Board pay at Helsinki's large caps went one way this spring. Nineteen of the 32 boards raised their chair fee at the 2026 annual general meetings, 13 kept it unchanged, and none cut any fee.

Most raises were modest. Counting the boards that held, the typical chair fee rose 2.8%. Among the 19 boards that raised it, the typical increase was 5.2%. Eight raised it by less than 5%, seven by between 5% and 10%, and four by 10% or more.

Neste, Fortum and Sanoma made the biggest raises

Neste moved furthest. Its chair fee rose 18.2%, from €165,000 to €195,000, and its member fee 10.7% to €83,000. Fortum raised its chair fee 12.9%, from €155,000 to €175,000. Sanoma raised its chair fee 11.1% to €160,000, and its vice chair fee 19.0%, from €84,000 to €100,000, the biggest increase for any board role in the segment (Sanoma AGM release).

The fourth raise of 10% or more was Nordea's, which took its chair fee to €440,000, level with Nokia. Part 1 of this series looked at that move in detail.

Nordea raised its chair fee by 10% this spring, to €440,000 a year. Its chair is now paid exactly as much as Nokia's, and both earn far more than the chair of any other Helsinki large cap.

A year ago Nordea paid its chair €400,000, the second-highest fee in the segment. This year's annual general meeting added €40,000. Nokia kept its chair fee unchanged at €440,000.

The gap to the rest is wide. The third-highest chair fee is Sampo's €250,000, followed by UPM at €240,000. The typical large cap chair earns €166,500, so Nordea and Nokia pay their chairs about 2.6 times as much.

Oma Savings Bank and CEO Karri Alameri have agreed that he will leave the role on 5 November 2026, with his employment ending on 5 May 2027. Alameri will stand for election to the board, which is starting a process to nominate his successor.

Alameri was hired in 2024 to steady the bank after a turbulent year. 

OmaSp’s board appointed Alameri in September 2024, with a start date no later than 1 April 2025, and Sarianna Liiri served as interim CEO until he took over. He joined from the Savings Banks Group, where he had been CEO since 2022, after earlier management roles at OP Financial Group and Danske Bank.

At the time, Alameri said the news flow around OmaSp had been exceptionally challenging in recent months, and that the aim was to “bring the bank back to a good growth and earnings track”.

The exit follows S-Bank’s takeover of the bank

Bloomberg reported in July that S-Bank had agreed to buy OmaSp for EUR 17.20 a share in cash, valuing its equity at about EUR 571 million and representing a premium of about 47% to the previous day’s closing price. According to the report, OmaSp’s board unanimously recommended the offer, and S-Bank said it aims to delist the bank from Nasdaq Helsinki. 

After settling the offer, S-Bank owned 96.40% of OmaSp’s shares and votes on 7 October. OmaSp now describes itself as part of S-Bank Group.

Bloomberg also reported that S-Bank expected the deal to have no immediate material effect on OmaSp’s operations, employees or branch network, but that it intended to change the board after completion and keep the bank as a subsidiary.

S&P raised its long-term rating on the bank to BBB+ from BBB, calling it a highly strategic subsidiary that would benefit from group support if needed.

Netum Group has reorganised into four business areas, added two directors to its management team and set a 10% EBITA margin target for 2029. The structure is coherent. The test is whether a team that has turned over repeatedly since 2025 can hold still long enough to deliver.

Netum Group made three announcements on Monday morning. It put its strategy, its structure and its top team on the table. The Board approved a refined strategy with new targets for 2027 to 2029. It announced a reorganisation into four business areas, with EUR 1.4 to 1.8 million in annual cost savings. It also named the directors who will run them. Taken together, the releases do more than adjust costs. They move accountability into the business areas and add a management seat while headcount falls. They also commit Netum to a 10% EBITA margin by 2029 from a loss-making start. Netum expects 2026 revenue to fall well below the 2025 level of EUR 37.8 million and comparable EBITA to be negative. In the first half, revenue fell 25.5% and EBITA was negative at 2.4% of revenue.  

