Overview
Merja Eskola is the partner in charge of Heidrick & Struggles’ Helsinki office and a member of the global CEO & Board of Directors, Industrial, Healthcare & Life Sciences, and Heidrick Consulting practices.
She is an experienced and trusted advisor in the C-suite and board space specializing in CEO and senior executive roles, board recruitment, leadership assessment and development, top team journeys, executive coaching, and other leadership advisory services.
Experience
With more than 25 years of experience, Merja knows that high-performing leaders and teams are significant success factors for companies. Guided by her client-focused business experience in leadership advisory methodologies and practical execution approach, she collaborates with a diverse set of clients in public, private equity, and family-owned businesses across different industries, including energy, construction, building systems, mining and metals, technology, professional services, financial services, consumer markets, health care, and life sciences.
Prior to joining Heidrick & Struggles, Merja was the CHRO and the group management board member of Caverion Corporation, the building systems business with € 2,3 billion in net sales. She was the global head of HR for a services business and global vice president of human capital development at Outotec Corporation, a mining and metals technology business with €1,9 billion in net sales. Before that, she was the global head of human resources development for a leading manufacturer of consumer packaging company, Huhtamäki Corporation, with € 2,3 billion in net sales. Earlier in her career, Merja was a partner, executive consultant, and member of the leadership team at a leading Finnish-based management consultancy, Talent Partners Ltd, for 15 years, serving big domestic and international corporations and public sector organizations.
Merja is a certified executive coach, work counselor, and Heidrick & Struggles-certified leader and team accelerator coach on several assessment tools. She speaks fluent Finnish, English, and Swedish.
Education
Ashridge Executive Education, Hult International Business School, Master’s Degree studies in Organizational Change
University of San Francisco, MBA in Digital Business
London Business School, Future of Work Research Consortium
Turku University of Applied Sciences, BBA in Foreign Trade