Chief ecosystem and technology officer. Fintraffic

Janne is an accomplished digital business leader having more than 25 years of professional experience in leading organizations like Accenture, Avanade, Wärtsilä and Nokia. He currently serves as the Chief ecosystem and technology officer in Fintraffic, the company responsible of managing all modes of traffic in Finland.

As a recognized innovation leader and Industry expert, Janne had the opportunity to speak about Innovation and Information Management topics in a number of public events, television and media in Europe and Asia Pacific.

Could you give me a brief overview of your professional background and role and responsibilities that you held that helped guide you up to your current role?

I hold a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, which I earned from Aalto University, specializing in Telecommunication Technology. Following my graduation, I have assumed several leadership roles in organizations like Avanade, Wärtsila where I lead “Digital workplace” and “Acceleration sensors” respectively. While working in and across several European and Asia Pacific countries, I have amassed my 25 years of invaluable experience in cross section of business, data and innovation. This brought me to my current position as the Chief ecosystem and Technology officer in Fintraffic. It is a Finland based traffic management firm where we are responsible for aggregating traffic related data and managing traffic in real-time over all different modes such as road, railway, maritime and air.

What are the prevailing challenges you have observed while delivering projects and establishing operational capabilities, particularly in the context of digital transformation?

One of the challenges is “Digital Inequality” a disparity in digital capability that can happen between different sectors. Some sectors have already gone through rapid digital transformation as early as in the 90’s but we in the traffics are still in the process. Second, as we are dealing with increase data, we are adapting to new capabilities such as AI, analytics to automatize some operations, analyze, and create new business models.  Third, we still have to make sure that the traditional businesses are operating smoothly while constantly trying to increase the effectiveness and reduce cost. The trick is how we manage to do all of this at the same time.

“One of the most prominent skills is to just be a good person, share your expertise and knowledge with others. I strongly believe that, at times, in order to achieve something, we must begin by giving.”

Could you share your insight on some of the most promising trends and technological advancements which you believe will shape the future of IT and Digital Business in coming years?

IoT devices are constantly getting better at gathering data through their improved sensors, and cameras. These device routers have transformed the sector by making real time data more accessible. Communication which is emerging in all modes of traffic is a marvelous tool to gather and centralize database which can be further used to predict the outcomes and help form the actions that we should be taking. We also use this to structure and build our suggestions for the users, advices to ensure smoothness, safety and security.

Can you share an example of a particularly challenging project and innovative strategy you employed to overcome obstacles and ensure its successful implementation?

In traffic and logistics the digitalization was slow to arrive, this created an imbalanced environment. To address this and ensure uniform digital growth, I gathered all the major traffic and logistic players in Finland and created open data ecosystem where parties including, municipalities, consulting companies, service providers can have a unified framework for defining a technical standard. Open data ecosystem also provided necessary infrastructure for data sharing among participants to create visibility and possibility of developing new business models. This open innovation model is extremely advanced in Finland and Fintraffic is leading it from the forefront in this industry.

What advice would you give aspiring individuals looking to build carrier in this space specially those aiming to become top leaders and innovators like yourself?

I advise people to always maintain a clear sense of direction and have a learning attitude. To stand out in this competitive world you have to be able to learn faster than everybody else and apply your learning’s in the right place. To accomplish that you will have to do networking. Connect with the best in the field to learn their ways and develop your own. One of the most prominent skills is to just be a good person, share your expertise and knowledge with others. I strongly believe that, at times, in order to achieve something, we must begin by giving.