Category Type: Careers

Six new partners and four promotions within the VALOR team

As VALOR continues on a strong growth track, we are proud to announce the designation of six new partners and four other promotions within our team.

“Since its establishment, the idea behind VALOR has been an open and dynamic ownership structure that reflects partners’ roles in the company. As VALOR has doubled in size every four years, it felt natural to also double the number of partners. The freshly appointed partners have each demonstrated their commitment to the long-term development of VALOR, making this a clear and unanimous decision.” – Henrikki Palva, Managing Partner

The following six people have been invited to join the partnership:

It has been a great experience to be a part of VALOR’s growth story in recent years. The growth has been made possible by VALOR’s team’s wide expertise and uncompromising desire to create value for the customer.

– Juha Viljakainen, Partner, Finance

VALOR consists of a great group of people with different complementary expertise. Together with a solution-focused, development-oriented and entrepreneurial culture, VALOR forms an entity that is great to be a part of.

– Kalle Ahlstedt, Partner, Energy

It’s great to witness how VALOR’s supportive culture combined with strong growth has enabled us to advance in our careers and challenge ourselves with new responsibilities also through ownership.

– Johan Matinmikko, Director, Associate Partner

I’m excited for the opportunity to further contribute to our continued growth and success as a company. I look forward to working closely with our talented team to write the next chapter of our story!

– Tuomas Nenonen, Director, Associate Partner

It has been great to experience both my own and VALOR’s growth for five and a half years at VALOR. During this time, I have been able to develop my own professional skills as a consultant in interesting and different projects, which I have been able to do with a motivated and competent team. VALOR has also grown and developed into an even more interesting workplace. In the partner position, it’s great to be even more deeply involved in VALOR’s development.

– Teemu Sirén, Manager, Associate Partner

At VALOR, the mentality has always been to encourage people to grow and take responsibility. The continuous development of the team and business brings exciting opportunities for all of us.

– Tuomas Suomi, Manager, Associate Partner

In addition to the new partners, the following colleagues have been promoted:

The dynamic work environment at VALOR alongside versatile client projects have provided a platform to develop both individually and as a company. I am looking forward to the possibilities ahead together with our colleagues and clients.

– Sonja Korhonen

It is great to work at a place where you are constantly given new challenges, invaluable learnings from your colleagues, and the chance to grow towards the next step in your career. These things make an excellent base at VALOR to keep going forward!

– Anna-Rosa Lehto

I am delighted to be a part of VALOR’s growth and its vibrant culture. Our exceptional colleagues, unwavering commitment to continuous improvement at both organizational and individual levels, and a steadfast focus on serving our customers are attributes that will, without a doubt, drive us forward in the future.

– Jyri Knaapinen

Warm congratulations on the new roles at VALOR.

VALOR constantly gives new challenges and responsibilities the moment one has mastered earlier skills, if not a little before. I find this an extraordinary privilege, and I look forward to being able to bring further value to our clients.

– Robert Kokkola

Meet our new colleagues Tuukka Nikkilä and Antti Lindström

VALOR keeps growing. Meet our new Senior Associates, Tuukka Nikkilä and Antti Lindström.

Tuukka has experience from various industries in building strategies, leading transformations and improving current operations efficiency. Prior to VALOR, he worked in EY’s management consultancy practice. Antti, then again, worked at PwC over 6 years and at NREP for one year. He was an Authorized Public Accountant (KHT) and worked as an audit manager at PwC. At NREP, Antti was part of Fund Finance team.

We asked our new colleagues about their thoughts on joining VALOR.

What made you choose to join VALOR at this point of your career?

Tuukka: I knew that VALOR was a great place to challenge yourself and show your competence. However, the key driver for me was getting to work in a Finnish company that has paved a way for itself in a very competitive market and of course to get to be a part of the continuing growth journey.

Antti: Significance and versatility of the work at VALOR is particularly interesting. I like to work and interact with clients thus I felt consulting very interesting option for myself. In my opinion through VALOR’s service offering and know-how, we are genuinely able to help customers to achieve their goals. Overall, VALOR is a fascinating environment where it is possible to develop one’s own intellectual capital through challenging and diverse assignments. Due to the previous points, the transfer to VALOR seemed like a natural solution to me.

What new do you bring to the VALOR team?

Tuukka: Having worked with many other companies gives me a new outside in perspective that I want to leverage to improve the ways of working at VALOR or at least to bring new perspectives to client work we are performing.

Antti: My work life background is a bit different compared to many other VALOR employees. My experience in auditing and real estate fund sectors will certainly bring a different and new perspective to the work, which will benefit both clients and other team members. I also believe that my personality complements VALOR’s great personnel well.

