Vesa-Heikki Kemppainen Appointed as the Real Estate Director of the University of Oulu
The Board of Directors of the University of Oulu decided on the appointment of the Real Estate Director in their meeting on Wednesday, 26 February 2025. The selected candidate is Vesa-Heikki Kemppainen, a 60-year-old Master of Science in Civil Engineering. Kemppainen will transition to the university from his position as Head of Real Estate at SSAB. He will start his role as Real Estate Director on 1 April 2025.
Kemppainen has over twenty years of experience in property management and cost-effective development, extensive experience in planning and implementing property strategies, experience with large and diverse projects across various sectors, and expertise in different contract models, stakeholder collaboration, and process management.
“It’s wonderful that we are getting an experienced and accomplished Real Estate Director who also brings specialized expertise in a field that requires strong network management skills and substantive knowledge,” says Rector Arto Maaninen.
Vesa-Heikki Kemppainen, originally from Paltamo, Finland, is an alumnus of the University of Oulu and graduated as a Master of Science in Civil Engineering in 1992. He has had nearly a 20-year career at SSAB and its predecessor companies Ruukki and Rautaruukki in property management roles, and prior to that, he worked for about 10 years at Nokia in property management positions. In the early stages of his career, he worked with various construction companies.
“I am extremely honoured by my appointment as Real Estate Director of the University of Oulu, and I am ready to contribute to the success of the university in the field of property management,” says Vesa-Heikki Kemppainen.
The recruitment process for the Real Estate Director started on 11 December 2024. The recruitment was conducted as a direct search. The interview and selection of candidates were handled by a preparatory group appointed by the university’s board. The preparatory group included the current university rector Arto Maaninen, who was working as the Vice-Rector for Cooperation at the beginning of the process, Chief Financial Officer Pekka Riuttanen, Development Director Johanna Bluemink, and the group’s secretary, Director of Human Resources Jarmo Okkonen.