My first year as a CEO – Season Stats

14.6.2023 

I started as the CEO of Deloitte Finland a year ago. An important part of learning is reflecting on the past, and that is what I have done after the first 365 days. Based on that, I am sharing some highlights in the form of Season Stats, covering both the Firm's and my personal journey.

The key premise once I jumped into the new role was to continue our journey towards our aspiration - to build the leading and most influential transformative service provider in the Finnish market. And to do this, focus on growth, transform, talent and brand.

Given we started this spring as one of the main partners for the Finnish Olympic Committee and my own interest in sports, this summary also takes its from the sports world stats; while remembering that KPIs are just our compass and speedometer indicating we are on the right path with the right speed towards building the Firm we envision.  

The key premise once I jumped into the new role was to continue our journey towards our aspiration - to build the leading and most influential transformative service provider in the Finnish market.

Seasons as a CEO: 1 

Team aspiration: Create the leading and most influential transformative service provider in the Finnish market. Like the below Stats indicate, we are proceeding towards the right direction with good speed. But the aspiration is there to provide us with the North Star also for future years.

Our shared accountability areas / must wins: Growth, transform, talent, and brand
 

Team stats 

Growth – focus on priority industries and clusters 

The number of consecutive years of double-digit, top-line growth: 6 

Top-line growth for the past year: Over 25% 

Top-line growth in priority industries and focused private clusters: Exceeding that of overall firm growth

Transform – the business we are in, and the way we do business  

Top-line for our growth platform offerings (our new services portfolio that will keep us relevant in the years to come): Overall around 20%, with 4 of 6 Growth Platform offerings growing over 30%.

The use of new and alternative delivery models: In high increase across our businesses – as we are transforming the way we do our own business as well.

Talent 

The number of new professionals recruited: Over 250 

Increase in the number of Trainee applicants: In recent rounds over 50% compared with previous year

The number of nationalities working at Deloitte Finland: Over 30 

The share of females in our team overall: 51%

The share of females in a senior leadership position: On firm level, our gender split was approximately 50/50 men and women up to Senior Managers. From Director level up the portion of women was ~25 %. This is an area we are focusing more and more as we believe, better is possible also here. Good indication on the direction was that out of our newly promoted partners, this year 4 out of 5 were female. But clearly we have more to do in this area.

The number of happy faces each morning at the office: Many, also indicated by our People’s Voice and Upward Feedback results – both showing small improvements vs previous years. An area where we will not rest either, but continue to develop the experience we provide to our people.
 

Brand 

The number of physical client events arranged: Over 60  

Number of social media postings: 1400  

Number of campaigns: 300, plus 100 talent brand campaigns

The number of views through digital marketing: Close to 40 million

Talent brand amongst the key stakeholder group (Aalto university students being amongst our key target audience): #1, while also recognizing that in number of other areas we have much to also here.

Personal stats

The number of days of being proud of the team: 365 

The number of days of being excited about being in the new role: 365 

The number of days of having doubts about oneself being in the new role: 365 

The number of days when I wanted to quit: 0 

Qualitative leadership feedback received: Our team felt inspired by my leadership style and the positive atmosphere that I am creating while at the same time asking for more constructive performance-related feedback. Some also saying that at time I can be too direct. Both of these are areas I’m working with my own coach/mentor! 

Number of in-person meetings: Many more compared to 2020–2022. I couldn’t feel happier to be getting back on track with in-person meetings. I love – with our leaders and teams – the vibe at the office when we have houseful of talented Deloittees and clients. This also ensures we will share our knowledge to each other more effectively. To this end, we decided to swim against the current this spring and increase the space we will occupy in the future at our new We Land HQ. Already planning for the housewarming party in August 2024…

Wellbeing: Apple watch telling me of a 20% increase in steps taking during the first 365 days when compared with the previous 12 months. This most likely correlates with our teams being more present at the office, but also with a similar drop in the number of times I have visited the gym as well. Evidences my new habit of having longer walks with our poodle a few times a day. These moments, when I leave phone home and disconnect from all, have provided me with the needed time to reflect and recharge. 

Basketball games watched this season: Based on pure gut feeling, close to 100. And I still do not understand the game. But nowadays I also find myself, more and more, following how the coaches lead and guide their players. Learning and observing from a distance – as we have so much to learn from each other: for example building trust, giving feedback and guidance while balancing with the individual’s and team’s accountability as well as freedom to execute.

And then of course it is time to give my thanks. If we didn’t have our people, we would be nothing. I am sharing the firm stats, but it is the team who has delivered those. So, I’d like to thank each Deloittee for working together as one team through the whole year. And I’d like to thank our clients—we enjoy helping each and every one of you to navigate, even in the slightly more uncertain weathers.