Kesko CDO Anni Ronkainen: “Tips from advisors for focusing research”
Anni Ronkainen, Chief Digital Officer at Kesko Corporation, is very happy that as a member of the advisory board of the University of Vaasa's Digital Economy research platform she can provide her expertise and experience from the corporate world for the benefit of her alma mater.
– I hope that the views provided by the advisors make it easier, for example, to select research topics. The field of digitalisation is beyond extensive, and we have highlighted certain themes that are particularly topical for companies. For example, platform economy, which is essentially connected to digitalisation, and its impact on our business is a topic that all companies are currently focusing on. It is good that these things are being studied at the university, Ronkainen says.
At the Digital Economy research platform, various research topics are discussed from different perspectives of the digital economy. According to Ronkainen, it is good that the research topics have been grouped together into larger entities under various research programmes.
– Focusing and packaging research topics into larger entities also makes it easier to communicate them to stakeholders.
Ronkainen has found it fascinating to explore the perspectives of different disciplines on the innovations made possible by new technologies and their impact on business life and society at large. She herself is interested in digitalisation in general, and she finds it particularly interesting how technology, data and analytics can be harnessed for the benefit of companies and society.
– Our discussions are made particularly rewarding by the slightly different approaches that the corporate world and the research community have. Companies tend to be more results-oriented and often have fairly strict guidelines on what can and cannot be done. Professors and researchers, on the other hand, have a certain freedom to contemplate and focus their research areas.
We have highlighted certain themes that are particularly topical for companies.
Teksti: Matti Remes
Tietolaatikko
Anni Ronkainen
Anni Ronkainen is an alumna of the University of Vaasa. She has a Master’s Degree in Economics and Business Administration. She works as Chief Digital Officer at Kesko Corporation. Before her career at Kesko, Anni Ronkainen worked as Google’s Country Manager for Finland and as the CEO of the advertising agency group McCann Helsinki. Tivi magazine selected Ronkainen as Digital Director of the Year 2020.
Read more about the Advisory board of the Digital Economy Research Platform
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