Kirsti Paakkanen | |
---|---|
Born | Kirsti Kaarina Poikonen 12 February 1929[1] |
Died | 2 November 2021[1] Espoo, Finland | (aged 92)
Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur and business executive |
Known for | Owner and CEO of Marimekko |
Spouse |
Jorma Paakkanen
(m. 1952; div. 1964) |
Kirsti Paakkanen (née Poikonen; 12 February 1929 — 2 November 2021)[2] was a Finnish entrepreneur and business executive.
Paakkanen studied advertising, and worked for many years in the marketing departments of Finnish retail companies including Elanto and Stockmann.[1]
In 1969, Paakkanen set up her own advertising agency, Womena, which she ran for over 20 years, until selling it in 1990 to McCann.[3][4]
In 1991, Paakkanen acquired the struggling design and fashion house Marimekko from the Amer group (now Amer Sports), and successfully turned it around, growing sales three-fold in a space of five years, and eventually listing the company on the Helsinki Stock Exchange in 1999.[3][5][6] She retired from day-to-day running of the business in 2007, appointing Mika Ihamuotila as her successor; two years later Ihamuotila acquired her shares.[3][5]
In 1999, Paakkanen was appointed Yrittäjäneuvos (lit. 'Entrepreneur Counselor') by the President of Finland.[2]
In 2002, she was awarded the Estlander Medal[1]
for her significant contributions to Finnish design.She received two honorary doctorates, in arts (University of Art and Design Helsinki, now part of the Aalto University; 2001) and business (Helsinki School of Economics, now Aalto University School of Business; 2006).[2][1]