• Jaakko Wallenius, Vice President, Chief Security Officer at Elisa, has been chosen as the Security Director of the Year 2025
• Wallenius actively participates in strengthening Finland's comprehensive security, for example, by lecturing on national defense courses and participating in organizing the national TIETO exercises
• The annual award is granted by Aalto EE, Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK), and Finnsecurity ry

Jaakko Wallenius, Chief Security Officer of Elisa, has been selected as the recipient of the Security Director of the Year 2025 award.

The Security Director of the Year award is granted annually to an individual who has held a demanding leadership position and has been actively involved in security activities and their strategic development within their own organization or more broadly in their field.

Wallenius has a long career of more than 30 years in the ICT sector and has worked for his current employer, Elisa, since 2012. In addition, he has been involved in building Finland's comprehensive security by participating in organizing the national TIETO exercises since 2013. In the exercises, companies and authorities practice cooperation in a simulated environment in case of hybrid, cyber, and information disruptions.

“The exercises are excellent tools for developing, testing, and learning operating models and cooperation,” Wallenius says in an interview with Aalto Leaders' Insight.

The person selected for the award possesses a broad and strategic understanding of security, having contributed significantly to the development of expertise in the field in Finland.

As the Chief Security Officer of Elisa, Finland's largest telecommunications operator, Wallenius plays a key role in securing the nationwide critical infrastructure.

"Jaakko Wallenius is an active expert not only in his own field but also in cooperation between different fields. He shares his expertise as a lecturer in national defense courses and has contributed to the comprehensive security of Finland by organizing national security exercises for more than ten years,” says jury member Anna-Maija Ahonen from Aalto EE.

"Wallenius, who has a long career within information technology and security, is a lifelong learner who is constantly developing his skills. He recently travelled to Ukraine to examine the lessons learned from the war and has passed on his observations to experts in the field in Finland," Ahonen continues.

The Security Director of the Year award is granted annually by Aalto EE, Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK), and Finnsecurity ry. The award has been granted since 2016.

Lisätiedot

Anna-Maija Ahonen
Program Director, Aalto EE
+358 10 837 3831
anna-maija.ahonen@aaltoee.fi

Aalto University Executive Education and Professional Development

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