Tell me what Haglund’s qualifications are for his current position. He is, after all, a Master of Science in Economics and Business Administration, if nothing else, but a direct transition to a political broiler and from there to lobbying positions for Kaidi and Accenture does not sound like the career path I would expect.
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The bank is in disarray, the board cannot decide what it wants Aktia to be. This then leads to continuous leadership changes. Lehtonen has a long banking career and is very competent for the task. Haglund, on the other hand, is a pure political broiler and the board’s YES-man..
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It does raise some doubts in an ordinary person when someone whose strongest qualifications are from politics is chosen as CEO. Such a profile is excellent for the board, but as a CEO? Does this mean that some kind of personal “suitability” weighed more in the balance than the ability to create shareholder value?
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I’m completely flabbergasted if Lehtonen himself doesn’t have some truly significant position he’s been chosen for and is therefore moving elsewhere.
However, he is a banking veteran who has practically played through Nordea’s personnel and management roulette, and thus one of the most skilled professionals in the domestic banking sector. Many don’t understand how difficult a job that is to do within Nordea.
Absolutely senseless action, if it originates from the board.
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Phew, my morning coffee almost flew onto the keyboard. The situational comedy is well under control in the duck pond, but I’m not quite sure about the ball.
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Such a short period of Lehtonen’s tenure could point to a difference of opinion between the CEO and perhaps the largest shareholders regarding the company’s future (acquisitions)? Otherwise, it’s difficult to understand the sudden departure of the ambitious Lehtonen.
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The old boys’ club chooses its own. That’s Haglund’s best merit.
He has no experience in the acting field and a non-existent track record in leadership. From politics, of course, he has merits, at least in the opinion of the RKP. Quite weak merits there too. Was this appointment a reward for something?
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Occam’s razor. It’s likely that Lehtonen has been discussing with larger asset management foundation clients, but a language and cultural barrier prevented them from connecting. The clients told the board directly that it’s not working → the board’s emergency solution: Calle as CEO.
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Could it be that the preparation for the Aktia - EQ merger is finally underway, and the future CEO will come from EQ’s side? This task would probably suit Haglund better, who then gets to show off for less than a year and then move on to other jobs. Lehtonen would hardly want to be a bench warmer in EQ-Aktia and is leaving because of that.
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I can’t read it, but
“Aktia needs a change and growth leader who inspires the people around them,” commented the Board’s Chairman on the rapid CEO change.
Apparently, Lehtonen was not a change or growth leader, or inspiring, or both.
At least according to the official truth.
Lehtonen out, Haglund in – Now Aktia’s Chairman of the Board tells the reasons Lehtonen ulos, Haglund sisään – Nyt Aktian hallituksen puheenjohtaja kertoo syistä | Kauppalehti
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A little referencing:
“The general change in the economic situation requires different leadership, for which Haglund, based on Veritas’ growth management results, has better chances of success. Also, the existence of Haglund’s stakeholder network is seen as a strength.”
Well, what else could be justified more beautifully…the results will tell the truth in due course. So I’m not disputing those arguments in any way, as I don’t know the people or am an expert in business.
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There’s a very unanimous pre-judging of Haglund going on; let’s let the guy start first. A similar insider appointment back in the day was Christoffer Taxell’s appointment to lead Partek, and it turned out well in the end, didn’t it? 
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I had to check what he has accomplished at Veritas. Positively surprised.
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Carl Haglund’s Appointment – A Considered Decision, Not Just a Superficial Appointment
Carl “Calle” Haglund’s appointment as CEO of Aktia has sparked discussion here on this forum – understandably. But to avoid going to the other extreme, it might be good to highlight a few facts:
Although Haglund’s background includes politics, his recent years have been anything but political. As CEO of Veritas, he has purposefully led the insurance company towards growth – and specifically in a strategic role. During his time, Veritas has achieved measurable results and grown its profile to a completely new level.
Against this background, the appointment is not some ‘revolving door’ appointment, but part of Aktia’s ambitious growth strategy. Calle already knows Aktia from his board work, so this is not an outsider jumping into cold water, but a continuation.
In the financial sector, CEO appointments do not always appear straightforward on paper – but in this case, it is a strategically justified choice for a person who has diverse experience, networks, and a proven track record in successful change management.
It is entirely justified to challenge appointments, but it is also fair to acknowledge when there is real substance behind them. Haglund’s task will not be easy, but hardly anyone expects an easy time during the transitional phase of asset management and banking. Now, vision, the ability to unite the team, and to bring the growth strategy to fruition will be weighed.
To me, this appointment looks more like an opportunity than a threat.
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The AI has now hallucinated a bit on its own, at least regarding pension assets. Veritas thus pays annually approx. 0.76 billion euros in pensions (paid mostly from TyEL and YEL contributions of working people). The company had pension assets, i.e., mainly investments, of 4.9 billion euros at the turn of the year - including over 8% of Aktia.
A detailed list of investments is in the annual report: https://veritas.fi/wp-content/uploads/veritas_toimintakertomus_2024.pdf
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Having heard about the strong strategic shift towards asset management, it’s clear that a change leader is needed to prevent a repeat of Nokia, which announced it was transforming from a phone manufacturer into a creator and maintainer of its ecosystem, but didn’t actually change the company as per its announcement.
The idea is good; it was tried before by acquiring Taaleri and not chaining key personnel to their desks with golden handcuffs. Now there’s a new attempt, which if successful, will benefit the owners, but the question is, will it succeed?
My own view is that I didn’t sell the Aktia shares in Rouva’s portfolio; instead, I lightened up by taking Evli in their place. There’s room for several players in the asset management market, but Aktia’s situation is complicated by the fact that Manta and Evli are already where Aktia is trying to push in, and key personnel don’t seem to be staying with the company.
I won’t add more with these results, but I also won’t sell (any more). Wait & see.
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Here are Kasperi’s comments on Aktia’s CEO change. 
Aktia announced on Thursday that it is changing its CEO. Carl Haglund, a member of the company’s Board of Directors, has been appointed as the new CEO. The previous CEO, Aleksi Lehtonen, is leaving his position immediately.
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This is certainly peculiar business. The CEO carousel keeps spinning, and on the other hand, the stock price has been flatlining year after year. Could this be the fifth CEO in less than 10 years? Attention turns to the board and major shareholders. I have previously owned Aktia, but this kind of game doesn’t interest me at all. And what are the interests? Unfortunately, language policy and parochial matters seem to take precedence over the interests of the shareholders.
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As a lifelong customer and former owner of Aktia, I wonder about the board’s actions. The CEO changes regularly, but nothing changes in the bank’s poor customer service. I thought that the von Rettigs and Janne Larma would bring about positive change in Aktia’s operations, but nothing has changed. The company resembles Stockmann in terms of owner actions (although the CEO at Aktia changes often, at Stockmann incompetent management was allowed to destroy the company for years).
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This would be a logical scenario, especially since eq just appointed a big name as CEO.
Haglund seems like a temporary appointment. He doesn’t have the credentials for that role even if he has done good work at Veritas.
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