Nuvoo Wins Oulu Inter­na­tion­al Employ­er of the Year 2026

Tech­nol­o­gy com­pa­ny Nuvoo has been named Oulu Inter­na­tion­al Employ­er of the Year 2026. The award was pre­sent­ed to the company’s Chief Peo­ple Offi­cer, Markus Alanko.

The com­pe­ti­tion jury was par­tic­u­lar­ly impressed by Nuvoo’s work­place cul­ture, where diver­si­ty is a nat­ur­al part of every­day work­ing life and a safe work­ing envi­ron­ment is seen as the foun­da­tion for an inclu­sive work­place.

Based in Oulu, Nuvoo is an IT com­pa­ny that refur­bish­es and sells com­put­ers pre­vi­ous­ly used in pro­fes­sion­al envi­ron­ments. Inter­na­tion­al­i­ty, bilin­gual­ism and equal­i­ty are reflect­ed in the company’s every­day prac­tices and ways of work­ing.

The jury also high­light­ed Nuvoo’s com­mit­ment to sus­tain­abil­i­ty and the cir­cu­lar econ­o­my, as well as its strong con­nec­tions with the local com­mu­ni­ty. The com­pa­ny con­tributes to the vital­i­ty of the region and cre­ates oppor­tu­ni­ties for peo­ple to devel­op their skills, for exam­ple through intern­ships.

– Nuvoo is an excel­lent exam­ple of how inter­na­tion­al­i­ty is not about the size of a com­pa­ny, but above all about its mind­set and ways of work­ing, says Anna Porop­u­das, Pres­i­dent of Oulu Junior Cham­ber of Com­merce.

– The com­pa­ny has suc­ceed­ed in mak­ing diver­si­ty and equal­i­ty a nat­ur­al part of every­day work­ing life. At the same time, it demon­strates how inter­na­tion­al­i­ty can strength­en local vital­i­ty and cre­ate oppor­tu­ni­ties both for the com­pa­ny and the sur­round­ing com­mu­ni­ty.

The 2026 com­pe­ti­tion received more nom­i­na­tions than in pre­vi­ous years, and accord­ing to the organ­is­ers, the over­all qual­i­ty of the nom­i­na­tions was high. Satu Kon­tio, Pres­i­dent of Oulu Ter­va­por­var­it Junior Cham­ber of Com­merce, sees this as a sign that com­pa­nies are increas­ing­ly recog­nis­ing the val­ue of inter­na­tion­al tal­ent.

– This shows that employ­ers are becom­ing more aware of the oppor­tu­ni­ties that inter­na­tion­al­i­sa­tion brings and increas­ing­ly under­stand the impor­tance of inter­na­tion­al tal­ent for busi­ness growth and com­pet­i­tive­ness. Inter­na­tion­al­i­ty is no longer seen as some­thing rel­e­vant only to large com­pa­nies, but as an asset for small­er organ­i­sa­tions as well, Kon­tio says.

The Inter­na­tion­al Employ­er of the Year com­pe­ti­tion is organ­ised by the Junior Cham­bers of Com­merce in Fin­land. Its aim is to high­light com­pa­nies that recruit inter­na­tion­al tal­ent and encour­age employ­ers to devel­op more diverse and equi­table work­places. The Oulu Cham­ber of Com­merce part­nered with the Junior Cham­bers of Com­merce in Oulu in organ­is­ing the com­pe­ti­tion.

The 2026 jury

• Mari Viirelä, Oulu Cham­ber of Com­merce
• Jan­ni­ka Leinonen, Business­Oulu
• Sami Töyrylä, Visidon Oy
• Anna Porop­u­das, Oulu Junior Cham­ber of Com­merce
• Satu Kon­tio, Oulu Ter­va­por­var­it Junior Cham­ber of Com­merce