Aalto Strategy Circle After Work: Creating high-performing senior leadership teams

Welcome to the fourth Aalto strategy alumni circle after-work event on the topic of Creating high-performing senior leadership teams. Hear and discuss about latest insights and best practices from academics and practitioners. Thomas Keil, Professor of International Management at the University of Zurich and Marianna Zangrillo, experienced senior leader, present insights from their latest book "The Next Leadership Team: How to Select, Build, and Optimize Your Top Team". Juhani Hintikka, President and CEO at WithSecure, and Anne Badan, Founding Partner of executive search firm The X Search will share their experience and best practices. 

This is a great opportunity to hear about the latest insights and learn about best practices as well as share experiences with your colleagues. The event is free of charge and open for all Aalto alumni who are interested in the topic of strategy. 

Agenda 10 October

17.00 Welcome and introduction

17.05 Presentations

17.45  Discussion and Q&A

18.30 Networking

The event closes at 19.00

Moderator Professor Jens Schmidt, Aalto University

Thomas Keil is Professor of International Management at the University of Zurich and has previously been a Professor of Strategic Management at Aalto University. His research focuses on the senior leader’s agenda in multinational corporations, specifically board design, CEO succession, leadership teams, transformation, mergers and acquisitions, and strategy. He has co-authored the books “The Next CEO” and “The Next Leadership Team”, among others.

Marianna Zangrillo has spent the past 20 years working in senior leadership roles across industries, where she has led organizations, teams and projects in Europe, Middle East, Asia and North America. She has conducted research on CEO succession, leadership teams, and board design and co-authored two books, “The Next CEO” and “The Next Leadership Team”. Marianna holds a Master of Laws, a LLM, an MBA in International Management and a PhD in Supply Chain Management.

Juhani Hintikka is President and CEO at WithSecure, a stock-listed company focusing on cybersecurity. He has previously worked in executive roles at Comptel and Nokia, among others, and has been a board member in a number of companies. He holds an M.Sc. Engineering from Aalto University (TKK).

Anne Badan is Founding Partner of executive search firm The X Search, which focuses on serving high growth companies and scale-ups in the Nordics. She has over 25 years of international experience in marketing and business development in Europe and Asia and has previously been the founder and CEO of The Shortcut, a non-profit talent accelerator. 

Jens Schmidt is a strategy professor at Aalto University, and Head of Department at the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management at Aalto University, School of Science, as well as Director of the Master’s Program in Industrial Engineering and Management. His research focuses on strategic thinking, entrepreneurial strategy and ecosystems, and he has worked on strategy development with both large and small organizations.

Who should attend?

The event is open for all Aalto alumni who are interested in the topic of strategy. The Aalto Alumni Strategy Circle is an opportunity to meet and discuss with like-minded colleagues, share experiences with them, and hear from the leading experts and practitioners about best practices.

This a regular event with several sessions throughout the year.

Photos are taken in the event for the events' marketing purposes. Please mention to the photographer if you don't want to be seen in the photos.

Subscribe to the mailing list here.

Aalto Strategy Circle

Aalto Strategy Circle brings together strategy professionals and business leaders to learn and exchange ideas about the most relevant current topics in strategy through interactive sessions involving international academics and local professionals. It is hosted by the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management in cooperation with the Aalto Strategy Alumni.

The previous event in May discussed the topical theme of artificial intelligence and competitive advantage.