Toni Mertanen

Work

My professional journey commenced when I was a seventeen-year-old college student and was discovered right outside the doorstep of my family's apartment. From the bottle and cart boy in the beginning to present work as a K-retailer entrepreneur I have done all the different jobs in a grocery store one possibly can.

Over two decades in retail industry have given me expertise in human resource and data-driven management, account and assortment management, stakeholder collaboration, and customer service - not forgetting marketing.

Throughout my career I have had the privilege of working with numerous superiors and collaborators and with two different K-retailers. These opportunities have enabled me to develop the expertise to work effectively with various individuals and teams. As an entrepreneur for over a decade, I have gained invaluable experience in leading both employees and teams. Some of my key entrepreneurial qualities include the ability to withstand stress, make swift decisions and work with a solution-based approach.

In the spring of 2024, Kesko announced that it would not renew the lease agreement for our second store location. In practice, this meant that one store alone would not be enough to support our entire family – up until now, both my wife and I have worked as retailers. This event prompted me to rethink my future and consider my options. I could continue as a retailer alone or transition to an entirely new field. My hobby and studies in coding had already made me think about the possibility of a career change. I have decided to transition from retail to the IT sector. I will end my career as retailer 31st of August 2025. My new job starts 15th of September.

Studies

It has always been easy for me to adopt information technology as part of my daily work. I have been interested in what can be found under the hood of an application or a system - why something works the way it does. Nowadays, most of our tools are cloud based and are used on mobile devices or computers.

I have always loved different kind of systems, computers and gadgets. The desire to find out what is the logic behind them and the fast growing digitalization in the field of grocery trade - especially inside K group - drove me to apply to LAB University of Applied Sciences. After passing the entrance exams I found myself studying to become an engineer of information and communication technology. All the studies are remote studies and it has made combining work, studies and family life quite easy. My pace has been a bit slower than that of a full-time student.

As part of my studies, I did an internship in the Kesko artificial intelligence unit and after studying the Python programming language used by the unit day and night, I eventually managed to code somewhat independently. Today, a small part of the code in the assortment management application used by every K-food store was written by me.

The release of ChatGPT for public use in late 2022 made the world realize just how advanced large language models have become. My interest in artificial intelligence and machine learning led me to learn more about the topic beyond just reading news headlines and my first encounter with ChatGPT extended into the late hours of the night. From that moment on I have been slowly studying and testing what ChatGPT is capable of. The next step through ChatGPT of course was to start learning about how GitHub Copilot can help me in my coding. It was clear that in order to use large language models (LLM) you must have a foundational understanding of the subject matter to which you are applying to it. Otherwise you cannot critically examine the solution options provided by the LLM.

Interests

Coding: In my free time, I enjoy coding as a hobby. I love the challenge of solving problems and creating something from scratch. It's a great way to exercise my brain and keep my skills sharp. I have experience in:

Python
Git/GitHub
HTML/CSS
JavaScript
TypeScript
Flexbox/Grid
SQL
jQuery/Bootstrap/SASS
EJS
Bash scripting
Node.js
Express
Docker

And I am currently studying to learn more about:

Test Automation
Robot Framework
React

Reading: I enjoy escaping between the lines of short stories and novels. Some of my favorite authors are Richard K. Morgan, Patrick Rothfuss, William Gibson, Tom Clancy, and Stephen King. I find it fascinating to explore different worlds and characters through their writing. Along with fiction, I also like to read non-fiction books about information and communication technologies. It's a great way to keep up with the latest trends and advancements in the field.

Outdoors: My wife and I enjoy exploring the great outdoors - on foot or on our fat bikes or on horseback. We love to discover new trails and take in the beauty of nature. I'm also a bit of a photography enthusiast and have used my drone and gopro to capture some incredible shots of our travels. It's an amazing feeling to see the world from a different perspective.

Home automation: I enjoy tinkering with automation and have automated some aspects of our home using Home Assistant. It's been a fun and rewarding hobby that has also made our lives easier and more efficient.