The 3 finalists of the “Best Leader 2025” competition have been selected

This year’s winners are Aaro Lode, CEO of Baltic Restaurants Estonia, Sirli Männiksaar, CEO of Ericsson Estonia and Neeme Tammis, Chairman of the Board of Hansa Group.

The jury selected three leaders to be chosen as the best of the year. This year’s finalists are Sirli Männiksaar, Head of Ericsson Estonia, Aaro Lode, Head of Baltic Restaurants Estonia and Neeme Tammis, Chairman of the Board of Hansa Group.

The “Best Manager” competition is organised by PARE, the Estonian Employers’ Confederation, Pärnu Management Conference and Äripäev. The aim of the competition is to draw attention to good management practices and outstanding Estonian managers, to recognise them and thereby promote the local management culture.

Ivo Suursoo , member of the jury, Head of the OIXIO Group and “Best Leader 2024”, commented that outstanding leaders are characterised by ambition and impact. “Through their work, they ensure the prosperity of the society through the business of the company they lead, but also develop the Estonian leadership culture and help solve the issues facing the society.”

In addition to the long-term good financial results and the impeccable reputation of the manager, the jury will assess the manager’s contribution to the Estonian society from outside the organisation. The jury also takes into account employees’ assessments of their own leaders using the PARE leadership barometer.

The jury consists of Ivo Suursoo, CEO of the OIXIO Group, Kai Saard, CEO of PARE, Hando Sutter, CEO of the Confederation of Estonian Employers and Meelis Mandel, Editor-in-Chief of Äripäev.

The competition was open to anyone interested in nominating good leaders, and in total 105 top local leaders from both the private and public sectors were nominated.

The “Best Leader 2025” will be announced on 16 May at the Pärnu Leadership Conference.

A selection of colleagues’ testimonials on the three finalists

Neeme Tammis, Chairman of the Board, Hansa Group

For more than 30 years, Neeme has been successfully growing his businesses and expanding in Latvia. He has built a successful team around him and maintains a clear vision as owner.

Sirli Männiksaar, Ericsson Estonia Manager

Sirli is a people, teams and collaboration person, although she manages a technology company where there is a huge amount of innovation, speed and change on a daily basis. Her role, like that of many other senior leaders, is multi-layered – global and local, and over Ericsson Estonia.

Aaro Lode, Head of Baltic Restaurants Estonia

Aaro started running the company eight years ago. In that time the company has undergone significant positive changes. Under his leadership, Baltic Restaurants has achieved significant growth in turnover and profits, despite the obstacles along the way – such as the corona pandemic and rapid price increases.

WORTH KNOWING “Best Driver 2025” competition

This year marks the 12th anniversary of the tradition of choosing the best leader. In previous years, Lauri Tabur, Anne Samlik, Erkki Raasuke, Bo Henriksson, Kai Realo, Jaanus Vihand, Otto Pukk, Margus Rink, Madis Toomsalu, Veiko Veskimäe and Ivo Suursoo have won the title.
The aim of the competition is to recognise good leadership and highlight outstanding Estonian leaders.
The competition was open to all and over 100 nominations were put forward. The final selection will be made by a jury.
The jury assesses the finalists and the final selection based on the long-standing good performance of the company or organisation they lead, the long-term good reputation of the leader and the leader’s contribution to Estonia beyond their own organisation. It will also assess, through a management barometer, employees’ assessment of the company’s leaders.
The Best Manager competition is organised by PARE, the Estonian Employers’ Confederation, Pärnu Management Conference and Äripäev.
The best manager will be announced on 16 May at the Pärnu Management Conference.