Aalto Strategy Circle After Work: Open strategy

Welcome to the fifth Aalto strategy alumni circle after-work event on the topic of Open strategy. Hear and discuss about latest insights and best practices from academics and practitioners about how to involve key stakeholders in your strategy process, including front-line employees, experts, suppliers, customers, entrepreneurs, and even competitors. Christian Stadler, professor of strategic management at Warwick Business School, will provide insights from his book Open Strategy: Mastering Disruption from Outside the C-Suite. Hannakaisa Länsisalmi, the Chief People and Culture Officer of OP Financial Group, and Jaakko Luomaranta, strategy lead of consulting company Noren, will share their experience and best practices. 

This is a great opportunity to hear about the latest insights and learn about best practices as well as share experiences with your colleagues. The event is free of charge and open for all Aalto alumni who are interested in the topic of strategy. 

Agenda 22 November

17.00 Welcome and introduction

17.05 Presentations

17.35  Discussion and Q&A

18.30 Networking

The event closes at 19.00

Moderator Professor Jens Schmidt, Aalto University

Christian Stadler is a professor of strategic management at Warwick Business School and author of the book Open Strategy: Mastering Disruption from Outside the C-Suite. He shares his ideas with executives and students across the globe as well as through TV and print media and a regular Blog on Forbes. Thinkers50 – the premier ranking of the most influential living management thinkers in the world – listed him as a future thinker in 2013 and shortlisted him for the strategy award in 2021.

Hannakaisa Länsisalmi is the Chief People and Culture Officer of OP Financial Group. In addition to the HR function, she is responsible for culture, customer experience and brand, and communications at OP Financial Group. Hannakaisa has a wide range of experience leading both people, business development and culture change in large Finnish and international companies. She has a Ph.D. in psychology. Hannakaisa is also a board member of the Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE.

Jaakko Luomaranta is the strategy lead of Noren, where he helps organizations make their strategy more humane, open and adaptive. He has co-authored the first Finnish book on open strategy (Avoin strategia / Suljettu strategia, Alma Talent 2023) with Mikko Leskelä. Jaakko holds a M.Sc (tech) in strategy and works on his PhD thesis on modern strategy work at the University of St. Gallen. Jaakko’s multidisciplinary view on strategy is built on his work experience at category leading companies such as Accenture, Palmu, Gemic and Solita.

Jens Schmidt is a strategy professor at Aalto University, and Head of Department at the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management at Aalto University, School of Science, as well as Director of the Master’s Program in Industrial Engineering and Management. His research focuses on strategic thinking, entrepreneurial strategy and ecosystems, and he has worked on strategy development with both large and small organizations.

Who should attend?

The event is open for all Aalto alumni who are interested in the topic of strategy. The Aalto Alumni Strategy Circle is an opportunity to meet and discuss with like-minded colleagues, share experiences with them, and hear from the leading experts and practitioners about best practices.

This a regular event with several sessions throughout the year.

Photos are taken in the event for the events' marketing purposes. Please mention to the photographer if you don't want to be seen in the photos.

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Aalto Strategy Circle

Aalto Strategy Circle brings together strategy professionals and business leaders to learn and exchange ideas about the most relevant current topics in strategy through interactive sessions involving international academics and local professionals. It is hosted by the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management in cooperation with the Aalto Strategy Alumni.

In the two previous events we dicussed the topical themes of artificial intelligence and competitive advantage and how to create high-performing senior leadership teams .