Ilari Niemi appointed as Head of Finance at Aalto EE

Ilari Niemi (MSc, Economics) has been appointed as the new Head of Finance at Aalto University Executive Education and Professional Development (Aalto EE) as of September 18.

In his new role, Niemi is responsible not only for Aalto EE's finances, but also for the financial affairs of Aalto University's lifewide learning offering as part of Aalto University's Financial Services.

Niemi has worked for a long time, for example, in the financial sector in executive and management positions. He moved to Aalto EE from OP, where he most recently led the Finance and Planning team in Retail Banking.

Interest in socially significant issues made Niemi enthusiastic about Aalto EE and its owner, Aalto University, as an employer.

"Working life is changing. We need to educate an increasingly large number of Finns at a high level and, on the other hand, attract talents from abroad to study and work here. Aalto is the best possible place to support this work," says Niemi.

Education, lifewide learning and competence development are close to his heart. "I have studied many things as well: economics, finance, accounting, mathematics, statistics, information technology and industrial engineering."

According to Tom Lindholm, the Managing Director at Aalto EE and Head of Lifewide Learning at Aalto University, the Head of Finance role attracted several very high-level candidates.

"Ilari stood out from the crowd for a couple of reasons. He has a strong background and experience in several service organizations. Through that experience, he brings a new kind of thinking and way of doing things to our company. I am also impressed by the genuinely curious attitude he has shown towards our rapidly changing field of executive education and continuous learning", says Lindholm.

"I like working with people more than with numbers"

As a team leader, Niemi wants to be genuine and approachable.

"Even though I'm a finance person, I like working with people more than with numbers. As a leader, I want to enable my team members’ success. I give a lot of responsibility and I'm available for sparring when team members need help."

In his position, Niemi reports to Lindholm and Aalto University's CFO Marianna Bom.

Aalto EE's long-time CFO Elina Kaivola will retire during the fall of 2023.

"Elina is one of our longest-serving employees who has steered Aalto EE's finances and led our finance team through many change situations. On behalf of our entire work community, I would like to warmly thank Elina for her excellent work and for being our colleague for decades," says Lindholm.

Further information

Anu Haapala
Communication Manager
Aalto University Executive Education and Professional Development
Tel. +358 50 447 1264
anu.haapala@aaltoee.fi