Janne Känkänen is a senior executive with extensive experience leading sovereign-level

organizations, strategic funds, and nationally critical assets in politically sensitive and high-
pressure environments. He is widely trusted to operate where national interests, industrial

policy, and complex stakeholder landscapes intersect.
He currently serves as Director General of Finland’s National Emergency Supply Agency
(NESA), with overall responsibility for national resilience, security of supply, and the
governance of a €2.3bn strategic fund safeguarding critical infrastructure and key industrial
supply chains. His mandate covers energy, logistics, healthcare, food security, and industrial
continuity, requiring close coordination between government, industry, and international
partners.
Over the course of his career, Mr. Känkänen has held multiple senior executive roles within
the Finnish government, including Director-General and Director for EU and International
Affairs at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. In these roles, he led national
industrial and competitiveness strategies, managed complex EU negotiations, and played a
central role in high-stakes corporate crisis interventions and restructurings involving
strategically important companies.
Earlier in his career, he served at the European Commission, contributing to EU competition
policy and the EU enlargement process. This provided him with deep, hands-on experience
in multinational decision-making, regulatory frameworks, and cross-border coordination at
the highest levels of European governance.
In parallel with his executive roles, Mr. Känkänen has extensive board and governance
experience. He has served as Chair, Vice Chair, and Board Member of strategically
significant industrial and financial institutions, including mining, shipbuilding, investment
banking, and international trade promotion organizations. His board work has focused on
state ownership governance, large-scale capital-intensive operations, and politically visible
enterprises.
Mr. Känkänen holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Helsinki, has
completed the National Defence Course at Finland’s National Defence University, and has
undertaken executive training in corporate finance at the London School of Economics.