CTO of the year Europe award announced – promoting the importance of technology and innovation in Europe

Spinverse and EIRMA, the European Industrial Research Management Association, have announced that they will launch the quest for Europe’s CTO of the Year 2014 in June. The CTO of the Year Award is to highlight the role of the most prominent leaders of technology-based growth, promoting innovations to renew European industry and to upturn competitive advantage.

“Innovation and the need to rethink technology and societal challenges have been understood in Europe at all levels - however, the role of Chief Technology Officers as key drivers for these within corporations is not sufficiently recognized”, believes Michel Judkiewicz, Secretary General of EIRMA. The CTO of the Year award will be launched to highlight the roles of CTOs.

The concept is pan-European and as Robert-Jan Smits, Director-General for Research and Innovation, European Commission says, "Europe needs to celebrate those who advance technology and innovate. Initiatives like the "CTO of the year award" are very welcome as they lead to role models and further strengthen innovation in Europe."

The award will be given to the most innovative person bringing significant value to the company growth through technology. Inspiring team-builder and a leader, he or she communicates the benefit of technology to all stakeholders in an understandable way. The company represented by him or her has an innovative and competitive - or rapidly gaining terrain - technology-enabled offering in Europe and globally.

“The CTO of the Year award Europe is a new platform to recognize and promote the importance of technology and innovation in Europe” says Pekka Koponen, CEO of Spinverse. “We are already excited to receive high-quality nominations”, he continues. Spinverse has driven the CTO of the Year award platform in Finland since 2011.

The award will be annual and the competition for 2014 is launched on June 25th, 2014 – that is when you are invited to nominate your candidate for the CTO of the Year. Your nominee can be any European CTO driving technology-based sustainable growth not only in his or her company, but also in Europe and globally.

More information:

Pekka Koponen, CEO, Spinverse Ltd
+358 40 5450008

Michel Judkiewicz, Secretary General, EIRMA
+32 2233 1183