Markku Wilenius, 45, will join Allianz SE in Munich as Senior Vice President on December 1, 2007.
Wilenius is probably the world's only professor of futures studies. For a number of years, he was also director of the Finland Futures Research Center at Turku School of Economics. Under his leadership, the center has grown from a small academic unit with less than ten people to a well-known research center of 50 staff representing unique expertise. He is a member of the executive board of the Club of Rome, the esteemed international non-governmental organization known for its efforts to promote long-term global thinking and action.
Within Allianz's Group Development department, Wilenius' tasks will include fundamental and trend research, as well as intensifying the Allianz Group's academic network.
Professor of future studies to join Allianz SE
Climate research and strategic thinking
Wilenius has been involved in the field of climate change research for many years: In 1997, he earned his PhD on climate change politics; later, he participated as a member of the Finnish delegation in climate change negotiations based on the Kyoto Protocol.
His most recent book, "Managing creative knowledge capital - Sustainable competitive advantage of the future" (co-authored by Pirio Stahle, 2006), draws from experiences and learnings from a large research project on strategic thinking inside organizations. His research also covers topics such as the consumer of the future, culture as a future resource, the future of technology and the future of media.
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