A board is to look after shareholder interests and, especially in a listed company, to ensure a strong ownership base and solid corporate stewardship. Without engaged shareholders long‑term value creation becomes difficult. From time to time, this also means that boards should be prepared to do things differently.

Take the annual general meeting. Despite years of digital progress, the AGM has remained stubbornly analogue. Once a year, the most important forum in corporate governance still expects shareholders to assemble in one room, on one day, at one hour, if they wish to exercise their rights. On AGM day, you turn up, take a seat and get the chance to look management in the eye.

This ritual has been performed in Finland for a very long time. But how well does it work in practice? Physical AGMs are often dominated by those who live nearby or have time to spare. Very few non-Finns or non-residents participate in AGMs, even when ownership is globally dispersed.

A virtual meeting changes things. Earlier this year, Nordea, where I serve as Chief Legal Officer and Secretary to the Board, held its first fully virtual AGM. The reasoning was straightforward: if you want more international owners to take part, you make participation easier. The virtual format broadened participation and Nordea saw more participants from other countries than ever before.

Boards have a duty to look ahead and consider what works best for long-term shareholder engagement.

The change was not universally applauded. Especially Swedes argue, quite fairly, that the AGM in Sweden has long carried a particular cultural weight and a tradition of meeting management face to face. Nordea’s choice was not about challenging that tradition but about applying an approach that works well in the Finnish context and can provide a more inclusive framework for broader shareholder participation. And as many shareholders experienced it, the online meeting was easier to follow, easier to navigate between languages, and generally easier to engage with.

None of this is about diminishing the AGM’s role. It remains the highest forum for shareholder decision‑making. What has changed is how participation takes place. The technology to go virtual has been available for some time. The question for boards is whether they choose to use it. Traditions are important. But boards also have a duty to look ahead and consider what works best for long-term shareholder engagement.

This is my final column as Chair of DIF and I want to thank the entire board, as well as Leena Linnainmaa, Maija Hiiri and Tuisku Pirttimäki, for all my years at DIF. As I leave the DIF board, I am confident that my successor, Ville Voipio, as the new chair, will lead the board work impeccably into the future, and that Petri Niemisvirta will make an excellent new member, while all other members stand for re-election.  

Helsingissä kesäkuussa 2026

Jussi Koskinen

DIFin hallituksen puheenjohtaja 11.5.2026 asti.

Teksti on Boardview 1/2026 -lehden ”Puheenjohtajalta”-kirjoitus.