Insights

CTO Forum 2022 was arranged in hybrid format in Espoo on 10^th November, bringing together CTOs from various industries. The key theme of this autumn’s event was to discuss national long-term R&D planning and its impacts and implications to business and society. Following the workgroup discussions, Maija Lönnqvist from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment gave a keynote about the current state of the development of the national long-term R&D plan and the next steps of its drafting. What is more, the nomination period for the CTO of the Year 2023 and Innovation Professor of the Year 2023 was opened!

This year, the jury consisting of leading Finnish technology influencers selected Simo Säynevirta of ABB and Petteri Uusimaa of Modulight as the winners of the CTO of the Year 2022 Awards. The Innovation Professor of the Year 2022 Award was given to Jero Ahola of the LUT University.

Nominations are now open for the title of European Chief Technology Officer of the Year. The 2022 awards will be given to the most inspiring, innovative, and visionary technology leaders in Europe. The award is organised by the European Industrial Research Management Association (EIRMA), Orgalim, Europe’s Technology Industries, and Spinverse. The awards will be presented ensuing EIRMA’s CTO Forum on the 19th of May, 2022 hosted by UNILEVER Foods innovation Center HIVE in the Netherlands.

Since 2011, the CTO of the Year Award has been an annual recognition of the importance of Chief Technology officers to the future competitiveness of Finnish industries. The award has two categories: SMEs and Large enterprises. Moreover, for a second year in a row, there will be an award for the Innovation Professor of the Year. The award was set up to increase the recognition of collaboration between academia and companies.

R&D investments in Finland will continue to grow, driven by public funding. Finnish companies will continue to increase their product development investments in Finland also in 2022. Growth will be accelerated by the green transition, the advancement of digitalisation and the growth of public innovation funding for industry. This is evident from the CTO Survey directed at the Chief Technology Officers of industrial companies. The survey was conducted by Spinverse in cooperation with the Technology Industries of Finland and Business Finland. This finding is also supported by a recent investment report by the Confederation of Finnish Industries, in which the results on the growth of industrial investments were very similar.

CTO Forum is an invitational community for Finland's Chief Technology Officers, organised since 2011. The key theme in this autumn’s event on 3rd November 2021 was to discuss how Finland is aiming to solve global challenges. The hybrid networking and idea-sharing event brought together a good number of CTOs and other technology leaders representing a wide variety of Finnish industries. In discussions and workshops, participants were sharing valuable insights on how to best utilise our technology sector and how public programmes can support these efforts. What is more, the nomination period for the CTO of the Year 2022 and Innovation Professor of the Year 2022 was opened!

This year, the jury consisting of leading Finnish technology influencers selected EVP and CTO Jyrki Ovaska of UPM and CTO Duleepa Wijayawardhana of Supermetrics as the winners in the CTOs of the Year 2021 Awards. As a new recognition, the Innovation Professor of the Year 2021 was also awarded, and it was given to Professor Mikko Möttönen of Aalto University and VTT.

Demands posed by digitalisation and environmental issues drive companies to invest more in R&D&I, reveals the latest CTO Survey conducted by Spinverse, Technology Industries of Finland and Business Finland. The survey sent to 400 respondents indicates a two-fold trend in R&D investments.

The annual CTO Forum co-organised by Business Finland, Technology Industries of Finland and Spinverse is approaching on the 16th February, 2021. The spring event boasts interesting keynotes about sustainability and green digitalisation from ABB and SSAB, and award ceremonies for CTOs of the Year 2021 and Innovation Professor of the Year 2021. This spring, the event is virtual and we want to welcome everyone to join in!

Have you worked with an exceptional CTO in Finland? Would you also like to highlight an innovative professor whose work in the academia has successfully made a difference in the industry sector? We are now looking for nominations to find the CTO of the Year 2021 but are also in the search of the Innovation Professor of the Year 2021. Nominate your candidates today!