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The bi-annual CTO Forum spring event was held on 19th of March at restaurant Palace. This time the focus of the event was on Finland 4.0 - how to increase the R&D expenditure of GDP to 4.0%.
Vesa Varjonen, Vice President of Research and Technology at Planmeca and Matti Heikkilä, CTO of MetGen have been chosen as CTOs of the Year 2018. The jury consisting of leading Finnish technology influencers emphasized the significant role of the awarded CTOS on renewal of the industry. The CTO of the Year Awards are given by Spinverse together with Technology Industries of Finland and Business Finland to highlight the importance of Chief Technology Officers work on the future competitiveness of Finnish industries.
Spinverse and the Nordic Council of Ministers through the Danish Business Authority have broadened the CTO Forum concept to cover all Nordic countries. The first ever CTO Forum Nordics was held in Stockholm, Sweden on the 14th of December 2017. The aim of the day was to find ways to enhance Nordic cooperation in industrial digitalisation: Industry 4.0.
Do you know an exceptional CTO in Finland? We are now looking for nominations to find the CTO who is the most inspiring team-builder and leader, who adds significant value to the company through technology. you can submit your nomination at http://www.ctoforum.fi/nominate. Anyone who is responsible for their company’s technology in Finland is eligible. The selection criteria are very comprehensive and are divided into three section: the person, the CTO's company and societal impact.
The exponential development of technology is driving fundamental change in the world. As the pace of change is continuously increasing, people and companies need to understand the nature of exponential growth.
Companies are now investing in digitalisation due to the competitive advantage and customer value it brings and not due to cost savings. Finnish CTOs believe that the key challenge in digitalisation is to develop related knowledge and skills. The latest CTO Survey conducted by Spinverse, Tekes and Technology Industries of Finland focused on how digitalisation transforms Finnish companies.
Reijo Salonen, Senior Vice President of Research and Development of Pharmaceuticals and Chief Medical Officer from Orion and Reetta Kivelä, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer from Gold&Green Foods have been elected as Finland’s CTOs of the Year 2017. In the selection process, the emphasis was put on companies with significant societal impact. “Election of the awardees was exceptionally unanimous this year. Salonen and Kivelä have both shown their remarkable contribution to their companies and to their societal networks”, says Chairman of the Jury Harri Kerminen. CTO of the Year award is a joint undertaking by Tekes and Spinverse.
Former Vice President of Intel Labs Europe and co-founder of the Innovation Value Institute, Martin Curley, who was speaking at the CTO Forum Finland in Helsinki on October the 13th, 2016, started off his address to the Finnish CTOs by saying that we live in a new era where the pace of innovation is a matter of survival.
Ian Roberts, CTO of Bühler and Michael Thiel, Chief Science Officer and Co-founder of Nanoscribe have been awarded with the title European Chief Technology Officer of the Year 2016 in their respective categories: large corporations and SMEs. The awards ceremony took place during the CTO Forum 2016 in Evonik Creavis GmbH, Marl, Germany on October 27th, 2016. Both awardees serve as prominent role models fuelling growth and strengthening European innovation and technology leadership.
According to the annual CTO-Survey, Finnish technology companies are preparing for digitalisation. It is believed that digitalisation will create new business models and ways to accelerate the development of current business. New business is needed, as the survey results reveal a concern for public funding cutbacks and poor predictability of Finnish and EU legislators.