Anne Rissanen, Manager of PLM Chapter development at Konecranes Global with experience in product development and research in engineering. In this interview, she talks about her degree, the way it has provided her with a multitude of skills, and the future of PLM in the wake of AI and sustainability initiatives.

Interviewed by Alexia Lecerf

You currently serve as Manager, Chapter Product Lifecycle Managemet (PLM) Development at Konecranes Global Oy. Could you describe your main responsibilities in leading the PLM and design tools team? What do you find most exciting and most challenging about managing product lifecycle and design systems across international teams in Finland, Sweden, Germany, and India?

The position I hold is people management, so basic leadership and supporting daily activities for what the team needs. I support them from a practical point of view, if they have some questions about booking hours or holidays. On top of that, I'm taking care of our vendor management, meaning the contacting part when we get a new pool of people starting, I'm onboarding them. One big part of my time in autumn is the budgeting; I am following the cost of how we're doing and how in line we are with requirements.

I'm not alone in any of these topics and have very good colleagues with whom we plan. I do not have that much technical background in PLM or Computer-Aided Design (CAD), so I'm not able to code any lines. Therefore, my work is more on the people's side and supporting where I can.

When working with international teams, from a practical point of view, I need to think about different time zones for HR practicalities, given that we are working in three different time zones with three different methods of working. I need to understand how to ask the right questions to get the information we need.

Your career path has evolved from R&D and product development to leadership roles overseeing global teams and large-scale design tool ecosystems. Looking back, what were some of the pivotal projects or transitions that most shaped your approach to leadership, collaboration, and innovation?

had a couple of good experiences that helped me understand what working in an international company entails. My first international company was in construction. This was a good learning experience, understanding cross-functional organizations, especially with multi-cultural teams.

A bigger project that developed my career was taking part in the development of new design software. It was a big learning curve, given that I don't have an IT background and am specialised in civil engineering. There are similarities between them in software development and structural development, but combining those two to do structural design software was interesting. We had to think innovatively in a good environment that didn’t feel forced.

Innovation works best in an environment where ideas can flow freely. I’ve learned that creativity grows best when it is nurtured, not mandated.

You hold a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from Tampere University of Technology and a Master of Engineering in Technology Management. How have these two disciplines—technical depth and managerial perspective—complemented each other in your current role?

The Master of Science, overall, gave me a very good base for working in different roles. It is engineering, and it shapes your mind to be an engineer, but it also shapes your mind to think and question things within the business. It also incentivises innovation and allows you to conduct some research for alternative ways in which things could be executed.

I have noticed in my life that the Master of Science is a good base to do whatever you’d like. I have done the basic structural design and have also done product certification, factory management, software development, R&D work in construction products, and have also touched on environmental topics.

This degree casts a wide net for what you can do in the future. As for the skills it has provided me, it gave me a strong base in technological leadership. It was a very intensive one-year training, but it fulfilled the need. Every experience I’ve had has been a stepping stone toward the next challenge, growth comes from embracing each opportunity.

As someone with extensive international collaboration experience, how do you leverage your multilingual skills and cross-cultural background in your daily work with globally distributed teams?

In Finland, we have great opportunities to learn different languages. This has become a mandatory survival tool, giving us a good base to understand other languages like German and Swedish. It gives you this mindset of continuous learning. For international work in international companies, you learn by doing. I was lucky to be working in construction, where I got to know how it works from the inside. The smaller team allowed for greater support from managers.

The fields of PLM, design automation, and industrial engineering are rapidly evolving with the integration of AI, sustainability initiatives, and digital transformation. Which emerging technologies or industry trends do you believe will have the biggest impact on PLM and design tool development in the coming years? Are there any innovations or debates you find particularly promising or controversial?

AI is already here, and it has the power to reduce repetitive work. But using it effectively means understanding its purpose and making sure it is applied correctly. Technology works best when guided by thoughtful human judgment.

For example, I have a colleague now who has tried writing specifications for solving a math problem. He got so much more content regarding the topic when using AI, but you need to know what you are doing to be able to filter through this content. You need to be careful what you do with these tools, especially in international companies.

Going forward, I see us using our own closed AI tools, into which we can safely input confidential or internal data, while respecting user rights and sharing across the company. Additionally, it is important to have training on how to use these AI tools. Within Konecranes, we have had 5 to 10 training sessions available for those who start to use AI, going through the basics.

From a sustainability perspective, we always want to improve our systems. For our carbon footprint, we have been able to calculate it for our customers. To do this, you need the data first. From this perspective, the PLM system is very crucial. For example, when the designer is creating plans, they could select the parts based on the carbon footprint of that product. When we have the design, we can offer maintenance services to keep the product as usable as long as possible. When it reaches its end years, what happens when it is scrapped? These are all things we need to keep in consideration.

Finally, outside of your work in engineering and leadership, what passion or talent do you have that your colleagues might be surprised to learn about?

Someone might be surprised to know that I like to do things with my hands. This comes from the fact that most of the topics I touch on are abstract. I think that projects like sewing allow me to see the progress I am making!