At VALOR, we really enjoy sports, and also like to do sports together. What is your suggestion for our next sports event together?

Tuukka: I have two suggestions, both of which are quite dangerous even if you might not think so, Rugby and Cheerleading. From VALOR’s point of view, I believe that Rugby is easier and safer to implement, so I would like to see how everyone is able to translate their strategies from the office to the field.

Antti: It would be fun to go play tennis with the VALOR team because I need to tone my skills if I am ever going to win my brother in tennis. In addition, outdoor ice hockey would be great activity during winter.

Meet out new colleagues Iiro Hakala, Kustaa Juurakko, Juho Kuiri and Elias Peltokangas

The VALOR team keeps growing! We have four new colleagues: Iiro Hakala, Kustaa Juurakko, Juho Kuiri and Elias Peltokangas. Iiro, Kustaa and Elias joined VALOR as trainees and Juho as an analyst.

Before VALOR, Iiro completed his master’s thesis in finance and worked in corporate finance. Iiro has previous work experience of operational M&A, corporate finance and private equity.

Prior to joining VALOR, Kustaa graduated with a Bachelor of Science. Kustaa worked previously in the healthcare business focusing on operational/financial analytics and M&As. In addition, he worked as an analyst for a smaller technology company.

Juho completed his master’s degree at Aalto University and worked in management consulting. In his previous roles, Juho worked with financial management, technology strategy consulting and information system selections.

Elias graduated as a Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering and management at Aalto University and worked in pharmaceutical procurement. Elias is continuing his studies in the IEM master’s program at Aalto. Alongside his studies, Elias has gathered experience of procurement and the pharmaceutical industry at Orion.

To find out a bit more about our new colleagues, we asked them a couple of questions.

Why consulting or investment banking?

Kustaa: I have always been interested in solving all kind of challenges and problems. In addition to that, the optimisation of different kinds of tasks has fascinated me. The decision to join consulting was clear because consulting will probably fit well on my interests.

Juho: The diverse and meaningful nature of the day-to-day work! Consulting provides an opportunity to work with interesting and challenging topics that vary depending on the industry and the problem at hand – which makes for a great environment for learning and developing skills at a fast pace. In addition, my past experiences of the industry have been positive, so continuing with consulting felt natural.

Elias: In consulting, I seek various and rewarding professional challenges. I expect it to offer an opportunity to learn about the uniqueness of many industries and companies. On top of this, project-based client work feeds my intellectual curiosity, as the topics at hand change regularly.

Iiro: Ever since I attended my first university courses, I’ve been captivated by M&As, which is why investment banking was a natural choice for me. IB is the beating heart of mergers and acquisitions, allowing you to see various aspects of the M&A process extensively, from target consideration to execution. Although I immensely enjoy the M&A aspect of IB, I believe the best part of IB is the top-notch experts with whom it’s a pleasure to work, and from whom there is always something new to learn.

How was your first day at VALOR? Did anything surprise you?

Kustaa: My first impression of VALOR was excellent, as the great team spirit and warm atmosphere were immediately conveyed in the office. I received a comprehensive introduction to both general and job-related issues, which made it easy to take my first steps as a VALORian. The first impression was in line with my expectations of VALOR, so there were no surprises.

Juho: The first day at VALOR was an enjoyable combination of getting to know my new colleagues and the VALOR ways of working – not to mention the start of actual project work later that day. I was surprised by the informal atmosphere at the office, and how easy it was to become part of the team.

Elias: The first day consisted mainly of getting familiar with the practicalities of work at VALOR and meeting my new colleagues. A pleasant surprise came at the end of the day when I was briefed on my first project. I took part in the kick-off meeting of the project already on the morning of my second day at VALOR.

Iiro: The first day, like those that followed, went by quickly in the delightful company of fantastic colleagues and with interesting tasks. In the first few days, I was already surprised by how varied assignments at VALOR could be, and how you could get involved in them, regardless of seniority.

We are excited to have all four of you – welcome!

VALOR internship 2024 application period starts

We are now looking for analyst trainees to join our teams in both management consulting and investment banking.

An ideal candidate for an internship is a master’s level student with a strong academic background, good analytical and social skills, good knowledge of both Finnish and English, and most importantly, has the motivation and drive for professional development.

An internship at VALOR gives you an excellent opportunity to kick-start your future career through working on projects in strategy, growth, and business development, operational improvement and process design and M&A.

