Hello curious minds,
Monday is here again, 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 August 11 – August 17, 2025.
Over this time, we tracked 7 management team and 0 board changes across Finnish listed companies.
Charles Héaulmé has started as the new CEO of Suominen
Charles Héaulmé has officially taken over as President and CEO of Suominen.
Héaulmé previously served as CEO of Huhtamäki (2019–2025) and spent nearly two decades at Tetra Pak in senior leadership roles across Europe, North and South America. Earlier in his career, he held financial leadership positions at Bosch, AlliedSignal, KPMG, and BRGM Gabon.
He has also been serving as Chair of Suominen’s Board (Member of the Board and Chair since 2024) and will remain in that role until the 2026 Annual General Meeting (according to the press release), though he has stepped down as Chair of the Board and as a member of the Personnel and Remuneration Committee.
Dual CEO–Chair roles in Finland’s listed companies
In Finland’s corporate governance landscape, it is highly unusual for the same individual to serve as both Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the Board of a listed company. The Finnish Corporate Governance Code explicitly recommends that a CEO should not also be the board’s chair, to ensure independent supervision of management.
We wanted to investigate this matter because of the Suominen case (New CEO Charles Héaulmé, previously Chair of the Board, will temporarily hold both roles). We found two other companies currently with the same situation:
Heeros Plc – As the company delists after being acquired by Accountor Software, Accountor’s CEO Mikko Soirola stepped in as both Chair and CEO of Heeros during the transition.
Spinnova Plc – Co-founder and current Chair Janne Poranen returned as CEO in March 2025 while retaining his chairmanship. The company noted it is formally deviating from Finland’s governance code due to the current development stage and special circumstances of Spinnova.
Why it matters
Concentration of power vs. oversight – A dual role centralizes authority and can speed up decision-making, but it risks weakening checks and balances, since the board is tasked with overseeing the very CEO who chairs it.
Nordic norms vs. U.S. practice – In the Nordics, CEO–Chair duality is rare. By contrast, around 44% of S&P 500 companies in the U.S. still had a unified CEO-Chair as of 2023, though the trend is shifting toward separation. (source) There’s an interesting article in the FT for those interested in U.S. models and trends.
Investor scrutiny – Governance watchers pay close attention whenever a Finnish listed company concentrates these roles. Both Suominen and Spinnova have framed their arrangements as temporary, but investors will expect transparency and strong independent directors to counterbalance the setup.
While efficient on paper, dual CEO–Chair roles pose potential risks for board independence. Supporters argue the model creates clear authority and agility, but it also removes a critical layer of oversight. In Finland’s market, these cases stand out precisely because of their rarity.
Other companies that had management team changes were Solar Foods, SRV, Summa Defence and Wetteri.
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Until next week,
– Helene Auramo
Founder, Listeds Pulse Newsletter