ROI of curiosity
My career has been shaped by diverse experiences, each teaching me something essential about people, work, and myself. Looking back, one thing truly leads to another. Every role, no matter how small, prepares you for the next step. You can carefully plan it or do it like I did: be curious and seize opportunities. So jump into my story!
My very first summer job was strawberry picking in local farm. Even at that age, I learned one of the most important principles of working life: treat people well. The farm owner encouraged breaks, brought us juice on hot days, and gathered everyone for coffee after work. Those small gestures created a sense of respect and belonging that has stayed with me throughout my career.
During my high school summers, I worked as a sales assistant at Stockmann in the homeware department. I still remember the lively, slightly hectic atmosphere of a big department store and the many customer service encounters that taught me poise, listening skills, and the joy of helping someone find exactly what they needed.
After high school, I worked at a local factory and this very different environment that taught me discipline, teamwork, and the importance of reliability. All these early roles, though varied, strengthened my work ethic and appreciation for both customers and colleagues.
Economic uncertainty which we are now facing in Finland is not new to me. I started my studies in University of Jyväskylä during Finland’s deep recession in the beginning of 90’s. In my first summer vacation it was nearly impossible to find a job in Jyväskylä. I eventually returned to my hometown of Juankoski and worked part-time at the local store and part-time at R-kioski. In addition, I completed a seminar project for Osuuspankki on customer satisfaction in banking. I visited around 130 households in the evenings to conduct interviews. So some people in Juankoski might have run to me at the grocery store in the morning, at R-kioski in the afternoon and later that evening I rang their doorbell to conduct an interview! That summer, I learned what true entrepreneurial spirit really mean. You have to be ready to find your own ways forward and seize opportunities as they come.
Next years I continued working alongside my studies. I got evening and weekend job at R-kioski and same time also work as an assistant at Valmet. Eventually, I completed my Master’s thesis for Valmet on the development of customer relationships. The combination of practical work and academic research deepened my interest in customer understanding, service, and long-term value creation.
Near the end of my studies, I spent a semester on an Erasmus exchange in France. Finland had just joined the European Union and was facing extremely high unemployment. I often found myself explaining this to puzzled professors and fellow students.
These early chapters of my career formed the foundation of who I am as a professional. I value people, learn quickly, adapt easily, believe deeply in customer-centric thinking and have entrepreneurial spirit.
After my studies I began my professional journey in a small, entrepreneur-led research company. Working in a compact and agile environment taught me the importance of responsibility, flexibility, and learning by doing. It was a place where every contribution mattered and where I could see the direct impact of my work.
From there, I moved to the Elisa Group. I had the rare opportunity to work in the midst of a major industry transformation as Elisa brought together traditional telephony, data networks, mobile business, and emerging internet services under one group. Although my main responsibility was marketing, I became deeply involved in customer management models and early CRM development. It was a time of significant organizational change and restructuring, which strengthened my resilience and taught me to see collaboration across functions as a unified whole rather than isolated silos.
After Elisa, I joined Finland’s largest media agency Dagmar which became one of the most important learning experiences of my entire career. Dagmar was a place where teamwork was seamless and professional development was genuinely prioritized. The media industry was going through major disruption, and I found myself right at the centre of it. It was both challenging and inspiring, and it gave me a deep understanding of data-driven marketing, analytics, and media strategy.
Then came one of the most difficult career decisions I have made. I was headhunted to Kesko. I loved working at Dagmar, but the opportunity at K-Plussa was truly unique so I decided to take the leap. I ended up spending over eight years at Kesko in roles spanning marketing, customer relationship management, and business leadership. My responsibilities included major media contract negotiations, the Pirkka magazine, the K-Plussa brand, chain leadership for Kodin Ykkönen, and developing the global loyalty model for Rautakesko. These years were pivotal as I learned how to build data at the core of business, scale automated marketing, and work closely with entrepreneurs across diverse sectors. The learning curve was steep and the insights invaluable.
My path then took me to Tieto as a consultant in customer relationship management and marketing development, after which I moved to Sanoma to lead customer service and later, B2C lifestyle sales. I gained a deep appreciation for the critical role customer service plays at the front line of the entire customer experience. This period was eye-opening as I truly understood all potential there is in customer service and what technology and service design are enabling.
Those experiences boosted my interest in building and transforming customer experience and customer operations. I returned to the Elisa Group as a Service Director and later moved into business leadership in customer service solutions. It was a role that perfectly combined business understanding with technological development – an increasingly essential combination in modern service leadership.
Still, my passion for leading the end-to-end customer experience drew me back toward roles where I could influence the whole journey. I moved to Edenred Finland to lead customer experience, where my team brought together customer service, service production, and customer success. Working in a truly multicultural company with strong international connections was both energizing and inspiring.
In autumn, I took the step into interim entrepreneurship which is a natural continuation of my experience in transformation, leadership, and customer-centric strategy. At the same time, I remain open to new opportunities where I can bring together my passion for customer experience, data, business development, and people leadership.
Across all these experiences, the most important lessons have remained the same:
stay curious, seize opportunities boldly, and remember that even difficult chapters expand your capabilities. Every role adds something meaningful to your professional toolbox. And no one can ever take that accumulated experience away. It becomes the foundation for everything that follows.
Writer profile:
- Name: Heli Törrönen
- Current position: Self employed / Interim positions
- Role in Helsingin Ekonomit: Chair of the board of Helsingin Ekonomit
- Studies: Master of Science in Economics and Business Administration, major Marketing. Jyväskylä University School of Business and Economics
- Interests: CX, business development, data and AI as enablers for business, leadership and meaningful worklife, building great future for business graduates and students
- Hobbies: outdoors, gym, xyckling, golf, skiing, good food and culture, continuous learning, voluntary work
