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Aalto CFO Program

Strengthen Your Value as a Financial Director and Drive Future Success

Financial management plays a key strategic role in providing information and support for business management and direction for business development. Looking and seeing ahead, as well as utilizing the possibilities offered by digitalization, are becoming the new normal in leading a financial function.

The Aalto CFO Program is designed for financial executives who wish to strengthen their role as strategic and influential business partners and gain new perspectives on the latest developments in digitalizing the business environment and finance functions. The program will help you to increase your skills in leading business performance and enhance your competencies to influence the future of your company’s business success. You will focus on specific areas during the program, such as from digital to smart finance function, generative artificial Intelligence in finance, Analytical methods for scenario-based strategy development, and personal influencing tools.

The program focuses on developing key financial competencies to lead the company financially. At the same time, it is increasingly adopting a future-oriented perspective and applying new technologies to drive business development.

9 ECTS credits (4.5 ECTS / module) can be transferred from this program to the Aalto Executive MBA or Aalto MBA program.

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Fee:

By completing this program, you will be eligible for alumni status and become part of Aalto EE's global alumni community. The alumni community offers valuable benefits that support your professional development and networking:

  • Invitations to exclusive alumni events and networking opportunities
  • An alumni newsletter that brings together the most important news, events, and content
  • The opportunity to participate in most of our programs at a special fee

Read more about the alumni community

Benefits

The program provides you with the opportunity to strengthen your role as a financial leader and gain a strong toolkit for creating more value for your company.

Learn new ways to influence and communicate
Renew your understanding of the role of CFO and the finance function in transition
Refresh your knowledge of the latest financial concepts and practices
Be better prepared to tackle your business challenges in corporate finance, governance and company valuation
Deepen your perspective on the digitalizing business environment and emerging opportunities

Both 2024 and 2025 Programs, 100 % of participants would recommend the Program (NPS = 100 %).

"How likely are you to recommend this Program to a friend or a colleague?"

In the 2025 Program, the Participants gave an overall feedback of 5,80/6,00 to the Program as a whole.

Program Participants assessed the learning Impact of the Program 5,90 / 6,00 (My program participation will bring value to my organization).

For

The Aalto CFO Program is for CFO's and Group Controllers as well as for other senior financial executives willing to grow into CFO position in the future. The program will be beneficial for those who wish to grow their business financially, expand their competencies in leading a finance function and learn about latest digital developments in finance.

Contents and Schedule

The Aalto CFO Program consists of two training modules with a total of six training days.

Each module includes pre-readings as well as a take-home assignment*. Each module is individually graded.(*optional)

If desired, up to 9 ECTS credits can be transferred from the Aalto CFO Program to the Aalto Executive MBA or Aalto MBA program.

Program Structure

Two training modules

Each credited with 4.5 ECTS

Six training days

Intensive face-to-face sessions with instructor and peers

Pre and post-module periods

Each module includes pre-readings, a pre-assignment, and a take-home assignment.

Modules

Instructors

Teemu Malmi

Teemu Malmi is a Professor of Accounting and Head of the Department of Accounting at Aalto University School of Business.

Professor Malmi specializes in management systems, strategy implementation, and cost and profitability accounting. He teaches frequently in a variety of Executive Programs and has served as an advisor to a large number of companies from various different industries: IT, electronics, energy, finance, food, health care, media, metal and engineering, paper and pulp, pharmaceuticals, rental services, retail, telecom and transportation/logistics and the public sector.

Teemu Malmi holds a Ph.D. in Accounting and Finance from The Helsinki School of Economics, which was merged into Aalto University in 2010.

Seppo Ikäheimo

Seppo Ikäheimo is Professor of Corporate Governance at Aalto University School of Business.

He specializes in compensation systems, ownership, investor relations, board of directors and company valuation.

Professor Ikäheimo has frequently acted as a member of the arbitral tribunal in minority redemption cases and has provided an expert opinion in several legal cases. He has served as an advisor concerning investor relations, compensation systems, and board work.

In addition, he is actively involved in developing accounting and corporate governance-related legislation and guidance.

Vesa Puttonen

Vesa Puttonen is a Finnish business economist and Professor of Finance at Aalto University School of Business. He is one of Finland's most well-known experts in investment and financial markets.

