Medanta's new board members, Kaisa Olkkonen and Riitta Palmén, are top-notch board professionals who are impressed by Medanta's sustainability and operating methods.
A cheerful murmur of conversation echoes in Medanta's offices in Arabia, Helsinki, as our new board members Kaisa Olkkonen and Riitta Palmén have just left a meeting that lasted several hours.
Riitta Palmén has extensive experience as an expert in business administration, finance and venture capital. She has been an entrepreneur for twenty years. In addition to her day job, she has also worked on the boards. She previously mentored women graduating from the Department of Finance at her old alma mater, Hanken.
“It's great that I can share the knowledge and experience I have accumulated over decades,” says Riitta Palmén.
At Medanta, she is particularly enthusiastic about the business idea.
"Founders Anu Kivelä and Taina Steiner have been pioneers. They have thought about sustainability and user experience before it was even talked about elsewhere."
“It is important to make the work of the healthcare professionals easier”
Kaisa Olkkonen is a board professional and a corporate executive. She has worked as a corporate lawyer for 20 years, and a large part of that time at Nokia. For ten years she worked in public relations. For a little over three years, she led the international information security company SSH as CEO. She now works as a board professional.
"We have all suffered from the COVID-19 pandemic and seen how strong the nursing staff are. My parents moved into a nursing home and I have seen the work of the nursing sector up close. Anything that makes working in the healthcare sector easier for the employees is important. That inspires me as a board member of Medanta."
Riitta Palmén reminds us that Medanta manufactures products that are literally on the user's skin.
“What other product comes as close to the consumer as workwear that is worn for eight hours every day?”
She thinks there are a lot of great elements in Medanta.
“The Swedes are ahead of us in terms of making products that make us feel good. Medanta has the same thing. This is a story that is great to be a part of.”
“Medanta challenges the industry and listens to customers”
Olkkonen and Palmén are confident that Medanta is ready to take the next step. The market is mature, the company is ready, and the products are industry challengers. In their speeches, two of the company's strengths are repeatedly highlighted: sustainability and user experience.
"Medanta challenges with a better user experience. Workwear is made to meet the customer's needs. The customer is not only a large company, but the nurse, chef or cleaner who uses our products. The founders have understood what users need and listened to the users' experiences during the design phase," Olkkonen describes.
From the very beginning, Medanta has considered how and from which materials the clothes are made. Environmental friendliness has been a given.
"We are experiencing a great change, even without the war in Ukraine, the transformation is great. The beginning of the 2020s can be compared to the Industrial Revolution. Climate change and the digital revolution are changing the world," says Palmén.
Sustainability also means responsibility for personnel
Kaisa Olkkonen emphasises that responsibility is a broader concept than an environmental issue. It also includes social responsibility and governance responsibility.
“It also includes how employees can realize their best selves and do things they believe in. Responsibility also involves communication, i.e. whether it is open. In the future, companies must be responsible in order to operate and succeed.”
“Women are needed on corporate boards”
According to Riitta Palmén, responsibility also includes having different genders on boards. For this reason, she is ready to support female quotas. She herself is used to working in the male-dominated financial sector and says with a laugh: “If you need a quota woman, I am ready.”
As a company, Medanta is ready for the next leap: responsibility and the product guarantee it. What do Palmén and Olkkonen think should be done?
Both praise the great situation Medanta is in. There are now enormous opportunities.
"A big challenge for an SME is choosing the right opportunities. It's not worth chasing everything. Resources shouldn't be scattered, because then you won't be able to do things properly. The biggest decision in an SME is what we don't do," says Olkkonen.
Medanta is becoming an international brand
Both new board members believe that in five years, Medanta will be an international and well-known brand.
“I want to see these ladies flourish and enjoy what they have set out to build,” says Riitta Palmén.
So what guides the work of changemakers?
Riitta Palméni is inspired by the fact that there are meaningful things in business. Business should always be based on facts.
“Things have to be considered, justified and well-planned. It is because of my background that I want good financial modeling and monitoring. My third point is people. I enjoy working with people.”
Kaisa Olkkonen describes herself as responsible and reliable.
She laughs and continues that she wants open and honest communication. My third guideline is that I try to be myself.
Working on the board of directors in many different companies complements and provides a different perspective than working for one company.
“Very different companies can learn something from each other. It's a completely new experience after thirty years of work.”
The collaboration between Medanta staff and the new board members is just beginning. But the meeting of these women and the joyful atmosphere in the office speak of an energy that is charged with positive expectations.
What do these board professionals do on their days off?
Kaisa Olkkonen
- Owner of three dogs.
- Moves in the forests. Spouse's definition: Mushroom lover.
- Enjoys her childhood summer home in Nastola.
- The daughter lives abroad.
- Interested in culture, especially theatre.
- Avid reader and audiobook listener.
Riitta Palmén
- Three adult sons and one grandchild.
- Owner of two Spanish Water Dogs.
- Spending time in the country in Jaala.
- Walking in the woods.
- Sings in a mantra band and loves opera.
- Hooked on audiobooks. Recommends: author Päivi Alasalmi's Sámi trilogy.
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