School of Business alumni stories

‘Helsinki caught my attention as it was different from the typical locations my fellow students selected.’ says Michael Hanf who came to do exchange studies at the then Helsinki School of Economics in the end of 1990s. After that he has been working in Finland and Germany and currently is the co-founder of Taival Advisory, helping clients to consider sustainability and circularity in their strategic decision making.

Tomi Nyman, who works as National Manager at Hilti, says that social skills and mentality for continuous learning are the most important skills in today’s working life. That’s why the understanding of how I learn is the single most important lesson learnt at university. Nyman’s study combination, Management as a major and Finance as a minor, is especially useful in his current position.

‘It’s worth following your own interests and enthusiasm, because then there’s a better chance of really becoming good at something.’ says Niklas Huotari, a new School of Business Alumni Ambassador and the CEO of aTalent Recruiting.

‘I had never imagined myself working for a mobile game company until I started exploring this industry while writing my Master’s thesis,’ tells our alumna Wen-Hui Tu, who combined Management studies with more quantitative courses through Information and Service Management minor, and now works as an App Store Optimization Specialist at Next Games.

Our alumna Tiina Palmunen became interested in Kesko’s trainee program when she met with an HR representative of that company at Aalto Summer Job Day. At her current position as HR Specialist at Employee Responsibility at Kesko, she works with diversity and inclusion matters.

Alexei Koveshnikov, who is our alumnus and Associate Professor in Management and Organization at the School of Business, became also a member of our School’s Alumni Advisory Board in fall 2020. He encourages students to obtain meta-skills and meta-competences, which are invaluable in today’s business life.

The School of Business Alumni Advisory Board member Norbert Juhász studied in International Business and CEMS MIM master’s programmes. Aalto student community, business case competitions with fellow students and the possibility to study and live completely in English in Finland are very memorable to him. “Being an alumnus means being part of a community and being part of a shared history with that community.”

School of Business alumna Julia Österlund studied two different majors at school and thinks that the diverse studies benefit her in her current job: ‘It is also great that I can combine everything I have studied at school - marketing, communications, information technology and calculus.’

Our alumna Anne Tolonen always knew she would go to work abroad after studies. After spending over 5 years abroad in different management positions, she has learnt to appreciate inspiring and caring leadership manners.

Good communication and continuous learning were the most important takeaways for the MIB alumnus.

Diverse career opportunities and varying tasks got our alumna Essi Raitala interested in a career in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Currently, she is on her first posting at the Embassy of Finland in Nairobi.

Katariina Koskelainen studied in the School of Business during the years 2008–2013, leadership and management as her major. She works currently as a Senior Consultant at CIVITTA. We asked Katariina to share her insights on working as a consultant and how to pursue a consulting career.

The Ambassador of Finland to Israel, Kirsikka Lehto-Asikainen, is an alumna of the School of Business. As a student, she set her sights on becoming a citizen of the world and she has stayed the course ever since.

“For me, choosing the major subject was very difficult, as I did not want to delimit any options at the time when I was interested in many things”, reflects Mia Sirkiä, the School of Business Alumni Ambassador. She encourages students in similar situations: ”Think about your own interests and navigate according to those. True passion will lead to prosperity!”

“I applied to the Aalto University Mentoring Program, and I’m glad I did, since it benefited me a lot!” says the School of Business Alumni Ambassador Miikka Huhta. He emphasizes that the Mentoring Program is a good chance to get peer support from the other mentees.

Several different experiences and occasions from Aalto University have affected the employment of the School of Business alumnus Niklas Karvonen, who worked as a Business Design Manager at 16Lab in Tokyo in 2018-2019.

Currently Karvonen is working at a Tokyo-based coding bootcamp Code Chrysalis as a Marketing and Community Lead (2020).

Anna Pakkala was the 2018 Head of Sustainability at Slush. At the moment, Pakkala is working as a Brand Manager at Compensate (2020).

The Secretary General of the Association of Business Schools Finland, our alumnus Juuso Leivonen created a job out of his study-time activities at the student association.

Our alumna Elisa Liekkilä takes part in the School’s ARENA Career Fair on November 14 as the company representative of Tieto. “At the ARENA Career Fair, one can search for inspiration, knowledge, support and advice by getting to know different companies”, says Liekkilä.

Terttu Sopanen, a Senior Consultant at Brunnen Communications and a School of Business alumna is glad to be working in the field of communication: "We help our customers to be more impressive and to make results that are more visible."

Entrepreneur, our alumnus Tatu Mäkilä wants to support fresh entrepreneurs and help students to reach for their dreams.
"To me, being an alumnus means giving back, and thus, I am very pleased to help", says Mäkilä."

