Petteri Taalas | Facing Climate Change with Optimism

To continue our 2017 Speaker Spotlight series, we welcome our Finnish representative at the WMO, Petteri Taalas!

Speaker Spotlight

Petteri Taalas is not your average climate change expert. Since January 1st, 2016, he has served as Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). This prestigious position calls for him to support both R&D institutions and the private sector with their efforts in Weather, Climate and Water Services. One of the avenues to do this has been increased investments in weather and climate early warning systems. These offer a powerful means to adapt to climate variability, where people can react to atmospheric changes in shorter time frames, ranging from minutes to decades.

Over his career, Taalas has been an adept of change management to enhance efficiency in the various organizations with which he worked, including research institutes, government agencies, universities and private companies. It is his ambition to do so again as WMO Secretary-General. Taalas is motivated to support the developing countries and countries in economic transition, especially through project implementation, in places such as Africa, small-island developing states in the Pacific and Caribbean, and in southeast Europe. This motivation guided his career prior to his appointment as WMO Secretary-General while serving as the Director-General of the Finnish Meteorological Institute (from 2002-2015, excluding 2005-2007) and when he was Director of Development and Regional Activities at WMO from 2005-2007.

He has extensive experience in managing national and international expert organizations with demonstrated ability to enhance efficiency and implement innovation while maintaining high customer and staff satisfaction. He has a strong scientific background with an emphasis on atmospheric sciences. He has authored about 50 publications on global climate change, satellite methodologies, and atmospheric chemistry.

Greetings from the World Meteorological Organization

Watch the video below to see Petteri Taalas’s welcoming remarks ahead of Nordic Business Forum 2017:

We’re excited to learn more from Petteri Taalas at NBForum 2017! We’re already sold out, but if you’d like to hear Taalas and other leaders discuss this year’s themes of purpose, responsibility, and leadership, be sure to grab your Live Stream license today. Follow us on Facebook (@NBForumHQ) and Twitter (@NBForumHQ and #NBForum2017) to keep up with our speaker announcements as we get closer to the event!