Björn Arne Christer "Nalle" Wahlroos (born 10 October 1952) is a Finnish banker, investor, and the former

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of the Board in Sampo Group,

Nordea Nordea Bank Abp, commonly referred to as Nordea, is a Nordic financial services group operating in northern Europe with headquarters in Helsinki, Finland. The name is a blend of the words "Nordic" and "idea". The Nordic countries are considered ...

and UPM-Kymmene. Before switching to banking, Wahlroos worked as a professor at the Hanken School of Economics in Helsinki, from which he also holds a Doctorate in Economics. In terms of political economical viewpoint, Wahlroos is known as a defender of ''laissez-faire'' economics, and a critic of

Keynesian economics Keynesian economics ( ; sometimes Keynesianism, named after British economist John Maynard Keynes) are the various macroeconomics, macroeconomic theories and Economic model, models of how aggregate demand (total spending in the economy) strongl ...

and economic regulation. His views against government interference and regulation has prompted criticism and controversy throughout the years, especially as despite Wahlroos' wealth, he has collected hundreds of thousands of euros in Finnish agricultural subsidies. He owns a mansion in Salo, Finland and a second mansion in

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, in addition to an apartment in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. Wahlroos has also published several books on economics and the Finnish economy. His father, Bror "Buntta" Wahlroos, was chief of staff in the Ministry of Trade and Industry. His mother, Marita Wahlroos, was a long-time friend of

Martti Ahtisaari Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari (, 23 June 1937 – 16 October 2023) was a Finnish politician, the tenth president of Finland, from 1994 to 2000, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and a United Nations diplomat and mediation, mediator noted for his inte ...

, who was a president of Finland (1994–2000) and they both worked in Africa.

Personal life and family

Born in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, Wahlroos is a Swedish-speaking Finn. Wahlroos' father Bror "Buntta" Wahlroos (1928–2007) was a well-known economist, who worked at the Finnish Ministry of Trade and Industry from the 1960s until his retirement in 1993. Bror Wahlroos was the Chief of Staff of the ministry for a total of 23 years. Wahlroos' mother, Marita Wahlroos also held a master's degree in economics. Marita Wahlroos worked as a teacher at a business school in Helsinki for several years. After Marita divorced Bror, she worked in numerous African countries in the developmental aid sector. Wahlroos married Saara Wahlroos in 1977. They have two children, Nina Wahlroos-Grader (born 1977) and Thomas Wahlroos (born 1979). Wahlroos has transferred sums of his wealth to his children, partially to avoid the Finnish inheritance

tax A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities. Tax co ...

and other taxes.

Career

After graduation from the gymnasium in 1971, Wahlroos studied at the Hanken School of Economics in

. He graduated as a M.Sc. in 1975 and got his

D.Sc. A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...

in 1979. The following years were spent in academia; as an acting professor of economics at the Hanken School of Economics and as a visiting professor at

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

and the

Kellogg School of Management The Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management (branded as Northwestern Kellogg) is the graduate business school of Northwestern University, a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois. History Early ...

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, United States. In 1985, Wahlroos switched career to banking, joining the executive board of Union Bank of Finland (). In 1988, he was appointed Executive vice president and Head of Investment Banking & Treasury at the Union Bank of Finland. Together with half a dozen of his colleagues, Wahlroos bought out the investment banking operations of UBF in 1992 and started the partnership & Co, which soon became the leading advisor of mergers and acquisitions in Scandinavia. Through a merger with Interbank in 1998, Mandatum was listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange. In 2000, Wahlroos merged his banking group into Sampo-Leonia and took over as president and CEO of the combined company, also becoming its biggest private shareholder. In 2009, Wahlroos resigned as CEO and was elected Chairman of Sampo plc, holding company of Sampo Group, which by then had become the biggest insurer in Northern Europe and also the main shareholder of

, the region's largest bank. Between 2011 and 2019, he was chairman of the board of Nordea. Wahlroos was also chairman of the Board of UPM-Kymmene, the pulp and paper manufacturer. In late 2022, Wahlroos transferred the ownership in his main investment companies, worth EUR 130 million, to his children, in preparation for his planned retirement from daily business activities.