What we offer

  • The opportunity to quickly build on your core consulting skills, from data analysis and synthesis to client communication
  • Full involvement in the entire life cycle of a project with a dedicated role
  • Chance to explore and gain experience in multiple industries such as energy, telecom and media, healthcare and financial services
  • Informal and inclusive work environment
  • Flexible working possibilities
  • Competitive compensation and benefits
  • Mentoring and coaching

The internship is a full-time position lasting 3-5 months. However, the timing and duration of the internship is planned so that it fulfills both your interests and ours. An internship is an excellent steppingstone to a full-time position at VALOR.

How to apply

Send your application via this link by September 17th 2023.

Please indicate your preference between management consulting and investment banking in the headline of the cover letter.

Please include and combine the following documents into one PDF-document:

  1. Cover letter
  2. Curriculum vitae
  3. University grade transcript
  4. Matriculation examination certificate

Recruitment process

  1. Submission of application documents (August 28 – September 17)
  2. First round – Group day (last week of September)
  3. Second round – Individual interview (first week of October)
  4. Final internship recruitment decisions

Case exercises are included in both rounds of the recruitment process – we recommend preparing to the interviews accordingly.

For more information about our firm, our people and the internship, contact Anna-Rosa Lehto (+358 50 431 1449) or any other VALOR employees.

Meet our new colleague Timo Tikkinen

Our team is growing! Welcome, Timo Tikkinen.

Timo joined VALOR as Senior Advisor in June 2023. He has more than 35 years of diverse experience from various industries of developing new business, establishing new operations, enhancing current operations and growing business operations.

To get to know our new team member a bit more, we asked him a couple of questions:

Now that you have had time to get to know VALOR and your new colleagues, what is your first impression like?

My first impression is very positive and enthusiastic. The company has a lot of expertise and experience from various industries, as well as younger talent and a hunger to learn.

What kind of expectations and goals do you have for your new position at VALOR?

I expect to be able to utilize my previous experience and thus help our customers and colleagues in various assignments.

Meet our new colleagues Tobias Jungmann, Kasperi Korpelainen, Mikko Peltokangas and Mikael Nuotio

We have four new additions to our team—welcome Tobias Jungmann, Kasperi Korpelainen, Mikko Peltokangas and Mikael Nuotio.

Tobias, Mikko and Mikael study Industrial Engineering and Management at Aalto University and joined VALOR as trainees. Kasperi studied law abroad and joined VALOR as an associate.

We asked our new colleagues about their thoughts on joining VALOR.

What excites you most about working at VALOR?

Tobias: All the learning opportunities! There are plenty of consultant skills that I plan to develop. Furthermore, as this is my first time in the field of consulting, I’m also eager to see what the job is all about. Being able to do all this while getting hands-on experience in tangible interesting projects is truly something I’m looking forward to.

Mikko: I look forward to working with a skilled team and sharing moments of achievement when working on challenging problems.

Mikael: I am most looking forward to new colleagues and the opportunity to expand and deepen my area of ​​expertise, while improving my working methods. 

Kasperi: I’m excited about working on interesting projects with smart and friendly colleagues.

At VALOR, we organize a monthly sports event. What is your favorite sport, and how did you take it up?

Tobias: Definitely football! Although some time has passed since I stopped playing it regularly, I do follow the sport off the pitch, and I’m a fan of FC Bayern Munich. As a German, my father probably had an influence on my younger self’s decision to start the hobby, as football is even more popular in Germany than in Finland.

Mikko: In sports, I look for varied activities. This summer, I’m planning to take up orienteering. I have some good memories of it from childhood, and I feel like I could try getting back into it now. I enjoy spending time in nature, so orienteering might be a good fit for me.

Mikael: My favorite sport is definitely skiing. I got into it at a very young age, as my family likes skiing and being outdoors. 

Kasperi: I enjoy all kinds of sporting activities. Recently, I’ve focused on downhill skiing. My parents introduced me to skiing when I was a kid. I think my very first time on the slopes was at Pullinki Ski center in Sweden.

Meet our new colleague Pekka Hard

The VALOR team has strengthened by the arrival of a new member—welcome Pekka Hard! 

Pekka is a strong expert in social care and healthcare—with over 10 years of broad experience in developing and managing social care and healthcare services, as well as working with the executive teams of large service providers. 

We asked Pekka about his views on the current state of the healthcare sector and his initial impressions of VALOR’s expertise in the industry: 

What are the key challenges currently facing social care and healthcare? 

The Finnish healthcare system is in a unique transitional phase: as the welfare regions begin their operations, future services are being created for decades to come. Demographic changes are increasing the demand for services, and the attractiveness of the working environment must be strengthened. Additionally, the development of technology, combined with digitization and AI, offers entirely new opportunities. 

How would you describe VALOR’s expertise and experience in social care and healthcare? 

