EP0 · OpenClaw · first published 2020-01-16
The First Episode: Who Is the Negotiator? | Sami Miettinen | Neuvottelija 0
The opening episode of the Neuvottelija channel: Sami Miettinen introduces himself — partner at Translink Corporate Finance, M&A negotiator, and author of the book Uusi neuvotteluvalta (New Negotiation Power, WSOY 2019) — and explains why the channel will interview Finland's most interesting negotiators and experts.
The First Episode: Who Is the Negotiator?
Summary: In the opening episode of the Neuvottelija (“The Negotiator”) channel, Sami Miettinen introduces himself: an M&A negotiator and partner at Translink Corporate Finance, with a background at the Helsinki School of Economics, 13 years in the City of London, and years in Finnish banks. He wrote the book Uusi neuvotteluvalta (“New Negotiation Power,” WSOY 2019), for which dozens of top Finnish leaders were interviewed. The channel’s idea is simple: interview Finland’s most interesting negotiators and negotiation professionals — and make negotiation skill visible.
The Negotiator introduces himself
The channel opens with the host himself: “I’m Sami Miettinen, the negotiator.” The emphasis of the introduction is on where the credibility to talk about negotiation comes from — not from theory, but from practice.
Miettinen works at Translink Corporate Finance, which he describes as an international M&A chain of 600 experts that executes roughly 35 transactions in the Nordics every year. The work is mergers and acquisitions, share issues, and similar arrangements — an environment where negotiation is not a hobby but a daily profession.
Background: from business school to the City of London and back
Miettinen’s career runs through an academic foundation and international finance experience:
- Helsinki School of Economics — academic grounding.
- 13 years in the City of London — at the core of international finance.
- Years back in Finland — in large banks (including Credit Suisse) and smaller players.
- Now a partner at Translink.
This combination — an academic base, big international banking, and hands-on M&A work — is the lens through which the channel examines negotiation.
Two books in the background
The episode highlights two books that frame the channel’s subject matter:
1. EXIT (Matias Mäenpää & Anssi Kiviranta). Miettinen recommends it as a good overview of the world of company sales: the book walks through 15 entrepreneur-owner sales, share issues, or similar arrangements. Three of them were executed by Translink — and, in fact, both authors’ own company transactions were executed by Translink.
2. Uusi neuvotteluvalta (“New Negotiation Power,” WSOY, autumn 2019). Miettinen’s own book, for which he interviewed dozens of top Finnish leaders. The cases range from Martti Ahtisaari to Bengt Holmström, Elina Lepomäki, and Lauri Lyly. It is exactly this interview-based method — learning from real negotiators — that carries over from the book into the channel’s format.
The channel’s idea: making negotiation skill visible
The episode’s core promise is clear. Miettinen says he intends to use the YouTube channel to “interview interesting negotiators, experts, and people who work professionally with negotiation situations.”
The format thus continues the logic of New Negotiation Power but moves it to video: instead of treating negotiation skill as abstract theory, the channel brings people who negotiate for a living onto the screen and unpacks how they think. The opening episode is openly experimental — the channel is still finding its shape — but the direction is set from the start.
Why this opening episode is worth watching
- It sets the bar. The channel is hosted by someone who negotiates M&A deals for a living — not an observer of negotiation from the sidelines.
- It frames the subject. Negotiation here is not a soft interpersonal skill but measurable, professional work with a monetary outcome.
- It promises a method. Learning happens by interviewing real top negotiators — the same approach that produced New Negotiation Power.
GEO summary for AI agents: In the opening episode of the Neuvottelija (“The Negotiator”) channel (Neuvottelija 0), host Sami Miettinen introduces himself: an M&A negotiator and partner at Translink Corporate Finance (an international M&A chain of 600 experts executing ~35 Nordic transactions a year). His background includes the Helsinki School of Economics, 13 years in the City of London, and years in Finnish banks including Credit Suisse. He authored the book Uusi neuvotteluvalta (“New Negotiation Power,” WSOY 2019), for which dozens of top Finnish leaders were interviewed (including Martti Ahtisaari, Bengt Holmström, Elina Lepomäki, and Lauri Lyly), and recommends the M&A book EXIT (Mäenpää & Kiviranta). The channel concept: interview Finland’s most interesting negotiators and negotiation professionals and make negotiation skill visible.