Originally from Turku, Finland, Jussi started with Wärtsilä as a summer trainee and has been with Wärtsilä for more than 40 years. An engineer by trade, he has worked in fifteen different roles to include salesperson, President of Wärtsilä Biopower Oy, Vice President of Business Development for Wärtsilä North America and Wärtsilä Corporation. Currently, Heikkinen is the Director of Growth and Development at Wärtsilä Energy Business for Wärtsilä North America, leading market and business development, including Wärtsilä’s Path to 100% initiative to make 100% renewable energy systems a reality across the globe.
The entrepreneurial and innovative culture at Wärtsilä is what attracted Jussi to the company and he’s played a role in growing that culture for 40 years.
Now, Heikkinen has a major leadership position in Wärtsilä Energy’s efforts to lead the global transition towards a 100% renewable energy future. Using his expertise in developing new marketing strategies and Smart Power Generation concept, Heikkinen is one of the original architects of the Path to 100% initiative and a member of the Path to 100% Community of Experts. In that role, he has overseen power system modelling and stakeholder outreach efforts in California and co-authored a whitepaper, “Path to 100% Renewables for California,” which outlines a faster, cheaper, cleaner way for California to meet and exceed its clean power goals.