Hello curious minds,
Monday is here again and summer holidays are behind most of us, which means it’s time for Listeds Pulse Nordic!
This is your weekly Monday briefing on the most relevant leadership shifts shaping the corporate landscape. Soon, we’ll expand to cover the entire Nordic region, but for now, our lens is firmly on Finland’s movers and shakers.
This edition covers changes between June 30 – August 3, 2025.
Over this time, we tracked 3 board changes and 54 management team changes across Finnish listed companies.
From board seat to the executive table: Erja Hyrsky joins Metsä Board management team
Erja Hyrsky (b. 1979, M.Sc. Econ.) has transitioned from the Board of Directors to the Corporate Management Team at Metsä Board, taking on the role of Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations as of August 2025.
Hyrsky brings deep leadership experience from major consumer goods players, including Unilever, where she most recently served as Ice Cream Lead for the Nordics (2021–2025) and Strategy Director, Global Markets (2019–2021) and Procter & Gamble, where she held several managerial roles across sales.
Her governance track record is equally strong, having served on the Board of Tokmanni Group (from May 2025) and as a long-standing Board Member of Metsä Board (2021–2025), including key committee roles in Nomination & HR and Audit.
This move reflects a growing trend of companies leveraging boardroom expertise within operational leadership, strengthening the link between strategic oversight and commercial execution.
Eezy Oyj – a complete leadership overhaul
Eezy’s leadership team has undergone a dramatic renewal as part of its profitability turnaround plan and new organizational model, effective July 1, 2025.
The appointments are:
Jaakko Koivisto – Head of Helsinki & Tampere Business Area
Markus Muurinen – Head of Turku & Seinäjoki Business Area
Markus Jussila – Head of Franchise & Expert Services
Päivi Salo – Director of Business Solutions (Digital Operations)
Laura Kauppinen – HR and Chief Development Officer
Marleena Bask – Director of Communications and Sustainability
This change follows two other key arrivals:
Johan Westermarck, CEO (started May 15, 2025)
Sari Lehto, CFO (started May 12, 2025)
With the exception of CEO Westermarck and HR & Chief Development Officer Laura Kauppinen (both recruited from Bittium) all other appointees were either already in the management team with different roles or promoted internally, underscoring Eezy’s clear focus on leveraging in-house talent for the turnaround rather than bringing in outsiders.
Our take:
These moves underscore the age‑old truth that you can’t change the course of a company without eventually changing its leaders. While the scale of change may seem drastic, this is a homegrown renewal. Eezy appears to be betting on insider knowledge paired with a fresh CEO perspective to drive its profitability push, rather than bringing in more external hires.
Valmet continues transition with new reporting structures and leadership changes
We detected several changes on Valmet’s leadership team. While most were changes in titles and internal promotions, the only notable addition (mentioned in the company’s press release) was Jon Jested-Rask to Executive Vice President, Tissue Business Area.
Valmet has over the past months announced a new operating model, strategy and now reporting structure. With all these changes the company is aiming for steadier growth and increased profitability. The other appointments are:
Petri Rasinmäki – President, Business Line, Paper
Xiangdong Zhu – President, Area, China
Simo Sääskilahti – President, Flow Control Business Area
Celso Tacla – President, South America
Anu Pires – Senior Vice President, Human Resources
Sami Riekkola – President, Business Line, Pulp and Energy
Aki Niemi – President, Business Line, Services
Emilia Torttila-Miettinen – President, Business Line, Automation Systems
Olli Hänninen – Senior Vice President, Strategy
Rasmus Oksala – EVP Legal, General Counsel
Our take: Valmet’s shake‑up feels familiar: a ‘newish’ non‑Finnish CEO putting their stamp on the team. Most of the changes are internal promotions, but the appointment of Jon Jested‑Rask to lead Tissue hints at how international leaders quietly reshape the company’s top table blending homegrown talent with trusted newcomers. We saw something similar in Huhtamaki before the summer. Is this a new trend?
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Until next week,
– Helene Auramo
Founder, Listeds Pulse Newsletter