On 25 March 2019, the annual general meeting of VTT appointed three new members to the Board of VTT. The Chair of the Board will be Master of Laws with court training, Master of Economics Matti Hietanen, who previously acted as the Board's Vice-Chair.
Starting as new members of VTT Board are Director General Marja-Riitta Pihlman (Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment), Managing Director Pekka Tiitinen (ABB Finland) and President Mari Walls (Tampere University). Pihlman will also serve as Vice-Chair of the Board.
Continuing as VTT Board members are Vice President, Biobased Solutions, Heli Antila (Fortum Corporation), CFO Harri Leiviskä (Empower Group), SVP, Business Development Kaija Pehu-Lehtonen (Metsä Fibre) and CEO Matti Hietanen (Finnish Minerals Group), who will transfer from Vice-Chair to Chair of the Board.
Leaving the VTT Board are the previous Chair of the Board Aaro Cantell and Board members Tuija Pulkkinen and Kari Knuutila. Cantell and Knuutila have served the maximum number of terms of office in VTT Board, and Pulkkinen has started in a new job in the United States.
"I want to thank Aaro Cantell, Tuija Pulkkinen and Kari Knuutila for their contribution to the competitiveness of VTT and Finland as a whole. I trust that they will continue to promote the advantages and opportunities of science, applied research and technology within their personal networks," says the President & CEO of VTT Antti Vasara. "I am glad that the composition of our Board of Directors will retain a versatile understanding of business and industry in Finland and of the Finnish society, and I am looking forward to our new members' input. VTT's operations are guided by global challenges that can only be solved through broad-based cooperation."
The annual general meeting of VTT reviews the composition of and appoints the Board of VTT. The tasks of VTT Board include confirming the company's strategy, overseeing the implementation of the strategy and being responsible for the profitability and proper organisation of operations at VTT. VTT is a Finnish, wholly state-owned limited liability company operating under the ownership steering of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. The tasks of VTT as an independent and impartial research centre are to promote the wide-ranging utilisation and commercialisation of research and technology in industry, commerce, and society.
Composition of VTT Board as of 25 March 2019:
Matti Hietanen, CEO, Finnish Minerals Group (Chair)
Marja-Riitta Pihlman, Director General, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment (Vice-Chair)
Heli Antila, Vice President, Biobased Solutions, Fortum Corporation
Harri Leiviskä, CFO, Empower Group
Kaija Pehu-Lehtonen, SVP, Business Development, Metsä Fibre
Pekka Tiitinen, Managing Director, ABB Finland
Mari Walls, President, Tampere University