Netum says its Group Management Team “remains largely unchanged.” By head count that holds, with six of seven current members continuing. From 1 January 2027 at the latest, half of the eight-member team will be business area directors, each accountable for financial performance, personnel and capacity. Two of those four are new to the team, and Mikko Pitkänen, director of Netum Solutions, has resigned. He will not take a management role in the new organisation and will carry out separately agreed duties until his notice period ends.

The centre holds steady while every business area director starts a new role

Chief Executive Repe Harmanen, CFO Peter Ahlskog, HR and Marketing Director Liina Kangas and Sales Director Sami Rantanen keep their roles.

The change sits in delivery. Sebastian Pönkkö takes Core Systems, Integrations & Operations. The appointments have an external-origin that came in through an acquisition.Aapo Cederberg joins the team to lead Cybersecurity, Regulation & Data Protection. He founded and ran Cyberwatch Oy, which Netum bought in April 2026.  Outi Mattila will run Data, Digital & AI; she was previously Business Director of Expert Services at Buutti Oy. Liisa Rusanen will head Education Solutions & Products while continuing as CEO of Studyo Oy. Buutti and Cyberwatch will be integrated operationally into the business areas. Studyo stays a separate legal entity.

The structure is also flatter. No more than two management levels will sit between the CEO and a specialist: the business area director and the team lead, who will also deliver client work. Sales and Group Services become shared functions alongside the four areas, with capacity managed across the group. The model replaces the current split into Solutions, Expert Services and Products.

Each area has a defined job. Data, Digital & AI holds the core of Netum's AI capability. Core Systems covers systems critical to society, along with continuity services. Cybersecurity, which combines Netum's security services with Cyberwatch, is the area the strategy names for growth. Education Solutions & Products is the outlier. Through Studyo and Peppi it earns from subscriptions rather than billable hours, so its profit does not depend on how busy Netum's specialists are. 

Revenue fell EUR 6.2 million in a year. The management layer did not.

The reorganisation release explains the cause directly. Revenue was EUR 44.0 million in 2024 and EUR 37.8 million in 2025. Most of the decline came from three large customer contracts that ended in July 2025 and from weaker demand for subcontracting in specialist services. Netum says its support functions and management were "designed for a substantially larger business." 

The fix is structural rather than incremental, and the cuts follow that diagnosis. Change negotiations cover 40 employees, with 10 to 20 positions expected to go, mainly in shared functions, sales, and management, supervisory and coordination roles. Temporary layoffs are planned from this quarter. Specialists doing client work are not the target. 

Harmanen frames it as a break with the old approach: "This is no longer about an individual cost-saving measure. We are reshaping the entire organisation to align with our strategy." That is a clear break from August, when negotiations covering 30 people targeted about EUR 350,000 in savings. 

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

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

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

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

Nineteen listed Finnish companies announced nearly 3,000 potential job changes in Q1, but the headline obscures a more interesting story: most of this isn't distress. It's a deliberate reshaping of what these companies want to be.

Nineteen publicly listed Finnish companies filed 25 workforce change negotiation press releases between January and March 2026, disclosing a combined announced potential impact of approximately 2,986 positions. It should prompt a more precise question: which of these companies were cutting because they had no choice, and which were cutting because they had a strategy? The answer, drawn from matching each negotiation announcement against the company's Q1 earnings, changes the picture considerably.

Monthly press release activity

February produced the quarter's highest single-month activity — 12 of 25 press releases — a concentration that mirrors the Finnish corporate calendar rather than any sudden deterioration in labour conditions. Companies publishing full-year results in January and February tend to announce restructuring concurrently.

March accounted for 10 releases, of which 5 were conclusions of negotiations started earlier. The cadence matters: a spike in February announcements is not evidence of accelerating distress; it is evidence of earnings-season dynamics. Analysts treating February as an inflection point are reading a calendar effect as a macroeconomic signal.

Why companies initiated change negotiations in Q1 2026

Five rationale clusters emerge across 19 companies. Cost pressure dominates, but market weakness and strategic transformation increasingly share the stage. AI is becoming a stated driver, though realisation rates suggest mixed conviction.

