One of Swappie’s core values is “Connect”. It means that we always assume the best;  We are direct and transparent; We grow, celebrate and have fun together. 

Last summer, a Connect-award was bestowed upon Jalo Hetemäki, our Head of BI, a testament to his strong relationships within the company. Jalo is known for his friendly and approachable nature, making him a popular figure across Swappie. He readily participates in company events and helps coordinate them with enthusiasm – even serving as toastmaster (in a leopard suit, of course!).

Five years ago, Jalo was working in a consultancy company with financial due diligence projects.  He had friends working at Swappie and got interested in the vibrant culture and exciting business growth trajectory.  He joined the Swappie rocket in August 2020 as an Account Manager for the Supply team, contributing to the global B2B device purchasing operations.

Jalo quickly recognized the importance of developing a holistic understanding of Swappie's supply chain. He proactively expanded his skillset beyond purchasing and negotiations, delving into supply analytics and planning. Jalo mentions that he appreciates the dynamic culture at Swappie where everyone can develop their own work, just by identifying business bottlenecks and working proactively to solve them.  This kind of working culture suits Jalo very well, as he is highly self-driven by his own ambitions - for instance, he studied SQL on his own and got to develop his role further with this new skill. 

The past year and a half have marked a significant milestone in Jalo's career as he transitioned into his first leadership role, heading the BI team.  Manager track has been something he had been actively pursuing, but he does admit that it was not the easiest setting to proceed to a Manager position within one’s own team: All of the sudden Jalo had leader responsibilities in addition to the individual contributor tasks, and it took a while to balance with those. 

“A key learning from my first year as the Head of BI was that you should not try to manage things on your own but to ask for help.  People at Swappie are really eager to spar with you and share their best practices, and there is so much knowledge in this community. I have benefited a lot from talking to my colleagues and with our talented HR professionals as well.” 

Jalo has warm memories of 2020 Swappie, with production and HQ co-located, techno blasting at the office and work being more of a 24/7 lifestyle than “a job”. On the other hand, he finds it very positive that nowadays Swappie has matured with more defined processes  and a strong emphasis on work-life balance.  Furthermore, he appreciates the efforts made at Swappie to become a highly equal and inclusive employer. What has not changed, though, are the things that have been important to Jalo from the very beginning: Endless Optimism and Extreme Ownership mindset.

  “I consider one of my biggest achievements to be developing the seasonality thinking and processes in supply planning.  I saw this as something that could benefit the business a great deal, and I actively started to promote it to the management team and soon after got the business on-board with my idea.  Having an entrepreneurial mindset and taking ownership of your role and responsibilities is beneficial to the company’s success but also to your own success; If you are too comfortable with the “same old-same old”, you will not grow professionally nor are career opportunities easy to achieve.”

Jalo states that he appreciates the autonomy and flexibility in Swappie’s working culture, allowing employees to determine their preferred work style and working hours while achieving desired outcomes.  Ideas are taken in with enthusiasm and positivity, and Jalo finds inspiration in the tangible results and positive impact his team delivers.

Combining leadership and high level analytics work can be demanding, but Jalo has managed to find ways to unwind and let his mind rest.  He loves sauna, and during winter time he combines that with taking a dip in the freezing water (Finnish: “avanto”). One can see “gym” in his work calendar a couple of mornings per week, as Jalo hits the company gym, but in addition to challenging himself with strength training and tennis, he is into reading, yoga, and meditation, his newest avocation: “Meditation is a perfect practice for stress management, but actually beneficial also when not very stressed out, as one can get to a more elevated and relaxed state.  I can recommend meditating in the mornings. It is an awesome way to start your day and get energized for work!

Thank you, Jalo, for fostering a strong sense of connection within Swappie and contributing positively to our vibrant company culture!