Alf Rehn


Alf Rehn is a Finnish professor, author and speaker based in Denmark. He was previously the Chair of Management and Organization at Åbo Akademi University in Finland. Currently, he is a Professor of Innovation, Design, and Management at the University of Southern Denmark. Rehn works as a columnist, and sits on the board of directors for several companies, including Veikkaus.
Rehn was listed as #13 on the 2009 Thinkers 50, in the "Up and Coming Business Thinkers” list.
He was listed for a second time in 2011.

Career

After completing his doctorate in industrial management in 2002, he started teaching at the Royal Institute of Technology and later become the Stockholm School of Entrepreneurship Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the institute. Since 2004, he has been the chair of management and organization at Åbo Akademi University, and still holds the position. At the time, he was the youngest chair in Finland. Currently, he is a professor of innovation, design, and management at SDU-the University of Southern Denmark.
Rehn frequently keynotes corporate and other events, including TEDx-events and Ciudad de las Ideas. He is also a frequent columnist and media commentator.

Books

Rehn has published several books, articles and columns. In 2011, he published the book Dangerous Ideas: When Provocative Thinking Becomes Your Most Valuable Asset, which discusses how creative ideas are perceived initially as dangerous and inappropriate. The book has been translated into eight languages. He published the Johtajuuden Ristiriidat in 2018, which is about leadership conflicts. In 2019, Rehn published a book Innovation for the Fatigued: how to build a culture of deep creativity.

Personal life

He currently lives in Denmark. and has three children.

Awards and honors

Rehn was listed as #13 on the 2009 Thinkers 50, in the "Up and Coming Business Thinkers” list. In 2011, he was named on the list for a second time. In the 2012 Finnish Thinkers 20-list, published by Nordic Business Report magazine, he was rated third among business thinkers in Finland. He was voted Speaker of the Year in Finland in 2010.