Profile: Tiina Ahola

Tiina ahola has been instrumental in initiating and developing Ahola’s administrative functions for decades. After a distinguished career, she retired in 2024, leaving behind a strong legacy and a significant contribution to the Group’s operational development. During Tiina’s time at Ahola, a small family business from central Ostrobothnia grew into an international logistics Group that has not for – gotten its roots.

 

Starting at Ahola in the 1980s, Tiina was one of the company’s first office workers and was involved in developing the administration almost completely from scratch. She initially took care of bookkeeping, accounting and fuel tax refunds, but her role quickly expanded to payroll accounting, invoicing, HR tasks and managing transport documents. With the advent of digitalization, Tiina took on a key role in the implementation of new systems.

 

In 2015–2016, Tiina worked as an operational director at Attracs Oy before moving over to Ahola Group, where she was responsible for the development of financial administration and HR systems. She held a key role in managing GDPR issues and implementing new information security regulations. In addition, she actively participated in the strategic development of digitalization, for instance, integrating the Microsoft 365 environment and other cloudbased solutions.

 

Tiina Ahola’s contribution to developing Ahola Group’s administration has left a lasting mark on the company’s operating models and culture.

 

Tiina’s achievements are not limited to the corporate world. In 2023, she received a unique honor: Tiina was invited to be the godmother of Finnlines’ new passenger-cargo ship. This appointment highlighted the decades of co-operation between the two family enterprises. As the ship’s godmother, Tiina also had the honor of naming the vessel, which was christened Finnsirius.

 

 

A work of art celebrating life

 

Tiina Ahola’s retirement was celebrated with cake and coffee at the head office in Kokkola on her last working day on 1 October 2024. The celebration included speeches and surprises.

 

Throughout her long career, Tiina held multple roles and titles. She mentions having tried out near – ly all possible roles – except for driving a forklift or a truck. This “issue” was rectified in the autumn in Naantali, when Tiina passed her driving test and received the Ahola Certified Driver license.

 

During the celebration in October, a surprise that had been prepared in secret for several months to commemorate both Hans’s 70th birthday and Tiina’s retirement was also revealed.

 

The surprise was a bronze shadow sculpture created by the artist Anni Laukka in honor of Hans’s and Tiina’s life’s work. Laukka, who was present at the celebration, explained the creative process behind her artwork and its different stages. The sculpture weighs 15 kilos and features a number of details, including a depiction of both Hans and Tiina, as well as their children and grandchildren.

 

Kokkola-based Anni Laukka is known for her impressive shadow sculptures, in which she utilizes some – times unconventional materials and shadows to create depth and new perspectives in her artwork. Her creations play with light and shadow, exploring what is visible at first glance and what remains hidden in the shadows.

 

 

Sculptor Anni Laukka uses light and shadow in a unique way in her artwork. The bronze sculpture comes to life as a sharp and detailed silhouette when light is directed at the piece at just the right angle.