Sanna works as a People and Culture Manager at Hanken & SSE. Her daily work covers everything from employee lifecycle to driving strategic people initiatives with and for our 50-person team.
Who are you?
I chose this career path because of my endless curiosity about people and human interaction. I have stayed in this field because they still drive me: the red thread in my life and professional journey is that I’m a human, and nothing human is alien to me. My background includes HR consulting, executive search, research, and most recently in-house HR roles within DEI, Learning & Development, and Employee Experience.
The near-decade I lived and worked in Sweden increased my appreciation for diverse perspectives. In my past roles, I have learned how crucial it is for any business to enable people and listen to people. At the end of the day, it all comes down to people: the creativity, ideas, problem-solving, commitment, and hard work the team brings to the table.
What do you do at Hanken & SSE?
As a one-woman HR shop, my days are filled with a delightful variety of tasks: supporting our business leaders, creating HR processes, and serving our 50-person team in e.g. career lifecycle and well-being matters. I also drive strategic people projects, run well-being activities, and sometimes take on the role of Chief Social Officer — yes, I’m the one buying pineapple-shaped sunglasses!
Any curious details about your job?
What is special about my role is that, given that I work in an executive education company, most of my colleagues have more experience than I do. Many have held my position in listed multinational companies and have had impressive leadership careers. While this could be intimidating, here I have many wise mentors who are open to giving meaningful and gentle advice, genuinely wanting me to succeed. I get to learn incredibly much from them.
What is the best part of your job?
The best part of my job is being a people person in a place where people matter. My mission is to help people do the best work of their careers. This year, we are focusing especially on well-being and improving how we ask and give feedback.
It is also immensely important to me that the context in which I work is net positive for society. (Net Positive by Paul Polman and Andrew Winston is one of my favourite business books!). Knowing that the people I strive to support ignite renewal in others is just mind-blowing. It creates a next-level sense of purpose in my role.