Politics

While a student, Wahlroos was involved in left-wing politics. He was a member of in 1969–1973 and communist revolutionary student association in 1971–1973. He left extreme leftist politics in 1973. After this he has withdrawn from active party politics although he is a paying member of the Swedish People's Party. He has nevertheless given public comments that give an indication of his thoughts. In 2001, he declared himself in favour of a

citizen's income Citizen's dividend is a proposed policy based upon the Georgist principle that the natural world is the common property of all people. It is proposed that all citizens receive regular payments (dividends) from revenue raised by leasing or tax ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. "Basic security, in my mind, must never be threatened because it is an important part of human modern society", Wahlroos said in the Finnish newspaper , clearing way to negative income tax thinking. In March 2009, Wahlroos predicted that the economic recession would not endure for long, because the market corrects itself quickly. In March 2010, in an interview in the ''

Image An image or picture is a visual representation. An image can be Two-dimensional space, two-dimensional, such as a drawing, painting, or photograph, or Three-dimensional space, three-dimensional, such as a carving or sculpture. Images may be di ...

'' magazine, he spoke of the need to cut Finnish

development aid Development aid (or development cooperation) is a type of aid given by governments and other agencies to support the economic, environmental, social, and political International development, development of developing countries. It is distinguishe ...

because "we have 50 years of money thrown into a bottomless well". In addition, he has criticized giving grants to university students because it, according to Wahlroos, "supports idleness", and regards agricultural and forestry research expenditures as excessive. In June 2010, Wahlroos told the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'' that Europe will have to reconsider the future of the

social market economy The social market economy (SOME; ), also called Rhine capitalism, Rhine-Alpine capitalism, the Rhenish model, and social capitalism, is a socioeconomic model combining a free-market capitalist economic system with social policies and enough re ...

model, because people cannot be taxed in the future in the current fashion, and poverty and broken families are unsustainable. Wahlroos also believes that agricultural subsidies should be abolished throughout the world: "It is absurd that Finland is with one hand supporting the Zambian

agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit ...

and the other the EU common agricultural policy. (...) ...giving to developing countries at the same time ... when the EU is to abolish agricultural subsidies and open tariff barriers on agricultural products." At the same time he receives remarkable agricultural subsidies himself. In 2015, Wahlroos published a book defending his ''laissez-faire'' economics viewpoint, '' Keynes '' (The ten worst economic theories: From Keynes to Piketty).Wahlroos, Björn: ''De tio sämsta ekonomiska teorierna: Från Keynes till Piketty.'' Albert Bonniers Förlag, Stockholm, 2015. . In the book he argues, for instance, that stable economic development is difficult to implement in a democratic social system. Wahlroos is a member of Libera, a foundation organized under

Mont Pelerin Society The Mont Pelerin Society (MPS), founded in 1947, is an international academic society of Economist, economists, Political philosophy, political philosophers, and other Intelligentsia, intellectuals who share a classical liberal outlook. It is hea ...

Military

In the

Finnish Defence Forces The Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) (; ) are the military of Finland. The Finnish Defence Forces consist of the Finnish Army, the Finnish Navy, and the Finnish Air Force. In wartime, the Finnish Border Guard becomes part of the Finnish Defence For ...

, Wahlroos holds the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in the reserves.

Books published

* Wahlroos, Björn: ''Markkinat ja demokratia''. (Otava, 2012) * Wahlroos, Björn: ''Talouden kymmenen tuhoisinta ajatusta''. (Otava, 2015) * Wahlroos, Björn: ''Kuinkas tässä näin kävi?'' (Otava, 2019) * Wahlroos, Björn: ''Barrikaadeilta pankkimaailmaan'' (Otava, 2021)

References

Sources

*Personal data
Corresponding article on the Finnish Wikipedia

External links

Sampo Board of Directors
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wahlroos, Bjorn 1952 births Living people Swedish-speaking Finns Businesspeople from Helsinki Finnish bankers Finnish expatriates in France Finnish expatriates in Sweden Academic staff of the Hanken School of Economics Finnish chairpersons of corporations Finnish investors