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Planmeca since 2004, and became
the Vice President in research and
technology in 2015. “The desire for
growth and motivation arise from the
power of example, manifested by role
models like Vesa Varjonen. He shows
the combination of strong knowledge,
deep understanding of different
technologies and research fields
and years of experience”, describes
Kyöstilä. “In a fast-developing world,
the importance of cooperation with
different partners e.g. universities,
research groups and startups is of
great importance, and here Vesa’s
active role has been crucial.”
Varjonen has a Master of Science
degree in Medical Technology,
Applied Electronics and Computer
Technology. “In the Jury’s discussions
it was also emphasized how important
multidisciplinary education and
knowledge is for the development of
future technologies“, states Juvonen.
A NEW FORCE CATALYZING
RENEWAL: METGEN
MetGen excels in tailor-made industrial
enzymatic solutions for the energy,
renewable chemicals, and pulp&paper
industries. The “ace” of this cleantech-
company is the genetic tailoring of
its enzymes, which makes them work
effectively in demanding conditions.
Though a small company MetGen
has been able to build extensive
partnerships and win a substantial
amount of public funding to develop
and pilot novel, sustainable and
resource-efficient solutions for several vision internally as well as among
industrial processes with its partners.
”CTO Matti Heikkilä is an excellent This year, Finnish CTO of the Year
networker. He is not afraid to
approach even the big players, which
is an important trait for a fast-
growing SME. Heikkilä is a role model
for other SME CTOs in showing how
new ecosystems are built benefitting
from EU funding and how Finland
is renewed through the creation
of new, sustainable solutions for
industry”, highlights Juvonen.
One of MetGen’s strengths is
to bring new solutions from the
laboratory to industrial applications
effectively. “In practice Matti has
created a whole value chain from
scratch. He continues to strive in
creating new technologies supporting
new business”, says Alex Michine,
CEO of MetGen. The company’s
product development platform is
one of Heikkilä’s merits – with the
platform MetGen can bring new
products to the markets in less than
five months from the initial idea,
which makes it the world leader in
its sector. With Heikkilä’s lead the
emissions in the production process
have been minimized in practice
down to zero.
Heikkilä is also responsible
for marketing and new business
development. “The ecosystems built
by Matti maximise the benefits of all
parties. He has an incredible ability
to shape whole industries with his
vision”, adds Michine. “It’s amazing
how well he manages to share our
financiers, especially in such a
complex field as ours.” ▟
prize is awarded for the eight time
to highlight the importance of
Chief Technology Officers to the
future competitiveness of Finnish
industries. The CTO of the Year is an
inspiring leader and has an active
role in the society. The awardees
are chosen by a jury consisting
of leading technology experts in
Finland. The chairman of the jury is
Director Laura Juvonen, Technology
Industries of Finland. The CTO
Forum is a community of Chief
Technology Officers and technology
leaders to learn from their peers
and benchmark against the best
practices in the field. The Forum
provides a platform for networking
across different industries and
companies of all sizes, raises
awareness of Finnish technology
leadership and promotes visibility
of CTOs and their companies. CTO
Forum and the CTO of the Year
Award is organised in collaboration
with Business Finland, Technology
Industries of Finland and Spinverse.
Originally published by CTO Forum
on 16 March, 2018.
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