“Developing the resilience to adapt to possible changes and being ready to continue learning also after the graduation are huge assets in the working life”, reminds our alumna Susanna Hyppönen.

President of Sitra and School of Business alumnus Mikko Kosonen challenges students to plan their studies well. ”Tackling different challenges demands cooperation between the public and private sector, and it is no more enough to know only your own field well”, advises Kosonen.

Our alumna Emilia Rantala became accidentally part of one of the very first Aalto-level study projects at the newly formed university. Aalto on Waves took her from Lisbon over the Atlantic Ocean all the way to Brazil, and brought along a broad network and many new friendships.

Ambitious Minna Rissanen has gained a huge advantage from the interdisciplinary programs at Aalto University, and encourages current students to take on new subjects, also outside their own degree.

Aalto University School of Business alumna Sirpa Widomski appreciates the broad expertise and networking opportunities granted for the students in the Aalto University.

Our alumnus Mikko Jääskeläinen, who majored in Creative Sustainability and also studied finance, ended up working in management consulting after graduation. While in that position, he became fascinated by transport and real estate infrastructure projects, which led him to a job involving urban economy and land use general planning for the City of Helsinki, and from there, a position at the Ministry of Transport and Communications. The best parts of his job are the interesting tasks and his knowledgeable colleagues.

Our alumna Oona Anttila became interested in the themes of sustainable development already at the beginning of her studies, and later she applied for the multidisciplinary Creative Sustainability master’s programme. Currently, she works at the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) in Nairobi, Kenya.

Study course projects and a Social Hackathon competition helped Nicolas Dolce, our Creative Sustainability alumnus, to prepare for working in sustainability consulting. 'The Capstone course sharpened my project management, client interface, and business development skills.'

Anna Pakkala was the 2018 Head of Sustainability at Slush. At the moment, Pakkala is working as a Brand Manager at Compensate (2020).

Katri Kaitila works as an Audit Manager at PwC in Private Company Services. What sorts of skills have been useful in Katri's work? And what advice would Katri give herself at the beginning of her studies? Read about Katri’s career path.

I would argue that there is no better start to your career than being an associate in audit practice says Kati Ovaska who has had multiple work opportunities within the company after graduation. EY encourages people to take the steering wheel of their career: 'Your career, it’s yours to build'.

I remember studying with great warmth and have very fond memories of student life. I have been able to work with great people in Finland’s leading companies. For this, I feel deep gratitude to the School of Business.

‘I feel that I have received a lot from the School for life, and without Kauppis, I certainly would not be in that place in life where I am now.’

School of Business Alumni Advisory Board member Pasi Torppa studied Accounting in the School of Business and has done a long career in management consulting. Currently, he is a private investor and a board member or chairman in several companies.

Our alumnus Sakari Saarela, who works as a M&A advisor in an investment bank in London, emphasizes the importance of his study time friends and mentoring in helping him to gain preparedness for working life and to proceed to interesting work assignments in his career.

School of Business alumnus Ilkka Siitonen encourages students to participate in the events organized together with different companies. “In those events, you get to meet the employees face-to-face and ask them about their job.”

Our alumna Emilia Rantala became accidentally part of one of the very first Aalto-level study projects at the newly formed university. Aalto on Waves took her from Lisbon over the Atlantic Ocean all the way to Brazil, and brought along a broad network and many new friendships.

"Accept the job when offered, and don’t be too picky in the beginning", says our alumnus Matti Honkala to the current students.

‘I believe that the role of marketing and branding will only be emphasized in business in the future as we move from the current consumer culture to increasingly conscious choices’

'It is wonderful that both Aalto University and the School of Business are both so exceptionally forward-looking.'

'Interdisciplinarity and versatile possibilities to shape your studies, were definite strengths in Aalto. I believe that studying subjects differing so strongly from each other has helped me in my career. Especially during change situations, since changing my own perspective has been easier,' says our alumna Iida Valin, who works in the communications department of Posti Group, one of School of Business partner companies.

Our marketing alumnus Jukka Kajan founded Joukon Voima, a crowdfunding platform for sustainable projects, and now works with plant-based food and plant proteins at Verso Food. ‘In my career, I have always been involved in the transition of various industries.’

‘The business studies and a very international career brought me a unique ability to see things from many different perspectives and very holistically, not just from a certain point of view,’ tells our alumnus and donor Tianyi Pan, who works with AI and machine learning in Shanghai.

'As I graduated from the Helsinki School of Economics, I could not have expected in my wildest dreams that I would end my career as a nationally recognized expert in regional publishing – in the United States!'

