About Aappo
Aappo joined VALOR in 2013 as Senior Advisor. He has worked in the energy sector since the late 1970s in the Finnish power companies Teollisuuden Voima (nuclear), Teollisuuden Voimansiirto (power grid) and Pohjolan Voima (power generation) as technical manager and in director positions. After co-founding the industrial service company Empower Group in 1999, he was its CEO for 12 years, retiring in 2012. Empower operated in Finland, Sweden and all the Baltic states, mostly in electrical and telecom network and power plant and industrial services, with a T.O. of EUR 400 million and 3,000 employees. Aappo has experience of board membership in public and private companies representing the energy, service, engineering, manufacturing and food industries
Expertise
Aappo has extensive experience across service industries and strategic issues related to growth, operational improvement, and M&A. Examples of recent assignments:
- A study of the total value chain system in the network service business
- “Sustainable Competitive Advantage in Industrial Service Business” (dissertation, 2019)
- Updating the network service company strategy for an energy group
- Strategy update for a regional energy group
- Experience of industrial company board memberships
Education
- Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from Tampere University of Technology
- Advanced School for Power System Engineering, Westinghouse, USA
- Doctor of Science in Technology (Industrial Management), University of Vaasa
Outside the Office
Aappo has three daughters and four grandchildren. He also enjoys taking care of the family’s farm, forests and summer cottage. Aappo’s long-term goal is to run as many 42 km marathons as possible, and with over 20 completed runs he is well on his way.