Marina Vahtola is one of the few women in Finland who have served as CEO and on the board of directors in public companies, taking fiscal responsibility for large businesses. She has been named as one of the 100 most influential women in Finland. In SHIFT 2017, she was one of the board members of the  Boardroom Challenge. In this challenge, four companies got the chance to showcase their challenge to the SHIFT boardroom made of thought leaders, people that have “done it” and rising stars. SHIFT 2017 Boardroom Challenge provided participants tools to tackle their challenges.

Board professional Marina Vahtola has over 25 years of experience in directing large chains, including 10 years serving as CEO. She has been part of building the Bauhaus chain in Finland and Estonia as well as launching the department store concept on Silja Line cruise ships. She has also served as the CEO of a listed company, on the board of directors of a listed company and has gained experience taking a company public.

These days, Vahtola serves on the board of directors in over 10 companies in Finland and as senior advisor in Sweden for international trade sector chains. She also functions in several international positions of trust. She was invited to take up the Executive in Residence post at the Department of Marketing at Aalto University School of Business in 2013. Vahtola also serves as the sparring partner and owner of several growth companies.

Vahtola has broad experience in the following areas of expertise: development of strategic and customer-oriented business models, new and innovative product and service concepts, online retail strategies, brand strategies and digital marketing.

Text by Marina Vahtola and Marita Koivisto