Management

Alisa Bank's Board of Directors consists of six members with long experience in banking and board work.

The operational management of the company is led by the CEO and assisted by the Management Team.

Board of Directors

Markku Pohjola

Markku Pohjola

Markku Pohjola linkedin tili
Chairman of the board
  • Born 1948. Education: B.Sc. (Econ.)
  • Chairman of the Board as of 2 April 2022. He is also Chairman of the Board of Rangunkorpi Oy.
  • He has served in a number of executive positions at Nordea and its predecessor banks, including as Deputy Group CEO of Nordea Bank AB and CEO of Nordea Bank Finland Plc. He has also served as the Chairman of the Boards of Municipality Finance Plc, Finnvera Plc, Tieto Plc and Posti Group Corporation.
  • Independent of the company and major shareholders.
Johanna Lamminen

Johanna Lamminen

Johanna Lamminen linkedin tili
Member of the board, deputy chairman of the board
  • Born 1966. Doctor of Science (Tech.) and MBA.
  • Member of the Board as of 20 April 2023.
  • Board Member at Mandatum Plc, CellMark AB, Finnish Business and Policy Forum EVA and The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy ETLA. She also serves as the Chairman of the Board of Savonlinna Opera Festival. She has previously served as a Board Member at Cargotec Plc, Sampo Bank, Tieto Plc and Evli Bank.
  • Serves as CEO of Novana Ltd. Previously served as CEO of Gasum Ltd and Danske Bank Finland as well as CFO of Sampo Bank and Evli Bank.
  • Independent of the company and major shareholders.
Sami Honkonen

Sami Honkonen

Sami Honkonen linkedin tili
Member of the board
  • Born 1983. Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.).
  • Member of the Board as of 20 April 2023.
  • Entrepreneur of technology, investor. Previously worked as CEO at Tomorrow Tech Oy and Digitaalinen asuntokauppa DIAS Oy and as Director at Reaktor Innovations Oy. Member of the Board of Fondia Plc.
  • Independent of the company and major shareholders.
Sampsa Laine

Sampsa Laine

Sampsa Laine linkedin tili
Member of the board
  • Born 1969. M.Sc. (Econ. & Bus. Adm.).
  • Founder and Chairman of the Board of Growroad.
  • He has worked at Nordea and Danske Bank in various management roles. Also worked as CEO of Manna Group and Mandatum Security and as an expert at nCino.
  • Independent of the company and major shareholders.
Jukka Salonen

Jukka Salonen

Jukka Salonen linkedin tili
Member of the board
  • Born 1959. M.Sc. (Tech.)
  • He has worked as a board member of Europress Group, Leaseurope and NF Fleet, among others. He has a long career at Nordea in various management roles. For example, he has worked as CEO of Merita Rahoitus and Nordea Finance.
  • Independent of the company and major shareholders.
Tero Weckroth

Tero Weckroth

Tero Weckroth linkedin tili
Member of the board
  • Born 1971. Education: licensed pharmacist and MBA.
  • Member of the Board of Alisa Bank Plc from 2 April 2022. Acted as a Member of the Board of Fellow Finance since 2021. Weckroth also serves as a Member of the Board at Nexstim Plc, Inderes Plc and Avia Pharma Holding AB. Chairman of the Board at Combinostics Oy and WRCC Invest Oy.
  • Weckroth has previously worked at, among others, ABN Amro, Dresdner Kleinwort and Kepler Capital Markets.
  • Independent of the company and major shareholders.

Management Team

Juha Saari

Juha Saari

Juha Saari linkedin tili
Interim CEO. Director, personal customers
  • Born 1979, secondary-school graduate.
  • He has been Director of Finnish Consumer Lending at Fellow Finance since 2020.
  • He has previously worked in various consumer financing roles at Aurajoki Nordic Oyj (previously DFC Nordic Oyj) as COO in Finland and Sweden, for example.
Antoni Airikkala

Antoni Airikkala

Antoni Airikkala linkedin tili
Director, Funding and Liquidity
  • Born 1985, M.Soc.Sc.
  • He has been Director of Investor Accounts at Fellow Finance since 2020 and was Director of New Markets at Fellow Finance over the years 2015–2020.
  • He has previously worked at Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken.
Kukka Lehtimäki

Kukka Lehtimäki

Kukka Lehtimäki linkedin tili
CFO
  • Born 1988, M.Sc. (Econ. & Bus. Adm.).
  • She has worked at Fellow Bank since May 2022. In the past, she has held financial management positions at OP Financial Group and worked as an auditor of financial companies at KPMG.
Junno Roine

Junno Roine

Junno Roine linkedin tili
Director, business customers
  • Born 1976, Bachelor of Business Administration, MBA.
  • Previously served as CEO of PURO Finance Oy in 2017-2024.
  • Previously served as Interim CEO, Business Unit Director and COO at Nordea Rahoitus.
Essi Salmela

Essi Salmela

Essi Salmela linkedin tili
Chief risk officer
  • Born 1989, M.Sc. (Econ. & Bus. Adm.).
  • She has worked as a Chief Risk Officer at Fellow Bank since April 2022.
  • Previously she has worked as financial professional at FCG Risk & Compliance Oy, Nordea, PwC and BearingPoint.
Katja Vähäsilta

Katja Vähäsilta

Katja Vähäsilta linkedin tili
General Counsel
  • Born 1969, LL.M, Trained on the Bench
  • Has joined Alisa Bank Plc in October 2024
  • Has previously worked as Nordic Head of Legal in Nordea Finance
Juho Väinölä

Juho Väinölä

Juho Väinölä linkedin tili
Director, Strategic Projects and analytics
  • Born 1982, M.Sc (Econ. & Bus. Adm.).
  • Working as Director responsible for Strategic projects and analytics at Alisa Bank since May 2024.
  • Worked as CFO of Alisa Bank's subsidiary PURO Finance Oy in 2019-2024
  • Previously worked in various expert positions at Nordea Group.