Panu Koppinen succeeds founding member Tapio Sulkava as CEO

Panu Koppinen, Vice President, has been appointed as the new CEO of Kyocera Technologies, with effect from 1 October 2026. He succeeds co-founder Tapio Sulkava, who led Kyocera Technologies through a decade of growth, transforming it from an early-stage startup into part of a global group.

To ensure continuity across ongoing R&D programs, strategic roadmaps, and international partnerships, Sulkava will remain with the company as Senior Advisor for the next six months.

A planned handover built on long-term preparation

The change in CEO is the result of two years of thorough, collaborative preparation. Tapio Sulkava co-founded Tikitin in 2016 to commercialize long-standing MEMS research from VTT, aiming to challenge traditional quartz technology with silicon-based MEMS resonators. Under his leadership, the team grew from a three-person startup into an essential R&D unit within the global Kyocera Group following its acquisition in 2019.

“Building Kyocera Technologies into what it is today has been a shared effort. A handover like this works best when it is planned well in advance. Panu and I have prepared this transition together over the last two years. Remaining as an advisor for the coming six months allows us to finalize ongoing initiatives and ensure that our team and projects continue without disruption. Panu is already a familiar and trusted colleague to everyone in our team. He knows our technology, our operations, and our people inside out, and I have complete confidence in his leadership.”

– Tapio Sulkava

Building forward as a strong technology community

Panu Koppinen steps into the CEO position after serving as the Vice President and Chief Product and Technology Officer of Kyocera Technologies. With extensive experience across research, product development, and technology leadership, Koppinen has played a central role in turning innovative ideas from R&D into commercially viable products. Having led both R&D and product programs, he has built the company’s internal processes to systematically translate deep-tech development into manufacturable solutions.

Kyocera Technologies will continue developing next-generation silicon MEMS technologies and products in Espoo, Otaniemi, working in tight synchronization with engineering units in Japan and worldwide.

“I appreciate the trust placed in me to lead our team into the next phase. Tapio has built a solid, resilient foundation for everything we do, which makes this a natural and stable baseline to build upon. Our focus remains clear: advancing silicon MEMS resonator technology, overcoming demanding engineering and manufacturing challenges on the path to high-volume production, and preserving a work culture where curiosity, openness, and thorough engineering are valued.”

– Panu Koppinen

About Kyocera Technologies

Based in Espoo, Finland, Kyocera Technologies Oy develops next-generation silicon MEMS timing devices as part of the Kyocera Corporation. Specializing in silicon MEMS resonator research and development for timing and frequency control applications, our work concerns both theoretical and practical applications of MEMS development and mass production.