Simo Leisti appointed as Futurice Group CEO to lead the company’s next stage of European growth
Today, international digital engineering and innovation company Futurice announced that they have appointed Simo Leisti as their new Group CEO as the logical next step in their European growth strategy.
The company believes that Leisti’s strong leadership track record, experience in strategic renewal, along with scaling up business and operations, from several international tech companies will combine for success in this new role.
Leisti will join Futurice on November 1st, 2021. He currently serves as the Managing Director of Fujitsu Finland where he has ushered in cultural and business innovation by helping the company break out of its traditional strategies to drive growth.
“Our new CEO Simo Leisti has a proven ability to energize and grow companies through courageous strategic choices, applying multiple business models, including innovative consulting and productized services, and getting everybody on board for the journey,” says Hanna Maria Sievinen, Chairman of Futurice Group’s board. “Simo has seen all aspects of multiple international technology organizations. His external perspective helps us appreciate things we take for granted as well as to challenge the status quo.”
“I’ve followed Futurice’s growth and the development of its unique culture for some time now and am delighted to join the team,” says the new CEO Simo Leisti. “Together with the company’s experts, we’ll continue to challenge conventional ways of working, drive new business models, and utilize technology and data for business impact. We will be co-creating innovative ways to increase value for customers, employees, owners, our partner ecosystems, and society at large,” Leisti continues.
Outgoing CEO Teemu Moisala has successfully led the three-year transition from a founder-led to a management-led company.
“Under Teemu’s leadership, the Futurice Group grew to almost double its size,” Sievinen says. “The company now has a solid base of reliable cross-cultural teams, advanced technology expertise, and a diverse client portfolio in a very competitive market. This has given us the confidence to move to the next strategic phase.”
“With this foundation, we can now scale our growth to serve more European clients led by Simo’s complementing vision and experience,” Sievinen concludes.
Moisala will continue to lead Futurice through October of 2021.
“We have been able to build Futurice to its current form by making sure the right people are in the right positions. And that goes for the CEO, too,” says Moisala. “Futurice and its family companies continue to be the ultimate learning platform. I am proud to have made my mark in this position, happy about how far this team has come and where we are headed. I am looking forward to defining the next steps in my journey but for now, I will focus on the transition to Simo’s leadership and make sure we continue our positive momentum.“
Futurice Group consists of the digital engineering and innovation company Futurice, Columbia Road, THRIV, Meltlake and Aito.ai.