HUONE International has appointed its new board at the Annual General Meeting on November 7, with newly-appointed board members Mika Sutinen and Mika Mäkeläinen joining the HUONE board.
Sutinen was recently appointed 2017 Businessman of the year by the Association of Finnish Businessmen, and oversaw a five-fold increase in turnover as CEO and shareholder of Musti & Mirri during his time with the company.
“HUONE intrigued me as a well-developed concept which is modern, innovative and strongly value-adding to customers,” said Sutinen. “I am looking forward to contributing value through my experience of internationalising conceptual businesses abroad from Finland, and of course with leadership experience in complex multi-location environments,” he concluded.
Serial entrepreneur and early-stage HUONE International investor Mäkeläinen is well-known for co-founding Siili Solutions Plc. He will take up his board position from January 1, 2018, onwards.
“I initially invested in HUONE because I believed in the leadership and drive of Evon Söderlund,” said Mäkeläinen. “As the group grew, it continually overcame the challenges it met, and with the knowledge it has now gained, has significant opportunity to scale its operations to more international markets. I am delighted to take up a board position within the Group,” added Mäkeläinen.
Additional changes see Evon Söderlund step down as Group Chairman but retain a position on the board. Söderlund will also continue as Group CEO. Current board member and Takeoff Partners Co-Founder Markko Vaarnas has been elected to take her place.
“Board members are selected based on the expertise needed for executing the fast expansion plan HUONE has for the next two years,” said Söderlund. “We welcome experience in international expansion, market entry, concept rollout, leadership, and service design. With the addition of Mika Mäkeläinen and Mika Sutinen, HUONE’s leadership team has the capability to guide us towards our growth targets.”
“I am thankful to the board for appointing me as Group Chairman, and am excited by the leadership potential of its members,” said Vaarnas. “We’re now in a strong position to collectively grow the Group and take advantage of new business opportunities.”
Juuso Kokko (shareholder) and Jussi Söderlund (shareholder) will retain their board positions, with the total number of board members remaining six.
HUONE group announced a 182 percent growth at the group level for the 2016-17 financial year, with HUONE Singapore becoming profitable within the first six months of operation. The group has targeted a continued growth in Helsinki and rapid scaling of Singapore for the next financial year, with expansion to a total of 10 new locations within the next two years.
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