PERSONAL LETTER
“No eternal reward will forgive us now for wasting the dawn”
Jim Morrison had a way with words. Say what you will about the singer of the classic rock group The Doors, but this phrase matters a great deal to me on quite a fundamental level.
My name is Thor Kumlin Banke and I live to not waste my dawn and make the best of my days. It is this that makes me, with confidence, say that I am ambitious, driven, good at what I do and always strive to evolve to the better. I have since 2006, worked in business controlling, finance, purchasing and process development.
So, who am I? Before we dive into the classic CV history and sweet talk. What’s fun and what matters to me?
I am a people person and love to socially interact, help people, fight for what I believe in and am delighted when I find myself in a setting with a high ceiling and open communication. As I learned working with horses; say what you mean and mean what you say (and try to make sense).
Thankfully, also, I get to do a lot of fun stuff in my line of work; such as solving unsolvable problems and improving/optimizing routines and processes. The goal has always been to optimize myself into obsoletion.
Oh well, on with the show!
In January 2023 I started my own company Ignis Finance Consulting AB to work as an interim business controller. My current assignment is at Ingka Centres where I work as Business Navigator. The assignment is a mix of normal business controlling work in relation to, in this case, bi-monthly reporting etc. In addition, the job entails development and efficiency work in many different areas. The assignment prior to Ingka was at Afry, where I worked as Business Area Controller with reporting and management team work. Before this I was at Höganäs AB where I worked as a product area controller and managed the reporting and planning for three different areas of a many-faced world of metallurgic powders.
Before I started my company, I worked at Mekonomen Company AB as a business controller with responsibility for Meca Sweden and Bilxtra Sweden which are 2 subsidiaries to Meko AB.
The business I worked in is, contrary to what most think when they hear Meca, spare part wholesale. Meca and Bilxtra sells spare parts to auto workshops that may or may not be affiliated with the wholesale company. Meca is a billion SEK company and I managed reporting, financial development and acted as a business partner to the operative organization.
Additionally, I was part of the management team at Meca alongside the CEO and top executives.
My home base before Mekonomen Company was the consulting company Mpya Finance AB and was so for four years. As a business and finance consultant there, I had the pleasure of holding different assignments in business controlling at E.on, Lindab, Tunstall, Samat and Besikta. Each assignment teaching me a great deal and allowing me to help those businesses in any way I could.
Being a consultant gave me the opportunity to see different companies and industries, giving me a better understanding, not only what differentiates parts of our market landscapes but also what connects them all. There is so much to learn when analyzing the workings of the transport industry while at the same time remembering what is essential to the building material industry that depends so heavily on the steel industry which in turn needs good transport services, and around it goes.
I have extensive experience in handling big data and finding the right KPI’s to help along a good analysis of a business. The thing about numbers and measurements is that they help the practical operations just as much as the practical drives the data. Win win!
Report delivery and trend analysis comes quite second nature to me and is always something to look forward to.
What gives me away as a person not content with staying in my lane, so to speak, is the fact that at every company I have worked I have striven to help not only with the financial workings of the company, but instead learn the business and see potential in developing further. Finance and business analysis has been my trampoline up to better supporting in the evolution of business. I am not content in sitting back and seeing less than forward thinking practices hinder the development of a business with potential to be more.
With my experience working with a wide range of tasks in different countries I can be a great asset to an organization as I both see and identify needs and act on what I see. Looking aside the professional traits I am social, fun and love meeting new people and forming new relationships. And if you ever need tips on must-sees in Mexico, I’m your guy! (We’ll get back to that)
I am a person who is simple to work with and love to interact and get things done. I work well both alone and in teams. I often take a leading role when it comes to teamwork and have been humbled enough times to also know when to follow. In all employments I have had, the mix of teamwork and individual work has been essential and put to the test. It has been a question of collectively reaching goals, while at the same time not forgetting the individual efforts needed.
Back to Mexico. When in high school, I took a year abroad as an exchange student with the Rotary international exchange program. Mexico firmly took hold of my heart and has not let go since. I went there in 2002-2003 and have since been back a few times. Most importantly I stay in touch with my Mexican family and friends from my year abroad and the contact with other parts of this world has forever changed me to the better.
In my spare time, I enjoy time with my beautiful wife and precious daughter, spending time in nature, working out and thinking up crazy antics with my beautiful wife. Our current antic, aside from the whole parenting thing, is building a campervan from scratch.
