Esko Aho

Esko Aho b. 1954

Executive Vice President, Corporate Relations and Responsibility

  • Group Executive Board member since 2009.
  • Joined Nokia November 1, 2008.

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Master of Social Sciences (University of Helsinki).

President of the Finnish Innovation Fund, Sitra 2004-2008. Private consultant 2003-2004. Lecturer, Harvard University 2000-2001. Prime Minister of Finland 1991-1995. Chairman of the Centre Party 1990-2002. Member of the Finnish Parliament 1983-2003. Elector in the presidential elections of 1978, 1982 and 1988. Vice Chairman of Liberal International 1994-2002. Chairman of the Finnish Ski Association 1996-2000. Vice Chairman of the Finnish Olympic Committee 1997-2000.

Member of the Board of Directors of Fortum Corporation and Russian Venture Company. Vice Chairman of the Board, Technology Industries of Finland. Member of the Club de Madrid, the InterAction Council and the Science and Technology in Society Forum (STS).
Biography

Starting November 1, 2008 Esko Aho is Executive Vice President, Corporate Relations and Responsibility. He heads Nokia's government and public affairs function, which includes the policies and activities for sustainable development and social responsibility. Esko is a member of the Nokia Group Executive Board.

Prior to joining Nokia, Esko has enjoyed a long and distinguished career serving Finnish society and politics, holding the post of Prime Minister of Finland from 1991 to 1995. After the 2000 presidential campaign, he joined Harvard University as a lecturer, and following his retirement from the Finnish Parliament, he worked as a private consultant. Esko was appointed President of the Finnish Innovation Fund, SITRA, from July 1, 2004.

Esko was elected to Parliament in 1983, serving on several key committees, including the Grand Committee, the Foreign Affairs Committee, and the Finance Committee, as well as serving on the Nordic Council and the Finnish Delegation to the Council of Europe. He has also been Vice-Chairman of Liberal International from 1994 to 2002, Chairman of the Finnish Ski Association from 1996 to 2000, and Vice-Chairman of the Finnish Olympic Committee from 1997 to 2000.

More recently, Esko was appointed a Member of Board of Directors at Russian Venture Company from January 2007. He also serves as a Member of the Board at the Nordic power company Fortum Corporation since March 2006. From January 1, 2009 he will be Vice Chairman of the Board, Technology Industries of Finland.

He is an invited member of the Club de Madrid, an independent organisation dedicated to strengthening democracy whose members are former heads of state and government, and the InterAction Council, an organisation consisting of former heads of state and government which seeks solutions to the economical, political and social problems confronting humanity.

Esko was born in Veteli, Finland, in 1954 and holds a Masters Degree in Social Science from the University of Helsinki.



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