Paakkanen studied advertising, and worked for many years in the marketing departments of Finnish retail companies including
Elanto and
Stockmann. 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. She retired from day-to-day running of the business in 2007, appointing as her successor; two years later Ihamuotila acquired her shares. ==Honours and awards==