To commemorate F-Secure’s 30th year of innovation, we’re profiling 30 of our fellows from our more than 25 offices around the globe
What do these three have in common when it comes to cyber security? Meet Anssi Kuortti, F-Secure’s multi-talented, unassuming, and maybe unconventional HR specialist.
Like many, he began his working life with an after-school job. From the mailing firm, he moved on to working in a supermarket during his high school years.
“Then I did short stints as a telesales rep and data entry person after I finished my compulsory army service. My sister told me there would be two-week job mailing the F-Prot update letters out to 20,000 end users. She was working in the company that Data Fellows shared the space with at that time,” Anssi explains.
That initial fortnight was extended several times. He joined F-Secure shortly after starting his university studies.
“I didn’t apply for my initial job at the company and thought that the extra money would come in handy. I’ve been here for 22 years now,” he says.
His first ten years at F-Secure were on the Logistics team, which was later developed to become Purchase and Distribution.
“I have been at HQ most of the time. We were located in Olari in Espoo when I started, then moved to Matinkylä, before eventually relocating to Ruoholahti, Helsinki. My logistics colleagues and I had a separate warehouse office in Lauttasaari at some stage during that period,” he comments.
Anssi then transitioned to HR via the Facility & Office Services team. Teams are something that occupy most of his free time too.
“I’ve been coaching girls (currently 10-11-year-olds) for four years now. I’ll be starting my UEFA C-level coach studies this autumn,” he says.
His other passions are spending time with his family at their summer house and cooking. He is a confirmed foodie.
“I really love food and have done so since I was a child. My childhood family included three exceptionally good home chefs: my mother, father, and grandmother. We ate wonderful dishes, not just on Sundays, either.”
He has no time for trends or modern haute cuisine, however.
“Good food never goes out of fashion. What grandmothers in small villages all over the world have been cooking for generations is far more interesting for me. Local ingredients are the basis of local kitchens around the world,” Anssi comments.
F-Secure started as a more-or-less small local company. It’s 30-year history has seen it expand to be a global one, with over 1,500 employees, known as ‘Fellows’.
And 2018 alone has seen major events in the firm’s history what with the GDPR, acquiring MWR, and hiring over 400 new Fellows.
“There’s a lot happening in the company at the moment. HR needs to adjust and develop accordingly and, of course, drive the change too,” declares Anssi.
Amongst his current responsibilities is handling Workday training sessions for line managers. He also takes care of HR inductions for new Helsinki-based Fellows, which happen on most Mondays.
Anssi is both a safe pair of hands, and likes to wander outside of the 18-yard box.
“I like making each occasion more meaningful than just a standard 120-minute PowerPoint session. Routines with deadlines are not my favorites, but of course they need to be dealt with as well,” he concludes.
Check out our open positions if you want to join Anssi and the hundreds of other great fellows fighting to keep internet users safe from online threats.
Categories