New Finnish Chair for the Agency Management Board

Mrs Mari Herranen, was yesterday (Tuesday 22/03/2011), by a unanimous consensus of Board Members, elected as Chair of the Management Board for the European Union’s European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA).

Mrs Herranen has been an ENISA Board Member since 2007, and has been working in network and information security since 2001 as a Ministerial Adviser in the Unit for Communications Networks at the Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communications.

Her key responsibilities at the Ministry have included:
- working on national and international information security policy,
- development and implementation of the National Information Security Strategy and  Action Plan, and
- Chairing the National Information Security Group of the Ubiquitous Information Society Advisory Board.
In addition to this, she has been a member of various national and international boards and working groups.

Mrs Herranen’s previous jobs include working at the Finnish Ministry of Trade and Industry, and at the Permanent Representation of the Finnish Parliament to the EU. She holds an M.A. in Political Science from Åbo Akademi University, Finland. In addition, Mrs Herranen has studied at Universidad de Deusto Bilbao, Spain, University of Sheffield, Great Britain, and in Sweden.

ENISA's Executive Director, Professor Udo Helmbrecht welcomed the new Chair's appointment. He said:
 “I am very pleased about the Management Board’s choice of Mrs Herranen. She has a broad knowledge of the European Union, including professional experience of the Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission. Furthermore, she has strong practical experience of national co-ordination of EU affairs and international affairs in Finland. I welcome her and wish her all success in this position.”

Professor Helmbrecht also paid tribute to the outgoing Chair, Professor Reinhard Posch, saying,
“At the same time, on behalf of the Agency and the Management Board, I would like to extend my deep gratitude to the departing Chair, Professor Reinhard Posch, who has done an excellent job, and now, with pride in achievements that only can be labelled as ‘outstanding’, can hand over to Mrs Herranen.”

Mrs Herranen said: 
"I am extremely pleased to have been elected to Chair ENISA's Management Board. We need to ensure information security in the information society. It is vital for the electronic economy of Europe, and so that we can all use technology safely and securely."

The Management Board has also given a unanimous reaffirmation of the Vice Chair, Dr. Ferenc Suba from CERT Hungary, for a second term in the office.

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