The man behind Signal Solutions
Our 10-year anniversary is the perfect time to highlight our CEO. Did you know he has been with Signal Solutions since day 1 and is also its Co-founder?
Tony Aaltonen is a key factor behind the company’s development and success. Here he shares a bit of what he brings to the Signal table with us.
Why are you passionate about your field of work?
My love for building things began in my youth when different moving devices stole my heart at the age of five. That’s when I was allowed to ride my siblings’ moped as my feet could finally touch the ground while I was mounted.
From that moment on, there was no stopping my obsession with anything that had a motor. The garage was a more familiar place to me than my own bedroom, I was always there building things.
I imagined I would eventually work with motor-powered vehicles, but an area even more exciting grabbed my attention. Later during my studies at the polytechnic university, I was introduced to engineering and the RF world with its technologies that change and develop at amazing speeds. Everything just clicked. It quickly became clear to me that this was the field that I wanted to work in.
What personal experiences led you to this path?
When it was time to choose a specialization for my studies, they showcased different fields of study at the campus. The teachers loudly declared that only students with exceptional mathematical skills could manage the difficult calculations of the RF world. I took that as a threat and got fired up. I wanted to show them that wasn’t true. And although the mathematics did end up being quite challenging, it was logical and concrete and I managed it. I liked the fact that you can never be certain of a result. Even after solving complex mathematical formulas and completing comprehensive simulations, practical outcomes often end up surprising. This aspect of the RF world is what makes it magical and exciting.
What is unique about your leadership style that other CEOs could learn from?
My biggest achievement is to develop a working environment where each person is the leader of their own work. I manage to keep my ego out of it. Too many leaders make decisions dictated by their own ego and they’re surprisingly unwilling to learn. In other words, they keep moving forward with decisions even If they’re not in the best interest of the company and employees. I strive to listen and learn from others and make decisions based on that. If a decision turns out to be bad, it can be revisited and changed to a better one if needed. Every day is a learning process and if you think you already know everything, you’re bound to get sidetracked.
What are the biggest achievements during your leadership at Signal?
We’ve found the right people and built a working community where everyone is motivated and gets to influence the development of the company. We can all be proud about what we’ve been able to achieve.
CELEBRATING 10 YEARS OF SIGNAL
For a full decade we’ve been focusing on providing customers with individual service and complete solutions from the RF/microwave, fiber optics, EMC/EMI and shielding technology sectors.
This wouldn’t have been possible without our loyal customers and trusted suppliers. Thank you for being part of our success story and may we continue growing together in the future.
Over the next months, we’ll be sharing stories, reflections and a look into the future.
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