Merja Multas

What I do

I bring business goals, technology opportunities and people leadership together into one coherent whole.

AI, data and automation

AI strategy, use case identification, piloting and deployment to production. Data leadership, analytics, measurement and verification of benefits. Responsible AI and regulation as part of everyday work.

Digital business and product leadership

Service strategy, roadmaps and prioritisation. Consumer-centric development from research to A/B testing. Connecting commercial growth with service development in B2B and B2C environments.

Finance and budgeting

Building OPEX and CAPEX budgets, forecasting and cost control. Investment decisions, payback calculations, pricing and profitability management. P&L responsibility for client portfolios in the consulting business.

Change and programme management

Large platform renewals, migrations, carve-outs and vendor changes. Risk management, procurement and multi-vendor models. From strategy to operational execution and delivery.

Executive and steering group work

Executive team experience from digital marketing communications agencies and from the technology function of a commercial company. I have prepared and led several strategic and operational steering groups, and been responsible for preparing decisions and reporting.

Both sides of the table

Years as a consultant and as a leader of a consulting business, then years as a buyer of digital services. I know what the client expects, how buying decisions are made and where the frustrations are, but also how a sustainable delivery is built from the inside.

International teams

Experience leading and building multinational teams in Europe, Asia and the United States. Hands-on collaboration with teams in Finland, Sweden, Poland, India and the United States, as well as consulting work in Berlin.

People leadership

Over five years of line management experience, 3–12 direct reports and cross-functional teams. Clear direction, structures that work, and psychological safety that shows in both results and commitment.

Languages

Finnish as my native language. English fluently as a working language. Swedish at a good working level, including Nordic leadership and steering group work.

Four cases that show how I work

Selected examples where technology, people and business all had to move at the same time.

Modernising the technology while the entire team changed

Starting point: The digital service had been built up over many years, and the technology underneath it was outdated, which made maintenance and development heavy and expensive. A renewal was necessary. With the renewal already well under way, the entire development team was replaced.
What I did: I led the move to a new frontend framework and headless architecture as well as a more optimised back-end operation, the renewal of analytics measurement, and the introduction of a design system as a permanent part of the development process. Alongside this I built a new team, its onboarding and its operating model, so that development did not stall during the transition. At the same time I led the outgoing team through the change and through the renewal already in progress.
The hardest part: Two teams had to work together in a situation where one knew their work was ending and the other would take over maintenance and development. Two release deadlines, web and mobile, ran in parallel while the people were new and the technology was changing. People leadership, prioritisation, dependency management, realistic communication within the team and a deliberately built atmosphere of trust were what made progress possible.
What remained: A modern technology base, a consistent design system as part of the development process, and reliable analytics to support decision-making. A new team up and running and on top of the whole picture. The technology renewal was delivered on schedule and was received extremely well: by advertising clients thanks to improved ad visibility, and by consumers and internal stakeholders alike.

Consistent product and data leadership for a Nordic organisation

Starting point: Nordic responsibility for MTV Uutiset and TV4 Nyheterna, together over three million weekly users. On the Swedish side there was no consistent product development model and no development team of its own.
What I did: I built the operating model for the TV4 Nyheterna development team: roles, processes, prioritisation, roadmap practices and collaboration structures. I introduced a consistent model for both product leadership and data-driven leadership across organisational boundaries, broke down existing silos and turned collaboration towards shared goals and a shared direction.
Data leadership: I brought data into leadership through a shared steering group with sales, business, analytics and SEO, and service development around the same table. Decisions began to rest on metrics and A/B testing rather than opinions.
What remained: A functioning development team and a shared product leadership model, consumer-centric thinking at the core of service development, and clearly stronger commitment across functions.

A new role with no existing structures, which became a permanent way of working

Starting point: A completely new role in a media company of around 500 people. There was no established way of working between business and technology, and no existing structures to lean on.
What I did: I set up and led the technical steering group for MTV Uutiset and the online services, bringing content professionals, sales, business and technical development around the same table. I built systematic development processes for the web teams and defined roles and responsibilities. I introduced KPI thinking into service and business development, which began to guide both planning and decision-making.
What remained: The operating model became a permanent part of the organisation and set the foundation for how business and technology worked together for years afterwards.

