Elina Liehu's business dropped 60% in 2020. Most founders would have cut losses and moved on. Instead, she invested in building technology that helps her competitors.

Today, that decision is reshaping how European companies access interim managers and board professionals—not through slick sales pitches, but through radical transparency and talent-driven matching.

Sitting in Helsinki, Elina has a very international CV. She studied in Paris, worked in a marketing company in Russia, and spent 20 years in various corners of the recruitment industry. Ten years ago, she founded Ferovalo, a Finnish interim management and board services firm. And now, she has built Best Best Talent Platform (BBTP)—a digital tool and talent-driven community that connects companies with over 1,500 C-level executives across Europe. But this isn't a typical agency success story. It's a story of resilience, counter-intuitive bets, and rethinking how companies access strategic talent.

How COVID-19 Shaped the Business

By early 2020, Ferovalo was hitting €1 million in turnover. Elina was mapping European expansion. Then COVID-19 hit, and Finnish companies froze

Interim management requires clients who are investing, building, and changing. So when many companies halted their projects, demand halted too.

"Our turnover dropped 60%," Elina recalls. "Any normal person would have quit."

Instead, she made a counter-intuitive bet. Rather than cutting costs or pivoting to a different career, she invested in rebuilding her company's technical infrastructure. When the platform for Ferovalo's talent pool improved, she got an idea—an idea to bring together talent providers across Europe. On one platform. In one community.

"I strongly believed independent professionals would transform how companies access talent," she explains. "If I was right about that, I needed to be ready when the market recovered."

The conviction kept her going. So did her background in IT staffing, where she'd seen platform models accelerate growth. From her experience at E-work, a Swedish firm where she'd been Managing Director in Finland, Elina knew the playbook. She just had to survive long enough to execute it.

The years following haven't been easy. The Ukrainian war has hit the Finnish economy hard—both financially and psychologically, given Finland's long border with Russia. The economy hasn't grown in nearly two decades. Decision-making remains painfully slow.

Despite Finland's ongoing economic challenges, by 2025, Ferovalo hit €1.5 million in turnover—run essentially solo by Elina, with Leah Martin managing the community side of the talent platform. Elina credits her ability to handle the business solo to BBTP and the efficiency it brings. That efficiency is gaining the attention of boutique agencies across Europe looking for better infrastructure without building it themselves.

Talent-Driven Interim Management

Most interim management firms follow a traditional headhunting model. A recruiter gets a brief, searches their network, cold-calls prospects, and pitches the opportunity.

BBTP does the opposite. Service providers can't search the talent pool. Instead, talents receive assignment alerts based on preferences they've set—finance, operations, board roles, etc. If they're interested, they apply. If not, they ignore it.

"The talents drive the process," Elina explains. "And that changes everything."

Elina's approach to talent matching is based on her vast experience placing talent in interim assignments.

"Most interim assignments aren't title-based", she says. "Assignments are problem-based. A search for a 'factory manager' in itself isn't helpful. What kind of factory? What challenges is the factory facing? What problem needs to be solved?"

Whether the assignment requires a steel manufacturing turnaround or a post-merger integration, a CV alone won't indicate whether a candidate is qualified.

"The details needed for complex projects aren't in anyone's CV." Elina notes. "They come from the talent saying, 'I've solved five of your six challenges in the past 18 months. The sixth one I did three years ago, but I've done that too.'"

Through the platform, talents provide a CV and responses to key application questions that are important for the assignment. Elina's approach produces remarkable results. Customers regularly ask Elina how she delivers 10 highly qualified, differentiated candidates in four days—when other service providers often take longer and present three near-identical profiles.

The answer: the process starts with motivated talent, not recruiter guesswork.

Transparent Markup

Ferovalo's pricing model is refreshingly simple: 15% markup on the interim manager's monthly rate. No retainer. No upfront fees. Only charged when a placement happens.

"Both talents and customers think 15% is fair," Elina says. "They don't try to go around us."

In fact, some talents actively choose to stay with Ferovalo even when contractually free to go direct. The contract allows customers and talents to work together directly if six months have past after an assignment is completed. Yet one talent called Elina a year after an assignment ended, asking her to manage contracts for a new project with the same company.

Why? Protection, simplicity, and trust.

