Board

CHAIRPERSON OF THE BOARD

MSc (Econ.) Kari Niemistö is an entrepreneur, a significant investor and an active practitioner in agriculture and forestry. He holds substantial shares in companies such as Raisio and Stockmann, where he has been involved in capacities beyond that of an investor. At Stockmann, he has served as a Member of the Board and Vice Chairman, and at Raisio, as a Member of the Supervisory Board and the Nomination Committee. Kari Niemistö is the Chairperson of the Board for the Maire Taposen Säätiö sr foundation. He was also a Member of the Board of the Finnish Brain Foundation sr from its founding in 2009 until 2018.

VICE CHAIRPERSON OF THE BOARD

Leena Niemistö, MD, PhD, Honorary Doctor of Administrative Sciences, is a board professional and investor. She served as CEO of Dextra from 2003 to 2016 and as Deputy CEO of Pihlajalinna from 2013 to 2016. Niemistö was Chair of the Board of the Finnish National Opera and Ballet from 2016 to 2025. She has also chaired the jury of the Ars Fennica Award since 2004. Niemistö is Chair of the Board of the University of the Arts Helsinki, Vice Chair of the Supervisory Board of the Finnish National Theatre and Chair of the Delegation of the Foundation for Economic Education. In addition to board work in arts and education organisations, Niemistö has served on the boards of numerous companies and organisations, and currently sits on the boards of Pihlajalinna, Raisio, Nexstim, Nightingale Health and Digital Workforce Services, among others.

MEMBER OF THE BOARD

Elina Merenmies (b. 1967), Principal of the Free Art School and visual artist, studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts as well as in Brussels and Prague. She received a Master of Fine Arts degree in 1999. Alongside her active artistic practice, she has taught painting for more than 25 years, first at the Academy of Fine Arts (2000–2012) and subsequently at the Free Art School (since 2013). She has served as the school’s Principal since 2020.

Merenmies’s works are represented in major public and national collections in Finland, as well as in numerous public collections in Scandinavia and elsewhere in Europe, and in private collections worldwide.

Previously, from 2009 to 2016, Merenmies served on the jury responsible for selecting the nominees for the foundation’s award. She herself was an Ars Fennica Prize nominee in 2007.

MEMBER OF THE BOARD

Karri Niemistö holds a Master of Science in Business Administration from Maastricht University. Karri Niemistö has worked in various roles within financial services and consulting firms in Finland and abroad, including positions at EY and Elite Wealth Management.