Added value of IPMA-A certification at Stora Enso
- Jori Kosonen
- Sep 17
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 19
Stora Enso – a pioneer in responsible innovations
Stora Enso is a leading supplier of renewable products in the packaging, biomaterials and wood industries as well as one of the largest private forest owners. The company accelerates the transition to a bio-based circular economy and collaborates with communities and stakeholders worldwide. Stora Enso’s operations are founded on the principle "Always act for the good of people and the planet". Company's values "Lead" and "Do the right thing," are the guidelines of responsible business and continuous development.
IPMA-A program certification to verify leadership competences
Mika Timonen is responsible for implementing Stora Enso’s Lignin and Lignode investments and innovations. He is a leadership professional with strong and diverse experience in sales promotion as well as in leading service and project business operations. He obtained the IPMA-A level certification in 2024. “From the standard’s perspective, the IPMA-A program management certification verifies that the individual has acted as a program manager in highly demanding environments that impact the organization’s strategy and is capable of leading challenging strategic-level programs,” summarizes Jori Kosonen.
Implementing common operating models with support of certifications
“The idea for certification was born earlier but required the right moment and need to schedule time for advancing the topic. Due to organizational changes, it was the right time to strengthen project expertise and ensure the implementation of common operating models through a coaching program and certification process. Official confirmation of project and program management skills with certification is a demanding commitment but also an excellent and personally motivating factor that produces concrete benefits,” states Mika Timonen adding “In an organization of creative innovators, there is also a need for some structure to ensure results.”
Verified competencies create credibility
Talent Network was the partner in certification process, led by CEO Jori Kosonen who is the only person in Finland holding both the IPMA A-level (CECC) Certified Executive Consultant and Coach in project management and the IPMA Global Project Excellence Award assessor and judge certifications. His experience and verified competencies ensured credibility in carrying out the process.
“Leading innovation is different,” emphasizes Jori Kosonen. “It requires strong tolerance for uncertainty and an understanding whether innovations have business potential or not.”
Coaching process tailored to fit the company
Mika Timonen felt that without the coach’s support, the certification process and preparing the application would have been more challenging. “Without a coach, you don’t succeed the first time. Jori opened up and clarified the principles of the application. It was also essential that the coaching process was tailored to fit our company through a combination of group coaching and sparring.”
According to Jori Kosonen’s experience, preparing the certification application has been challenging in other organizations as well. “Even though participants in the coaching are experienced veterans, they still need to understand what the verification of competence level aims to highlight and be able to express their experience - for example by using a reference case.”
Benefits of coaching
Mika Timonen summarizes the overall benefits of coaching as follows: “Certifications provide an excellent foundation for further developing project expertise. Even though the company has very experienced project managers, coaching forced us to consider the topic from different perspectives. Now the goal is to circulate good experiences and tools to grow and share project leadership capabilities within the company.”
Coach Jori Kosonen CEO, Talent Network
Certified Executive Consultant and Coach IPMA A-level
IPMA Project Excellence Award Assessor and Judge
Photo by Olli-Pekka Latvala
