Helsinki, Uusimaa, Finland, August 2025 – Merja Rissanen has been appointed as Chief People Officer at Finnfund, a Finnish development financier and impact investor. In her new role, she will lead the organisation’s people and culture strategy, focusing on transforming organisational culture, enhancing leadership capabilities, and implementing strategic HR initiatives aimed at driving measurable improvements in employee engagement and retention, positioning Finnfund as a leader in people-centric practices.
Prior to this appointment, Rissanen served at Greenstep for three years as Manager HR Business and Senior HR Consultant. She partnered with client organisations across industries and geographies to elevate people strategies and leadership culture, providing a blend of strategic advisory, operational HR support, and tailored coaching for senior leaders and teams. She frequently took on interim HR leadership roles, designed leadership development programs, facilitated training, and guided executive teams through complex transformation and culture-building initiatives.
Before that, Rissanen was CHRO and Executive Team Member at Humana Suomi for nearly two years, leading people operations for 3,000 employees during a period of strategic renewal. She drove the shift toward a modern, coaching-based leadership culture, redesigned HR structures and operating models, and developed leadership programs for more than 400 supervisors, ensuring strong alignment between people development and business goals.
Earlier, she served as Executive Vice President HR at Alko Oy for over a year, where she co-led strategic planning and culture transformation, built leadership capabilities, and supported organisational change. Before that, she was Senior Vice President Human Resources at Restel Oy, Finland’s largest hospitality operator at the time, where she modernised people practices, implemented a new HR service model, launched Restel Academy, and introduced a company-wide performance bonus model.
Rissanen’s extensive career also includes roles as Human Resources Manager at Finnfund, Managing Consultant at Midagon, and a 15-year tenure with Finnair, where she held multiple senior HR and commercial leadership positions, including Vice President HR and Country Director France. She began her career with Stockmann Oyj Abp in HR, customer service, and business control roles.
About Finnfund
Finnfund is a Finnish development financier and impact investor that builds a sustainable future by investing in businesses addressing global development challenges with Finnish expertise. Each year, Finnfund invests €200–250 million in 20–30 companies in developing countries, focusing on digital infrastructure, clean energy, forestry, agriculture, and SME funding through financial institutions. The organisation’s portfolio totals approximately €1.3 billion, with operations supported by around 100 employees in Helsinki and Nairobi.
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