Background

I hold a Master of Laws degree and have worked on EU affairs and law since 1988. Alongside legal assignments and business development, I have developed national sector policies, legislation and public sector organisations in Finland and abroad, and carried out a range of national, regional and local projects, such as promoting entrepreneurship, establishing free economic zones and attracting investment to regions.

On the private side, my clients have included associations and private individuals as well as companies. I have done volunteer work and served on the boards of non-profit associations.

Alongside running my own business, my employers have included the Finnish Ministry of Trade and Industry, Lappeenranta University of Technology, law firms in Finland and Egypt, and a German state-owned consultancy.

I specialise in the following areas:

• developing national policies, legislation and public sector organisations to support economic integration and economic and social development
• preparing, implementing, managing and reporting on development projects for companies and the public sector (legislative, business development and growth projects), and securing their co-financing
• corporate advocacy and stakeholder management
• the European Union and related legal matters
• business law, and in particular legal matters relating to markets, trade and investment
• commercialising innovations, commercial contracts and ensuring regulatory compliance

Aim

My aim is to provide practical services that companies and the public sector can apply on their own and build on with further measures that move the business forward.

I aim to give clients strategic services that add concrete value, and to build long-term partnerships that support a company's systematic development and growth. In practice this can mean flexible collaboration, outsourcing specific areas of work, project work, interim expert roles, mentoring, or serving as board secretary or board member.

Vision

The vision is to be a recognised, high-quality and practical service provider in the field, combining analysis of the business environment, development of the operations of companies and other clients, and attention to the legal issues involved. Development and growth are at the heart of the work.

International work

Finland is part of the European Union, and the development of EU law directly affects how Finnish companies operate, which is why it matters to follow EU affairs and take part in them. Finland also depends on foreign trade and on business outside the EU.

I have years of experience working in the private and public sectors in Africa, Eastern Europe, Russia and the Caucasus (12 projects), and elsewhere abroad (25 projects in total). My aim is to put my expertise in EU matters to use and also to help companies, particularly in Ukraine and in East Africa (the East African Community), Africa's fastest-growing region.

Internationalisation also involves a way of working based on close cooperation with Finnish and international public and private sector partners who bring complementary expertise.

Principles

My work is based on my experience and on understanding what clients need.

• The guiding idea is to work closely with clients and commit to their business, so that they see me as part of their own organisation and feel encouraged to ask questions openly and to challenge the way they do things.
• This goes hand in hand with a strategic way of thinking and working, and with the principle of continuous improvement, both of which can be put into practice systematically through development projects.
• Working together is the second guiding principle. Besides cooperation with clients, delivering and developing services relies on cooperation with a trusted team of individuals and with partner companies, and on continuous networking with stakeholders.

What matters in this cooperation is working together, learning, offering broader service packages and being able to measure the impact of the services.