EDUCATION
- International Economics with Spanish
Linköping’s University 2006 – 2008
I did not finish my school education due to that an amazing job was offered me. The experience and knowledge I have gained during my professional years has more than compensated for the year of studies I had left.
- International Baccalaureate
Söderportsgymnasiet 2001 – 2005 (High school)
I graduated from International Baccalaureate, which is an international bachelor degree. My big focus in this education was economics and literature. During my last year of high school, I was also head of finance in the school student council.
- Cultural exchange year – Mexico
Rotary International 2002-2003
I went abroad for a year as a cultural exchange with Rotary International to Mexico during the school year 02/03. There I lived with two different host families, to experience different views on society and to broaden my perspective. This year abroad is probably the experience in my life that has given me most. Both because I now have many friends across the Atlantic and because I grew immensely as a person.
EMPLOYMENTS
- Business owner, Ignis Finance Consulting AB
–Interim Business Navigator, Ingka Centres AB.
2024-06 – ongoing.
-Interim Business Area Controller, Afry AB.
2023-09 – 2024-02 Business controlling in BA Digital Services at Afry AB. Afry is a IT/engineering consulting company.
-Interim product area controller, Höganäs AB.
2023-02 – 2023-09 Business controlling at Höganäs AB, a powder metallurgy company.
- Business controller, Mekonomen Company AB, Malmö 202110-202301
Working as business controller with responsibility for Meca Sweden and Bilxtra which are 2 subsidiaries to Meko AB.
The business is spare part wholesale/retail. Meca is a billion SEK company and I manage reporting, financial development and act as a business partner to the operative organization.
Additionally, I am part of the management team at Meca alongside the CEO and top executives.
- Business & Finance consultant, Mpya Finance AB, Malmö 201710-202109
– Assignment at Besikta. The assignment consists of business controlling, price analysis and business development councils.
– Assignment at Samat. Business controlling in the transport industry along with BI development and international efficiency work
– Assignment at Tunstall. Business controlling and change work in establishing a new ERP system
– Assignment at Lindab. Developing a management reporting package for the top-level executives
– Assignment at E.on. Business controlling at E.on’s IT company
- Controller, KoneCranes AB, Kristianstad 201601-201709
I worked in controlling and purchasing. I developed processes, analyzed figures, made forecasts and budgets and was also a big part of the company’s development project, transferring to new systems and new ways of working.
- Interim accountant, Eolus Vind AB, Hässleholm 201508-201512
I worked with accounting with the full chain responsibility of all of Eolus’, around 40, subsidiaries.
- Financial accountant,Green Landscaping AB, Malmö 201011-201506
I worked in accounting, with responsibility for assets and managing the machine and vehicle pool. I also had the full responsibility for their ERP system Agresso/Unit4. Here I also was a big part of forecasting, budget work and business development.
- Accountant, Eon Sverige AB, Malmö 2008-2010
I worked in accounting and reporting. I also worked a lot with systems administration and process development.
- Financial assistant, Academic Work AB, Linköping 2006-2008
I worked in accounts receivables as an assistant.
MERITS/OFFICES HELD
- President of the non-profit association Bushcraft Sverige that I started in February 2016. 2016-2022
- Class host, horseclinic, Malmö 2008 – 2018. Together with my wife, I used to arrange horse clinics (classes), where we brought over an American horse trainer from Colorado, named John Moore. We did this twice a year for around 10 years.
LANGUAGES
- Swedish – Mother tongue
- English – As good as mother tongue
- Spanish – Very good knowledge in both speech and writing
- German – Basic knowledge
TECHNICAL EXPERIENCE
- Excel – Excellent knowledge (VBA/Macro)
- Powerpoint – Good knowledge
- Agresso/Unit4 – Good knowledge
- SAP – Good knowledge
- Tagetik – Good knowledge
- Mercur – Good knowledge
- Navision (Dynamics 365) – Good knowledge
- SAP SEM – Ok knowledge
- Cognos – Ok knowledge
- Intelliplan – Ok knowledge
- IBS Enterprise – Familiar
- Word – Good knowledge
- Google sketchup – Ok knowledge
HOBBIES
- Nature – I do a lot of what is called bushcraft. I spend a lot of time in the woods learning and trying new things.
- Exercise – I do Crossfit as often as I can.
- #Dadlife!
- #Vanlife