Meet our people: Petteri Änkilä, Head of Large Corporates & Institutions

From fighter pilot dreams to finance

What was your biggest dream growing up?

“I wanted to be a fighter pilot when I was young, but that never happened. I did apply for that, but my eyesight wasn’t good enough. As part of required military service in Finland, I then applied and was selected for the special forces’ paratroopers division where we jumped out of planes. So close to flying, but not quite.”

What initially drew you to finance and corporate banking?

“I had been interested in financial markets since high school. After military service, during my university studies, I got a summer job at Nordea Finance where I had an opportunity to spend a day on our trading floor. I fell in love with that immediately – the voices, the noise, the flashing lights, how dynamic the environment was. A few months later, I applied for an internship together with some 700 applicants, and I was one of five chosen after several rounds. I started there and have been working within the industry for 30 years now.”

Leading LC&I: Strategy meets customer focus

How would you describe your current role in LC&I?

“I see myself as a member of the customer team who wants to win trust from our clients and help them. I really love being in front of our customers, but, as a leader, I am also supporting behind the scenes, making decisions, prioritisations, building strategy and developing our offering. I’m basically trying to support our troops as well as possible.”

What gives you energy in your daily work?

“It’s seeing how we can help our customers as a team. When we come together and create a solution for our customers that not only helps them but exceeds their expectations, that gives me a lot of energy.”

Strategic priorities: The path to 2030

As head of LC&I, what are your top priorities for moving towards Nordea’s 2030 targets?

“I would say the three priorities are customer satisfaction, growth of our business and creating a winning culture in LC&I. These all tie together – when we have satisfied customers, we can do more business with them, which drives growth and creates that winning culture. In terms of growth specifically, we have four very clear focus areas from our Capital Markets Day: Sweden, Norway, cross-sales and infrastructure. We have very granular plans for how to grow in these areas.”

How do you see technology and AI shaping LC&I’s business further?

“I think technology will become a competitive necessity rather than a differentiator – advanced treasury platforms and real-time risk management will become more of a commodity. AI capabilities will accelerate business in LC&I, but for large corporates and institutions, trust-based relationships will still be key going forward. That will be boosted by tech and AI, which will make things more automated and allow us to provide more personalised advice.” 

What are the biggest shifts you see in client needs right now?

“As said, AI acceleration is one. Everybody’s getting used to these tools, which raises the bar for us as a financial services group. We need to provide personalised data, service and advice. At the same time, we’ve seen rising geopolitical tension and uncertainty, with recent escalations. While we’re becoming more digitalised, customers need more personal touchpoints to discuss risks, how to hedge against them and get advice and help from our big balance sheet in uncertain situations.” 

Staying energised 

What do you do to unwind after demanding days?

“I’m quite interested in sports and I still register for races in endurance sports. If there’s a chance, I’ll try to do some – skiing, biking, running, swimming, playing tennis, going to the gym. When I travel, I always have my running shoes with me.” 

Who has been a key source of inspiration in your career journey?

“I’ve been quite lucky having leaders who trusted me and gave me chances to take leadership when I was really young. I was the CEO of a listed company at age 32, which taught me to trust and delegate to people around me and to work with multiple stakeholders. I have a curious mind and willingness to learn new things and challenge myself. I’ve been eager to take sidesteps during my career, not always going upwards. At Nordea, we have so many opportunities across the Nordics where you can try new things. That’s one of the strengths and why I’ve liked it here.”