Interview with Lasse Männistö
Henrik Liimatainen
Could you please tell us a little bit about yourself and your background?
I’m originally from Mikkeli, and in 2003 I relocated to Helsinki to study in Helsinki School of Economics, nowadays known as Aalto University School of Business where I spent 5,5 years before graduating in 2008.
Besides studying, I was always very active in extracurricular affairs. To give some examples, I was part of the KY Executive board and the chairman of SYL, the National Union of University Students in Finland. Usually I had only two shifts in my gearbox: either I was fully committed to studying or alternatively spending all my hours working in the student association field.
I’ve been married for nine years with my wife Jenni whom I met during my time at HSE, and nowadays we have two sons. Regarding hobbies, I like to spend my spare time in the woods since I am an avid hunter.
Why did you choose to study finance?
Choosing to apply for the finance major was a combination of many things. Firstly, I felt that the introductory course in finance was a very good one compared to many other subjects. Secondly, I am very pragmatic and I have always been keen to use quantitative tools in problem solving. This combination helped me to choose finance over other subjects like e.g. economics, which I felt was maybe too theoretical for me. Thirdly, I have to admit, it was the challenge to get accepted to the most desired major that also attracted me.
What are your fondest memories from your time at university?
I have to say that especially my positions at the KY board and SYL were very valuable experiences and I have many fond memories from those times. Especially at SYL one of the greatest things was that people from very different backgrounds and world views teamed up to work together for a common goal. I have cherished many great friendships from those times.
I also have a fun memory from the time I was the Chairman of SYL. I once had an appointment with the then Minister of Culture Tanja Karpela. As we all know, the stereotype of a finance student is associated with using a suit and a tie, especially on “official” occasions. Still, unlike my predecessors, I went to meet the minister wearing jeans and sneakers which I felt was completely normal for a student. My co-workers from SYL were kind of baffled by my appearance but in the end the actual meeting with the minister went really well.
Regarding finance studies, I really enjoyed studying the subject. Especially on the master’s level it was very rewarding to understand many things related to financial theory in a more comprehensive way. Furthermore, I have very fond memories from my time as an exchange student at Queen’s University in Canada, where the finance classes were of very high quality.
What factors led you to pursue a career in politics? How do you see your study background helped you in your political career?
For me, it was definitely path dependence. In fact, there never really came a situation where I decided that now I am going to politics; rather, it was a very gradual process starting from various positions of trust I had already in middle school.
After being the Chairman of SYL in 2007 it was quite natural for me to run for the city council of Helsinki in 2008. Eventually, I was elected as a city councilor representing Kokoomus, the National Coalition Party. That successful campaign was probably the most decisive factor of my political career. In 2010 I worked as a special advisor for the then Minister of Housing Jan Vapaavuori, and in 2011 I was elected to the Finnish Parliament.
My finance studies were definitely the backbone for approaching and solving problems during my career in politics. Since the vast majority of political decisions include an economical aspect, my understanding of financial theory turned out as a very helpful tool. Furthermore, finance studies gave me a structured approach to problem solving that I used to tackle issues also in various non-economic questions.
What were the biggest learnings you gained during your political career? How have they helped you in your later career?
I would not change my years in politics to anything. I am very grateful for the opportunity to represent people in such a position and am very proud for the things I accomplished, e.g. playing a role in pushing the marriage equality law through in 2014.
Working in politics bettered my understanding of how the society works, and why the people around me do what they do. The environment in the School of Business and student politics is quite homogenous compared to the city council or parliament. The diverse environment in politics taught me to value different world views and also made me a more long-term thinker. This has been a great asset in my current career especially when considering leadership skills.
Finally, I made many great friends in politics. I know that especially nowadays the political environment may seem very toxic if assessed based on the discussions in Twitter and other platforms. However, the truth is that on average the members of parliament come along very well despite differing political views. Personally, many of the friends I made in politics represent very different political views than I did, but it has not prevented friendship. Quite the opposite, I feel diversity in my network is a great asset.
Could you consider going back into politics?
No, not really. I always have a “never say never” mentality, but right now I feel that there are so many opportunities in other fields that I have no urge to jump back into the political game. Moreover, I really enjoy my current position at Mehiläinen and have a 100% focus on my work here.
You have now worked at Mehiläinen since 2015. What was the inspiration behind your decision to work in the healthcare industry?
In 2015 I decided that I would not run for a second term at the parliament and decided to see what opportunities I had in other sectors. It was not an easy decision: in fact, a much more difficult decision than to get into politics. Retrospectively, my biggest fear back then was that I was marked as a politician for good. I was not sure whether there was any demand for my skill set acquired from politics in the job market.
After making the decision to get out of politics I had a couple of options in various sectors. In the end, Mehiläinen was a very natural choice for me since I had previous experience from working in the healthcare industry since I had worked for Mediverkko, a company that Mehiläinen had later acquired. Actually, when I joined Mediverkko in 2009 many of my friends from finance thought I was out of my mind. Back then, everyone who was not into banking or consulting went to work for Nokia or other industrial giants. Nowadays the situation is a lot different, and the healthcare industry is actually very attractive to many top candidates.
Since I had worked for Mediverkko previously, I knew the industry and also a bunch of people inside the company which made it a good fit for both parties. I started working with outsourced health centers that were previously run by public authorities. At the time, this was a very new concept for everyone which was a great challenge for me and the whole company. Eventually, the business has grown and is now a very large business; I personally have over 1000 subordinates under my supervision.
How has Mehiläinen navigated in the Covid crisis?
As you know, the health care sector has been in quite a turmoil for the last 12 months. The first few months in the spring of 2020 were extremely challenging since no one really knew what we were facing. The situation has really required us to use unprecedented ways to do decision making, but I am extremely proud of our staff and the way they have handled the situation. All in all, I feel the company has managed the situation very well
What about personally, how has it been leading people in a remote working environment?
Leading an expert organisation in these times has been very challenging. Firstly, the way I have used to lead people has been based on many discussions and thorough analysis before jumping into conclusions and decision making. During the pandemic this has not always been possible since the situation is evolving so fast.
The biggest leaning for me has been that as a leader in a crisis situation like this the most important thing is to have a direction. If the management is uncertain and shows that to the organisation it only creates chaos. Thus, I have learned to not only make very fast decisions but also communicate them very clearly to others.
Furthermore, in a remote working environment it is so important to take extra effort to get in touch with your colleagues and subordinates without any work agendas and just to hear how they feel about the situation. In normal conditions this comes more naturally for me since I constantly would bump into people at the office. Although it is not too difficult to pick up the phone and contact people, it still requires more effort and planning to do so in remote conditions.
Finally, I would like to discuss AFA and your relationship with it. Have you participated in the alumni activities so far?
I have to admit that due to work and family responsibilities and now the remote setting, I have not been able to attend any AFA events yet. However, I’ve been an avid reader of AFA Quarterly and actually the idea for this interview was initiated last fall when I gave positive feedback for Lauri (AFA Chairmen) regarding AFA Quarterly. I think this publication is a very valuable way to build the alumni community. All in all, I am looking forward to the post-Covid era so that I can join AFA events and get better in touch with the community!
Henrik Liimatainen is a former Editor-in-Chief of AFA Quarterly.