Unikie boosted its efforts to expand and grow internationally with the addition of Rauno Vänni, who comes from Nokia and has an extensive background in the field. His 25 years of history in the software business makes him an excellent choice for the position of Sales Fellow.
Vänni transferred to Unikie from Elisa, where he worked as a sales manager in the corporate client sector and as the regional manager of Finland’s Tavastia region. The available position in a young growth company was an offer he couldn’t refuse. To Vänni, the startup world provides a fascinating operational environment, which fits his self-steering work persona well. After working for a large public company that is over 135 years old, Vänni considers his new post to be a sort of homecoming.
– I’m turning 50 this year, and I want to able to see the results of my work. Unikie’s “less jargon, more substance” has the correct tone. According to Vänni, his primary motivations to work for Unikie were the meaningfulness of the work and the opportunities to make a difference.
A Sales Fellow with development ideologies
Vänni has followed Unikie’s story from the start. He knows the company’s founders from his previous job at Symbio. For Vänni, a change of companies and a new role isn’t a leap into the unknown, even though he says the startup is very different from Elisa.
The position of Sales Fellow focuses on sales, and is also internationally oriented. The job involves not only acquiring new customer projects, but also matching suitable candidates with available roles.
Vänni himself says he likes to assume the role of a “janitor” in a company. In other words, besides sales, he can take on a number of duties. The tasks Vänni likes to take charge of include running a business, and managing processes and tools.
“I’m not afraid of big cases”
Rauno Vänni considers his greatest strength at his new position to be his long and versatile experience in the software business. He has previous experience from both software development and sales, providing useful perspective for customer-focused work. The network of contacts he has accumulated during his years in the software business is also an important asset. Vänni is a member of e.g. the Tampere Chamber of Commerce’s ICT committee. He also has the personality of a developer.
What Rauno Vänni considers especially fascinating about Unikie is the freedom to do things responsibly. In a company with a low organizational structure, there is no micromanagement, meaning that results are allowed to speak for themselves. Empowerment, the balance between power and responsibility, is central in Unikie’s values. Vänni is not intimitated by large projects.
– Working in internationally significant ventures encourages my ambition. Now to roll up my sleeves and solve our customers’ problems, says the IT engineer.