He worked at the Vaasa University of Applied Sciences, Turku School of Economics, and the Academy of Finland. In addition, he was a Visiting Scholar at New York University, Stern Business School (USA). He specializes in strategic finance, risk management, portfolio management, sustainable investments and marketing financial services.

Also, he worked in corporate management positions such as Managing Director at Conventum Fund Management Ltd, and Senior Vice-President, Equity Products & Markets at the Helsinki Stock Exchange. Previously, he was Chairman of the Board of Directors at VR Corporation and has acted as a member of the Board of Directors in various organizations and listed companies. Currently, he is a member of the investment committee of SITRA (The Finnish Innovation-Fund) and a member of the Board of NASDAQ Nordic Foundation. 
 
Professor Puttonen has published several books & articles on strategic finance, risk management & behavioral finance. His publications appear in the Financial Analysts Journal, Financial Management, Journal of Banking and Finance, Management Science, Journal of Asset Management and Journal of Financial Services Marketing. He received his Doctorate at the University of Vaasa in 1993.

Matti Suominen

Matti Suominen is Professor of Finance at Aalto University School of Business.

Suominen specializes in information economics in financial markets, market microstructure and corporate finance.

Suominen has previously worked as a consultant at the European Corporate Finance Practice of McKinsey & Co. and as a Chief Dealer in the Options and Futures Markets in Finland. From 1997 until 2006 he was in the full-time faculty at INSEAD, working first as an Assistant Professor and later as an Associate Professor of Finance. Although already also at the Aalto University, between 2006 and 2015 he has continued to work with INSEAD as an Adjunct Professor of Finance or as a Visiting Professor of Finance.  

Suominen is actively involved in management consulting for financial institutions and executive education. He has taught in the MBA, PhD, and executive education programs. He has also taught in several company specific programs worldwide.  

Matti Suominen did his PhD in Financial Economics in 1997 at the University of Pennsylvania, where he has also worked as a Visiting Associate Professor at Wharton.

Henri Schildt

Henri Schildt is a Professor of Strategy at Aalto University School of Business and Aalto University School of Science.

Professor Henri Schildt’s research interests span technology strategy, organizational change, and strategy process (with specific interest in reasoning under uncertainty and the use of data analytics). He is currently heading two research programs on data-driven management and the management of digitalization in Finnish manufacturing companies.

He is a tenured professor with a joint appointment at the Aalto University School of Business and the School of Science’s Department of Industrial Engineering and Management.

Henri Schildt completed his PhD at Helsinki University of Technology in 2007.

Jukka Sihvonen

Jukka Sihvonen is an Assistant Professor specializing in Digitalization in Accounting at Aalto University School of Business.

Sihvonen's research expertise lies in the digital transformation of accounting and finance, with a focus on the applications of artificial intelligence, big data, and textual analytics. His research, which spans various business disciplines, has been recognized with numerous citations and awards.

Sihvonen holds a PhD in Finance from the University of Vaasa.

Eeva Vilkkumaa

Eeva Vilkkumaa is an Assistant Professor of Management Science in the Department of Information and Service Economy at Aalto University.

Professor Vilkkumaa is an expert in modeling uncertainties and developing mathematical models to support decision making and resource allocation at companies and public organizations.

Emilia Bunea

Emilia Bunea is a leadership educator and educational technology entrepreneur. She has two decades of C-suite experience with global corporations in finance.

In 2021 Emilia wrote and produced “Crossroads Life,” the world’s first cinematic management case study, comprising a film and a written case based on real events. The movie has received several film awards, including the Award of Excellence from IndieFest, the Special Jury’s Award from the Hague Global Film Festival, and the Best Business Film Award from the Helsinki International Educational Film Festival.

Emilia’s academic interests include the role of ”serious leisure” in leadership identity development. She wrote several scholarly and practitioner articles on this topic and delivered a widely-acclaimed TED talk at London Business School. She has lectured on leadership-related topics in over a dozen countries.

Emilia Bunea has a Non-Executive Director Diploma from the Financial Times Board Director Programme and is a CFA charter holder. She earned her Ph.D. in Management at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in 2020.

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