On Tuesday, November 9, the Project Management Association Finland (PMAF) named Itella's Development Director Jouni Simonen as the Project Manager of the Year 2010. This was the first time a Project Manager of the Year was named. Simonen was recognized based on his competence in project management systems and his merits in HR management.
Jouni Simonen works as a Project Director in the development program of the Itella Mail Communication business group. The goal of the program is to update the content and the production process of postal services. The development program invests in service production equipment and facilities as well as data systems. The development program was launched in 2007 and it comprises about 40 projects.
"It is pleasant to receive recognition like this. The Project Management Association Finland is the leading actor in the Finnish project sector, and I believe that the recognition indicates Itella's quite high level of project competence. I also see the recognition as a display of myself having been worth the whole-hearted trust given to me by the management of the Mail Communication business in my work tasks," says Simonen.
"Simonen is capable of managing demanding projects consisting of dozens of subprojects. A further asset of Simonen's is also his skill in coaching project managers and developing the project work procedures both at Itella and with partners," says Matti Akonniemi, Development Director at Itella.
Jouni Simonen has worked for Itella in a wide range of quality and development tasks since 1998. Along with other Finnish experts in project work, he is a co-author of the book Projektisalkunhallinta - Kehitystoiminnan Strateginen johtaminen ("Project Portfolio Management: Strategic management of development operations").
More information for the media:
Matti Akonniemi, Development Director, Itella Corporation, firstname.lastname@itella.com, tel. 0400 400 239
Jouni Simonen, Development Director, Itella Corporation, firstname.lastname@itella.com, tel. 040 512 7090
Jyry Louhisto, General Manager, Project Management Association Finland, firstname.lastname@pry.fi, tel. 040 543 1099
The Project Management Association Finland was founded in 1978. It is national, sector-independent developer of project thinking and competence for project professionals, and an active international actor. The association develops its members' project-based competence as well as the profitability and competitiveness of corporate and community projects. The association has 150 corporate and organisation members, and over 2,700 persons as members. The association is a member of the International Project Managament Association (IPMA) and is in charge of the IPMA's project professional certification degrees in Finland.
Itella Group provides solutions for managing information and product flows. Itella operates in mail communication, information logistics and logistics in Northern and Central Europe and Russia. The Group reported net sales of EUR 1 820 million in 2009. Itella provides work for around 28,000 professionals. Corporate services are delivered under the Itella brand, while the Posti brand is used for services targeted at consumers in Finland. More information on the Group is available at www.itella.com/group.
