Influential business figures to be made professors

Over the course of the upcoming academic year, School of Business will be mirroring appointments made elsewhere at the university by welcoming several new and interesting persons into the role of Professor of Practice.

The position of Professor of Practice is part of Aalto University's career system. This new role is intended for qualified individuals who are excellent researchers and have an exceptionally high level of experience in a practical field. Aalto University hopes to benefit from the professional experience of the deserving candidates over a 3-5 year period, which will see the creation of added value and increase practical expertise in many fields and across all of Aalto University's areas of excellence.

School of Business has thus far appointed the following individuals in the position: Sakari Wuolijoki from Nordea Bank, media consultant Nando Malmelin, and service sales expert Paul Viio. Also Katariina Kemppainen in Logistics, Minna Logemann in Organizational Communication, Olli-Pekka Lumijärvi in Accounting, Esko Penttinen in Information Systems Science and Liisa Välikangas in Organisation and Management have started as Professors of Practice during the academic year 2014-2015. Other influential person working as Professor of Practice include Sixtén Korkman.

Sakari Wuolijoki serves as Professor of Practice in the field of Corporate Law at the Department of Accounting

Sakari Wuolijoki graduated as a doctor of laws from the University of Helsinki in 2010. He has occupied senior management and legal counsel positions in the banking sector throughout his career. His thorough legal experience has seen him carry out many expert tasks in the preparation of legislation both in Finland and on the global stage. Wuolijoki is also one of Finland's leading researchers of legislation relating to credit institutions in the financial services sector and his research interests are the ideal match for the research profile of the topic of corporate law at Aalto University.

One of the areas of research emphasis in the field of corporate law at the School of Business has for some time now been the topic of legislation in the financial markets. His professorship will be part-time, allowing him to continue his work at Nordea Bank. Sakari Wuolijoki's professorship commenced on 1 September 2014.

Nando Malmelin serves as Professor of Practice in the field of Organizational Communication in the Department of Management Studies

The areas covered by Nando Malmelin's (D.Soc.Sc.) professorship are media management and organizational communication in the Department of Management.

'My work in the role of Professor of Practice allows me to make an impact on practical matters. For example, part of my job is to develop curricula that have a strong practical foundation. I also strive to carry out research that is both beneficial to the fields of media and communications and of interest to industry professionals and organisations alike', Malmelin explains.

In addition to his work at Aalto University, he has also carried out research at the University of Helsinki, the Turku School of Economics, and the University of Technology in Sydney (UTS). He has also occupied several professional positions in the media and communications sectors, the most recent of which was as Director of Development at A-Lehdet Oy, where he was also a member of the board of directors. Nando Malmelin has published many books written in Finnish, as well as award-winning journal articles on the topics of international communication, brands, and the media.

Paul Viio has been appointed Professor of Practice (Selling and Sales Management) in the Department of Marketing

Paul Viio, D.Sc. (Economics and Business Administration), is a leading expert on value-based service sales. In addition to working as a business management consultant, management trainer, teacher, sales researcher, writer and keynote speaker, Paul Viio is an advisor to several companies, helping them to become internationally successful.

Paul Viio defended his doctoral thesis on sales at the Department of Marketing, Hanken School of Economics in Helsinki. His doctoral thesis dealt with strategic sales process adaptation according to customers in business-to-business activities. The study contributed to research on customer relationship marketing and, in particular, sales management. Viio has been a visiting professor, visiting researcher, senior researcher and visiting lecturer in different foreign universities. He is also the director of sales research at Hanken School of Economics.

Paul Viio has over 20 years of experience in sales and has held a number of sales management positions in several companies in the b-to-b sector across Europe. He is also the founder and leading partner in a private consulting company focusing on developing international sales and business.

 
Further information Professor of Practice career system