Dr. Turo Kilpeläinen is one of Finland’s longest-serving and youngest-ever university presidents, having served as a rector since 2010. He currently acts as President and CEO of LAB University of Applied Sciences, part of the LUT Universities group.
He holds a Doctor of Economics degree, with doctoral research focused on enterprise architectures – a background that has shaped his systems-level perspective on leadership, institutional renewal, and higher education policy.
Throughout his career, Kilpeläinen has led major structural transformations in Finnish higher education, including the successful merger of universities and the development of performance-driven institutional models. Under his leadership, research, development and innovation activities have been strengthened, external funding expanded, international student recruitment increased, and education repositioned as an integral part of regional and global innovation ecosystems.
Beyond his institutional role, Kilpeläinen is an active contributor to national and international higher education development. He has played a long-standing role in Finnish higher education policy through the rectors’ conference (Arene) and international networks, and he serves in several board and advisory positions across the public and private sectors, including finance, investment, and innovation-driven organisations.
Internationally, his work focuses on higher education reform, innovation capacity, and the evolving role of universities in supporting SME growth, competitiveness, and societal resilience. Kilpeläinen is recognised for his clear, analytically grounded and forward-looking leadership, and for his commitment to renewing higher education systems in response to an increasingly complex global environment.
