Matti Takala is a Managing Director at Russell Reynolds Associates in Helsinki, a role he has held since April 2026. Prior to this, he served as a Partner at Heidrick & Struggles in Finland from January 2025 to October 2025, as Principal and Executive Search Consultant from September 2021 to December 2024 in Helsinki, as Consultant in the Board & CEO Advisory Partners and Industrial Practice at Russell Reynolds Associates from July 2020 to September 2021, and as an Executive Search and Assessment Professional from September 2013 to June 2020 in Helsinki. Earlier in his career, he held multiple roles at Egon Zehnder from 2006 to 2013 including Global Knowledge Manager for the Machinery & Engineering Segment from January 2012 to September 2013 in Helsinki, Research Associate and Head of Research in Calgary and Global Knowledge Manager for Machinery & Engineering from December 2010 to December 2011, Research Associate and CIO Practice Specialist Europe from April 2009 to November 2010 in Helsinki, and Researcher from March 2006 to March 2009 in Helsinki. He also served as Sub-Editor at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs for the Finnish Journal of Foreign Affairs (Ulkopolitiikka) from 2005 to 2006. He holds an MA in History from the University of Helsinki (1998�2005), a BA in Musicology from the University of Helsinki (1998�2003), and studied History at Universit� de Poitiers (2001�2002).