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Timo Korkeamäki, Dean of the School of Business, has invited board professional Sanna Suvanto-Harsaae to join the School's International Advisory Board.

The Finnish-Danish Suvanto-Harsaae chairs several Finnish and Danish companies. She also influences, among other things, the governments of the Danish think tank CEPOS and the newly established Den danske Ukraine comité, which collects money for the defence of Ukraine.

‘Sanna Suvanto-Harsaae brings a solid, comprehensive economic perspective to the International Advisory Board of the School of Business, and it’s great that she joins the development our School's operations," says Timo Korkeamäki.

More commercial competence and self-management skills

Suvanto-Harsaae, who graduated from Lund University and has worked in several European countries in addition to Finland, is enthusiastic about making the Aalto University School of Business better known internationally.

‘Aalto University School of Business still operates in the shadow of other business schools for no real reason and deserves even greater attention both internationally and in Finland. It also plays an important role in future development, where learning must be much more continuous,’ says Suvanto-Harsaae.

Suvanto-Harsaae wants to introduce information about the needs of the business world to the School of Business. She firmly believes that theory and reality go together.

‘If a university or the business world fails, both fail. Fortunately, however, the equation also works the other way around,’ she says.

Suvanto-Harsaae stresses the importance of commercial competence and self-management skills, as without them the business world will not work.

‘I can see it in practice: more of these skills are needed in Finland.’

International corporate co-operation important

Sanna Suvanto-Harsaae has previous links with the university world as well as she has taught practical board work at the Copenhagen Business School for eight years. She attaches great importance to the role of business schools in society and emphasises the importance of international corporate co-operation.

‘I’m very glad and honoured to be involved in the development of the School, because now it’s time to give back. I believe that Aalto University School of Business could play a much bigger role internationally than today, and it would be beneficial if the School were to get even closer to both Finnish and foreign companies. I hope that my extensive international expertise will benefit the School of Business in this work.’

The task of the International Advisory Board established in 2020 is to support the development of the School of Business activities and move it closer to similar international schools in education, research and societal impact. The other members of the advisory board are Rector Edeltraud Hanappi-Egger (Vienna University of Economics and Business), former Dean Robert Kennedy (Nanyang Technological University), former CEO of Nokia Rajeev Suri and Dean Daniel Traca (Nova School of Business and Economics). Suvanto-Harsaae joins the advisory board as successor to Pia Höök, Vice President of the Essity Group.