Episode 174 · 2023-02-10 · 50:20 · Original in Finnish
The owner's will | Timo Leino, Markku Pohjola, Harri Saukkomaa | Negotiator 174
Originally published as “Omistajan tahto | Timo Leino Markku Pohjola Harri Saukkomaa | Neuvottelija 174”
The three authors of the book Omistajan tahto come straight from its launch to explain what ownership means in practice, from private equity to co-operatives and from trade unions to family firms. The through-line is what happens when the owner's will is left unclear: the vacuum is filled by management's own idea. Posti, VR, Fortum and Sampo serve as cases, alongside activist investors as constructive owners, and the question of who you actually own alongside.
Core theses
- An unstated owner's will does not leave a vacuum — management's own intention fills it, which is the book's central claim.
- Private equity is a comparatively straightforward owner precisely because its will is explicit and time-bound.
- Activist investors can function as constructive owners, which is the episode's least conventional position.
- Three authors promoting their own book, with several of them sitting on the boards discussed.
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Key moments
- 00:00 — Intro
- 00:30 — The authors of Omistajan tahto: Timo Leino, Markku Pohjola and Harri Saukkomaa
- 02:00 — Solidium, and Finland as a capital-poor country
- 03:49 — Forms of ownership: private equity, family firms, the state, co-operatives
- 04:45 — The trade union movement as an owner
- 05:50 — Board appointments, Elliott Management and Sampo
- 08:00 — The owner's voice, the chair, executive management and other stakeholders
- 10:08 — Is ESG empty talk
- 12:00 — Strong chairs and chief executives on the chain of command
- 13:20 — State ownership steering: Fortum and Uniper, VR, Posti
- 16:00 — Disappointments between owner, board and management
- 18:30 — Family firms as owners, and the power of a significant minority holding
- 28:00 — Elon Musk
- 32:00 — Stakeholders and the objectives of pension companies
- 35:10 — Takeover situations: Rovio and Playtika, Caverion, Triton and Bain
- 42:00 — Nordic state ownership steering
- 43:00 — You will own nothing and be happier than ever
- 46:00 — How communicating the owner's will has changed
- 48:00 — Outro
Summary
The three authors of the book Omistajan tahto come straight from its launch to explain what ownership means in practice, from private equity to co-operatives and from trade unions to family firms. The through-line is what happens when the owner’s will is left unclear: the vacuum is filled by management’s own idea. Posti, VR, Fortum and Sampo serve as cases, alongside activist investors as constructive owners, and the question of who you actually own alongside.
The claim
An owner who does not state their will does not thereby leave the company unguided — management’s own intention fills the space. That is the book’s argument in one line, and the state cases in the episode, Posti, VR and Fortum, are used to show what the filling looks like when it happens.
The unconventional part
Treating activist investors as constructive owners rather than as raiders. The authors’ case is that an activist states a will explicitly, which is more than many long-term holders do — and that private equity is a straightforward owner for the same reason.
Watch
The recording lives on the Neuvottelija channel: Omistajan tahto | Timo Leino Markku Pohjola Harri Saukkomaa | Neuvottelija 174. A Finnish edition of this episode is published at www.neuvottelija.fi.
In depth
The Neuvottelija AI editions carry a long-form write-up of this episode: English · suomeksi.
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People and topics
Guests: Timo Leino, Markku Pohjola, Harri Saukkomaa