People

People are the soul of Design Factory. The inhabitants create the passion, the spirit and the co-creative atmosphere that first-time visitors often encounter and wonder. The Factory community consists of Design Factory’s management, development, research, services and other teams, Aalto start-ups, other industry partners as well as research groups.

DF staff can be best reached by e-mail at firstname.lastname@tkk.fi.

Design Factory Staff

Management Team
Kalevi Ekman Factory Director	Jussi Hannula Project Manager	Pirjo Helander Executive Secretary

Management Team

Kalevi Ekman
Factory Director

Jussi Hannula
Project Manager

Pirjo Helander
Executive Secretary

Development Team

These people aim to develop the place, its activities and the atmosphere to best serve the goals of Aalto Design Factory. If you have any ideas or initiatives on how to improve Design Factory practices, contact the development team. They will share your passion.

Esa Santamäki
Spatial Designer

Andrew Clutterbuck
The Coach

George Atanassov
iGeorge

Tuomo Kuikka
Aalto Venture Garage

Annaleena Kuronen
Communications

Viljami Lyytikäinen
Project Manager, Aalto Tongji Design Factory

Research Team

Design Factory’s own research team, DFRT, aims to provide a theoretical base and new ideas for the long-term continuous development of the Factory. The research explores central ideas of the Design Factory philosophy, supporting the development of the passion-based co-creation and learning platform.

Tua Björklund Head researcher	Maria Clavert Research assistant	Senni Kirjavainen Research assistant
Miko Laakso Researcher	Anu Yanar Researcher	Meri-Maaria Eloranta Research assistant

Services Team
Vesa Saarijärvi Protoshop Manager	Kari Kääriäinen Protoshop Expert	Eero Tuhkanen Protoshop Trainee
Eero Kivistö-Rahnasto Protoshop Trainee	David Leal Martinez Electroshop	Teemu Ronkka Electroshop
Marcela Acosta Electroshop