Criteria for the CTO of the Year

The nomination period for the CTO of the Year Award is open until the end of December 2020 and the award ceremony will take place in spring 2021 in Helsinki. You can nominate anyone who is responsible for their company's technology in Finland: the nominee's title does not need to be a CTO (Chief Technology Officer). The CTO of the Year is a joint undertaking between Business Finland, Technology Industries of Finland and Spinverse. The CTO of the Year Award is given to exceptional technology leaders who meet the following criteria:

The CTO of the Year:

  • adds significant value to the company's performance through technology

  • has a strong business renewal focus - radical rather than incremental

  • communicates the company's technologies and their benefits to all stakeholders in an understandable way

  • is an inspiring team builder and team leader

The CTO's Company:

  • has a technology-enabled product and service portfolio that is innovative, globally competitive and either already well known or rapidly gaining terrain

  • has built a strong technology collaboration community

  • has strong innovation process encouraging company-wide participation

Societal Impact:

  • The CTO contributes to working groups, societies and other bodies working for development of the society at large and his or her industry in general. In determining the societal impact, contribution relative to the size of the CTO's company matters.


Innovation Professor of the Year

For 10 years, the CTO of the Year Award has been given to distinguished persons in the industry. We now see their best counterparts in academia and feel that they deserve a similar kind of award as well. Therefore, in spring 2021, we will also give an award for the Innovation Professor of the Year.

Who is eligible? In the selection criteria of the Innovation Professor, the following factors will be considered:

  • Funding portfolio

  • Funding volume over the past 5-10 years for projects done in collaboration with the industry

  • Patents licenced by industry

  • Spinoffs and jobs created