”As an entrepreneur, you are free to fulfil yourself.”

Our alumnus Ville Vahteri, who studied marketing at the School of Business, was actively involved in organizing the startup event Slush throughout his studies. Emboldened by the experience, he co-founded Bou, a brand company, together with his Slush colleagues.

School of Business alumna Julia Österlund studied two different majors at school and thinks that the diverse studies benefit her in her current job: ‘It is also great that I can combine everything I have studied at school - marketing, communications, information technology and calculus.’

School of Business alumna Noora Kinnunen found a job in her own field already during her studies with the help of Aalto’s job portal. She encourages students to take advantage of the services at Aalto and for example take part in the Aalto Talent Expo recruiting fair at the end of October.

“Thanks to the business studies, I now understand the customers and corporate challenges better and I know how to be of better use to the customers”, says our Alumni Ambassador Markus Helaniemi. “Besides having the business expertise, common knowledge and wide understanding on the world and societal aspects should be emphasized.”

Our Alumni Ambassador Juha Aarvala has been working in the field of medicine for over 20 years. He shared his career story with us and gave some advice for the current students: “Your activity during the studies counts a lot, in addition to the networks and being resilient. The true value of networks is something you should never underestimate! Thus, visit different events, meet new people and learn new things through them.”

‘I want to keep learning and looking for purpose in what I do.'

Several different experiences and occasions from Aalto University have affected the employment of the School of Business alumnus Niklas Karvonen, who worked as a Business Design Manager at 16Lab in Tokyo in 2018-2019.

Currently Karvonen is working at a Tokyo-based coding bootcamp Code Chrysalis as a Marketing and Community Lead (2020).

The School of Business alumnus Daniel Tuori encourages students to use all the opportunities that the School offers to meet the alumni and company representatives during the studies.

“You should definitely take the kind of courses that really interest you, since that is what motivates you the most”, says the School of Business alumna Katariina Helaniemi.

President of Sitra and School of Business alumnus Mikko Kosonen challenges students to plan their studies well. ”Tackling different challenges demands cooperation between the public and private sector, and it is no more enough to know only your own field well”, advises Kosonen.

Our Alumni Ambassador Arto Hiltunen reminds that all kind of work experience, especially the summer job experience during the studies, has an effect on the career in the future. "Being active is one of the key factors", says Hiltunen.

”For a fresh graduate, getting a first permanent job at an advertising agency was a dream come true”, reminisces our alumna Pirjo Väliaho.

Xiang Ye encourages students to create networks and emphasizes the importance of continuous learning.

Aalto University School of Business alumna Sirpa Widomski appreciates the broad expertise and networking opportunities granted for the students in the Aalto University.

Our alumnus Mikko Jääskeläinen, who majored in Creative Sustainability and also studied finance, ended up working in management consulting after graduation. While in that position, he became fascinated by transport and real estate infrastructure projects, which led him to a job involving urban economy and land use general planning for the City of Helsinki, and from there, a position at the Ministry of Transport and Communications. The best parts of his job are the interesting tasks and his knowledgeable colleagues.

School of Business alumnus Atte Heikkilä, who pursues an international career as a project manager in Sweden, participated in the Aalto mentoring program for the first time as a mentor last year. He recommends the program both to students and alumni: ‘Join the program with an open mind and challenge your own and the mentor's possible presumptions.’

‘I feel that I have received a lot from the School for life, and without Kauppis, I certainly would not be in that place in life where I am now.’

'For me, meaningfulness comes from the fact, that I feel that I am doing good things that change the world for the better in small steps, but also from the various encounters and atmosphere I create in my workplace every day,' says our finance alumna Hanna Hovi, who currently works as the Director of Mental Health Services at Mehiläinen.

The School of Business Alumni Advisory Board member Jaakko Eteläaho has done a long career as an investment banker among mergers & acquisitions and says that the Finance studies have been extremely useful in his career. In addition to Alumni Advisory Board, Eteläaho has been part of Aalto Alumni Network Board and is also one of the founders of Aalto Finance Alumni association. “I encourage all alumni to be active alumni, as it is a lot of fun and widens one’s perspectives.”

School of Business alumnus Arno Paula started his own company together with two friends. Their company Ambronite tries to help people achieve permanent change of lifestyle by developing drinkable meal replacement.

“As an alumna, I have the possibility to stay connected and up-to-date on the latest developments in the field of business studies and future prospects”, says our Alumni Ambassador Maarit Vilen.

Internships abroad spurred our alumnus Kari Janhunen to seek work abroad. He has spent 20 years of his work career abroad in different positions within international finance.

