HOSTS
Bios of Hosts
City of Helsinki
Jussi Pajunen, Mayor, City of Helsinki
Jussi Pajunen has been the Mayor of Helsinki since 1 June 2005. In Februry 2012, he was re-appointed for a second seven-year term that runs through the end of May 2019. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Pajunen held numerous municipal positions of trust. He served as a member of the City Council in 1997 - 2005 and became a member of the City Board in 1999. In 2003 he assumed the position of Chairman of the City Board, holding it until his appointment as Mayor.
With its 39,000 employees, the City of Helsinki is the biggest employer in Finland. The prime responsibility of the Mayor is management of the city's finances and its 4.2 billion euro budget. Following the Nordic welfare model, Finnish local authorities have an exceptionally wide range of responsibilities compared with their counterparts elsewhere. According to most quality-of-life indicators, Helsinki is among the most liveable cities in the world.
Mr. Pajunen is a strong advocate for intensified co-operation in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, which is home to more than one million inhabitants. In terms of partnership with the state level, he was among the key initiators of a new metropolitan policy between the Government of Finland and Greater Helsinki to address the specific challenges associated with competitiveness, land use, multiculturalism, social exclusion and traffic that affect the capital region.
Under the leadership of Mayor Pajunen, the city has developed an international strategy to establish Helsinki as a global business hub and center of knowledge. Its attractiveness is based on functionality, first-class welfare services and a high-standard living environment. Mayor Pajunen was personally involved in Helsinki's successful bidding process to become World Design Capital in 2012.
Before assuming his duties as Mayor of Helsinki, Jussi Pajunen worked as Managing Director and as Chairman of the Board of the family-owned company Edvard Pajunen Ltd. He has a master's degree from the Helsinki School of Economics (1978) and an MBA from INSEAD, France (1980). He was born in 1954 in Helsinki and is married with five grown children.
Mr. Pekka Sauri, Deputy Mayor, City of Helsiki
Helsinki Deputy Mayor Pekka Sauri, responsible for Public Works and Environmental Affairs, has been elected to the Board of Directors of ICLEI, Local Governments for Sustainability.
Pekka Sauri has served as Deputy Mayor of the City of Helsinki since 2003, in charge of Public Works and Environmental Affairs. He was elected to the office as a Finnish Green League party member by Helsinki City Council, first for a seven-year term, and re-elected for another seven years in 2010.
Prior to his current office, Dr Sauri served in various positions in mental health counselling in Finland in 1975−2003. He was Chairman of the Green League of Finland in 1991−93. He also worked as a radio journalist in 1986-2002.
Dr Sauri’s long list of positions of trust over the past 21 years, both in Finland and internationally, include chairmanship of the European Federation of Green Parties in 1994−97.
Dr Sauri holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the Brunel University, London, U.K.
ICLEI is an international association for over 1,220 local governments as well as national and regional local government organizations who have made a commitment to sustainable development. Members come from 70 countries. ICLEI provides technical consulting, training and information services to build capacity, share knowledge, and support local governments in the implementation of sustainable development.
ICLEI's new board members include the mayor or deputy mayor of Vancouver, Rotterdam, Mexico City, Melbourne, Durban and Des Moines, USA. The ICLEI meeting that elected the new board was held in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
Mr. Hannu Penttilä, Deputy Mayor, City of Helsinki, Real Estate and City Planning
Mr. Penttilä holds several positions of trust, e.g. Chair of the Finnish Housing Reform Association (2006 – present), President of the European Metropolitan Transport Authorities (EMTA, 2007 – 2009) and President of the Network of European Metropolitan Regions and Areas (METREX 2009 – 2012).
Before his current position, Mr. Penttilä worked as Executive Director of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council (2004-2007) and the Regional Council of Häme (1998-2003), as Chief Engineer at the Ministry of the Environment (1985-1988).
Mr. Penttilä has also held several positions of trust in the City of Espoo and on the European Union level.
Mr. Penttilä received his Master of Science (Tech.) at Helsinki University of Technology in 1979.
As a Master of Laws, Mrs. Marja-Leena Rinkineva has throughout her extensive career worked with economic development, industry and commerce in the Ministry of Employment and the Economy and in the Ministry of Justice. Mrs Rinkineva is also a trained judge. She also has strong knowledge in Corporate Governance working for various boards of companies. Currently she is a chairman of the Greater Helsinki Promotion (Invest in Company) and Culminatum Innovaton Ltd (Development Company). In September last year, Mrs. Rinkineva took on the role of the Director of Economic Development in the City of Helsinki.
Helsinki is one of the newer success stories among European metropolitan areas. Finland’s capital is also officially one of the world's best places to live. Now, Mrs Rinkineva and her staff are committed to making Helsinki even more appealing, functional and fun environment for entrepreneurs and companies alike.
The Office of Economic Development is a part of the Economic and Planning Center of the City of Helsinki. The Economic and Planning Center is responsible for economic, revenue and budgeting affairs for the City Council. Within the Centre, Mrs Rinkineva’s Economic Development Unit is responsible for strategic planning and a number of projects aiming at promoting and enhancing the city as one of the most important business hubs in the world.
During her freetime, Mrs. Rinkineva enjoys spending time at the seaside. She loves to do all kinds of sports incl. tennis and downhill skiing and she is also a football mother to her three teenage children.
Asta Manninen is the Director of City of Helsinki Urban Facts, which is the department in charge of urban statistics, urban research, and information services as well as the City archives. Urban Facts is well networked with universities and major cities in Finland, in the Baltic Rim, and in Europe. Exchange of experiences and presentation of achievements in the field of urban statistics and research go even more international. Many of the works and services are targeted not only at the City of Helsinki but also at the Helsinki Region. At present efforts are put on open data and open access, see www.hri.fi.
City of Espoo
Mr. Sampo Suihko was named Deputy Mayor of the Education and Cultural Services of the City of Espoo in April 2012. In this position he is responsible for leadership, supervision, coordination and planning of the education and cultural services in the City of Espoo. Previously he served as Director of Omnia (2004-2012), the joint education authority in the Espoo region, and as Director of Development (1994-2004) for the education and cultural services in the City of Espoo.
As an expert in the field of vocational training and education (VET), Mr. Suihko is currently President of EUproVET, a representational platform for European vocational education and training providers, and Chair of EU VET institutions Joint Policy Committee. He is also vice president of the Finnish Association for the Development of Vocational Education and Training (AMKE).
Mr. Suihko holds a Master’s degree in Social Psychology as well as in Educational Sciences.
City of Lahti
Mr. Jyrki Myllyvirta, Mayor of the City of Lahti
Mr. Myllyvirta has been the Mayor of the City of Lahti since 2007.
Before that Mr Myllyvirta has worked for the Ministry of Trade and Industry and for the Confederation of Finnish Industries and in 1990-1991 as the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister of Finland on Economic Policy. From 1991 to 2007 he was the Mayor of the City of Mikkeli.
He has been member of the EU Committee of the Regions (CoR) in 2002 – 2010 and President of the CoR Commission on Culture, Education and Research in 2006 - 2010. In 2008 – 2010 he was a member of the Selection Panel for the European Capital of Culture.
In 2009 - 2011 he was a member of the Executive Committee of “ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability”, presently advisory member of the ICLEI Regional Executive in Europe.
Mr Myllyvirta is born in 1952.
