Work in the banking sector requires a person not only to have certain knowledge and skills, but also determination, perseverance, an extensive outlook and the ability to quickly and correctly analyze the situation around him. This article will talk about a person named Ilkka Salonen - now a well-known banker, who, however, was not always wealthy and famous. We study his fate in more detail.
Birth and parents
Ilkka Salonen, whose biography is given below, was born on October 24, 1955 in the city of Espoo, Finland. Our hero comes from a fairly simple working-class family. His dad worked as an ordinary salesman, and his mother worked in the office of a brewery called Sinebrychoff.
In 1976, the young man became a student at the University of Helsinki, within whose walls he was able to safely complete his master's degree in political science, and also became a good specialist in economics and statistics.
Start of labor detail
The young specialist Salonen Ilkka (his photo is given below) began his career at the Bank of Finland. And he began to work, while still a student. But after completing his studies, he transferred to a bank called Kansallis-Osake-Pankki, where he took the post of economist at the department, which carefully oversees research in the economic sphere. After a certain period of time, the man became the manager of the regional level of the same bank in the USSR.
Contribution to the development of the banking sector
In 1985, Salonen Ilkka - representative of Kansallis-Osake-Pankki Bank - became the head of the financial institution entrusted to him. During his rather long career, the specialist was the head of the Baltic banking group of the Merita Nordbanken, occupied the chair of the president of Unicredit Bank, and replaced the director of a whole group of companies called Renaissance Investment Management. He was also Deputy Chairman of the Board of Sberbank of Russia, where he was responsible for the development of international business.
Since the summer of 2012, the Finn, in addition to serving on the board of directors of Promsvyazbank, has been on the Supervisory Board of Uralsib. But in the spring of 2015, he left his post at the Ural bank.
In the fall of 2016, Ilkka Salonen received a tempting invitation to become a member of the supervisory board of the Moscow Credit Bank, in which the financier became the head of the committee conducting the audit and conducting a detailed risk assessment. The specialist was also entrusted with analyzing the bank’s capital markets and thinking over the strategy of a financial institution.
Hobbies and family
In his spare time from his main labor activity, Ilkka is very fond of listening to good music and reading various literature that can teach a person something new and necessary. Among the musicians, the man especially distinguishes The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, Jimmy Hendrix.
The hero of the article is fluent in English, Russian and Swedish. They have been legally married to their spouse for more than four decades. During this period, together with her, he raised a daughter and a son.
About money and Russia
Salonen Ilkka Seppo, whose biography is interesting to many people, notes significant differences in the mentality of Finns and Russians. For example, a banker indicates that it is not too customary in his home country to lend money, while in the Russian Federation this is a common and normal practice. As Ilkka recalls, he himself had a negative experience when he borrowed the missing amount to friends to buy a washing machine. After that, these people did not repay the debt for a long time.
About investments
In one of his many interviews, Ilkka Salonen, on the question of how to handle money, said that private investors should not be in the clouds and believe in miracles. Anyone should understand: the risk of losing money is always great, and therefore you should not get too carried away by a high rate of return, but rather focus on the balance sheet. In addition, it is necessary to break down investments into different risk categories. And the most important thing is to get rid of assets on time, both during their significant price hikes and in the event of a sharp depreciation.
Self-criticism
For all his professionalism, Ilkka Salonen notes that he himself is a rather mediocre, one might even say bad, investor. Once he invested his own money in shares of one of the Finnish enterprises, which over time fell by almost 10 times. Fortunately, the amount was not very large, but there was still a loss.
About his childhood
In the early years of his life, Ilkka, along with his own sister, received pocket money from his parents. And at the age of 8, he decided to buy a player and for this began to add money to the piggy bank.
But he was able to make his first real income at the age of 13, when he began to distribute mail and newspapers in apartments. For the first month, Salonen earned 94 Finnish marks, therefore he was very proud and pleased with himself. He also always earned money every summer.
About charity
Ilkka is very positive about any philanthropy. The banker sincerely believes that everyone should make a gratuitous investment of money in an amount that depends on his financial potential. Ilkka Salonen pays particular attention to young talents. In his opinion, it is necessary to create the most comfortable conditions for them.
The secret to success
A Finnish banking specialist says hard work mixed with luck in his life. According to Ilkka himself, he was lucky enough to be in the right place at one time. Also, he was not deprived of interesting job offers and good colleagues. In addition, Salonen believes that a good leader should never interfere with the work of his subordinates.
About freedom
According to Ilkka, life is too short a time to drink bad wine. However, despite his rather solid financial position, the banker still tries to remain as he was before he became a senior manager. Yes, his income has grown, but his attitude to life values has remained the same. At the same time, Salonen quite sincerely considers himself an absolutely happy and free person, who fully enjoys his professional detail.