The rationale behind change negotiations in 2026 was largely consistent across Nordic listed companies. Most cited cost savings, profitability improvements, and operational efficiency as key drivers. Many also pointed to weakened demand, changing market conditions, or declining volumes, while others framed the measures as part of broader strategic transformations aimed at strengthening long-term competitiveness. A smaller but growing group, Digia, Etteplan, Vincit, and Nordea, highlighted artificial intelligence, automation, and changing skill requirements as factors influencing workforce restructuring decisions.

One bank, one outlier, half the quarter

Nordea Bank announced in March that approximately 1,500 employees could be impacted by workforce restructuring, linked to a EUR 190 million restructuring provision and a EUR 600 million annual gross cost-reduction target by 2030, accounting for more than 50% of the quarter's total announced potential. Strip Nordea out, and Q1's remaining ~1,486 positions reflect a broad but measured wave of targeted right-sizing across nine sectors.

That distinction matters because Nordea's motivations are entirely different from, say, Netum or Solteq. Nordea posted operating profit of EUR 1.6 billion in Q1, up 2%, delivered a 15.4% return on equity, and launched a EUR 500 million share buyback alongside the restructuring announcement. The EUR 190 million provision was excluded from the 2026 outlook as an item affecting comparability. This is not a company in distress; it is a profitable bank executing a deliberate capability transition toward its 2030 strategy, framing the exercise explicitly as a "skill shift" rather than a headcount reduction. The market should read the two halves of Q1, the Nordea half and the rest, as qualitatively distinct events.

Confirmed redundancies & Q1 financial performance

Finnish labor law requires companies to state a maximum figure at the outset of change negotiations under Chapter 3, Section 19 of the Act on Co-operation within Undertakings. That figure is a legal ceiling, not a forecast. Nine concluded negotiations in Q1 produced final confirmed data: the total across those nine was 357 confirmed positions against a combined announced maximum of 514, a realisation rate of approximately 69%. The spread inside that average is instructive.

Lamor Corporation confirmed exactly 15 of 15 (100%), with Q1 revenue already down 24.9% to EUR 14.3 million and EBIT negative at EUR -0.4 million, a deterioration of 125.6%.

Etteplan confirmed 63 of 70 (90%), its numbers validated by revenue down 4.6% and EBIT collapsing 47.8% to EUR 2.2 million.

Wulff-Yhtiöt confirmed only 6 of 34 (18%) — the lowest realisation in the dataset — while reporting net sales up 16% and EBIT up 666% to EUR 2.5 million.

Posti Group reported net sales down 1.3% to EUR 352.5 million and adjusted EBIT of EUR 6.5 million — a small absolute figure for a company of that scale. Addressed letter volumes fell 24.2%. The 121 confirmed redundancies sit within a EUR 40 million, three-year savings programme.

Netum Group reported the sharpest deterioration of any company in the dataset: revenue fell 25.2% to EUR 8.4 million and EBITA collapsed 86.5% to EUR 0.2 million — a 1.8% EBITA margin. CEO Repe Harmanen described Q1 as “transitional,” pointing to prior-year project completions. The 30 confirmed redundancies were initiated in December 2025 and concluded in February 2026 — well before the Q1 report.

Solteq reported comparable revenue down 7.5% to EUR 11.2 million and a comparable operating result of EUR -0.3 million, deteriorating from EUR +0.1 million a year earlier. The company is simultaneously refinancing a EUR 18.7 million bond maturing in October 2026 — adding a balance-sheet pressure layer to the operational one.

Digia grew net sales 4.9% to EUR 56.4 million but EBITA fell 28.2% to EUR 3.3 million. Notably, EUR 0.7 million in non-recurring change negotiation expenses and EUR 0.7 million in customer project provisions are directly visible in the Q1 income statement. Digia confirmed 31 redundancies at a 62% realisation rate — part of a deliberate transition toward its 2026–2028 strategy focused on productisation, AI, and international expansion.

