Jaakko Ihamuotila

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Vuorineuvos
Jaakko Ihamuotila
Born(1939-11-15)15 November 1939
Helsinki, Finland
Died13 October 2023(2023-10-13) (aged 83)
Helsinki, Finland
OccupationBusiness executive
Known for
SpouseTuula née Turja
Children3
Parent
RelativesRisto Ihamuotila (brother)

Jaakko Ihamuotila (15 November 1939 – 13 October 2023) was a Finnish business executive known for his senior roles in some of Finland's largest corporations, including as the CEO of Valmet and long-serving President and Chairman of Neste.[1] He has been described as one of the most influential business leaders of his time in Finland.[2]

Early life and education[edit]

Jaakko Ihamuotila was born as the second of four children to Veikko Ihamuotila, an agriculture sector influencer and ex-Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, and his wife Anna-Liisa.[3]

Ihamuotila studied engineering at the Helsinki University of Technology, graduating in 1964 with a Diplomi-insinööri (MSc in Technology) degree in physics.[3] He has said he was inspired already as a teenager to go into technology, by the opening of the world's first full-scale nuclear power plant for electricity generation, Calder Hall (now part of Sellafield), in the UK in 1956.[4]

Career[edit]

Ihamuotila's early career included research and engineering positions at Canadian General Electric in Toronto, Imatran Voima and the Helsinki University of Technology.[3] He then moved to Valmet, and its various group companies, where he held a series of management roles, including a seat on the group's main Board of Directors from 1973.[3][4]

In 1973, Ihamuotila was appointed CEO of Valmet, in which role he served until 1979.[2][4] In 1979 he was appointed to the Board of Neste,[5] the national oil company of Finland, and from 1980 onwards he served there also in an executive role as the company's president and Chairman, until 2000.[2][4] During his tenure, Neste was ranked on the Fortune Global 500 list.[6] After Neste and Imatran Voima merged to form Fortum, Ihamuotila continued to serve for a while in a non-executive Board role.[5] In the early 2000s, Ihamuotila was among the founders, and one-time chairman, of the Millennium Technology Prize.[7][8][4]

Honours[edit]

In 1990, Ihamuotila was awarded the highest civilian honorary title of Vuorineuvos by President Mauno Koivisto.[2] Ihamuotila was also conferred several honorary doctorates,[2] including by his alma mater, the Helsinki University of Technology (now Aalto University).[9]

Personal life and death[edit]

Ihamuotila was married to Tuula (née Turja; daughter of Ilmari Turja), and they had three children.[3]

His older brother, Professor Risto Ihamuotila, is an academic who served for many years as the Chancellor of the University of Helsinki.[3]

Jaakko Ihamuotila died on 13 October 2023, at the age of 83.[10]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Ihamuotila, Jaakko (1939 -)" (in Finnish). National Biography of Finland. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Ihamuotila, Jaakko". Uppslagsverket.fi (in Swedish). Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Kuka Kukin On (Who's Who) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Otava. 1978. pp. 272–273. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e "120 osaajaa - Jaakko Ihamuotila" (in Finnish). Academic Engineers and Architects in Finland (TEK). 17 November 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Viileä energiajohtaja" (in Finnish). Taloussanomat. 10 January 1998. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  6. ^ "Global 500 (1996)". Fortune. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  7. ^ "Technology Laurels". The Washington Post. 30 September 2005. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  8. ^ "Top prize for 'light' inventor". BBC News. 8 September 2006. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  9. ^ "Tradition of the ceremonial conferment". Aalto University. 18 April 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  10. ^ Härkönen, Anni (14 October 2023). "Vuorineuvos Jaakko Ihamuotila on kuollut". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 14 October 2023.

Further reading[edit]

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