‘I want to encourage girls to partake in the diverse IT sector’

Our Economics alumna Minna Kuusisto, who works as an Economist at Finnfund, has gained experience from banking, sustainable business consulting and development financing in her career, among other things. “My advice is: be curious and network with those people whose career paths you find interesting, already during your study time. Almost everybody will be delighted by a coffee or lunch invitation”.

Our alumna Göksu Sarigöl did an internship during her studies through the School of Business Internship Programme for foreign students. ‘I was lucky that the School of Business Career Services helped me in this part of my career.’

Timo Löyttyniemi, who worked as the Vice Chair of the Single Resolution Board in Brussels from 2015 to 2019, underlines the ability to change in today’s working life. “’Agility’ is a good term to describe the true way of working amidst all the changes”, says Löyttyniemi.

Currently, Löyttyniemi is the CEO of The State Pension Fund of Finland (2020).

Internships abroad spurred our alumnus Kari Janhunen to seek work abroad. He has spent 20 years of his work career abroad in different positions within international finance.

“Interaction always plays a key role at work, regardless of the task”, says the School of Business alumnus Petteri Vartiainen.

The former Bank of Finland Head Sirkka Hämäläinen emphasizes the importance of extensive, high quality common knowledge in working life success.

School of Business Alumna of the Year 2018 Elina Björklund is the CEO of Reima. She has graduated from the Helsinki School of Economics. Before Reima she worked at Iittala.

‘I became interested in business studies because I felt that through them, I could be part of making an impact that matters’ says Miia Martikainen, our alumna. Martikainen has been working as a consultant for almost a decade now, and she is currently in her dream job solving the future challenges of the public social and health care system.

Our alumna Aigerim Nukenova studied in the Information and Service Management master’s programme, and now works as a Data Analyst at Fixably. In her free time, she enjoys swimming and sauna, and jogging in nature.

‘I had always dreamed of a career dealing with environmental questions’, says our alumna Annastina Saari, who studied international business as well as information and service management, and who now works as a consultant for D-mat, a company that is specialized in sustainable lifestyles.

School of Business alumnus Kron Rexhepi followed his interests to pursue a career in data analytics. The networks formed at the School and the programming courses he took helped him to find an inspiring job where he could utilize his previous experience in both consulting and data.

‘An internship is an effective way to find the career that makes you tick’, recommends Le Thuy, Information and Service Management alumna, who works as a strategy consultant at August Associates. As of this fall, she is also a School of Business Alumni Ambassador.

‘I am grateful to the School of Business, its teachers and my fellow students – studying there gave me excellent skills and knowledge for my career and for my retirement years.’ says Pauli Liikala, our alumnus, who made a long career in information systems, management and their development, and who has also acted as a mentor to numerous students over the years.

Our alumnus Tung Hoang did not know much about data analytics or programming before starting the Master’s studies at the School of Business, but he then immersed himself in the field through the Business Analytics specialization area. At his current job, he now uses many of the concepts and skills he learnt during the studies, and encourages students to do their personal projects, such as programming, besides the core studies.

A fresh graduate of Information and Service Management, Jesse Rajala talks about his studies and gives a few tips to students coming from a University of Applied science background.

Li Xu applied for the Master’s Programme in Information and Service Management at Aalto University School of Business partly due to her job requirement. The studies supported her career, and later also helped her proceed towards her dream job at Valio in China.

”It is never too late to study more and try new things – I am a good example of that! I studied logistics, but in the working life I realized that I’m more interested in both business and human resources, and so I ended up doing what I do today”, says our alumna Elvira Vainio, who worked as a HRD manager at Veikkaus from 2017 to 2019.

Currently, Vainio is working as a coach at FAB Monday, a company founded by her (2020).

“Use the good opportunities to grow your networks during the studies”, advises our alumnus Eero Nummela. “Having a comprehensive and versatile network is an asset for an employee, but also the employers appreciate it.”

The School of Business Alumni Ambassadors' youngest member, Olli Copeland urges everyone to make new connections and broaden one's network. "Especially being a part of student organizations is an excellent way to network", says Copeland.

‘To succeed and enjoy being an entrepreneur, you need to enjoy unpredictable situations, reacting to them, and overcoming them. If the image of such an everyday life gets a smile on your face day after day, then entrepreneurship may be for you,’ thinks Atte Hujanen, the founder of the karaoke streaming service Singa.

‘May Aalto University remain this forward thinking, empowering and ever evolving institution that I got the privilege to attend!’

Business studies at Aalto complemented Jamila Awadh’s previous studies and experience. Studies led to her current position as Business and Marketing Director at Polar Glucan.