Rebl Group reported revenue up 5.9% to EUR 26.5 million and EBITDA improving to EUR +1.3 million from EUR -0.2 million. Operating loss narrowed to EUR -1.1 million from EUR -2.4 million. A caveat applies: the Q1 2026 change negotiations were conducted by its subsidiary PunaMusta Oy, not the Rebl Group parent. PunaMusta confirmed 9 redundancies in print production alongside 8 new permanent digital hires — a net reduction of just 1 role. The parent’s improving financials reflect the consolidated group; the workforce action belongs to one specific subsidiary unit.

Nanoform achieved record Q1 2026 revenue, up 45% to EUR 1.3 million, with a 94% gross margin. EBITDA improved to EUR -3.0 million from EUR -4.9 million. Cash position was EUR 20.5 million. The company secured its first exclusivity deal for its biologics technology. And yet Nanoform confirmed 49 redundancies — a 22% headcount reduction — alongside potential temporary part-time layoffs for remaining staff. This is burn-rate management by a pre-profit company extending its runway to commercialisation, not a sign of business failure.

The pattern is consistent: genuine financial pressure converts announced maximums into confirmed cuts at high rates; companies with operational flexibility convert far less.

Hiring and Workforce Expansion —Three press releases included hiring or workforce expansion announcements during Q1 2026:

Wärtsilä Oyj Abp (March) planned to create approximately 130 new positions globally, disclosed in the same press release as its up-to-205-position reduction announcement within its Finance & Control unit. The restructuring includes establishing a new internal service centre in Gdańsk, Poland, complementing an existing centre in Vaasa, Finland, reflecting deliberate workforce reshaping rather than a net headcount cut.

Rebl Group Oyj / PunaMusta Oy (February): as part of change negotiations covering 65 employees across Joensuu, Tampere, and Turku production sites, the company confirmed that planned measures would likely create new positions in other roles or locations, alongside a maximum of 13 redundancies. Projected annual savings from the reorganisation are capped at €0.8 million. This signals selective, targeted expansion within a broader operational streamlining.

Toivo Group Oyj (February) announced a standalone hiring drive with no specific headcount figure disclosed, citing 20% annual growth guidance and several new project agreements, launches, and sales in the past year. Active recruitment is underway in financial administration and real estate development, with further openings expected in spring 2026, notable given the difficult employment environment in Finland's construction sector.

Industrials and IT: the same diagnosis, different surgeons

The IT & Services sector has the highest confirmed-to-potential ratio at 48% (94 of 195 confirmed), as three of its four active negotiations concluded within the quarter. Industrial Equipment & Automation, despite ranking second by potential impact (700 across four companies), has only Etteplan’s 63 confirmed positions in Q1 2026.

Valmet's Q1 negotiations, which initially covered an estimated 355 roles in Sweden and Poland, were concluded in May 2026 with measures affecting approximately 350 roles, while a separate process covering approximately 2,400 employees in Finland resulted in temporary layoffs from June to December 2026. Negotiations initiated by KONE and Wärtsilä remain ongoing, with final outcomes yet to be announced.

Industrials and IT: the financial Logic behind the negotiations

IT & Services posts the highest confirmed-to-potential ratio at 48%. Industrial Equipment & Automation, second by potential impact, had only Etteplan's 63 confirmed positions in Q1 — operational dependencies carry longer negotiation timelines.

Four industrial companies — Valmet, Wärtsilä, KONE, and Etteplan — together announced 700 potential positions in Q1. As of March 31, only Etteplan's 63 confirmed cuts were final; the other three negotiations remained open. Their pace reflects the operational dependencies of industrial restructuring: plant footprint decisions and supply chain reorganizations carry longer negotiation timelines than headcount rebalancing in a software firm.

That dynamic was subsequently illustrated by Valmet, which concluded its negotiations in May 2026. The company confirmed measures affecting approximately 350 roles across Sweden and Poland as part of manufacturing footprint adjustments, alongside temporary layoffs of around 2,400 employees in Finland through the end of 2026.

