Ulla Ilisson joins Meliva’s leadership team
Experienced senior executive Ulla Ilisson is taking the helm of Meliva's business client division.
“As a leading provider of occupational health services, we’re a partner to a large share of Estonian companies, serving clients across a wide range of industries, from major manufacturers to startups. I’m glad that Meliva’s mission — delivering high-quality, patient-centred healthcare — resonates with senior leaders like Ulla. I’m confident her experience driving processes and change in both the private and public sectors will help us develop occupational health in line with our clients’ wishes and needs,” said Meliva Chairman of the Board Marja-Liisa Alop.
According to Alop, employer-provided supplementary health insurance currently reaches around ten percent of employees in Estonia, and that share is growing steadily. “We’re following in the footsteps of the Nordic welfare states here, where private-sector contributions meaningfully support and complement the public health insurance system. Working together with employers to create opportunities for additional healthcare services can also help ease the waiting lists within the solidarity-based health insurance system,” Alop noted.
“I see huge potential in private healthcare in Estonia. Given both demographic shifts and labour market trends, I’m confident that companies’ interest in offering employees high-quality supplementary healthcare, as an added employer benefit, will only keep growing over time. Following its recent change in ownership, Meliva is in an excellent position to become an even stronger service provider than before, and I’m glad to contribute to the continued development of this field,” said Ulla Ilisson.
Ulla Ilisson brings long-standing experience from the financial sector, where she has led the life insurance company Mandatum Life, and headed retail banking, marketing, and the rollout of various digital services at Swedbank across Estonia, the Baltics, and Sweden. From 2011 to 2016, she also served as a member of Swedbank’s management board. In 2020-2021, Ilisson led the launch of the Estonian Education and Youth Board (Haridus- ja Noorteamet), and most recently advised the international education company IB Global on digital matters. Ulla Ilisson holds a master’s degree in business administration from Tallinn University of Technology and has completed a management programme at the IESE Business School in Spain.
