Doing, learning, moving and reading

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Päivi Myllykangas, the Managing Director of Tredea, was raised to be active. Back home in the countryside in Northern Satakunta, it was important that she and her five siblings all studied, found a profession and worked. And that is exactly what they did.

Myllykangas' studies brought her to Tampere and, even though her work has taken her elsewhere in Finland at times, it was always clear that she would return to the Tampere Region.

– I feel so at home in Tampere. Tampere is exactly the right size, it's easy to settle down here and there's enough air to breath, says Myllykangas.

At work...

Being in touch with the Tampere Region and its business life already started when Myllykangas, a newly-minted regional adviser for industry, took up the phone and talked herself into companies to visit, discuss and get a practical sense of the issues important to companies. Learning was then and still is her “own thing”. It still inspires, refreshes and takes her forward.

– The expertise in the Tampere Region creates amazing opportunities for learning!

According to Myllykangas, Tredea has had forward momentum and fresh views from the start. To balance things out, it is sometimes good to stop and think about what you are doing.

– You should work systematically and with a long-term perspective, but you shouldn't be stubborn. If an idea just won't work, find a new direction, says Myllykangas.

Tredea is a hub where the wishes and goals of funding sources, owners and companies come together. How can you prevent everything from getting tangled? Myllykangas' solution is in expertise based on knowledge and experience.

– How much do you value expertise? Now that's the question, says Myllykangas.

...and at leisure

Myllykangas' choice for a home comes from the hobbies in her family: you need to be able to go skiing or jogging straight from the front door. At her current home in Lukonmäki exercise is easy, and there are even hills in the area to speed up the heart rate.

– The kind of exercise that isn't tied down to a schedule suits me best. I'm used to doing yoga when I need it, and right now I've started to learn the basics of working out with a kettlebell. That's something you can do both indoors and outdoors, whenever you want, says Myllykangas, describing her plans.

Reading is another hobby close to her heart. Christmas is the best time for reading, because then there are both days off and gifts of books to read. She loves all kinds of literature, detective novels in particular.

– Right now I'm going through the works of local crime author Seppo Jokinen. Recently I also re-read “The Elegance of the Hedgehog” by Muriel Barbery; it's a multi-layered book, and very much a feel-good story, she says.

Everything is based on everyday life at home.

– I've been very strict about making sure that I'm home with my family in the evenings – even if it means that I sometimes have to sit at my computer preparing work, Myllykangas say

Päivi Myllykangas

• Managing Director of Tredea from October 2011–
• Regional Manager, Confederation of Finnish Industries, 2005–2011; Regional Adviser, Confederation of Finnish Industry and Employers (TT), 2000–2004; Training manager, Lappeenranta University of Technology, 1995–2000
• Originally from Kankaanpää
• Studied economics at the University of Tampere and the University of Jyväskylä
• Received the degree of Doctor of Science (Econ. & Bus.Adm.) from the University of Tampere in 2009