Valmet's picture is the most pressured: net sales grew 5% to EUR 1.24 billion, but orders received fell 18% and EPS dropped 44%. Its Sweden and Poland manufacturing reviews — up to 355 positions across Sundsvall, Gothenburg, and Jelenia Góra — target EUR 20 million in annual net savings as the company draws down its existing order book to hold guidance.

KONE's situation is sharper still in its divergence: Q1 sales rose 1.3% to EUR 2.71 billion, adjusted EBIT climbed 5% to EUR 293.6 million, and the company raised full-year guidance — while simultaneously negotiating 840 reductions in its Hyvinkää factory covering supply chain and R&D roles. The logic is stated directly: due to structural changes in the New Building Solutions market and to support the company's transition toward Service and Modernization.

Etteplan's announcement cited both geopolitical tensions causing project postponements and structural changes influenced by artificial intelligence, noting that AI-driven services already accounted for 6% of revenue.

Wärtsilä is the most instructive case of all: total order intake rose 10% to EUR 2.1 billion, the order book reached an all-time high of EUR 8.9 billion, net sales remained stable at EUR 1.6 billion, and comparable operating result increased 16% to EUR 199 million (12.8% margin). The company is reducing up to 205 Finance & Control roles globally while simultaneously creating approximately 130 new roles through a Gdańsk shared service centre — a net headcount impact of roughly 75. These are not layoffs; they are capability substitutions.

IT services moved faster and more completely. Four companies — Digia, Vincit, Solteq, and Netum — announced a combined 195 potential positions, and three of the four concluded negotiations within the same quarter. The confirmed total across the three was 94, a 48% confirmed-to-potential ratio — the best in the dataset. Vincit confirmed 21 terminations in April 2026 out of 45 positions in scope (47%). The contrast with industrials is structural: IT workforces require no factory closures, no supply chain unwinding, and no equipment retooling. A software firm can redesign its headcount in weeks.

Digia grew net sales 4.9% to EUR 56.4 million but EBITA fell 28.2% to EUR 3.3 million. Notably, EUR 0.7 million in non-recurring change negotiation expenses and EUR 0.7 million in customer project provisions are directly visible in the Q1 income statement. Digia confirmed 31 redundancies at a 62% realisation rate — part of a deliberate transition toward its 2026–2028 strategy focused on productisation, AI, and international expansion.

Solteq reported comparable revenue down 7.5% to EUR 11.2 million and a comparable operating result of EUR −0.3 million, deteriorating from EUR +0.1 million a year earlier. The company is simultaneously refinancing a EUR 18.7 million bond maturing in October 2026 — adding a balance-sheet pressure layer to the operational one.

Netum's situation was the most acute: revenue fell 25.2% to EUR 8.4 million and EBITA collapsed 86.5% to EUR 0.2 million (a 1.8% margin). Its 30 confirmed cuts — initiated in December 2025 and concluded in February 2026 — were resolved before the Q1 earnings were even published.

Vincit pointed explicitly to rapid artificial intelligence transformation as a driver. The company saw revenue fall 15.2% to EUR 16.4 million. The notable data point is adjusted EBITA: it held stable at EUR 0.3 million (1.8% margin). The 21 confirmed terminations in April reduced total headcount by approximately 40 during the first quarter. The restructuring is protecting margins even as the topline falls.

The AI framing across multiple IT announcements is notable — and worth treating skeptically. Whether AI is genuinely causing these companies to require fewer engineers, or whether "AI transformation" is the Q1 2026 equivalent of "digital transformation" as a restructuring rationale, is a question the realisation rates partly answer. Vincit's 21 confirmed terminations out of 45 positions in scope (47%) and Digia's 31 out of 50 (62%) suggest more optionality than existential necessity.

From defence to strategy: what changed from Q4 2025

The volume of change negotiation announcements increased significantly in Q1 2026. The dataset contains 25 announcements in Q1 2026 compared with 18 in Q4 2025, indicating a broader wave of workforce consultations across Nordic listed companies.

