Tony has advanced from a warehouse worker to Financial Director of Posti’s Baltic operations

Tony Saksi has made swift progress in his career, and has gotten diverse and international job opportunities all while working for the same employer. Here, Saksi talks about the steps he has taken in his career which have taken him from a warehouse worker to Financial Director.

31 year old Tony Saksi had managed to advance in his career in a relatively short period of time – and all his career goals have come true at Posti.

Saksi’s ten-year path from warehouse worker to Financial Director of Posti’s Baltic operations has included both a lot of work and opportunities to develop his skills: ”I have enjoyed working at Posti for so long because I have been encouraged to learn new things and to take on more responsibility. It has been eye-opening to see many different things you can do here, and grow as a professional in your field.”

Tony Saksi tells his career story through the three turning points:

1. An interest in investing inspired him to apply to business school

In high school I had no idea what I wanted to do when I grew up. I thought about it at times, but I was never really sure which field to choose.

After serving in the Finnish army, I went to work at a warehouse that was operated by Transval (now called Fulfillment and Logistics Services Finland), which is a part of the Posti group. I worked there for a couple of years, and during that time I started to seriously think about my long term plan. Around that time, I developed an interest in investing and started buying stocks with the money I earned from my warehouse job.

Gradually, my future direction became clearer. I was sure that I could study finance, and later work in a bank in an investment role.

So I decided to take the next step in my life. I started preparing for the business school entrance exam. It was a challenging process, but somehow I managed to stay motivated.

Being accepted into the LUT School of Economics is one of the most significant achievements of my life. It really made me feel that my hard work was rewarded.

I moved from Helsinki to Lappeenranta and started my studies in 2016. During the undergraduate level I majored in finance, since I was still really interested in it. But then I changed my mind.

2. Landing a finance job as a second-year student was a significant milestone

I focused on my studies for a couple of years, until in 2018 I called Transval’s office to see if they had any suitable finance jobs available. I dared to take a chance, since I already knew the company and the people working there.

My courage was rewarded when I got offered a summer job as a finance assistant. I was lucky, since it is not given that you get a job in your own field early on in your studies.

Getting my first finance job was a great moment and a big thing for me, as I was able to gain valuable work experience. This opportunity enabled me to apply theory in practice and witness firsthand how a large company’s finances operate.

After the summer I was able to continue working at Transval as a controller and later as a financial expert. My managers gave me more responsibility and a variety of tasks. I particularly remember the support and mentoring they gave me and, of course, the valuable lessons they taught me for future challenges.

I had the opportunity to support business management and see business management in practice. These moments gave me a clear direction for my career. I was inspired to change my major to accounting and my minor to business analytics at Master’s level.

Later, I moved from Transval to the freight business of Posti as a Business Controller. Having hands-on experience from working in a warehouse has been really useful, and it has helped me to understand what happens in the core of our business.

3. Transitioning to a leadership role early in his career

An exciting phase in my life began in 2022, when I first started as a manager for a team of experts. My title was Senior Business Controller in Posti’s transport business.

I had been interested in managerial roles, and had told my own manager and colleagues about it.

When the opportunity arose, I didn’t hesitate to take it. I am grateful that Posti allowed me to take such a leap early in my career – after all, I only had four years of work experience in finance.

Stepping into a leadership role was an incredibly educational experience. It has been demanding and sometimes required long hours, but at the same time it has been very rewarding. The best part has been maintaining a good atmosphere in my team.

My team members helped me to develop and understood that these were my first steps in a new role. Transparent and mutual feedback was especially helpful. I also got strong support from my own supervisor.

Working abroad has always interested me, and this career dream too came true at Posti. In the summer of 2023, I got the opportunity to work for a year in Posti’s Transport, Staffing, and IT department in Stockholm. When it was time for me to leave for Stockholm, my colleagues threw me a farewell party. This was a significant moment for me.

Exciting times are here again, because in October 2024 I will start working as the Financial Director in the Finance team of Posti’s Baltic Operations. This is one of my biggest career steps. I am really grateful for this opportunity, hope that I do well and learn a lot.

While I cannot predict what the future holds, I plan to move forward with an open mind. I am sure that similar or even bigger roles will interest me in the future.

5 reasons why Tony Saksi recommends Posti as an employer:

1. Diverse job opportunities: As a big company, Posti offers many career opportunities and international career paths. Here you have the opportunity to work in different business areas and also abroad. Not every employer offers similar opportunities.

2. Caring leadership: My supervisors have allowed me to work alongside my studies and quickly jump into more responsible positions. They have supported me, mentored me and enabled my career development.

3. Learning new things: At Posti, you can learn new things about topics that interest you and expand your professional knowledge. Here, I have been able to build on my strengths in completely new areas.

4. Excellent working atmosphere: My colleagues have a good work ethic and a positive attitude. You can spar with them and ask questions from anyone. I’ve made some good friends here for my free time as well.

5. A well-known brand: Post has a remarkable 400-year history. It is an important organization whose strong brand is known to all Finns. The impact of our work is evident in the daily lives of millions of people – something that is both inspiring and motivating.

Career story created in cooperation with Duunitori. Author: Emilia Backman Photographer: Katariina Salmi