Sameli Mäenpää, CEO and Partner at Black Belt Consulting, earned his Master of Science in Technology from the University of Oulu. The ambitious professional went on to spend twenty years in IT roles in the financial sector. Over time, his career shifted from purely technical roles toward positions at the intersection of technology and business.
“I was interested in things more broadly, and my role began to shift from individual contributor to someone who achieves results through others. Being able to make a bigger impact by leading teams feels good. In that kind of role, you can be useful in a different way,” Mäenpää says.
Driven as he was, Mäenpää kept himself busy outside work as well. Alongside his demanding day job, he became a part-time serial entrepreneur in startups.
The MBA delivered solid finance and economics expertise
The changes in his day job, combined with his entrepreneurial background, led Mäenpää to pursue MBA studies, and he graduated from the program in 2014. Although studying alongside a full-time job, entrepreneurship, and family life with young children was demanding, the payoff was worth every drop of sweat.
“The MBA gave me a lot, especially in finance and economics. During the studies, you actually had to do working capital and financing calculations and work through various M&A arrangements. After the program, it was also much easier to talk with the business side. I could translate technical terms into financial language and explain what things meant in euros,” Mäenpää explains.
“After the program, it was also much easier to talk with the business side. I could translate technical terms into financial language and explain what things meant in euros.”
The MBA also gave him new tools for leadership.
“When I was younger, I was definitely a more controlling manager. Through the MBA, I started moving toward servant leadership. I began to understand how people differ and what that requires from leadership. Some people only need general direction, while others want more guidance.”
Mäenpää was promoted at Nordea and gained valuable practical insight into founding startups.
“I was working my day job, and in the evenings, I did either the MBA or another startup, which we launched in 2011. Our children were also born during those years. I can’t recommend years quite that intense to others, although the timing is never right,” Mäenpää says with a laugh.
From the financial sector to full-time entrepreneurship
A long career in finance, several startups, and MBA studies led Mäenpää to harness all his expertise and found his own full-time company, Black Belt Consulting, which began operations in 2023. The company offers IT consulting from seasoned industry veterans, black-belt-level professionals.
“After Nordea, while working at OP, I realized whom I wanted to work with. All the consulting firms were knocking on my door. I thought about how to build a company with only top-level experts. Having practiced martial arts, I found ‘black belt professionals’ a fitting term.”
When the company started, the market was historically weak. Every contract has taken effort, but growth has been rapid. In 2025, the company generated revenue of 5 million euros, and the forecast for 2026 is around 8.5 million euros.
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| MBA studies, combined with extensive experience in the financial sector and startups, inspired Sameli Mäenpää to found his own company. |
MBA studies and work fit seamlessly together
A desire to understand business more deeply also led Juha Erkkilä, a Master of Science and the General Manager at Outokumpu EvoCarbon, to pursue an MBA. After graduating from the Department of Materials Engineering at what was then Helsinki University of Technology (now part of Aalto University), Erkkilä built his career at Rautaruukki, then SSAB, and later Outokumpu.
“It had long been a career goal of mine to understand business better. Of course, you learn a lot by doing the work, but an MBA started to feel like the right option,” Erkkilä says.
Erkkilä graduated from the Aalto MBA program in 2025. He considers the best part of the studies the way he was able to integrate them smoothly into his day-to-day work.
“I planned my working year around the studies. For example, as the strategy module approached, I started preparing my own strategy updates at work. This brought structure to both my studies and my work and made it easier to fit the studies into a busy working life,” Erkkilä explains.
“Of course, you learn a lot by doing the work, but an MBA started to feel like the right option.”
Concrete tools for leading a business
Like Mäenpää, Erkkilä especially praises the finance modules. Above all, he values the concrete tools the studies gave him for leading a business as a whole.
In his work, Erkkilä has focused on sustainability. At Outokumpu, he has previously helped develop low-carbon roadmaps, worked as an innovation director, and also worked in sales. For the past year, he has served as a business unit head.
“Now I get to implement the same low-carbon roadmap I helped create. The area feels completely my own, and the MBA studies support my work well. I hope I can give my full contribution to Finnish industry and advance the green transition as best I can,” Erkkilä says.
One of the most valuable aspects of the MBA was also that his network expanded beyond his own industry and profession. This broadens perspectives and creates opportunities for wide-ranging discussions in the future as well.
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| Through his MBA studies, Juha Erkkilä has also taken on a few board positions alongside his day job. |
Applying MBA learning at work is key
When should a technology professional pursue an MBA? Both Mäenpää and Erkkilä emphasize that it all starts with personal motivation. One thing is clear: the benefit is greatest when you can apply what you learn directly to your work.
Although career advancement is not an automatic result of the studies, everyone’s professional expertise deepens.
“Technology is always just an enabler. You always need a market and product-market fit. That’s how you achieve bigger change. MBA studies help you better understand these kinds of wholes. I have also taken on a few board positions alongside my main role,” Erkkilä sums up.