While cost savings and efficiency remained the dominant rationale in both quarters, Q1 2026 saw a noticeable shift toward strategic transformation. Companies increasingly linked negotiations to long-term competitiveness, operating model renewals, artificial intelligence, and capability changes rather than solely to short-term market weakness.

Sector activity also changed. Information technology remained one of the most active sectors, but Q1 2026 saw a broader spread across industrial automation, environmental services, banking, food and beverages, logistics, and commercial printing. Commercial printing and media services emerged as one of the most active sectors in Q1, while industrial and manufacturing-related companies continued to account for a large share of announced measures.

Overall, the focus evolved from responding to challenging market conditions in Q4 2025 toward preparing organizations for strategic, technological, and operational change in Q1 2026.

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

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

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

Vincit and WISA broke the lateral run with internal finance appointments

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

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

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

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

Larger issuers kept buying finance chiefs who already hold the title

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

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

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

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

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

Alma Media will combine its Human Resources and Corporate Communications functions under Elina Kukkonen, currently Executive Vice President, Communications and Brand. Merja Ristilä, responsible for HR, leaves the Group Management Team on 31 October as her position is discontinued. From 1 November, the team has nine members.

HR is not the first function Alma has folded into another this year

In March, Alma said General Counsel Mikko Korttila will retire in early 2027 after holding the role since 2007, and that the corporate planning function under him will move to Group Finance before year-end. Senior legal counsel Tiina Kerttula succeeds him on 1 January 2027.

“By combining our Human Resources and Communications functions, we are streamlining our organization and strengthening our ability to execute our strategy,” says Kai Telanne, President and CEO of Alma Media

Rainmaker has agreed to buy all shares in Yellow Holding, owner of B2B sales outsourcer Inhouse Group, and is investigating a listing on Nasdaq First North Growth Market Finland. The Finnish sales and customer service outsourcer had 2025 turnover of EUR 45.9 million.

Rainmaker buys Inhouse to close the gap on its EUR 7 million B2B target 

Rainmaker aims to grow its B2B business to around EUR 7 million by the end of its 2025 to 2027 strategy period. B2B sales revenue was EUR 1.6 million in the first half, up from EUR 1.0 million. Two pilot assignments did not move into production, and volumes in its SDR service fell in spring before recovering in early summer. Inhouse covers prospecting, customer acquisition and appointment booking, and will keep its own brand. The purchase price was not disclosed.

“Inhouse Group has built a strong position in demanding B2B solution sales and developed operating models that perfectly complement Rainmaker's business entity. The acquisition supports our strategy to grow and strengthens our position as a growth partner for our customers,” says Tapio Korttilalli, CEO of Rainmaker, in the press release.

Inhouse follows two acquisitions in the first half of 2026

In February, Rainmaker bought telephone sales company Myyntimestarit and its roughly 60 sales professionals. It also bought Digizer's e-commerce customer service business.  First-half revenue rose 14.2% to EUR 24.6 million, with organic growth of 10.6% and acquisitions adding 3.6 percentage points. Comparable EBITDA rose to EUR 1.7 million, or 7.0% of revenue, the bottom of its 7 to 10% medium-term target range.

Boreo has appointed Lassi Simola, currently Workout and Restructuring Executive at Nordea, as Chief Financial Officer and a member of the Group Management Team. He starts no later than 4 January 2027, ending an interim arrangement that has divided the finance role between two people since February.

Boreo brings back a CFO after deciding in February to manage without one

In December 2025, Boreo announced that CFO Jesse Petäjä would step down and said it had started recruiting a successor. In February 2026, it changed course and decided not to appoint a CFO for the time being. Rafael Osmanov became Head of M&A and Financing, and Vice President Finance Sami Hanerva took over financial reporting.

Once Simola starts, Hanerva will report to him in his current role. Osmanov will support the onboarding, and his contract ends by the end of March 2027.

