Anna Talasniemi, long-time Executive Director of Kone Foundation, is moving on to new challenge

Anna Talasniemi, who has served as the Executive Director of Kone Foundation since 2013, is moving on to new challenges. The conclusion of her employment contract follows changes to the Foundation’s leadership structure, with the creation of a new position of CEO. The decision was agreed upon mutually by the Foundation and Talasniemi.

Talasniemi started working at Kone Foundation in 2007 as a research secretary, and later she worked as the Foundation’s ombudsman in arts funding.

Talasniemi’s career at Kone Foundation coincided with the Foundation’s years of rapid growth. Between 2007 and 2021, the Foundation’s annual grants increased sevenfold, and numerous staff members were recruited.

Anna Talasniemi played a key role in professionalising the Foundation’s operations, and her organisational skills were vital as the grant process, for example, was developed over the years to become more functional and to better serve grant recipients. During Talasniemi’s leadership, the Foundation conducted an extensive renovation of the culturally significant Lauttasaari Manor and relocated to these new premises. 

Talasniemi has played a key role in the Foundation’s growth, establishing it as a significant actor in the field of Finnish research and art funding today. Her networks in the field of academic research and especially in the arts are extensive, and her expertise is widely appreciated. Professionally, she is known for her active participation in conversations and taking initiatives, for example in the foundation sector.  

Since 2021, Talasniemi has been on study leave and is currently completing Master’s programme in cultural environment research with the specialisation in arts education at the University of Jyväskylä. Her previous master’s degree was earned from the University of Helsinki. Prior to her study leave, Kone Foundation completed its strategy process, which provided the Foundation with a new strategy for 2021–2025.