, and executives Marko Tulus and Joona Linna, each invested just under €100,000, subscribing to 21,367 shares at €4.68. CFO Ville Peltonen marginally exceeded that, subscribing to 21,569 shares at an average price of €4.68487.

Others followed at smaller but still material levels. Director Sami Savolainen subscribed €35,100, while Board Members Risto Lehtimäki chipped in €32,760, and Reetta Keränen contributed €47,502.

The IPO values Auroora at about €156 million and raises roughly €40 million to support its acquisition-driven growth in electrification, environmental technology, and industrial services.

Late payments among Finnish and Swedish publicly listed companies are rising.

In Finland, payment remarks – negative records on companies' credit reports due to unpaid bills – remain rare and small in scale. In Sweden, they are concentrated in a handful of companies, but at significantly larger levels, pointing to a more fragile underlying risk. Data from Enento Group, analyzed by Listeds, shows that while only a small share of listed companies in both markets have registered payment arrears, the severity and financial implications differ sharply.

By the end of 2025, 13 of 185 listed companies in Finland, or about 7 percent, had recorded arrears. Total unpaid obligations rose from roughly €0.3 million to €1.1 million over the year. In Sweden, just 15 of 729 companies, or about 2 percent, had arrears, yet the total value increased more sharply, from SEK6.3 million to SEK28.7 million (€572,030 to €2.6 million).

At first glance, Sweden appears more stable, with fewer affected companies across a much larger pool of listed firms. Yet this comparison obscures a more telling contrast. The number of companies in arrears is broadly similar in both countries, but the financial exposure in Sweden is more than double. The issue, then, is less about how many companies fall behind and more about the scale of their obligations.

The rising arrears point to underlying financial distress. In 2025, Finland recorded its highest number of bankruptcies since the 1990s, while Sweden faced record levels of insolvencies, says Pekka Liukkunen, manager of predictive modeling at Enento. The buildup of risk appears to have stabilized early this year; the months ahead will show whether levels begin to decline, he adds.

However, Liukkunen also points to signs of recovery. Both Finland and Sweden have seen a strong number of new market entrants, suggesting potential for renewed growth, he says.

Pekka Liukkunen, manager of predictive modeling at Enento, suggests recovery could be supported by a rising number of new market entrants.

Concentration in both markets, but on a very different scale

In both markets, late payments are highly concentrated. A small number of companies account for nearly all unpaid obligations.

In Finland, the five largest cases make up almost the entire €1.1 million total. These include smaller or mid-sized companies such as Pallas Air, Tecnotree, and Sunborn International, alongside a limited number of larger names. Even among large-cap companies such as Neste, Wärtsilä, Nordea, and Stora Enso, arrears appear but only at minimal levels, typically a few thousand euros. This suggests that, in most cases, late payments in Finland reflect administrative delays rather than deeper financial stress.

Sweden follows the same structural pattern of concentration, but on a very different scale. The five largest cases account for virtually all arrears, pushing the total close to SEK30 million. The companies behind these figures are typically smaller, growth-oriented firms, including TradeDoubler, RightBridge Ventures, Mavshack, Anoto Group, and Adventure Box Technology. Unlike in Finland, arrears in Sweden are measured in millions rather than thousands, and have often increased sharply year on year.

Financial fragility vs operational noise

The financial profiles of these companies reveal a more fragile picture. Many combine weak or negative profitability with low credit ratings, and in some cases operate with limited or even negative equity buffers. Without a sufficient equity cushion, even modest financial pressure can quickly translate into unpaid obligations. Research from the International Monetary Fund has shown that companies reliant on external financing and operating with low profitability are particularly exposed when financial conditions tighten. The Swedish cases align closely with this pattern.

In contrast, companies with arrears in Finland generally retain stronger balance sheets. While profitability may be weaker than peers and credit ratings lower, equity buffers remain intact. This reinforces the view that most Finnish arrears are limited in scope and financial impact, and are more likely linked to timing or administrative factors than structural distress.

S Group will sell its 13 Prisma stores in Estonia to Coop Estonia and pivot to a partnership model that could extend its product reach to up to 300 stores. 

The deal, pending regulatory approval in 2026, will transfer more than 700 employees to Coop Estonia, the Finnish grocery store operator announced today. The purchase price remains undisclosed.

Despite recent strong growth, the Estonian business has faced pressure from high inflation in recent years. S Group confirmed the unit has been profitable overall. 

Through the deal, S Group avoids heavy capital investment in Estonia while expanding its reach. By partnering with Coop Eesti, it can redirect funds to its core Finnish business and scale distribution from 13 stores to up to 300, increasing impact without owning more assets.

"We had two options: invest significantly more in our store network or grow through partnership. We chose partnership," S Group said. "Coop Eesti is the best possible partner for S Group in Estonia. We share a cooperative background and a responsible value base."

The deal also delivers clear upside for Coop Eesti. The acquisition allows Coop Eesti to strengthen its presence in Tallinn, significantly increasing its market share, said Coop Eesti Chairman Rainer Rohtla.

Tero Palokangas, former head of the C4ISR division at the Finnish Defence Forces Joint Systems Centre, has joined Digia as vice president, defence & security, as the Finnish software company doubles down on the growing demand for modern technology solutions in defence.

This marks the first new executive team appointment at Digia since 2024, according to Listeds data.

Palokangas succeeds Harri Suni, who has returned to international duties, and will lead the growth of Digia’s Defence & Security business in Finland and across Europe, with a focus on data- and AI-driven solutions, the company announced today. The role is central to strengthening Digia’s capabilities in high-security environments and accelerating international expansion through partnerships and ecosystem development.

Maria Alahuhta, CFO & COO at Yousician Oy, joins SSH Communications Security Corporation as chief financial officer on October 1, 2026, at the latest, following the cybersecurity company’s large leadership shakeup this year.

Alahuhta will also become a member of the executive management team, joining during a period of broader leadership changes and financial pressure, according to a press release from today.

SSH Communications Security Corporation has removed six management team members this year, according to Listeds, as it reshapes its leadership to support its strategy.