Valtteri Vuorisalo
Senior Non-Resident Fellow- geopolitics of technology and strategic competition
- national security and security policy
- emerging and dual-use technologies
- defence innovation, experimentation and interoperability
- security implications of data and information flows (“flow security”)
- small-state security, strategic dependencies and technological sovereignty
Valtteri Vuorisalo is a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, and a Visiting Professor in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London. In the private sector, he serves as Chief Strategy Officer at XD Solutions and as Strategic Adviser to the Digital Defence Ecosystem.
Vuorisalo’s research examines how technological change reshapes international power relations and creates new strategic possibilities, dependencies and vulnerabilities. His interests include the geopolitics of technology, data-centric power, the security of information flows, defence interoperability, and the adoption of emerging and dual-use technologies.
Vuorisalo has more than 20 years of experience across international military missions, defence and national-security consulting, technology business and academia. Before his current roles, he held senior positions at Unikie, Fujitsu Finland and Accenture. Earlier in his career, he worked as a part-time Professor of Practice in National Security and Security Policy at Tampere University, a researcher at FIIA, a consultant to the Finnish Defence Forces, and participated in two peacekeeping missions in Bosnia.
Degrees
Doctor of Philosophy (International Relations), University of Tampere, 2012
Master’s degree (International Relations), University of Tampere, 2001
Language skills
Finnish, English (working languages)
Positions of trust
Board Member, Eurodefense Finland, 2026–
Board Member, Finnish Wartime Economy Society, 2022–
Municipal Councillor, Municipality of Pirkkala, 2021–
Member, Digital Panel, Ministry of Transport and Communications, 2024–2026
Member, Board of Management, Finnish Information Security Cluster (FISC), 2023–2025
Member, Scientific Advisory Board for Defence (MATINE), Ministry of Defence, 2022–2025
Work experience
Chief Strategy Officer, XD Solutions, current
Strategic Adviser, Digital Defence Ecosystem, 2025–
Professor of Practice in National Security and Security Policy, Tampere University, 2021–2026
Vice President, Defence and Security, Unikie, 2024–2025
Industry & Sales Director, Public Sector and Security, Fujitsu Finland, 2022–2024
Defence Industry leadership and consulting positions, Accenture 2005-2008 & 2011-2022
PhD Researcher 2009-2010
Peacekeeper, two missions in Bosnia & Herzegovina 2002-2005
University teaching
Standing lecture on the implications of the geopolitics of technology at the National Defense University’s National Defense Courses (valtakunnallinen maanpuolustuskurssi).
Course (annual): National Security and Technology, Tampere University, 2021-2026
Visiting Positions
Visiting Professor, Department of War Studies, King’s College London, 2024-, initially appointed Senior Visiting Research Fellow in 2018