Better Business — Better Society seminar: Digital Business Growth

Finland needs growth, and across all industries data, artificial intelligence, and digital services are vital sources of that growth. By combining academic and business expertise, we can create practical solutions for leveraging technology to accelerate company expansion. The new Center for Digital Business Growth (CDBG) at Aalto University School of Business focuses precisely on this, uniting academic insight and real-world business experience into a hands-on foundation for executive learning.

This seminar provides two keynotes on sustainable digital growth, presented by Heikki Lempinen, the CEO of Reima Group and a Founding Business Fellow at the CDBG as well as Munir Mandviwalla, a professor, Muma Distinguished Research Fellow, and director of the School of Information Systems in the Muma College of Business at the University of South Florida and a Founding Academic Fellow at the CDBG.

The seminar is organised in collaboration with the Center for Digital Business Growth (CDBG) at Aalto University School of Business.

Invitations to the live seminar will be sent to the School of Business’s partners, supporters, invited guests, and alumni. The online stream of the seminar is open to everyone.

Speakers

Heikki Lempinen is the CEO of Reima Group and a Founding Business Fellow at the CDBG. Heikki leads a globally operating consumer brand and has hands‑on experience in building growth through digital commerce, strong branding, and large‑scale transformation. He is particularly interested in how leadership, purpose‑driven brands, and digitalization translate into long‑term business and societal value. At CDBG, Heikki contributes a practical CEO perspective grounded in everyday decision‑making, international markets, and real-world growth challenges. Heikki started his career in digital commerce at Zalando after completing his PhD at Aalto University School of Business.   

Munir Mandviwalla is a professor, Muma Distinguished Research Fellow, and director of the School of Information Systems in the Muma College of Business at the University of South Florida. He is a Founding Academic Fellow at the CDBG. 

Mandviwalla researches digital transformation, AI, IT workforce, and legacy systems modernization. He has published more than 50 articles and cases in top outlets such as MIS Quarterly, Information Systems Research, ACM Transactions on Computer Human Interaction, Decision Support Systems, Journal of the Association for Information Systems, Public Administration Review, IEEE Transactions, and others. He teaches design, AI, philosophy of science, and digital transformation. 

Niina Mallat is a Staff Researcher at Aalto University School of Business, Department of Information and Service Management and a Coordinator and Founding Academic fellow at CDBG. She completed her PhD in the Helsinki School of Economics and worked in the consulting industry before returning to academia in 2017. She has published in key outlets such as Information Systems Journal, The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, and Information and Management. Her research interests include AI, trust, digital transformation, and autonomous vehicles.

Jukka Salonen is a professor of practice at Aalto University School of Business and an academic research fellow at the MIT Center for Information Systems Research (CISR). His work has appeared in Harvard Business Review, MIT CISR publications and leading information systems conferences. He brings 40 years of industry experience spanning financial services, digital transformation and strategic innovation and has served as Group Chief Portfolio Officer at Nordea, CEO of Nordea Finance and a board member of several companies.

Agenda

• School of Business Update
  Timo Korkeamäki, Dean, Aalto University School of Business
• Center for Digital Business Growth concept
  Jukka Salonen,Professor of Practice, Aalto University School of Business & Academic Research Fellow at the MIT Center for Information Systems Research (CISR)
• Keynote
  Heikki Lempinen, CEO, Reima Group & Founding Business Fellow at the Center for Digital Business Growth (CDBG)
• Keynote
  Munir Mandviwalla, Professor, Muma Distinguished Research Fellow, and Director, School of Information Systems, Muma College of Business, University of South Florida & Founding Academic Fellow at the Center for Digital Business Growth (CDBG)
• Q&A on Digital Business Growth
  Facilitated by Niina Mallat, Staff Researcher, Aalto University School of Business & Coordinator and Founding Academic fellow at the Center for Digital Business Growth (CDBG)

Online stream of the seminar

The YouTube stream will be added here on the day of the seminar.