Björn Wahlroos

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Björn Arne Christer Wahlroos (born October 10, 1952 in Helsinki) is a Finnish investor. He is the CEO of Sampo Group. Wahlroos is also commonly known under the nickname "Nalle", which means "teddy bear" in Finnish and Swedish.

[edit] Career

After graduating from high school in Helsinki, Björn Wahlroos took up studies in economics and business administration in the Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration (the Helsinki Swedish School of Economics). He graduated as a M.Sc in 1975 and as a D.Sc in 1979. After graduation he held several academic professions in Finland and overseas; he was a visiting assistant professor in Kellogg School of Management, Illinois, USA.

After his academic career he went into the banking business. Wahlroos was an assisting CEO in Suomen Yhdyspankki, one of the two leading commercial banks in Finland in the 1980s, until 1992, the year when the Savings and Loan crisis hit Finland. During the bank crisis many big banks were forced into bankruptcy, and Wahlroos started in Mandatum, a Finnish investment bank. He became the CEO of the Sampo bank in 2001.

Björn Wahlroos is also known in Finland from his unusually opinionated utterances. He is often found throwing criticism at the leadership style of Swedish businessmen. According to Wahlroos, the Finns are more determined and bold in decision making, while the Swedes use too much negotiation and double-checking to avoid disagreement. Wahlroos has also lately accused the state-based free education system in Finland of being a bad model for business-schools.

In the Finnish Defence Forces, Wahlroos holds the rank of Captain in the reserves.

Wahlroos is considered to be one of the wealthiest people in Finland.

His son, Thomas Wahlroos, is an increasingly well-known high-stakes poker player.