Ylva enters a new era – CEO changes, new Board appointed
29.5.2026
Ylva, the company in charge of the Student Union of the University of Helsinki’s business operations, is seeking future growth from operating and developing responsible restaurant business. New people have now been appointed to guide Ylva into the new era.
Mika Perkiö is stepping down as Ylva’s CEO, switching over to Ylva’s Board as an assessor. The director of Ylva’s restaurant business, Anne Immonen,will take over the duties of Ylva’s CEO on a temporary basis starting from 1 June 2026.
Perkiö has served as Ylva’s CEO and HYY’s finance director since 27 November 2024.
“I want to thank the Student Union, Ylva’s Board and all personnel for their trust and excellent cooperation. All the arrangements related to Ylva’s challenging debt situation have now been concluded, and the Student Union is free of debt. We are facing a new beginning after some difficult years, and we are in a good place to start building for it: Ylva’s restaurant business has grown profitably since the coronavirus pandemic, and in 2025 the restaurants once again delivered an excellent result”, Perkiö states.
“We owe Mika massive thanks for leading Ylva through these historically challenging times. Throughout his term, Mika has built a strong trust through open discussion and cooperation with HYY’s Board and Representative Council. Thanks to Mika’s valuable work, we can now finally look forward and start building something new”, Chair of HYY’s Board Emil Aarnio praises the outgoing CEO.
Changes to Ylva’s Board, new Board to begin work on 1 June
LLM, MSc Hanna-Mari Manninen has been appointed as chair of Ylva’s Board starting from 1 June 2026. Manninen works as an attorney and partner at Dittmar & Indrenius and serves as the chair of the Board of UN Women Finland. She has served as an assessor on Ylva’s Board since 1 April 2024.
In addition to Mika Perkiö, EMBA Päivi Lindén and MSc (Econ) Petteri Ruska will also start as new assessors on the Board.
Lindén and Ruska are both very experienced professionals in restaurant and service business and food industry. Lindén works as CEO of Vireko Oy, manages Attendo’s meal services and serves as senior advisor at SAM Headhunting Finland.
Ruska works as the CEO of MeEat Food Tech Oy and serves on the Board of Markkinointijohdon ryhmä MJR ry. He has also gained experience as the CEO of Picnic Group and business group director of Royal Ravintolat Oy.
Student of Law Juunia Honkanen and Student of History Elsa Lindeberg have been appointed as new student members on the Board. Honkanen served as the member of HYY’s Board in charge of Ylva in 2025, and Lindeberg served as the chair of the Financial Committee on HYY’s Board in 2024.
Tuukka Kainulainen and Antti Kaijansinkko continue on the Board, whereas Kim Holmberg, Miika Kotalainen and Mari Tyster conclude their terms.
“Now that the overall solution of property finances has been reached, Ylva gets to focus on developing its restaurant business. The new members of Ylva’s Board provide us with strong expertise from the restaurant industry as well as vision for strategic development to meet students’ wishes. I cannot wait to see what UniCafe and our catering business will produce in the coming years. I also want to express my warmest gratitude to the outgoing members of the Board. During their term, Ylva’s tough debt situation was resolved and the historically large decisions on real estate sales were made. They showed strong problem-solving skills and nerves of steel in a difficult situation. Now, these exceptional times are behind us”, Aarnio states.
The Board’s composition starting from 1 June 2026 is as follows: Hanna-Mari Manninen serves as the chair, Päivi Lindén, Mika Perkiö and Petteri Ruska as assessors, Juunia Honkanen, Antti Kaijansinkko, Tuukka Kainulainen and Elsa Lindeberg as student members and Petri Minni as Ylva’s staff representative.
Ylva’s Board serves as the Board of Ylva Group and Ylva Services Ltd. The Board of the Student Union appoints the chair of Ylva’s Board along with 4–10 other members, at least half of whom must be members of the Student Union at the time of their appointment. A minimum of one and a maximum of four assessors must be appointed to the Board. The staff representative has the right to speak and be present at the board meetings.
Further information:
Emil Aarnio
Chair of HYY’s Board
050 475 1280
emil.aarnio@hyy.fi