Turning around the finances in a voluntary role

Role: Board member of a sports association and head of its largest section. A voluntary role with responsibility for the section's activity, pricing and finances.
Starting point: The activity ran on established habits that had never been examined financially. Pricing was outdated and invoicing imprecise. The point-of-sale system at the range had an invoicing option into which tens of thousands of euros of payments had been recorded, none of which was ever invoiced to anyone.
What I did: I built a new pricing model and updated both prices and rental rates, and quotes began to follow the model consistently. I removed the invoicing option from the point-of-sale system entirely and rebuilt it so that payment types are recorded separately: exercise vouchers, card, cash and other items are now traceable. I made the operation systematic and brought investment tracking into decision-making.
Result: The section I led produced roughly 75 per cent of the combined result of all the association's sections. Costs stayed under control and the section's margin was around 66 per cent of income. The association's surplus more than doubled compared with the previous year.
What remained: The pricing model, the invoicing practice and the tracking of payment types remained as permanent ways of working. The leak was closed structurally rather than as a one-off fix.

Career

Over 20 years in digital services, on both the vendor and the client side.

2022–2026 Head of MTV Uutiset Product & Technology
MTV Oy (Schibsted). Full responsibility for the product and technology development, roadmap and budgets of the digital news service. Product-level AI strategy and its rollout.
2021–2022 Product Lead, News Nordic
MTV Oy (Telia). Nordic responsibility for MTV Uutiset and TV4 Nyheterna, over 3 million weekly users.
2015–2021 Product Owner, digital services
MTV Oy. Development of digital services across several business areas, first AI pilots into production, analytics renewals and GDPR programmes.
2013–2014 Senior Account Director
Whitesheep Isobar Finland (Dentsu Aegis). Member of the executive team. Responsibility for the largest client portfolio, its P&L and growth.
2010–2013 Business IT Manager
MTV Media Oy (Bonnier). A new role with no existing structures. I set up and led the technical steering group between business and technology.
2007–2010 Account & Project Director
Frantic Media Oy. Member of the executive team. Responsibility for the client portfolio and for a team of over 10 project managers, whose line manager I was. Building PMO processes.
1999–2006 Project Manager
Satama Interactive Oyj. Global web and mobile projects, including large-scale game websites in 17 languages (management and localisations), product sites and e-commerce. Nokia as the main client.

Industry experience

Selected clients and partners.

Media and entertainmentMTV Oy, Yleisradio Oy, Sanoma Oyj

Gaming and gamificationRAY (now Veikkaus Oy), Playable

Technology and telecomsNokia Oyj, Sonera Oyj (now Telia Finland Oyj)

Industry and energyMetso Oyj, Neste Oyj, Valtra Oy Ab

Banking and financeÅlandsbanken Abp

Travel and transportViking Line Abp

Positions of trust

Positions of trust in several associations: board member, vice chair of the board, head of a section and instructor. Also a board member of a housing company.

Feedback from colleagues and team members

In the feedback I have received from colleagues, managers, executive team members and the people I have led, the same observation recurs: a high bar and respectful treatment of people go hand in hand. This is how I lead.

Results, direction and execution	People, collaboration and trust
I make things happen and see them through	I delegate responsibility and trust expertise
I make decisions quickly and boldly	I listen and take different people into account
I turn strategy into roadmaps and practical work	I make goals and direction clear to people
I keep the whole picture and the priorities under control under pressure	I create safety and space to work in the middle of change
I challenge old ways of working constructively	I keep the conversation open also on difficult matters
I make business-driven decisions	I act for the team and the shared goal, not my own agenda
I hold a high standard of quality and expectation	I am fair, approachable and ready to support
I take responsibility independently and proactively	I build ownership instead of micromanaging
I take difficult situations in hand and focus on the solution	I do not look for someone to blame, I help people move forward
I am convincing at executive and stakeholder level	I connect different people, views and parts of the organisation
I stay effective through continuous change	I keep people with me through openness and trust
I am direct, courageous and persistent	I am empathetic and respectful, and I keep humour in the mix

The feedback in full

As written, including development feedback. Two of the comments were originally in Finnish and are translated here.

I had the pleasure of working with Merja at MTV3 in Finland and TV4 in Sweden, where we built and developed digital services in a rapidly changing media landscape.

Merja has a rare ability to lead digital development as a complete business journey. From strategy, business objectives and budgeting all the way to technology, execution and customer experience. She combines a strong commercial mindset with excellent delivery capabilities and understands that digital services should not merely support the business but actively drive its growth and development.

Merja successfully led both an in-house development team and an extensive network of external partners. She knows how to bring different people and capabilities together, establish a clear direction and turn ambitious plans into tangible results.

