Laura Tarkka joins SOK with a focus on international tourism

Laura Tarkka is taking over as SOK’s director of tourism and hospitality chains and has been appointed to its management team, Kauppalehti reported on 1 October 2026. Previously country director for Scandic Hotels in Finland, Tarkka intends to focus particularly on growing international tourism to Finland in her new role. The appointment is relevant to those following Finland’s franchise market, as S Group’s extensive hotel and restaurant operations also include franchising.

From leading Scandic in Finland to SOK

Tarkka spent three years as Scandic Hotels’ country director for Finland before moving to SOK. According to Kauppalehti, she resigned in the summer but only announced her departure on LinkedIn in early September. Her next role now takes her into the leadership of another major hotel and restaurant operator.

At SOK, Juha Helminen is making way for Tarkka as he steps down as managing director. Helminen told Kauppalehti that the decision on his departure had been reached by mutual agreement with SOK in the spring. The leadership changes announced publicly in October therefore follow departure decisions made earlier in the year.

Tarkka’s new title is director of tourism and hospitality chains. She has also been appointed to the management team. The announcement concerns responsibility for a broad portfolio of chains, rather than the management of an individual hotel or restaurant.

For the franchise community, the key news is a change of leadership at an organisation whose activities include franchising. However, Kauppalehti’s reporting does not indicate any changes to franchise agreements, franchisee selection or the management of individual concepts. The appointment should therefore not be interpreted as an announcement of a new franchise chain or a change to existing chains’ operating models.

An extensive hotel and restaurant portfolio

According to Kauppalehti, S Group has close to 60 Sokos Hotels and Radisson Blu Hotels in Finland and Tallinn, as well as around 500 restaurants. Its restaurant portfolio includes national chains, individual restaurants and franchise operations. Tarkka is therefore taking on a role spanning several restaurant formats and hotel brands.

Speaking to Kauppalehti, Tarkka described SOK as the hotel market leader and its hotel and restaurant operations in Finland as a business worth around €800 million. This was her description of the overall business in the interview. The figure cannot be used as a measure of the size of its franchise operations, as the report does not give a separate breakdown for franchising.

The scope of the outlet figures also matters. The hotel count covers Tallinn as well as Finland. Similarly, the total of around 500 restaurants does not mean 500 franchised restaurants: it includes different operating models. The source does not state how many restaurants are franchised or what proportion of the restaurant network they represent.

For readers assessing Finland’s franchise market, these figures primarily show the scale of the wider business within which the franchise operations sit. They are not statistics for the Finnish franchise market and do not indicate the rate of franchise growth. Drawing such conclusions would require separate, comparable data on outlets, sales and the period being measured.

International tourism identified as a priority

Tarkka says she intends to focus particularly on growing international tourism to Finland at SOK. This is the clearest forward-looking priority in the appointment announcement. In her interview with Kauppalehti, she also expressed strong confidence in the future of the hotel and restaurant business.

However, the stated ambition does not yet come with a detailed action plan. The available information does not identify new target markets, hotel openings, restaurant concepts or an investment budget. Nor does it set a numerical target or timetable for growth in international tourism.

For the franchise community, it is therefore important to distinguish the direction outlined by management from practical measures already agreed. Developing international tourism is a goal highlighted by Tarkka, but the report does not establish what role franchised restaurants might play. The available information is insufficient to assess any potential impact on an individual franchisee’s customer base or sales.

It remains to be seen how this ambition will translate into action. Useful further information for franchisees would include any development initiatives within their own chain, and whether these relate to marketing, services or the structure of the network. These are questions for future coverage, not SOK plans announced at this stage. For now, the confirmed news is the appointment and the development priority Tarkka has outlined.

What should the franchise community watch?

SOK’s leadership change gives the franchise community a new senior figure to follow and a clearly stated area of focus: growth in international tourism to Finland. The news also serves as a reminder that franchising can form part of a much larger hotel and restaurant business. Information about the organisation as a whole does not automatically describe its franchise operations.

From a franchisee’s perspective, the relevant follow-up news would be specific: does a subsequent decision affect their brand, a particular outlet or the relationship between the franchisee and the chain? A change of leadership alone does not answer these questions. The significance of the appointment should therefore be assessed in light of any measures announced later.

The limits of the announcement also matter for entrepreneurs considering expansion. Neither Tarkka’s appointment nor her tourism ambition is, in itself, an announcement of franchise opportunities. The report does not announce new franchise brands or outlet openings either.

Practical takeaway: Follow future announcements from SOK and your own chain, but base business decisions on confirmed changes relevant to your operations. What is known now is the leadership appointment and the ambition to develop international tourism—not any new decisions to expand the franchise network.