The new CFO and the CEO both come from private equity and consulting dealmaking

Simola has more than 15 years in finance, over 10 of them in private equity, and is a CFA charterholder. Tuomas Kahri, CEO since 1 April 2026, was previously a partner at McKinsey & Company and Intera Partners. The hire is the first CFO appointment under Kahri.

“Lassi brings to Boreo strong expertise in mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance. He has extensive experience working with small and medium-sized companies and possesses an excellent understanding of the challenges and opportunities these businesses face,” says Tuomas Kahri, CEO of Boreo, in the press release.

Currently there appears to be a widespread feeling of rising uncertainty and a lack of a shared vision for the future. During Sweden’s recent election campaign commentators repeatedly asked where the larger visions for the country had gone. Amid promises of quick fixes and tactical positioning, the question of what society we should build seemed harder to answer. Similar examples with voices calling for a new vision have also been heard in the other Nordic countries recently. The most obvious example is perhaps Finnish Sitra that explicitly describes the need for “an inspiring new promise about the future”. 

Considering the turbulent situation in the world in the last decade, it is perhaps not surprising that we find feelings of uncertainty. It is in fact something we could expect if we apply the long-term cyclical perspective of thinkers such as Neil Howe who describes how long cycles shape the characteristics of our societies and how the change from cycle to cycle typically results in crises. Viewed through the ‘wheel of seasons’ model developed by my colleagues Mats Lindgren and Jörgen Jedbratt, our current situation may represent a transition from winter to spring, during which crises will lead to new dominant paradigms. If reality were to follow the model, this should mean that we are slowly shifting towards an increased focus on long-term perspectives and finally also a rising belief in a positive future. 

Another sign of the uncertainty is the rising interest in scenario planning. This is a well-known pattern that goes back to the oil crisis of the 1970s when Shell’s scenario planning rose to fame and it is now perhaps the most familiar tool in the foresight toolbox. There is furthermore a general acceptance of scenario planning as a relevant tool for our time, but if we want to get broad participation and support for changes the map provided by the scenarios also needs to be accompanied by something more visionary.

The Nordic effect

So, if we are approaching a period of renewal maybe it is time to start thinking about how Nordic companies and other organisations could help bring this new future into being and shape it? How can we contribute to the creation of a new vision that can guide and speed up necessary changes so that we can balance sustainability and resilience, productivity and family life, and so on? Even though there exists a joint Nordic vision for 2030 that was adopted by the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2019 this is apparently not sufficient (and to be honest, how many of you have read it? I have, but that’s more or less required as part of my job). 

Maybe it is safe to say that it is time for a new Nordic vision? And maybe this time we should start the process as soon as possible ourselves in our own organisations so that we together can create small pieces of the great puzzle that would make up a new shared vision.

For boards, this means connecting the vision to investment priorities, capabilities and partnerships, and deciding how the organisation can contribute to a wider Nordic ambition.

SRV Group has reorganised into four business areas from 1 October 2026 and added two members to its Corporate Executive Team. Jarkko Salmenoja becomes SVP, Data Centres, and Marko Palonen, most recently YIT's regional director for Northern Finland, becomes SVP, Northern Finland at the start of 2027.

Data centres move from a unit to a business area of their own

Until now, Data Centres sat inside the Business Premises, Helsinki Metropolitan Area business area. It now runs as a separate business area responsible for nationwide development, customer relationships and project delivery. Salmenoja has worked at SRV since August 2025 and previously held senior management roles at NCC, WSP Finland and YIT.

The pipeline explains the promotion. In March, SRV agreed to build a data centre in Lahti for Singapore-based DayOne, a contract expected to lift the order backlog by about 35% from the level in the fourth-quarter 2025 report. In December 2025, it started the EUR 54 million implementation phase of the LUMI AI Factory data centre in Kajaani with CSC. First-quarter 2026 order intake reached EUR 395.4 million, the highest of the decade, with DayOne named as a driver.

“Alongside our already strong contracting business, we seek growth in data centre construction, whose exceptionally large and rapidly growing market we have highlighted previously,” says Saku Sipola, President and CEO of SRV, in the press release.