Kirsti Paakkanen (née Poikonen; 12 February 1929 — 2 November 2021)[2] was a Finnish entrepreneur and business executive.

Paakkanen studied advertising, and worked for many years in the marketing departments of Finnish retail companies including Elanto and Stockmann.

[1] In 1969, Paakkanen set up her own advertising agency, Womena, which she ran for over 20 years, until selling it in 1990 to McCann.

[3][4] In 1991, Paakkanen acquired the struggling design and fashion house Marimekko from the Amer group (now Amer Sports), and successfully turned it around, growing sales three-fold in a space of five years, and eventually listing the company on the Helsinki Stock Exchange in 1999.

[2] In 2002, she was awarded the Estlander Medal [fi] for her significant contributions to Finnish design.