Maria Ryytty is redefining what leadership in maintenance and automation looks like—one system, one team, and one conversation at a time. And while her EFNMS Manager Award may sit quietly on a shelf, its real value is in the signal it sends that excellence in maintenance management doesn’t look one way, and it certainly doesn’t belong to one kind of person. Maria Ryytty is living proof of that.
Text: Mia Heiskanen
Maria Ryytty is not just managing the future of industrial maintenance. She’s coaching it, nurturing it, and fighting to ensure it serves both business and humanity. From her new seat at the heart of one of Europe’s most ambitious industrial projects, she’s showing that technical leadership can be both rigorous and human.
When Maria Ryytty was announced as the recipient of the 2023 EFNMS European Maintenance Manager Award, it wasn’t just a personal win, it was a milestone. The honor, presented by the European Federation of National Maintenance Societies, recognized not only her leadership but her trailblazing role in reshaping how industrial maintenance teams operate and thrive. Now, as the newly appointed Asset Manager at Stegra H2 Green Steel facility in Boden, Sweden, Ryytty is proving why she earned it. She’s not just managing assets—she’s building a new standard for the future.
Ryytty is still visibly moved when talking about the award. “I’m shivering now just remembering it,” she says. “Out of 24 European countries, I—a Swedish woman in heavy industry—was chosen. That’s huge. It’s proof that everything I’ve worked toward for nearly two decades has mattered.”
For Ryytty, the EFNMS Award was more than a plaque. It was a recognition of her long-standing mission: to raise the standard of leadership in technical environments through team empowerment, diversity, and data-driven strategy.
In the male-dominated world of industrial maintenance and automation, Ryytty indeed stands out—not just as a woman in leadership, but as a transformative force redefining how technical teams work, grow, and adapt.
Her management journey didn’t start in a boardroom — it started on a basketball court. Ryytty, who has spent years coaching both youth and adult sports, brings that same focus to industrial leadership. “Just like athletes train, I’ve been training to lead teams”, she says.
Her new challenge is to build an entire asset management organization from the ground up at one of Europe’s most ambitious climate-focused industrial sites. The Stegra green steel plant in Boden will be home to over 200,000 assets across three vertically integrated facilities: hydrogen, iron, and steel production. With 11 new hires on her immediate radar and 1,500 personnel expected to join the plant, Ryytty is laying the groundwork for something that goes far beyond routine maintenance. “We’re designing how this plant thinks,” she says. “From governance to escalation paths to safety culture—it all begins now.”
The architect of stability and change. Maria Ryytty doesn’t talk like a traditional industrial leader—and that’s exactly the point. Her background in engineering and sports coaching infuses her management philosophy with a human-first approach. “I practice every day to be the best leader I can be,” she says. “For 18 years, I’ve been developing people. That’s my mission.”
This mission brought her to Stegra´s green steel project under H2 Green Steel in northern Sweden. The plant, still under construction, promises to be one of Europe’s most climate-forward industrial sites. Ryytty’s role? Joining Stegra wasn’t just a career move—it was a calling. “This project has meaning. We’re creating climate-positive steel. That means something. My grandchildren’s children deserve a future—and I can help to build it.”
The job also offered her what she calls a “window opportunity”—a chance to step into a greenfield site and shape it from day one. “We’re not fixing legacy systems here. We’re creating something new. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. A blank slate,” she says. “We’re not just maintaining assets. We’re building the mindset and systems that will define how this plant runs for decades. This project makes sense to me at the deepest level,” she says. “We’re building green steel. We’re reducing emissions. My grandchildren’s grandchildren deserve a better climate.”
A manager who coaches, not commands. Ryytty’s management style borrows from her years coaching basketball. But while her sports roots shaped her, she’s careful not to lean on metaphors that exclude others. “I had to change my language,” she admits. “Not everyone connects with sports. I realized I needed to meet my team where they are, not where I come from.”
She describes her style as “coaching both the team and the individual.” It’s about recognizing that not everyone is starting from the same place and that great teams are built through individual growth. Her new team in Boden will reflect her core values: diversity, respect, and emotional intelligence.
“I’m building the team from scratch,” she says. “I want diversity in age, gender, background, and thinking. And I want everyone to feel seen.”
Ryytty is no stranger to being the first as she earned her engineering degree in 2005 and moved into management by 2009—an early leap for a woman in a technical field. “Of course it’s been tough,” she says. “But I’ve always focused on the business. I don’t enter the room as a woman. I enter as a leader.”
That focus helped her build credibility in environments where few women had gone before. Now, as a role model for younger professionals—especially women—she’s pushing the doors she once had to pry herself.
“I’ve taken the hits, so others don’t have to,” she says. “And when I meet young women entering technical management, I say: you are welcome. You are needed.”
From reactive to predictive. As industries pivot toward smarter, more sustainable operations, Ryytty sees predictive maintenance as the new baseline. Ryytty’s vision for maintenance is built around anticipation, not reaction. “We can’t be stuck in a 1960s mentality where something breaks and then we fix it,” she says. “Instead, we have to build a predictive culture.”
At Stegra, she and her team implement Industry 5.0 principles from the beginning: leveraging smart systems and real-time data to ensure every piece of equipment is part of a wider intelligence network.
“We’re moving toward a future where machines generate their own work orders and schedule their own maintenance. The human role will be to guide and verify—not chase problems after they’ve happened.”
This vision aligns closely with Industry 5.0 principles—a human-centric, resilient approach to automation that Boden’s plant is embracing from day one. Ryytty believes in systems that anticipate needs, reduce waste, and protect both people and the planet.
She’s especially excited about the future convergence of sensors, data, and AI. “Imagine a machine that listens to itself and knows it will fail in three months—so it books the right technician in advance. That’s where we’re going.”
Finding balance in the fast lane. Ryytty’s leadership doesn’t end when the workday does. As a long-time volunteer in youth sports, she finds energy outside the office that feeds back into her day job. “Work is a part of life, not life itself,” she says. “You need to shut off to show up fully.”
It’s a balance she’s had to learn along the way. “In the beginning, I struggled. But now I’ve learned: sometimes you work late, sometimes you leave early. What matters is knowing where your edge is.”
This philosophy informs how she mentors her team. “Especially for young professionals, it’s easy to burn out. I tell them, don’t try to be perfect. Just be present. And build a life around your work, not just inside it.”
What comes next. As she recruits her core team—11 key people to start, likely many more soon—Ryytty’s biggest challenge is finding the right fit. “The hardest part is finding competence,” she says. “But I trust my instinct. I can feel when someone’s right. It’s not about attitude. It’s about presence.”
Her advice for others stepping into complex leadership roles is to start by knowing yourself. “I’ve done the internal work. I know my values. And that’s what gives me the strength to lead others.”
Her philosophy is simple, but powerful: “Develop yourself, so you can develop your team. Build trust, build systems, and always keep moving forward.”
EFNMS MANAGER AWARD 2023
Maria Ryytty was awarded European Maintenance Manager of the Year by the European Federation of National Maintenance Societies. Awarded annually, this honor recognizes excellence in maintenance leadership across 24 countries. Ryytty’s win marked a significant moment—not only for her career, but for diversity in technical leadership across Europe.
“This award reflects everything I’ve trained for—not just professionally, but personally. It’s about people, growth, and performance.”