I especially value Merja's ability to see the big picture while maintaining a firm grip on execution, priorities and budgets. She is an experienced and highly capable leader in modern digital business, and I would warmly recommend her to any organization looking to develop its digital services and business comprehensively, from end to end.

And beyond all this expertise, Merja is simply a lovely person to work with, a warm, trusted and highly valued colleague.
Digital business, Nordic Head of Digital Services

As a leader, Merja is honest, open, and always ready to support her team. She understands and respects individual differences, treats colleagues with respect, and always seeks ways to help the team work efficiently together. She excels under pressure, skillfully prioritizing tasks while keeping the big picture in mind.

Merja communicates complex topics clearly to diverse audiences and works effectively with stakeholders from various backgrounds and with varying needs. She is a true problem solver, never assigning blame, always focused on finding solutions. This mindset makes her a valuable asset to any team, unit, or organization.
Service Manager

My life would be much better if everyone was like Merja. She is best in class with her financials. She is innovative, collaborative, and open-minded. She faces challenges with a creative mindset and finds the best solution for the company, her service, and her team. She faces difficulties with grace and integrity. She always delivers on her promises.

If anything, I think Merja could benefit from focus more on stakeholder management to get attention on her great ideas.

Merja challenges old ways of working with innovative solutions.

Merja is very protective of the people she works with. She holds her team close at heart. It is a fantastic characteristic. It makes her a great people manager. The flipside is that it could be a limitation in the never-ending battle for efficiency.
Business Controller, Nordic

Show all feedback (6 more)

You listen to people and act as a good interface between the team and the rest of the company, allowing us to focus on the work

Some work still comes through conversation without tickets and might be hard to prioritize

No nonsense, straight talker. I like working with a person like that
Developer, infra and back-end

What works well:

Honesty, direct communication, and efficient decision-making.

A strong ability and willingness to persevere through challenges such as delivery delays, economic and organizational uncertainties, and stressful situations.

Genuine care for team members, stakeholders, and end-users, balanced with the seniority and assertiveness needed to push back when necessary.

Speed up: You make the right decisions fast. Radical honesty: You call things out even when it's difficult. Look out for each other: You treat everyone with respect. Walk in our customers' shoes: You make customer experience your obsession. Celebrate the good stuff: You are generous with praise. Less is more: You do what matters most. One team: You align goals and prioritize.
Data Scientist, consultant

We need people like you Merja, to maintain the high quality in the work and services we provide to our customers. You have always been a person to connect different teams and opinions together, with a voice of reason. I have always received excellent support and expertise from you, it is good to know that there is someone in the organisation sharing the same challenges and some one to count on any subject I need help with. So keep up the spirit and the high standards we believe in.

You lead work and people with clear, honest and open way. You are positive person but not afraid to raise challenges if needed or stand beside a team member. These are things I always value highly in any manager or colleague.
Head of TV & Video Advertising Systems

Really appreciate how meticulous you are, especially with your numbers, it makes me confident in the work we do together. You're always proactive and think a couple of steps ahead, which makes my job much easier. And I like how you always keep the company's best interest in mind when making decisions, please keep doing that, it really shows.

You're really strong on the details, which is such a big strength. One thing that could make you even more successful is giving yourself more space to step back from the smallest details, specially to focus on the high level picture.

I really enjoy working with you. You're reliable and collaborative, and I always feel that you're willing to find solutions together. You bring a positive energy but also a professional focus, which makes it easy and enjoyable to work with you. I feel I can count on you, both in terms of the numbers and as a colleague, and that's something I really value.
Interim Business Controller

You are very sharp, and you have a really broad knowledge and command of your field, on top of being a good colleague as I say below.

I cannot really think of any particular development suggestions, the collaboration has gone well. This is not one either, but a good moment to suggest that you tell us in legal a bit more about the technical implementation of the platform sometime? :)

You are a really nice and funny colleague, working with you is simply enjoyable! It shows that you care about the company and your colleagues.
Legal Counsel (translated from Finnish)

You are a truly excellent professional! You have broad expertise and a good understanding of the different parts and the whole of the organisation. You remember to take legal perspectives into account, and I think our collaboration works really well.

You are also a great personality. Batting ideas around together is both rewarding and fun. I also admire the broad perspective and institutional memory you have, which has saved us from a lot of trouble.
Senior Legal Counsel & Data Protection Officer (translated from Finnish)

Results and identified potential

The kind of role I am looking for

Roles

Environments where I am at my best