Talents appreciate liability insurance, automated feedback tools, and not having to chase unpaid invoices from struggling clients. Companies value professionally drafted contracts, reference checking, and an intermediary who handles uncomfortable conversations.

"If you're a talent and you know the client is financially struggling, it's very hard to say, 'You haven't paid my bill,'" Elina explains. "You can outsource those difficult conversations to us."

Leah Martin, BBTP's Community Manager, adds: "The 15% markup reflects the value we provide. It's not arbitrary—it's what fairness looks like in this relationship."

This became especially clear during COVID, when Ferovalo's annual pulse surveys revealed that many talents outside Finland had struggled to receive payment from direct contracts with customers. Working through a service provider eliminated that risk.

"I don't wait a week if an invoice is overdue," Elina says firmly. "I'm calling or emailing within two days. And if it gets problematic, we pause the contract. No one can work without getting paid."

Ferovalo by the Numbers

€1.5M Ferovalo turnover (2025)—run by one person with platform support
Very transparent 15% markup

Best Best Talent Platform (BBTP) by the Numbers

1,500+ C-level interim managers and board professionals
4 days average time to deliver a batch of qualified candidates
Target: 5 new agency partners outside Finland in 2026

How Ferovalo Uses AI for Candidate Feedback (Not Matching)

In an industry obsessed with AI-powered matching, BBTP deliberately avoids algorithms in the talent matching process.

"We don't have AI. We don't have an algorithm," Elina states. "Look at LinkedIn's job recommendations—they're terrible. As a business and sales leader, I get alerts for 'Chief Doctor in Vasa.' Those patients would be very unhappy if I showed up."

Instead of algorithmic matching, BBTP uses simple opt-in logic and lets people make the decision about whether an assignment fits.

But Elina isn't anti-AI. She's experimenting with generative AI for candidate feedback—using it to compare successful applicants' profiles with those who weren't selected, then generating objective, helpful feedback.

"Talents always want feedback about why they weren't chosen for an assignment. Companies rarely have the time to give it." Leah explains. "Automating that part adds real value. The talent really liked it."

Elina envisions a future where AI helps to gather insights for human decision-makers. She's clear, though: matching at the strategic level still requires human judgment.

How to Register as an Interim Manager on Best Best Talent Platform

Registration on BBTP is self-service and deliberately simple. Talents give basic professional information. Then, they tick boxes for assignment types they want to see so they can receive brief email alerts when relevant opportunities arise. The whole registration process takes no more than 2 minutes.

"When an alert comes in for an assignment that the talent is interested in, that's when they put in the effort." Elina explains. "Through tailoring their CV and submitting thoughtful answers to the company's questions, talent prove their motivation."

For Ferovalo, quality control happens through reference checks before candidates are introduced to clients. In Finland's tight-knit professional community, this works exceptionally well.

"Finland isn't a country—it's a club," Elina laughs. "Everyone knows everyone. The market knows that if we say references will be checked, I'm actually calling those people. Not every service provider does that, but I will."

That reputation matters. Elina has found that people without solid references often don't apply in the first place.

"Customers ask me: how do you deliver 10 great candidates in four days, when headhunters take two months and bring three clones?"
— Elina Liehu

Best Best Talent Platform: Shared Talent Pool for C-level Service Providers

BBTP's long-term vision is ambitious: become the infrastructure layer for boutique interim management agencies and other talent providers across Europe.

"This is really targeted at boutique service providers, not the big players," Elina explains. "If a large firm wanted this, they'd build it themselves and keep it proprietary."

For small agencies, BBTP offers professionally drafted contracts (approved by insurance providers), liability insurance, automated feedback tools, CV builders, and process efficiency that eliminates administrative drudgery.

Elina notes, "For a boutique player, these services are a huge benefit. They ensure a well-organised and efficiently managed business.

Partners of BBTP don't need identical business models. One might do reference checks, another might prefer longer interviews before presenting candidates. But they share infrastructure and best practices within a community.

"We're building a community of service providers who are committed to quality," Leah says. "BBTP Partnership means you are not only supported by the platform and its tools, but also everyone who is a part of it.""