Our alumna Saara Virrankari-Kulju chose Business Law as her major, as it seemed to be a good way to combine law and business studies. Now as a Tax Manager she gets to utilize her knowledge in business, accounting and tax legislation in an international company.

Diverse career opportunities and varying tasks got our alumna Essi Raitala interested in a career in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Currently, she is on her first posting at the Embassy of Finland in Nairobi.

Our Alumni Ambassador Arto Hiltunen reminds that all kind of work experience, especially the summer job experience during the studies, has an effect on the career in the future. "Being active is one of the key factors", says Hiltunen.

‘I had always dreamed of a career dealing with environmental questions’, says our alumna Annastina Saari, who studied international business as well as information and service management, and who now works as a consultant for D-mat, a company that is specialized in sustainable lifestyles.

The career path of Satu Srömberg, School of Business, Mikkeli Campus alumna, has not followed the obvious route of an Economics student: ’I want to encourage you to find your own path. Find your own strengths and follow your passion. Learning is a lifelong path and you only know where it takes, when you take one step after another.”

School of Business, Mikkeli Campus alumna Roosa Mannonen sees the value of working with course projects not only when in work life, but also when applying for a job: 'The confidence you’ll gain from those numerous presentations done during studies might just make you land the job you want.'

The career of Patrick Lees, School of Business Mikkeli Campus alumnus, took an unexpected turn early on and led him to work with renewable energies. “Small details and timing can have a significant impact on your career, and I urge not to be too fixed with your career plan.”

The Bachelor’s Program in International Business is not only an exceptional business education opportunity, some even find their significant other there. Our alumni Mia Hoang and Juhana Polso started a life together while studying in the program, and after Mikkeli they both combined studies of business and technology in the University of Nebraska.

Unlike most of her fellow students, School of Business, Mikkeli Campus alumna Tuuli Hakkarainen chose an academic career path. She defended her dissertation in December 2020, and in her doctoral thesis she examined expertise sharing within multinational corporations.

School of Business, Mikkeli Campus alumna Elina Lamponen gives current students a valuable piece of advice regarding working during studies: “Try to get a job at a smaller company. The company might not seem as prestigious as bigger companies, but the duties are usually more varied, and you get to see and do more and get responsibility early on.”

School of Business, Mikkeli Campus alumnus Pekka Lehtinen has had a long career and he continues to value the skills he gathered during studies: ”Teamwork and the skill to think outside the box have brought the biggest insights into my career.”

School of Business, Mikkeli Campus alumna Mari Sederholm has had a long career in the pharmaceutical industry. Business studies helped her to pursue her dream career: “You will learn general skills that are useful in life no matter what you will do in your career and in which ever field.”

School of Business, Mikkeli Campus alumnus Niko Marjomaa found a way to combine the fields of business and security: “Through my experiences I saw the opportunities to think about security little bit differently than the majority in the industry.”

Our alumnus Tung Hoang did not know much about data analytics or programming before starting the Master’s studies at the School of Business, but he then immersed himself in the field through the Business Analytics specialization area. At his current job, he now uses many of the concepts and skills he learnt during the studies, and encourages students to do their personal projects, such as programming, besides the core studies.

School of Business, Mikkeli Campus alumnus Mikael Lauharanta appreciates the nature of studies in the BScBA Program: "It’s a fast paced program that prepares you well for the working life and all the challenges it might throw at you."

Our alumna Elisa Liekkilä takes part in the School’s ARENA Career Fair on November 14 as the company representative of Tieto. “At the ARENA Career Fair, one can search for inspiration, knowledge, support and advice by getting to know different companies”, says Liekkilä.

“Use the good opportunities to grow your networks during the studies”, advises our alumnus Eero Nummela. “Having a comprehensive and versatile network is an asset for an employee, but also the employers appreciate it.”

The School of Business Alumni Ambassadors' youngest member, Olli Copeland urges everyone to make new connections and broaden one's network. "Especially being a part of student organizations is an excellent way to network", says Copeland.

Juho Tuovinen has already worked in many international positions. He advises students to think carefully about their own interests when applying for the jobs in their industry.

”I have always grasped the opportunities when facing them – I have not always known where they will take me or whether it is 'the one', but I have gone forward”, says the School of Business Alumni Ambassador Sami Pauni.

Our alumna Annika Jyllilä-Vertigans completed EMBA degree in Aalto University Executive Education as she felt the need to deepen her knowledge in the ever-changing working life. At the same time, her professional and personal networks have broadened.

Having studied throughout her working life, our alumna Katja Kääriä encourages everyone to acquire interdisciplinary knowledge for the future. "It is important to look at things from different perspectives. New things give energy and development ideas for work", Kääriä emphasizes.