Juhani Mykkänen’s podcast|Anne Brunila has been chosen as Finland’s most influential decision-maker. In Juhani Mykkänen’s podcast, Brunila talks about her life alongside a spectacular career.
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Anne Brunila, chosen as Finland’s most influential decision-maker, says in Juhani Mykkänen’s podcast that she lived in an abusive relationship.
Brunila has an intellectually disabled son in his forties, whom he has raised as a single parent.
The child’s father went psychotic during Brunila’s pregnancy and later committed suicide.
Brunila has found support in difficult life stages from Tibetan Buddhism.
Anne Brunilalla has had an impressive career: he held management positions at Fortum and Metsäteollisuus ry, sat on the boards of Kone, Stora Enso, Sanoma and Sammo and worked at the Ministry of Finance, the EU Commission and the Bank of Finland.
Juhani Mykkänen in the podcast, Brunila describes her career as a chance shop: when he has been asked to various washes, he has gone.
“I only have two positions, on and off“, Brunila says. “And if I find that I can’t do it to the fullest, then I don’t do it at all.”
Brunilalle doing it to the fullest has meant that he has had to give up many things, “because there are only 24 hours in a day”.
“But the one thing I haven’t given up is taking care of my son and being with him,” Brunila says in the podcast episode, which you can listen to by clicking here.
Brunila, 68, has an intellectually disabled son in his forties, and he has raised his son as a single parent.
“I’ve made it clear at every workplace that I have a son like this and he needs a lot of special care, and that I’m flexible about everything else, but not this one. And everywhere they’ve agreed to it, and there haven’t been any problems.”
Last years, the boy’s life has been overshadowed by Parkinson’s disease.
“A boy who has been terribly active, loved hiking and skiing and cycling and all that kind of thing, is suddenly unable to exercise. Of course, it’s a really hard place for him, but it’s really awful to watch from the side.”
The current phase of Brunila’s life enables her to spend even more time with her son: her active career is behind her and Brunila can now decide the contents of her calendar herself.
Brunila’s everyday life includes, among other things, meditation and traveling to various retreats. Brunila has been interested in spirituality since she was young, and as an adult she found her spiritual home in Tibetan Buddhism.
“Buddhism gave thousands of years old teachings about how the human mind works and how to free oneself from negative emotions and various prejudices.”
Buddhism has helped to work through difficult phases of life. Brunila’s child’s father went psychotic during Brunila’s pregnancy. The man had hoped for a child, but during the pregnancy he began to fear that he would not be a father – that he would fail.
“This phase lasted about a year, and there were a few instances of violence, but they were bad.”
Finally, the man committed suicide.
“I had seen it for some time, that when the situation went really bad, I somehow thought that he really had no other way out,” says Brunila. “I thought that he has come to some kind of peace now.”
CLICK HERE AND LISTEN TO ANNE BRUNILA’S VISIT ON JUHANI MYKKÄN’S PODCAST