How Boutique Recruitment Agencies Can Partner with BBTP

Getting the word out about BBTP has been challenging. The European economy hasn't been strong, and there's been a surplus of talent rather than a shortage. Potential partners often see the BBTP's talent pool as the main benefit, rather than the process efficiency that Elina considers the real value.

"What I like most in this business is discussing with customers and talents—making sure customers get the right people to solve their problems," Elina explains. "I'm not into sending CVs or bureaucracy. So I built a platform that handles the paper shuffling systematically, with less effort than using Word documents."

With less time spent on admin and data wrangling, service providers can focus on what they do best: connecting people and opportunities.

The target for 2026? Add five partners to BBTP from outside Finland. One pilot partner is already testing the platform, and other conversations are underway.

The Rise of Independent Interim Managers in the European Market

Across the globe, more and more people are choosing independent career paths, including senior experts with over 15 years of experience in their field. However, Elina points out that many companies are still hyper-focused on traditional employment.

Eline says, "It depends on the country, but many companies are still waking up to the idea of a blended workforce—one where employees and contractors work in harmony."

While many jobs in IT have been contracted for years, contracts for executive-level leadership are still a new concept to many companies in Finland.

"Finns have this mentality: we want to do everything ourselves," Elina laughs. "They used to build their own houses with no construction experience, thinking, 'At least I'll know who made the mistakes.' It's the same in business."

That cultural resistance means Elina and Leah spend significant time educating the market on what interim management actually is and why it matters.

But the tide is turning—not because of surging demand, but because of supply.

"More and more senior executives are leaving corporations to become independent professionals," Elina notes. "The change is being driven by the talent, not by companies suddenly realising they need fractional CFOs."

This talent-led shift mirrors broader workforce trends. Experienced professionals no longer equate security with full-time employment. They want autonomy, variety, and control over their careers. Platforms like BBTP enable that freedom while maintaining professional support.

Building Community for Interim Managers and Independent Professionals

Leah draws parallels with other platform work: "Whether it's interim managers or food couriers, platform professionals want independence, but they also want employment-type benefits—professional development, peer connections, livelihood protections. I believe that platforms that act like communities, not just marketplaces, will win."

That's why BBTP invests heavily in community orchestration. Annual pulse surveys. Peer networking. Shared best practices. Talents aren't just names in a database—they're part of a professional network that offers support between assignments.

"We have a community of talents, and they're each other's competitors for assignments," Elina notes. "But that doesn't mean they can't share best practices. The same is true for service providers."

How to Hire Interim Managers: Best Practices for Companies

If You're Hiring Interim Talent

Stop writing job specs based on titles. Start with the problems you need solved. The best interim managers aren't looking for a "CFO role"—they're looking for challenges that match their experience: post-acquisition integration, financial restructuring, international expansion.

The more specific you are about the problem, the better the match. The benefit of working with an interim service provider to find the talent is that they can help you to clarify the role and what competencies are needed to fulfil a successful assignment.

"One of Ferovalo's most challenging searches was with a company that required someone with high-level finance expertise, fluency in Finnish, and hands-on experience with African European Union agricultural grants." Elina recalls. "Through the platform, we found that person within a week—someone who'd lived in Tanzania and worked on exactly that type of project."

Finding the right fit for an interim assignment doesn't have to be a daunting task. With a trusted service provider and a motivated talent pool, a batch of quality candidates can be found quickly and at an affordable price.

The shift toward independent C-level talent, radical transparency, and platform-driven efficiency is fundamentally reshaping the European talent market. Don't let your talent strategy get left behind. Stay ahead of the curve with expert tips, founder portraits, and exclusive data on the evolving recruitment and interim management landscape. Subscribe to our Talent Business Insights newsletter today for more expert tips.

About Ferovalo and Best Best Talent Platform

Ferovalo is a Finnish interim management and board services firm specialising in C-level interim management and board placements across Europe. Best Best Talent Platform (BBTP) is the technology infrastructure enabling boutique agencies across Europe to access a shared pool of 1,500+ C-level interim professionals through a transparent, talent-driven process.

Learn more:

ferovalo.com

bestbesttalentplatform.com

This article is part of our Founder Portrait series, showcasing recruitment agency leaders reshaping how companies and talent connect. Want to share your story? Contact jeroen@talentbusinesspartners.com