Meet the FinLeap-Team: Satu Kivisalo, Senior Manager People & Organization

Satu Kivisalo holds the position of Senior Manager People & Organization at FinLeap. She joined the company builder in October 2014.

Satu strikes everyone with her dedication to her work. She enjoys every part of her job at FinLeap, but says that the best feeling is when she sees her work directly impacting the development of each team through smart hiring decisions.

Satu joined HitFox in January 2014. After working for HitFox and Savedo for a while, she transitioned into FinLeap in October 2014. She learned about the company builder through the startup network in Berlin. Thus, Satu holds the position of Senior Manager People & Organization, making her responsible for business partnering for some of the ventures and recruiting on the co-founder and senior level with focus on product currently. Originally from Finland, Satu has been independent since the age of 19, living in several European cities which makes her enjoy the diversity at FinLeap. Today, we interviewed Satu about her job, the ventures, and her previous experiences.

FinLeap.com: What is the most interesting part of working at FinLeap?

Satu: I love the diversity of tasks and ventures, which means my work gets never boring. Also, I specifically enjoy the pace here and how independent I can be in my work. We are actively looking for new candidates (we have some P&O positions open currently), so I always have something to do.

FinLeap.com: What is the most important first impression quality you look for in a candidate?

Satu: I don’t trust first impressions when I talk to our applicants, because they can be very biased. In short, I look for curiosity and passion in addition to certain competencies.

FinLeap.com: How does FinLeap differ from your previous jobs?

Satu: Instead of working for one company only, I work for many ventures with many stakeholders and hiring managers. I also get to support companies in different cycles, so there is no one-fit-for-all approach that I have to take into consideration.

FinLeap.com: How do you collaborate with the ventures?

Satu: I make sure there is constant flow of communication between me, our P&O Team and the ventures. Also, I aim to combine what I’ve previously learned to then better advice our ventures and hiring managers. Further, I have to understand the business model and the culture of each team, so I’m sure that I hire the perfect fit for each venture. Apart from clearly enjoying her work, Satu loves to travel. Some of her recent destinations were Sri Lanka and a reunion with old exchange student friends in Palma De Mallorca. Coming from Finland, she enjoys Nordic design and loves to get inspired by design blogs.