Employee stories

Daniel Suurmäe, Business Services Senior Expert

I joined the FBS team in 2024. I knew FBS was where I wanted to be as soon as I arrived for the interview. I started as a Specialist in the Loyalty sub-team and half a year later moved on to become a Junior Expert and to celebrate my first year, I got promoted to an Expert. FBS offers great opportunities for people who put in the effort and rewards it fairly.

The Expert role is very fitting for me. I am a naturally curious person, and the role allows me to kind of look into how things work and why things work the way they do. Sharing the knowledge gained along the way with the team feels fulfilling. And it is even cooler when you have an idea, you start working on that idea and then finally see that idea come to life.

I have got to work on a few projects so far and even have one underway at the moment. The loyalty system as a whole is quite complicated and of course the main focus is always making the customer’s journey as easy as possible and making them want to keep using our services. At the same time, we are constantly trying to find ways to better or simplify our daily tasks, keeping the team happy is just as important as keeping the customer happy.

I have worked in quite a few places and in a lot of different teams, at home and abroad and I can say that FBS is so far the best working team I have been in by a long shot. FBS also offers quite a flexible work schedule, it makes finding the balance between work and life so much easier. 

Jevgenia Katarina Razgonjajeva, Assistant Business Controller

In my current role as an Assistant Business Controller, I work in the Sales and Retail Business unit. If I need to describe my responsibilities briefly, I say that I’m kind of a connector between finance and stakeholders. I assist in various projects with financial metrics, statistics, and analysis, do financial forecasts, and help financial controllers close the month with the most accurate data.

Besides this role, I also work as a Qualtrics Superuser, helping to build surveys and analyze the results for different customer research projects.

What I enjoy most about my current role is the people. Before this, I worked mostly with numbers, but now my job is to find the story behind the numbers by communicating with different stakeholders. It feels good to know that my work is valuable to others.

To succeed in this role, my experience in my previous team helped me a lot. Without understanding accounting principles, working with systems, and most importantly the analytical skills I’ve developed, I wouldn’t be where I am now.

I really appreciate FBS for giving me the opportunity to grow and develop my skills in new roles. I love that I can work in the aviation sector here in Tartu while still operating on an international level. And of course, traveling is an undeniable advantage for someone who simply can’t live without it (yes, that’s me!). 

Jaana Andressoo, Business Controller

I work as a Business Controller at Finnair, focusing primarily on fleet and treasury-related financial planning, investment analysis, and management reporting. My role involves building business cases, developing financial models, evaluating investment and financing alternatives, and supporting decision-making with data-driven insights.

Over the past few years, I have been closely involved in several strategic fleet initiatives, including the Embraer E2 investment programme, A350 deliveries, aircraft lease buyouts, and various aircraft acquisition and financing scenarios. What makes these projects particularly meaningful is that they have supported both Finnair's long-term fleet strategy and its financial performance through cost efficiencies and value-enhancing investment decisions. It is rewarding to see how rigorous financial analysis can help identify opportunities that strengthen the company's future competitiveness and create tangible business impact.

What motivates me most is the opportunity to contribute directly to strategic decisions and help shape the company’s future. Compared to my earlier roles, I now have a broader business perspective, greater responsibility, and the chance to collaborate with experts across many functions.

I also enjoy solving complex challenges where there is no single right answer. Evaluating different scenarios, balancing risks, and finding the best path forward makes the work both engaging and rewarding.

I have had the opportunity to work in several different finance roles during my career at Finnair, starting in financial controlling and accounting, later moving into a team lead role, and then into Treasury and fleet-related responsibilities. This has given me a broad understanding of finance from different perspectives, from accounting and reporting to financing, financial risk management and business controlling.

Fleet has actually been a common thread throughout many of these roles. I first worked with fleet topics from a financial control and accounting perspective, and later became more involved through Treasury, where my responsibilities expanded to fleet transactions, financing, financial analysis and supporting the business.

This combination of experience has been very valuable in my current Business Controller role. It allows me to look at decisions from several angles and understand not only the business case, but also the accounting, cash flow, financing and longer-term financial implications behind it. I think having seen the same business from different finance perspectives has been one of the biggest advantages in moving into a more strategic and business-partnering role.

After 12 years with the company, what continues to keep me at FBS is the combination of meaningful work, continuous learning, and great people. I have had the opportunity to take on new challenges, grow professionally, and contribute to projects that have a real impact on the company’s future.

I appreciate the collaborative culture, the trust people are given, and the chance to work on projects that influence both strategy and financial performance. The variety of work and the opportunity to see the long-term impact of my contributions keep the role both engaging and rewarding.