Kirsti Paakkanen ( Poikonen; 12 February 1929 — 2 November 2021) was a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

entrepreneur and business executive.

Career

Paakkanen studied advertising, and worked for many years in the marketing departments of Finnish retail companies including

Elanto The S Group ( fi, S-ryhmä, sv, S-gruppen) is a Finnish retailing cooperative organisation with its head office in Helsinki. Founded in 1904, it consists of 20 regional cooperatives operating all around Finland in addition to SOK, ''Suomen Osuu ...

and Stockmann. In 1969, Paakkanen set up her own advertising agency, Womena, which she ran for over 20 years, until selling it in 1990 to McCann. In 1991, Paakkanen acquired the struggling design and fashion house

Marimekko Marimekko Oyj is a Finnish textiles, clothing, and home furnishings company founded by Viljo and Armi Ratia in Helsinki in 1951. Marimekko made important contributions to fashion in the 1960s. It is particularly noted for its brightly colored pri ...

from the Amer group (now

Amer Sports Amer Sports Oyj is a Finnish sporting goods retailer and holding company overseeing equipment brands Salomon, Arc'teryx, Peak Performance, Atomic, Suunto, Wilson, Armada, ENVE Composites, Louisville Slugger, DeMarini, and Sports Tracker.

), and successfully turned it around, growing sales three-fold in a space of five years, and eventually listing the company on the

Helsinki Stock Exchange The Nasdaq Helsinki, formerly known as the Helsinki Stock Exchange ( fi, Helsingin Pörssi, sv, Helsingforsbörsen), is a stock exchange located in Helsinki, Finland. Since 3 September 2003, it has been part of Nasdaq Nordic (previously called ...

in 1999. She retired from day-to-day running of the business in 2007, appointing as her successor; two years later Ihamuotila acquired her shares.

Honours and awards

In 1999, Paakkanen was appointed ''Yrittäjäneuvos'' ( 'Entrepreneur Counselor') by the President of Finland. In 2002, she was awarded the for her significant contributions to Finnish design. She received two

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

s, in arts (University of Art and Design Helsinki, now part of the

Aalto University Aalto University ( fi, Aalto-yliopisto; sv, Aalto-universitetet) is a public research university located in Espoo, Finland. It was established in 2010 as a merger of three major Finnish universities: the Helsinki University of Technology, the ...

; 2001) and business (Helsinki School of Economics, now

Aalto University School of Business The Aalto University School of Business ( fi, Aalto-yliopiston kauppakorkeakoulu; sv, Aalto-universitets handelshögskola), is the largest business school in Finland. Founded in 1911, it is the second oldest business school in Finland and one of ...

; 2006).

Career

Honours and awards

References

Further reading