Introducing Sami Taipalus, the new Head of Investor Relations at Sampo

Sampo announced on 27 May 2021 that Jarmo Salonen, 62, the Head of Investor Relations, has decided to step down after serving our shareholders for 20 years in his position. Jarmo will continue as senior adviser in the Group until his retirement.

Sami Taipalus, 37, who joined Sampo in August 2020 to work on strategic projects within the Group Finance unit, starts as the new Head of Investor Relations today.

Sami, where do you live and how do you spend your free time?

“I live in Täby, just outside of Stockholm. I have two young children so much of my spare time is taken up with their activities, which include various sports and trips to the park, beach and countryside. I love football and although I no longer play myself, I coach my older son’s team. I am also a foodie, so I like to go out to eat something nice or cook at home when I get a chance.”

Tell us a bit about your work background.

“I have spent my whole career working with P&C insurers. I started as an actuarial analyst at Tillinghast, which was then part of Towers Perrin, after which I worked briefly in a similar role in the London Market. In 2010, I moved to Berenberg to work as an equity analyst specializing in insurance companies and then I moved again to Goldman Sachs in 2017 to do the same job. As an analyst, I worked mainly on European P&C companies, including those in the Nordics and UK. In 2020, I joined Sampo to work on certain projects within the finance function.”

You used to work as an equity analyst. What skills or qualities can you bring to this side of the table from your previous career?

“As an analyst, I have discussed the strengths and weaknesses of many insurance companies countless times with investors over the last decade. This has helped me build a good understanding of what investors value in insurers and how to communicate this.”

How would you describe good IR communication?

“In my view, the key objective for an IR team is to communicate the purpose, competitive strengths and financial plan of a business, since these are what make it success in the long term. I believe that transparency and regular communications with investors and analysts are essential to build confidence in the business and its trajectory. I also think it is important to recognize that all investors are different and therefore require different types of contact and information. For example, in Sampo we have a strong contingent of retail investors, so we will make sure that these also get top quality access to the company.”

You have been working at Sampo for almost a year. What has been the best and what are you looking forward to the most?

“Due to COVID-19 it has been a strange time to join a new company – I have had lot of Teams meetings but met few people face to face. Nonetheless, I have very much enjoyed my time at Sampo thus far, as I have worked on interesting projects with excellent people. I have learnt a lot since joining the group.

Now I am looking forward to meeting our shareholders and analysts to discuss Sampo and the markets we operate in, not least since the insurance industry is going through significant changes that I think our business is very well positioned to navigate. As someone that considers himself Finnish, Swedish and British in roughly equal measures, I am naturally also very much looking forward to working in a group with our operational footprint.”