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The Business Leader of the Year 2026 is Annikka Hurme, CEO of Valio

Published: 22.9.2026

In addition, Annika Blomqvist was awarded for promoting entrepreneurship and Sanni Mustonen for her excellent master’s thesis.

The Business Leader of the Year 2026 is Valio’s CEO, vuorineuvos Annikka Hurme. The jury praised Hurme for her long-term, results-oriented and reform-minded leadership as a trailblazer in the Finnish food industry. The Finnish Businessmen’s Association, Kauppalehti and the School of Business announced the Business Leader of the Year at an award ceremony held in the Kilta Hall of Satakuntatalo on 21 September 2026.

In addition to the Business Leader of the Year award, the Finnish Businessmen’s Association also traditionally awarded scholarships to two Aalto University students. Annika Blomqvist was recognised for promoting entrepreneurship and Sanni Mustonen for her excellent master’s thesis. Both awardees received a scholarship of 2,500 euros.

The event also featured a presentation by business leader Mika Anttonen, whose topic was team spirit, taking responsibility and shared responsibility as a counterbalance and growth driver in the face of the economic and societal challenges of business life. Associate Dean Virpi Tuunainen brought greetings from the School of Business to the event and also extended congratulations to the Finnish Businessmen’s Association, which is celebrating its 130th anniversary this year.

Aalto scholarship recipients active in the field of entrepreneurship

Recognised for promoting entrepreneurship, Annika Blomqvist has been an active and committed member of the Aalto community, who has supported and advanced entrepreneurship initiatives both on and off campus. She has volunteered and supported various activities and projects of the Aalto Entrepreneurship Society (Aaltoes), while also actively developing her own entrepreneurial competences.

Over the past year, Annika has also been part of the teaching team that has developed entirely new, top-level entrepreneurship courses at Aalto University’s Aalto Founder School. She was involved in developing and implementing, for example, the go-to-market strategy for the new From Zero to Product course, which focuses on early-stage validation and product development. The course material was developed by interviewing leading Finnish product experts. Annika’s most significant achievement has been her role as leader of the IGNITE accelerator programme.

Sanni Mustonen keskellä — Janne Pöysti, Sanni Mustonen and Jouni Riuttanen. Photo: FBA

Sanni Mustonen received a scholarship in recognition of her excellent master’s thesis, completed in 2026, “From Tool to Co-Designer: Generative AI in Early-Stage Startup Innovation.” The thesis examines the use of generative AI in the innovation and design work of early-stage startups, as well as the evolving collaboration between humans and AI. It commendably brings together technology, business, entrepreneurship, and design, exploring the new opportunities they create for companies’ renewal and competitiveness. The thesis was supervised by Senior University Lecturer Ville Eloranta.

Founded in 1896, the Finnish Businessmen’s Association once established Kauppalehti, and its key leaders also played a role in the creation of the School of Economics in 1911.

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