Pekka Pohjakallio
Executive coach and keynote speaker on leadership, innovation, and sustainable performance.
Why you should book Pekka Pohjakallio for your next event
- Co-founder of Nordic Leadership Partners with deep expertise in leadership and organizational development.
- Former Nokia executive and Hintsa leader combining innovation, strategy, and human performance.
- Delivers 30–40 high-profile keynotes annually, consistently earning outstanding feedback.
Non-binding request for Pekka Pohjakallio
Turning purpose, identity, and innovation into practical leadership
Pekka Pohjakallio is an executive coach, entrepreneur, and keynote speaker who brings together innovation and people in a way that resonates with leaders at every level. As co-founder and partner of Nordic Leadership Partners, he works with organizations that want to strengthen leadership, sharpen strategy, and build cultures that perform without burning out. With a background spanning Nokia, Hintsa Performance, and his own ventures, Pekka offers both strategic depth and practical insight from decades of hands-on experience.
Pekka Pohjakallio – Executive Coach and Keynote Speaker
Pekka Pohjakallio is an executive coach and one of the founders and partners of Nordic Leadership Partners, a consulting firm specializing in leadership and organizational development. Throughout his career, he has focused on two core passions: innovation and people. This combination defines both his advisory work and his keynote speeches, where he translates complex leadership challenges into clear, actionable insights.
Organizations book Pekka Pohjakallio for their events when they want more than inspiration. They want direction, reflection, and tools that leaders can apply immediately. His approach is grounded in real executive experience and shaped by years of working closely with senior leaders across industries.
From Nokia to Entrepreneurship
Before becoming an entrepreneur and executive coach, Pekka built a 19-year executive career at Nokia. During a period of rapid technological change and global expansion, he worked in new business areas such as text messaging, music, services marketing, and developer communities.
These roles placed him at the intersection of innovation, technology, and market creation. He experienced firsthand what it takes to scale new ideas, build ecosystems, and lead in fast-moving environments. The lessons from Nokia still shape his thinking: innovation is never just about products. It is about people, culture, and the courage to rethink how work gets done.
In 2011, Pekka co-founded 925 Design, a work-life design studio dedicated to creating better ways of working. The ambition was clear: help individuals and organizations achieve more while burning out less. 925 Design later became part of Hintsa Performance, further strengthening the link between performance and wellbeing in his work.
He also co-authored Työkirja (“The Work Book”), which explores practical ways to accomplish more without sacrificing health and energy. The book reflects his long-standing interest in sustainable performance and meaningful work.
Leadership and the Hintsa Core
Pekka has held senior roles at Hintsa Performance, where he was responsible for global client relationships, the consulting business, and HR strategy. In this capacity, he worked closely with senior executives and leadership teams, helping them align performance with purpose.
He continues to mentor several of Hintsa’s executive clients, with a particular focus on the Hintsa Core: identity, purpose, and control.
Identity – understanding who you are as a leader
Purpose – clarifying why you do what you do
Control – focusing energy on what you can influence
This framework forms a central theme in his coaching and speaking. Leaders today face constant pressure and complexity. Pekka challenges them to slow down, reflect, and build a foundation that supports both high performance and long-term resilience.
Nordic Leadership Partners
As co-founder and partner of Nordic Leadership Partners, Pekka works with organizations that aim to strengthen leadership capabilities and develop cultures that enable innovation. The firm specializes in leadership and organizational development, supporting companies in navigating transformation, growth, and change.
His work often revolves around questions such as:
How do we build leadership that scales?
How do we innovate without losing focus?
How do we create organizations where people can perform at a high level over time?
Pekka brings structure to these questions while keeping the human perspective at the center.
Book Pekka Pohjakallio for Your Event
Pekka Pohjakallio is a sought-after keynote speaker who delivers 30–40 high-profile keynote speeches annually. He has been nominated as a “Speaker of the Year” candidate by Finland’s two largest speaker agencies, MySpeaker and Speakersforum. He consistently receives excellent feedback for his ability to combine clarity, warmth, and sharp thinking.
When you book Pekka Pohjakallio for your event, you get a speaker who connects strategy with humanity. His keynotes draw from his executive career at Nokia, his leadership roles at Hintsa Performance, and his entrepreneurial journey with 925 Design and Nordic Leadership Partners.
Audiences leave with:
A clearer understanding of their own leadership identity
Concrete tools for aligning purpose and performance
New perspectives on innovation and organizational culture
Pekka does not rely on buzzwords or quick fixes. He speaks from experience and invites leaders to think deeper about how they lead, why they lead, and what kind of impact they want to create.
For conferences, leadership days, strategy kick-offs, and executive gatherings, Pekka Pohjakallio delivers keynotes that combine reflection and action. His focus on innovation, identity, and sustainable performance makes him a strong choice for organizations that want to build leadership fit for the future.
