About Us: Management
Anders Kurtén, Managing Director
A sailing yacht takes you closer to the dream of freedom
Anders Kurtén, who was appointed COO of Finngulf Yachts Oy in April 2005, works with something he really appreciates. He believes in the company's product with his heart and soul. Being an owner of a Finngulf yacht as well as a trained boatbuilder, he knows the company and the process of building yachts in detail.
Kurtén was employed by Finngulf as part of an ongoing generational change. The position is a dream come true for him. - An opportunity like this comes once in a lifetime. I have always known that I want to build new sailing boats, says Kurtén.
Kurtén wants to preserve the core and ideology of the company created by Stig Nordblad. In addition, he is intent on finding a larger market for Finngulf yachts.
- Finngulf represents high quality craftsmanship and the core structures will be maintained. However, our aim is to reach the same market position as we have in Finland elsewhere, too. Above all, we want to increase our market share in Northern Europe and the Baltic area.
Kurtén says Finngulf has worked hard the recent years to create and launch the present range of yachts. At the moment, the range is so wide that it needs no changes. Production, however, needs to get ready for future efforts to widen the market. According to Kurtén, Finngulf may need to be able to produce twice as many yachts as it does now. The recent move to Pohjankuru, near the town of Tammisaari, is a step towards new times.
Kurtén, who is only 34 years old, is a man of many talents. After school, he studied the piano and played many gigs until the depression ended the demand for live music. To win a bet, Kurtén made his way to Hanken, a university of economics and business administration in Helsinki. He graduated with an M.Sc and accidentally became an IT-businessman in a small company he partially owned. When the company was sold after a few years, Kurtén left for New York.
- In the 90s, New York had many interesting opportunities to offer. If you had 2.5 years of experience in IT-business, a lot of doors were wide open, Kurtén smiles.
Kurtén stayed in New York 3.5 years working for different small and medium-sized dot coms. Then he decided to return to Finland and tried for a few months to work for Andersen Consulting, later Accenture, until he made the decision to abandon the rat race. He began studying boat building and started building wooden yachts. Together with another boat builder, Kurtén started a boat-building yard, which repairs and build wooden sailing yachts.
Building yachts was, in a way, a return to the beginning for Kurtén, as he became familiar with boats and sailing before he learned to walk.
- Grandpa took me sailing on his wooden sailing boat.My father has had many different boats as well, and sailing for me has always been the number one hobby.
Kurtén never abandoned sailing - not even in New York, where he took the ASA basic keel boat instructor exam.
The job at Finngulf is a chance for Kurtén to do what he loves to do. And since he owns a Finngulf yacht, he knows whom he works for.
- Finngulf yachts are not only fast, but also very seaworthy and strong. These are the qualities that CEO Stig Nordblad boils down to the words ´solid performance´. In addition, Finngulf is streamlined and modern-looking.
According to Kurtén, sailing is really about something more than just boats.
- A yacht makes the dream of freedom tangible. It is not just a counterbalance to everyday life and a way to spend your weekends. There is a social need for the element of abstract freedom that sailing represents fulfils.
Kurtén has sailed many seas, the Mediterranean and Caribbean seas, among others. However, the best place for him is the Finnish Archipelago.
- The Finnish Arcipelago is wonderful, a unique place. And it is not even packed with people.
Text: Tuija Tuominen
