Driving System-Wide Impact Across the Nordic Health and Social Care Landscape

It all started as a spin-off from Aalto University in Finland, founded by university professors, and has grown ever since, both organically and through strategic acquisitions. 

– Today, we’re a team of over 200 sector experts, and the company has been operating for more than 20 years. We’ve delivered over 4.000 client projects across the industry, says Engagement Director Michael Waltinger.

– At NHG, we’re dedicated to improving the lives of everyone by solving the complexities of health and social care. What makes us unique is our deep sector focus and full-stack advisory approach – covering all therapeutic areas and organisational functions. We support both public and private actors, from ministries and municipalities to life science headquarters and affiliates – whether it’s with long-term planning or day-to-day delivery, says Executive Vice President Vesa Komssi.

Tell us about some of the projects you are working on.

– Our work spans a wide range of areas, but what ties it all together is our commitment to impact. We help our clients address their most pressing challenges today and future-proof their organisations by anticipating change. Every project we do is built through collaboration – combining data with deep dialogue to co-create solutions that deliver real-world results, says Michael Waltinger.

For example, NHG has projects with large pharmaceutical companies that involve using registry data and conducting in-depth patient interviews. One potential objective is to understand the diagnostic and treatment landscapes for rare patient populations – supporting strategic planning ahead of product launches.

– In parallel, we see a growing trend among MedTech companies: the need to demonstrate the value of their solutions within the treatment pathway to a broad set of stakeholders. At NHG, we help clients meet this demand by not only identifying improvements, but also making them clear, tangible, and measurable for their customers, says Vesa Komssi.

– Another example is our support for Hellman & Friedman in its investment in Mehiläinen (a Finnish healthcare company), where we provided commercial due diligence to guide strategic decision-making on the investment, says Michael Waltinger.

What are NHG's next steps?

– NHG is entering an exciting phase of growth, with a strong focus on expanding our presence in Sweden and deepening our work across the Nordics. We’re increasingly supporting clients in the M&A space in Sweden – especially through commercial due diligence and strategic advisory – helping them to make confident and informed decisions in a fast-changing market. At the heart of our direction is a commitment to collaboration and tackling the complex challenges of health and social care, bringing people together to create lasting, system-wide impact, says Vesa Komssi.

What do you see as the biggest challenges for Swedish healthcare?

– We see that long waiting times and fragmented continuity in primary care remain significant issues, despite reforms aimed at improving availability. This has driven demand toward private alternatives – often faster but raising concerns regarding equity and two-tier access, says Michael Waltinger.

The healthcare system also suffers from coordination challenges. These stem from fragmentation, siloed digital systems, and models that do not always incentivize seamless care delivery.

Furthermore, the workforce shortage – doctors, nurses and specialists – is a system-wide issue affecting the private sector just as much as public services. Another challenge in that regard lies in the slow adoption of technological innovations, which limits the system’s ability to evolve and meet rising demands.

– To address these issues, we combine human-centered design, data-driven insights, and strategic capabilities to drive meaningful change, says Vesa Komssi.