Keynotes
Keynote by Pekka Pohjakallio:
Hope is a verb
Are your leaders running fast yet feeling stuck—drained by pressure, constant change, and a lack of real direction?
In a world where uncertainty is the norm, hope cannot be a passive wish. Hope is a verb. It is something leaders do. In his keynotes, Pekka Pohjakallio shows how to turn hope into daily action by anchoring leadership in identity, purpose, and control. Drawing on decades of executive experience and his work with senior leaders, he equips audiences with practical tools to innovate, perform, and stay resilient without burning out.
Pekka connects strategy with humanity and ambition with sustainability. The result is clear: leaders who act with intention, teams who regain focus, and organizations that move forward with energy and direction. If you want more than inspiration if you want lasting impact Pekka delivers the framework and mindset to make hope a driving force.
Key takeaways
- Trust in own potential
- Connection & compassion
- Leading joy
- Learned optimism
- Agency
Keynote by Pekka Pohjakallio:
Leading a a flourishing organization
Why does your organization deliver results yet still struggle with engagement, alignment, or sustainable performance?
Leading a flourishing organization requires more than strategy decks and performance targets. It demands clarity of identity, shared purpose, and leaders who know where to focus their energy. In his keynotes, Pekka Pohjakallio translates decades of executive experience into practical frameworks that help leaders build cultures where people thrive and results follow.
Drawing on his work in innovation, organizational development, and the Hintsa Core identity, purpose, and control Pekka shows how to create direction without burnout and performance without losing humanity. Audiences leave with concrete tools to strengthen leadership, sharpen focus, and align teams around what truly matters.
The value is clear: stronger leadership, healthier performance, and an organization designed to flourish not just function.
Key takeaways
- Why individual-centric isms don’t work on 2020’s?
- Growing as a leader vs. developing leadership
- Leadership team DNA
- My growth as a leader
- An integrated leadership model
- Leading through strengths
Keynote by Pekka Pohjakallio:
Breakthrough thinking
Are your teams busy optimizing the present while missing the next big opportunity?
Breakthrough thinking does not happen by accident. It requires leaders who dare to question assumptions, rethink habits, and create space for bold ideas. In his keynotes, Pekka Pohjakallio challenges organizations to move beyond incremental improvements and rediscover the courage to innovate.
With a background in building new business areas at Nokia and advising senior leaders on innovation and performance, Pekka combines strategic insight with a deep understanding of people. He shows how identity, purpose, and focus unlock creativity and drive meaningful change.
The value is tangible: sharper strategic clarity, braver decisions, and a culture that supports new ideas from concept to execution. If you want your organization to think differently—and act accordingly—Pekka delivers the mindset and tools to spark real breakthroughs.
Key takeaways
- Changing the perspective
- Prerequisites for a breakthrough
- The requirement of being relaxed
Keynote by Pekka Pohjakallio:
As an introvert In the business world
Do you feel that the business world rewards the loudest voice in the room while thoughtful, introverted leaders are overlooked?
Being an introvert in business is not a weakness. It is an untapped advantage. In his keynotes, Pekka Pohjakallio reframes leadership by focusing on identity, purpose, and control helping introverted professionals lead with clarity and quiet confidence. Drawing on his executive background and years of coaching senior leaders, he shows how reflection, deep thinking, and focused energy create strong, sustainable results.
Pekka equips audiences with practical tools to communicate with impact, influence without noise, and build trust-based leadership. The value is clear: empowered introverted leaders who step forward authentically, contribute strategically, and drive performance in a way that feels natural not forced.
Key takeaways
- My kind of (working) life
- My learnings as a burnout survivor
- The anatomy of burnout
- What would I do differently?
- Myth busting psychological safety
- The necessity of relationships and appreciation
Keynote by Pekka Pohjakallio:
Executive’s Wellbeing & performance
Are your executives delivering results at the cost of their energy, focus, and long-term performance?
Sustainable success demands more than stamina. It requires clarity of identity, a strong sense of purpose, and control over where energy is invested. In his keynotes, Pekka Pohjakallio addresses the real drivers behind executive wellbeing and performance. Drawing on his experience from Hintsa Performance and years of mentoring senior leaders, he introduces practical frameworks that align high ambition with resilience.
Pekka challenges leaders to rethink how they work, decide, and recover. He translates the principles of the Hintsa Core—identity, purpose, and control—into actionable strategies that protect performance under pressure.
The value is clear: sharper focus, stronger leadership capacity, and executives who perform at a high level without burning out.
Key takeaways
- Stretching vs. recovery
- Executive’s wellbeing
- Leading wellbeing
- The requirements of the modern work
Living a Life That Looks Like You – Hintsa Stories With Pekka Pohjakallio
Watch Pekka Pohjakallio in action
