Resilience in an era of geopolitical tension and economic turbulence
Programme (16.00-18.30)
Welcome words
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Keynote: The development of Finland's comprehensive security in recent years in light of the changes in the security environment
Esa Pulkkinen, Permanent Secretary of the Finnish Ministry of Defence and Chair of the Security Committee
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Research insight: The future of critical functions
Christian Fjäder, CEO of Geostrategic Intelligence Group (Geostrat) Ltd and Professor of Practice at Hanken & Virva Tuomala, Researcher at Hanken
The Future of Critical Functions (FUFU) project addresses the need to redefine and secure Finland’s critical societal functions in the face of digitalisation, geopolitical tensions, and global uncertainties. The project supports national strategies in comprehensive security, societal resilience, and security of supply.
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Break with refreshments
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Ambassadors' panel: Building Nordic resilience in challenging times
Peter Ericson, Ambassador of Sweden to Finland
Janne Jõesaar-Ruusalu, Ambassador of Estonia to Finland
Jakob Nymann-Lindegren, Ambassador of Denmark to Finland
Wegger Chr. Strømmen, Ambassador of Norway to Finland
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Closing words
Host of the event is Charlotta Collén, Director of the Office for Research and International Affairs, Hanken School of Economics
The event will be held in English and is free of charge. Registration is required (by Sunday 30 November). The registration link can be found at the top of the page.
The seminar is organised in cooperation with Anders Walls Foundation. Similar events have been organised with Stockholm School of Economics in Stockholm and Riga under the name Baltic Business and Public Policy Summit
Speakers
Esa Pulkkinen, Permanent Secretary of the Finnish Ministry of Defence and Chair of the Security Committee
Esa Pulkkinen is a Finnish lieutenant general who served as Director General of the Defence Policy Department in the Ministry of Defence from 2010 to 2016 and again from 2020 to 2021. From 2016 to 2020, he served as the Director General of the European Union Military Staff (EUMS). Since 1 January 2022 he has been serving as the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Defence of Finland.
Christian Fjäder, CEO of Geostrategic Intelligence Group (Geostrat) Ltd and Professor of Practice at Hanken School of Economics
Dr Christian Fjäder is the Managing Director of Geostrategic Intelligence Group (Geostrat) Ltd, a boutique geostrategic risk and resilience research and advisory firm. Christian has acted as a delegate and expert in multilateral resilience cooperation, e.g. in the context of the European Union, NATO the OECD High Level Risk Forum (HLRF) and Nordic regional cooperation.
Virva Tuomala, Researcher at Hanken School of Economics
Virva Tuomala, DSc is a researcher in humanitarian and sustainable supply chain management. Her work currently focuses on medical waste management in field hospital settings through the WORM project. She is part of the Finnish Red Cross delegate roster.
Ambassadors Panel
Peter Ericson, Ambassador of Sweden to Finland
Prior to taking up his current position, he was Head of the Eastern Europe and Central Asia Department at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Stockholm. He served as Ambassador to Russia from 2015 to 2019, and Consul General in Istanbul from 2019 to 2023. From 2010 to 2015 Ericson was Head of the Security Policy Department at the MFA.
Jakob Nymann-Lindegren, Ambassador of Denmark to Finland
Since 2021 Ambassador of Denmark to Finland. Previous positions include: 2017 Director, EU Law and International Litigation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 2013 Counsellor (Mertens and Antici), Permanent Representation of Denmark to the EU. 2010 Senior Advisor (EU policy), Foreign Division, Prime Minister's Office.
Janne Jõesaar-Ruusalu
Ambassador of Estonia to Finland
She joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1993. From 2016 to 2020, Jõesaar-Ruusalu was the Estonian Ambassador to Norway and Iceland. From 2020, Jõesaar-Ruusalu was the Director of the Division for South-eastern Europe and the European Union, and from 2022, she has also served as Estonia’s non-resident ambassador to Kosovo.
Wegger Chr. Strømmen
Ambassador of Norway to Finland
Since 2023 Ambassador of Norway in Finland, from 2019-2023 in the United Kingdom and 2007-2013 in the Unites States. Wegger Christian Strømmen has also held the position of deputy permanent representative to the U.N. Security Council and chairman of the Security Council Working Group on Peacekeeping Operations from 2000 to 2002, then acted as deputy permanent representative of Norway's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York from 2002 to 2005.
Host
Charlotta Collén
Director of the Office for Research and International Affairs, Hanken School of Economics. Charlotta is a defence policy analyst by training with a background at the Ministry of Defence and Ministry for Foreign affairs of Finland.







