Meet the team: Jussi Haatainen, Sanna Lankinen, and Riikka Henriksson join Midagon as consultants

Jussi, Riikka and Sanna joined our team in early August, bringing vast knowledge from transformation and development projects in the manufacturing, retail, and finance areas, to mention a few. Let's get to know them!

What is your background? Where do you come from to Midagon? What do you bring with you?  

Jussi: I have 15 years of experience in manufacturing operations, where I have had the privilege to work in roles such as factory manager, global manufacturing process owner, different IT development roles and project manager. My previous experience is leading operations at a company that provided testing, inspection, certification, and expert services for construction material manufacturers.

My versatile background allows me to see the big picture and think about the change from different perspectives and organisation levels. This helps define what is needed to make the change successful.

Sanna: My experience is in retail and wholesale business. There, I have skilled in IT-related project/program management, system development and business process development. ERP and HR projects, from project initiation to planning, implementation and deployment, rollouts, and later system upgrades are familiar to me. 

I have delivered processes and application solutions for heavy use in everyday life in the retail sector. Service management things and IT support for business users were part of my day-to-day work. Waterfall and agile methodologies have both been needed when doing ERP projects.

Riikka: I have over 15-year experience in IT and finance and have lived and worked in several countries for international organisations as Finance Operations Specialist, SAP Finance Global Key User, Implementation Consultant for Cash Management and Purchase Invoice solutions, and E2E Test Manager, Defect Manager and as Scrum Master. Experiencing projects with companies operating in several industries and countries is rewarding and gives excellent learning opportunities.  

What key learnings from your career follow you in your day-to-day work? 

Jussi: I cherish the moments when you get to the level where you might get skeptical comments or criticism towards what will be changed. This is the point that opens the possibility to really hear the needs and requirements for a change to be implemented successfully. Once you succeed with this, the next round will start with a whole new attitude of positive cooperation, trust and confidence.

Sanna: Linking the people from business and IT is the most essential part of a successful transformation project, technology comes after the collaboration between people. Business value is always created together with IT and business, and this requires a strong commitment from both sides. The opportunities that digitalisation and new emerging technologies will bring are something which I am interested in learning more about.

Riikka: Working on projects requires experience and expertise. Keeping a learner mindset simultaneously is essential as all projects are unique and provide us with special learning opportunities. Once, I was informed about a company’s training delivery need for a Cash Management solution with one hour's notice. The company later became my new customer due to the successful training delivery. In one ERP project, there were challenges with defect follow-up which caused uncertainness - as I succeeded in clarifying the situation and was able to contribute to the smooth project progress, I ended up having a longer-term defect coordination role. 

I have learnt that cooperation is the key to project success. People need to be supported to create an environment of trust where everyone feels comfortable communicating with each other, especially when there is uncertainty and challenges. As Scrum Master, I have tried to be available and have an impact on agile framework implementation. In the project world, engaging in discussions with people with different beliefs, values, and ways of thinking makes us often find new ideas and practical improvements. Having a Master’s degree in Intercultural Communication, German Translation and Interpreting and having lived and worked in several countries, intercultural competence and skills are of my everyday personal and professional life. 

What are your thoughts on Midagon so far?

Jussi: It has already been an exciting experience for me to see the world on the consulting company's side. I'm looking forward to working with new colleagues and all the customer cases to come, which will provide excellent insight into the latest developments and trends in different industries.

Sanna: Here at Midagon, my first feeling is that here we have very experienced IT transformation professionals who have a strong commitment to their customers. The first aim is to get things done to create new value for the customer’s business. It seems that all kinds of collaboration is in the DNA of my new colleagues. It is a great pleasure to be part of this when starting my new career as a consultant.

Riikka: Midagon’s working environment and people are very professional with strong project and IT experience. We share knowledge and support each other and can really concentrate on the project work with our clients.  

How do you relax when not working?

Jussi: Family time is time well spent for me, and it takes the vast majority of my time. I enjoy spending time in nature, so fishing, hunting, mushroom and berry picking are my ways to unwind and provide some ingredients to the kitchen. As a handyman, I also like to have some DIY projects on-going all the time.

Sanna: I try to keep myself up and moving by cycling and hiking during the summer. Cross-country skiing is my favourite activity in wintertime. Seeing new places and people is always a joy for me. Still, sometimes it is just good to stay in one place with a good book.

Riikka: I like to spend time at my cottage in the Finnish Lakeland. In winter, you’ll often find me on cross-country skiing tracks.