Honorary Doctors
School of Business Ceremonial Conferment
Aalto University School of Business grants honorary doctorates and doctoral insignia at conferment ceremony to individuals deemed to merit the accolade. The Honorary Doctors have strong ties to Aalto University and achievements in business or contributions to societal activities.
Honorary Doctorates of Aalto University School of Business was awarded on May 13, 2022, to:
- Renée B. Adams, Professor of Finance, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
- Elina Björklund, CEO, Reima
- Salvador Carmona, Rector and Professor of Accounting and Management Control, IE University
- Taavi Heikkilä, Former Chairman and CEO, SOK
- Petteri Karttunen, Chairman, Saastamoinen Foundation
- Brian Kwon, President & CEO, LG Electronics
- Pekka Laaksonen, Hamburg Ambassador in Finland
- John A. List, The Kenneth C. Griffin Distinguished Service Professor in Economics, University of Chicago
- Michael D. Myers, Professor of Information Systems, University of Auckland Business School
- Linda Putnam, Distinguished Research Professor and Emerita, University of California, Santa Barbara
Introductions of the new Honorary Doctors
Honorary Doctor Renée B. Adams
Professor of Finance, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
Professor Renée Adams is an expert on corporate governance, boards, the governance of financial institutions and gender. She is a Fellow of the European Corporate Governance Institute, former Finance Department editor for Management Science journal, and co-founder and former chair of AFFECT, the American Finance Association’s committee for women in finance. In 2019, she won the Female Career Award from HEC Lausanne.
Professor Adams has actively collaborated with the School of Business in doctoral education and research for over 15 years, including in the capacity of Visiting Distinguished Professor.
Honorary Doctor Elina Björklund
CEO, Reima
Elina Björklund’s long and distinguished business career spans finance, design, and brands. Since 2012, she has worked as the CEO of Reima, a renowned Finnish childrenswear company. In addition, she holds multiple board positions and other positions of responsibility in business and in the third sector.
Elina Björklund has collaborated actively with the School of Business by serving as Chairwoman of the Alumni Advisory Board and as a Board Member at the HSE Support Foundation. She was appointed Alumna of the Year in 2018.
Honorary Doctor Salvador Carmona
Rector and Professor of Accounting and Management Control, IE University
Professor Salvador Carmona has been the Rector of IE University since 2011. He has had a major role in developing European academic institutions within the field of accounting both as former Editor of the European Accounting Review, the flagship journal of the European Accounting Association, and as initiator of the Talent Workshop, a European-based job market for accounting academics.
Professor Carmona has actively collaborated with the School of Business as a member of its Research, Art and Impact Assessment panel.
Honorary Doctor Taavi Heikkilä
Former Chairman and CEO, SOK
Taavi Heikkilä has made a highly distinguished career in the Finnish retailing business. From 2014 to 2020, he was the Chairman and CEO of S Group, Finland’s largest retailer. In 2017, he received the title of vuorineuvos, Finland’s highest title in the area of industry and commerce.
Taavi Heikkilä is an alumnus of the School of Business. He has promoted long-term, active, and fruitful cooperation with the School in education and societal impact.
Honorary Doctor Petteri Karttunen
Chairman, Saastamoinen Foundation
Petteri Karttunen has made a long and distinguished career in Finnish and Scandinavian business, in particular in SEB where he held different top-level positions until 2016. He has also held many board positions in public companies and charitable foundations, including Saastamoinen Foundation, where he serves as the Chairman.
Petteri Karttunen has actively promoted the cooperation between Aalto University and Finnish foundations.
Honorary Doctor Brian Kwon
President & CEO, LG Electronics
Brian Kwon has made an extraordinarily distinguished career in LG Electronics, a South Korean electronics giant and one of the largest electronics companies in the world. He has worked in the company and its predecessor for over 30 years, rising through the ranks to his current position as President and CEO.
Brian Kwon holds an MBA degree from the School of Business’s South Korean unit. He is arguably the most successful alumnus of Aalto University Executive Education, and a beacon of the School’s internationalisation.
Honorary Doctor Pekka Laaksonen
Hamburg Ambassador in Finland
Pekka Laaksonen has made a long and distinguished career in Finnish business, first for over a quarter century in the paper and wood processing industry and finally for nearly a decade as CEO of Valio, from which he retired in 2014. He received the NIBS Prize for Most Reliable CEO in Finland in that year.
Pekka Laaksonen is an alumnus of the School of Business. He has collaborated with the School by serving as a member of the HSE Support Foundation board and of the School’s Corporate Advisory Board. He was the initiator of a fruitful partnership between Valio and the School.
Honorary Doctor John A. List
The Kenneth C. Griffin Distinguished Service Professor in Economics, University of Chicago
Professor John List is known for his groundbreaking contributions in microeconomics, with a particular emphasis on field experiments. During his remarkable career, he has risen through the ranks from a faculty position at the University of Central Florida to Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago. Professor List is a Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Fellow of the Econometric Society, has won many prestigious awards, and has served in the White House on the Council of Economic Advisers.
Professor List has collaborated with the School of Business actively for many years including teaching PhD courses and giving the Yrjö Jahnsson lectures.
Honorary Doctor Michael D. Myers
Professor of Information Systems, University of Auckland Business School
Professor Michael Myers is a leading information systems scholar, whose research focuses on digital transformation and the social and cultural aspects of information technology. He is a former President, Fellow, and LEO Award winner of the Association for Information Systems, a former Senior Editor of MIS Quarterly, the flagship journal of his field and the current Editor-in-Chief of European Journal of Information Systems.
Professor Myers has actively collaborated with the School of Business for many years. He has participated in PhD teaching and served as the Chair of the School of Business’ Scientific Advisory Board for four terms.
Honorary Doctor Linda Putnam
Distinguished Research Professor and Emerita, University of California, Santa Barbara
Professor Linda Putnam is well-known for her work in the field of organizational communication and organizational discourse. She is a Distinguished Scholar of the National Communication Association, a Fellow of the International Communication Association and of the International Association for Conflict Management, a recipient of life-time achievement awards from the International Association for Conflict Management, and Management Communication Quarterly, and holds an Honorary Doctorate from the College of Arts & Sciences, University of Montreal, Canada.
Professor Putnam has collaborated extensively with the School of Business in research and researcher training, including serving as a Distinguished Visiting Professor.
All Honorary Doctorates awarded by Aalto University
All Honorary Docorates awarded by Aalto University and it's predecessors can be found on a separate web page:
Honorary doctors at Aalto University
All the conferred Honorary Doctors at Aalto University and the preceding universities of technology, business, and arts and design.
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