Experienced leaders from the business and public sectors appointed to the board of the University of Vaasa

The newly appointed external board members are Hannu Mäntymaa, Managing Director of Wärtsilä Finland Oy; Jarno Syrjälä, Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs; and Eriikka Söderström, professional board member. Mari Kiviniemi, the current Chair of the Board, will continue for a second term.

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Starting in 2026, the University of Vaasa Board will consist of 10 members: four external and six from within the university community. Of the internal members, three will be elected from among the professors, two from teaching, research and other staff, and one from the student body. These representatives will be elected through a voting process during the autumn.

– The core of the University of Vaasa’s strategy is to promote sustainable business, energy, and society. The newly appointed external board members bring broad expertise that will support the university’s development in line with our strategy in the coming years. We are especially pleased to welcome alumni of the university to the board, whose expertise will be invaluable in shaping the university’s future, says Sami Vähämaa, the Chair of the University Collegium.

More information about the external board members of the University of Vaasa:

Mari Kiviniemi

Mari Kiviniemi has served as the Chair of the Board of the University of Vaasa from 2022 to 2025. She has had a distinguished political career before transitioning into leadership roles within business and public organisations. Kiviniemi was a Member of Parliament from 1995 to 2014 and served as the Prime Minister of Finland from 2010 to 2011. She has also held the positions of the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development (2005–2006) and the Minister of Public Administration and Local Government (2007–2010). From 2014 to 2018, she worked as a Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD, after which she served as the Managing Director of the Finnish Commerce Federation until 2024. Currently, she is a Board Member of Metsä Board Corporation and a member of the International Advisory Panel of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Kiviniemi holds a Master’s degree in Political Science. She was born in 1968.

Hannu Mäntymaa

Hannu Mäntymaa is the Managing Director of Wärtsilä Finland Oy and Head of the Wärtsilä Marine Voyage Services business unit. He has built a long and diverse career at Wärtsilä, working in areas such as business development, product development, manufacturing, international trade, and leadership. Mäntymaa currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Board of the Ostrobothnia Chamber of Commerce and holds board positions – both as member and chair – in several Wärtsilä subsidiaries. He graduated with a Master of Science in Technology from Helsinki University of Technology (now Aalto University), specialising in Industrial Engineering and Management, in 2003. Mäntymaa was born in Vaasa in 1977.

Jarno Syrjälä

Under-Secretary of State Jarno Syrjälä has had a distinguished career as a diplomat. Since 2023, he has served at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland as the Under-Secretary of State responsible for international trade. Previously, Syrjälä was Finland’s Ambassador to Beijing (2017–2021), Director General of the Department for Africa and the Middle East (2013–2017), and Head of Mission in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (2010–2013). He has also gained diplomatic experience in Berlin, Washington, Ramallah, Tel Aviv, and Jakarta. After his ambassadorship in Beijing, Syrjälä took a leave of absence from the Ministry to help establish the China Office of Finnish Industries Oy. He holds a Master’s degree in Economics and Business Administration from the University of Vaasa and received the Alumnus of the Year Award in 2023. Syrjälä was born in 1964.

Eriikka Söderström 

Eriikka Söderström is an experienced board professional with a long career in senior management positions in international technology and industrial companies. She currently serves as a non-executive director on the boards of publicly listed companies Metso, Kempower, Bekaert, and Amadeus IT Group. Previously, she served as a board member of Valmet and Comptel. Before transitioning to a full-time board professional, Söderström worked as the Chief Financial Officer at F-Secure from 2017 to 2021, at Kone from 2013 to 2016, at Vacon from 2009 to 2013, and at Nautor in 2008. Söderström has strong ties to the University of Vaasa. She was a member of the Board of Directors in 1992–1993, served as the Secretary General of the Student Union of the University of Vaasa from 1991 to 1993, and obtained her Master’s degree in Economics and Business Administration from the University of Vaasa in 1993. She was born in 1968.

Additional information:

Chair of the University Collegium, Professor Sami Vähämaa, University of Vaasa, tel. 029 449 8455