Springvest’s Tuulia Niemelä named General Counsel of the Year 2026

Nordic Listed Leaders Future Leaders Award is an annual event bringing together management team members and board members of listed companies who are aged 40 or under. The awards recognize leaders who are shaping the future of business and society.

Winners were selected through a multi-stage evaluation process. Initial screening was carried out on the Listeds platform, after which finalists’ written answers were assessed by an independent jury, with any potential conflicts of interest taken into account.

Born in 1994, Niemelä joined Springvest in August 2024 as Senior Legal Counsel. She stepped up to General Counsel and joined the management team in October 2025, having rapidly built the legal function of a fast-growing, First North-listed investment-services company.

Law is at the heart of the business

Niemelä is delighted by the recognition.

“Special thanks go to Springvest’s CEO, who gave me genuine responsibility from the very start and understood what good legal work means for a company. It enables smooth day-to-day operations, growth opportunities and competitive advantages”, Niemelä says.

“Every legal question is fundamentally a business question that needs the best possible answer”, she continues.

Springvest CEO Aki Soudunsaari says the award is well deserved: Niemelä delivers impressive results time and again.

“Tuulia is a rare combination of a people-oriented leader and an exceptionally strong legal expert. She is our MacGyver and Swiss Army knife of growth-company law and someone who finds solutions even in difficult situations and navigates determinedly towards win-win-win outcomes”, he says.

“Many see the success of growth companies through the lens of entrepreneurs, investors and commercial growth. Fewer see the enormous work that goes into governance, regulation, contracts and building trust. Tuulia has been a key person in that work”, Soudunsaari continues.

Six leaders were recognized at the event across the following categories:

• CEO of the Year – Janne Paavola, Nokian Panimo
• CFO of the Year – Lauri Isotalo, Framery Group
• CMO of the Year – Sanna-Kaisa Niikko, Marimekko
• COO of the Year – Tapani Salminen, Canatu
• GC/CLO of the Year – Tuulia Niemelä, Springvest
• CTO/CDO of the Year – Ilari Richardt, Terveystalo

A special jury recognition was awarded to Peter Hänninen of Nanoform.

What is Listeds

Listeds is a Nordic platform that tracks changes in the boards and management teams of listed companies in real time. It provides investors, journalists and decision-makers with up-to-date information on leadership changes. The Future Leaders Award is part of the same organization as the Listeds platform.

Read also: Meet Finland’s Future Leaders 2026, Listeds.com,