Mr Ilari Kallio, Vice President, R&D, at Wärtsilä, has been chosen Chief Technology Officer of the year 2016 together with Mr Antti Nivala from M-Files Oy. The award recognises chief technology officers who through their work have added value to their companies’ technological expertise and growth potential, are inspiring leaders and have an active role in societal networks.
The award winner is chosen by a panel of judges whose members are influential persons within the field of technology. Professor Yrjö Neuvo is Chairman of the panel of judges and the award is granted as a partnership between Tekes and Spinverse.
In this year’s award particularly radical innovations were emphasized. Wärtsilä has among other things developed the world’s most energy efficient four-stroke engine and the Wärtsilä 31 even got into the Guinness book of world records.
”The award winners were selected due to their explicit contribution to internationally growing companies that have created own radical products,” Yrjö Neuvo says.
Ilari Kallio has worked in Wärtsilä since 2006 and holds the position of Vice President, R&D, since 2014.
“Energy efficiency, gas and digitalization are key in Wärtsilä’s product development strategy. An evidence of this is among others the most energy efficient four-stroke engine in the world launched in 2015. Our whole R&D organisation and our cooperation partners deserve a big thanks,” says Ilari Kallio.
Wärtsilä has invested in research and product development for a long time. In 2015 Wärtsilä put a lot of focus on innovations in both products and solutions, in particular focusing on developing operating efficiency, fuel flexibility and reduced environmental footprint. In 2015 Wärtsilä spent 132 million euro on R&D, which corresponds to 2.6% of the turnover and about 700 people are engaged in R&D.
The prize-giving ceremony was held at CTO-Forum in Helsinki on 16 February.