Alumni stories: Economics

Finland's Minister for Foreign Affairs, and alum of the School of Business majoring in financial economics Elina Valtonen would do the same now as she did 20 years ago while studying: she would study a wide range of subjects that interest her and would also boldly venture into areas outside her comfort zone, as that is where the most learning happens.

Our alum, Maija Keskinen, knew from the start that she wanted to study economics. "Meaningful work to me means being able to serve society and do my part to ensure that decisions made in public administration are based on the highest quality information possible," Keskinen explains.

‘I want to encourage girls to partake in the diverse IT sector’

Our Economics alumna Minna Kuusisto, who works as an Economist at Finnfund, has gained experience from banking, sustainable business consulting and development financing in her career, among other things. “My advice is: be curious and network with those people whose career paths you find interesting, already during your study time. Almost everybody will be delighted by a coffee or lunch invitation”.

Our alumna Göksu Sarigöl did an internship during her studies through the School of Business Internship Programme for foreign students. ‘I was lucky that the School of Business Career Services helped me in this part of my career.’

Timo Löyttyniemi, who worked as the Vice Chair of the Single Resolution Board in Brussels from 2015 to 2019, underlines the ability to change in today’s working life. “’Agility’ is a good term to describe the true way of working amidst all the changes”, says Löyttyniemi.

Currently, Löyttyniemi is the CEO of The State Pension Fund of Finland (2020).

Internships abroad spurred our alumnus Kari Janhunen to seek work abroad. He has spent 20 years of his work career abroad in different positions within international finance.

“Interaction always plays a key role at work, regardless of the task”, says the School of Business alumnus Petteri Vartiainen.

The former Bank of Finland Head Sirkka Hämäläinen emphasizes the importance of extensive, high quality common knowledge in working life success.

School of Business Alumna of the Year 2018 Elina Björklund is the CEO of Reima. She has graduated from the Helsinki School of Economics. Before Reima she worked at Iittala.