Cinia's Board of Directors has nominated Jaakko Tapanainen as the company’s new CEO. Tapanainen, with more than 25 years of experience in the IT sector, succeeds longtime CEO Ari-Jussi Knaapila, who is retiring.
Tapanainen will start as Cinia’s CEO on 1 January 2025. He has a Master of Arts (Information Systems) degree and has previously held several managerial positions in Tieto Group, most recently as the CEO of TietoEvry Tech Services Finland Oy.
Ari-Jussi Knaapila, who has been the CEO of Cinia since 2015, has announced his retirement at the beginning of 2025. The company Board would like to thank Ari-Jussi Knaapila, under whose leadership Cinia has grown into a major national and international player within the network, cyber security and software industry.
Cinia’s Board of Directors conducted a thorough and rigorous search, and there were several strong candidates in the recruitment process.
”Jaakko Tapanainen has extensive experience in developing and managing IT and software services as well as in digitalization in different industries. In addition, he has strong commercial acumen and excellent people management skills. I am confident that Tapanainen has the right kind of competence and experience to continue Cinia's growth story and to take the company towards the next stage”, states Cinia’s Chairman of the Board Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo.
Tapanainen says he is excited about his new role. “Cinia has world-class expertise in cyber security, software development and networks, a unique service portfolio and skilled personnel which form a good base to build future growth on. In addition, Cinia’s role in developing critical systems and strengthening Finland’s digital connections and cyber security is something unique. I am very much looking forward to starting in my new role.”
For further information, please contact:
Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo
Chairman of the Board
opkallasvuo@hotmail.com
Cinia Communications
communications@cinia.fi