The VALOR team has extensive experience in both public and private service development. We approach clients’ challenges in a practical, concrete, and solution-focused manner—the essential thing is to successfully implement development efforts in practice. 

Meet our new colleagues Jenna Nyländen, Susanna Alakotila and Jaro Mykkänen

We have three new additions to our team—welcome Jenna Nyländen, Susanna Alakotila and Jaro Mykkänen!

Jenna joined VALOR Partners this March. Previously, she worked as a management consultant and gained experience in the social and health care sector. Susanna joined VALOR also in March as an HR & Administrative Specialist. Previously, she held various positions in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. Jaro has made a comeback to VALOR now in April, after his internship in 2021. Jaro has experience from several companies in the social and health care industry.

We asked our new colleagues about their thoughts on joining VALOR.

Has anything about VALOR surprised you?

Jenna: I started with an open-minded attitude, and thus far, there have been only positive surprises!

Susanna: Since the first point of contact, I’ve had a positive experience with the company, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised how since the first day I’ve felt like being part of the amazing team we have. I’m also impressed that any development areas are discussed in a straightforward and professional manner at all levels.

Jaro: VALOR has mainly met my expectations very well. I was previously an intern in the summer of 2021, and I had a good impression of VALOR even back then. In addition to the relaxed culture, I was surprised by the entrepreneurial atmosphere compared to my previous jobs, which I think is great. 

What do you wish to learn at VALOR?

Jenna: One of the best parts of consulting is the unlimited learning opportunities, so it is difficult to mention anything specific. However, I already know there is much to learn from the new projects and colleagues here at VALOR.

Susanna: My aim is to develop myself as an HR and recruitment professional.

Jaro: I hope to learn a lot of new skills at VALOR, especially related to project management and client service. As I am going to focus on social and health care projects, I also wish to develop my industry knowledge.

Spring seems to have finally arrived! What are you most excited about the spring?

Jenna: The best thing about spring is the feeling of a fresh start after a long winter—this year especially!

Susanna: The increasing amount of light and the sound of birds.

Jaro: I find the best part of spring to be the rising temperatures and sunlight, which make me feel full of energy. Additionally, I enjoy the many outdoor activities that are available during the spring. 

Meet our new colleagues – Aapeli Kemppainen, Alvar Palmén, Helena Pukkala and Oula Virtanen

Our team is growing!

Aapeli Kemppainen, Alvar Palmén, Helena Pukkala and Oula Virtanen joined VALOR as trainees in February.

Previously, Aapeli studied both medicine and business, and worked in various roles related specially to the medical field. Alvar, then again, gained experience as an entrepreneur and working with accounting and finance. Helena has experience in asset management, and Oula worked in the manufacturing industry, software development projects and construction.

We had an opportunity to chat a little with our new team members.

How would you describe VALOR in three words?

Aapeli: Ambitious, growing, employee-friendly

Alvar: Innovative, goal-directed, tailored

Helena: Professional, receptive, communal

Oula: Impactful, versatile, friendly

Has something surprised you at VALOR?

Aapeli: The consulting field was previously totally unknown for me, so everything is new and exciting.

Alvar: I was pleasantly surprised by the diversity of projects and tasks I’ve been involved in at VALOR right from the start.

Helena: I didn’t really have any pre-assumptions – I am eager to see what VALOR will bring!

Oula: Already during the first week, it was amazing to notice that making a genuine change is truly at the center. Even though the work is determined as expected, it takes place in a relaxed atmosphere.

We are thrilled to have Aapeli, Alvar, Helena and Oula in our team – welcome!

Four promotions in the VALOR team

We are pleased to announce that Antti Ihalainen has been promoted to Associate, Akseli Sutinen to Senior Associate and Tuomas Nenonen and Johan Matinmikko to Directors.

They all bring an incredible wealth of experience and knowledge to our team. Congratulations on the promotions!

“VALOR’s entrepreneurial culture, interesting projects and the opportunity to take responsibility have provided a good platform to grow, both at the company level and professionally. I believe these factors will continue to take us forward in the future.” – Antti Ihalainen, Associate

“VALOR has provided a great environment to grow fast, and it has given the required support. A low hierarchy and working closely with bright colleagues have taught me a lot as the level of responsibility has been continuously increasing. At the beginning of the year, it is now good to look forward and await new challenges.” – Akseli Sutinen, Senior Associate

“What impresses me here at VALOR is that we can grow our team and the level of insight constantly. I’m happy to be part of this growth and look forward to the new opportunities ahead!” – Tuomas Nenonen, Director

“It’s great to witness how VALOR’s supportive culture combined with strong growth has enabled us to advance in our careers and challenge ourselves with new responsibilities.” – Johan Matinmikko, Director