Petri Salminen of SY re-elected SMEunited president

Petri Salminen, the chair of Suomen Yrittäjät, has been re-elected president of the European SME association, SMEunited, for the 2024–2025 term.

Salminen was re-elected president by the association’s general assembly on 1 December in Brussels.

SMEunited serves as the voice for 22.5 million European SMEs. The association lobbies at the EU level for policies to support SMEs’ growth and competitiveness. The association consists of almost 70 SME organizations from 30 European countries. Suomen Yrittäjät, the Finnish SME association, is a long-standing, active member of SMEunited.

Salminen says that his presidency of SMEunited is a brilliant place to gain insight and make an impact on European politics and decision making.

“It’s a great honour to get the support of my entrepreneurial colleagues for a new term,” Salminen says.

“The European elections in June 2024 give us a fantastic window of advocacy for EU policy in the coming years. Through our work, we have to be able to strengthen SMEs’ competitiveness and ensure that running a business in Europe can be profitable,” Salminen says.

Mikael Pentikäinen, the CEO of Suomen Yrittäjät, says that Salminen’s re-election means continuity.

“This is important at a time when European SMEs are facing huge uncertainty and all kinds of challenges, from difficulties accessing finance and skilled labour to administrative and reporting burdens,” Pentikäinen says.

SMEunited is currently preparing for the June 2024 European elections, at which the European Parliament 2024–2029 will be elected. The association has chosen its key messages for incoming MEPs.

Petri Salminen

Petri Salminen, 42, from Jyväskylä, was elected chair of Suomen Yrittäjät in the autumn of 2020.

Salminen was elected president of the European SME association, SMEunited, in December 2021.

Salminen has been an entrepreneur for two decades. His company, Salminen & Tikka Oy, provides sales and leadership development and recruitment services.