FiBAN Board

Kim Väisänen, Chair

Kim is an angel investor with an entrepreneurial background and mindset. He became a full-time investor in 2015 after selling his company to the London Stock Exchange and has invested in almost 30 companies in different fields today. One of his portfolio companies, Framery, has grown fast and won the Internationalization Award of the President of the Republic of Finland. Kim describes his approach to angel investing as a co-entrepreneur. “I put a bit of my time, effort, and money, and we try to make things greater, bigger, and better – together. I have always said that if you have been successful you have to share it and help other people.”

Annukka Mickelsson

Annukka Mickelsson got excited about startups during the financial crisis as a source of new economic growth. She became a FiBAN member in 2015 to participate in networking, share experience and build growth paths for promising companies. Today, the majority of investments are directed to data analytics and services. Annukka holds a master’s degree in economics and has a background in the financial sector as well as politics as a ministerial advisor and government affairs. She has a long experience at the strategic level in ESG, leadership as well as board experience in different industries.

Esa Kinnunen

Esa Kinnunen started his career in international technology companies flying around the globe for 15 years. In late 2011, Esa moved on to the startup-entrepreneur phase, when he co-founded Nordcloud company and expanded it to the international market at a fast pace. After a successful exit from Nordcloud, Esa continues as an angel investor and board professional in several fast-growing companies. His motto is “What would you do if you were not afraid of anything?”

Elina Koivumäki

After 17 years in large Finnish law firms, Elina Koivumäki quit her partnership and founded her own law firm Lexperience in 2016. Elina specializes in legal issues related to sales, marketing, communication, social media, copyright, and data protection. From 2018-2021 she was also a co-founder of the Growpolis startup. Since 2016 Elina has been an angel investor with e.g. Kyrö Distillery Company, Naava, Bonfire Agency, and GraphoGame & Claned in her portfolio, and joined FiBAN in 2020. Elina also works as a professional speaker, moderator, and host, and is the author of the awarded “Marketing law” book series. Elina’s registered trademark is “It’s all about people” and she strongly believes in the importance of communication skills.

Eljas Repo

Eljas is an entrepreneur in the communications industry and running Repo Media. He is currently the Vice-Chair of the Pro Opera Association, a member of the Board of the Exchange Club, and the Chair of the Badminton Division. He is also a member of the Board of the listed company Ovaro Kiinteistösijoitus Oyj, a member of Taikina Capital, a board member of a few startups, and he is a Senior Advisor at Directors´ Institute Finland.

Pia Kantola

Pia is a technology entrepreneur, start-up business angel, and international business leader with long experience in SW and technology industries. She is especially interested in creating growth strategies, developing innovative customer solutions, and scaling businesses globally. As a business angel, she has invested in B2B SaaS and data-driven companies. She is also a board member at technology companies.

Antti Lehtimäki

Antti Lehtimäki is a passionate portfolio entrepreneur, angel investor, and strategy consultant with a creative mindset. He has been a FiBAN member since 2017 and has directed the FiBAN operations in the Turku area since 2020. For six years, Antti Lehtimäki worked in Helsinki at Gartner, gathering the key takes for succeeding in technology, market research, and service businesses. After moving back to the Turku region, he has consulted over 100 SME companies with growth strategies. Since 2013, he has also directed the Growth Entrepreneur Service in the South-West Finland region, helping over 1300 SME growth companies with a total of over 5 billion in annual revenue. He has invested in 5 companies and intends to establish a portfolio of 15 companies in the next 5 years. For FiBAN Antti brings his regional expertise and growth strategy knowledge of complex business ecosystems.

Board 2022
Annukka Mickelsson, Chair
Kim Väisänen, Vice Chair
Elina Koivumäki
Eljas Repo
Esa Kinnunen
Noora Fagerström
Tuomas Pahlman

Board 2021
Reima Linnanvirta, Chair
Annukka Mickelsson, Vice Chair
Esa Kinnunen
Kim Väisänen
Noora Fagerström
Saga Forss
Tuomas Pahlman

Board 2020
Reima Linnanvirta, Chair
Teemu Varpanen, Vice Chair
Noora Fagerström
Saga Forss
Annukka Mickelsson
Esa Mäkeläinen
Tuomas Pahlman

Board 2019
Janne Jormalainen, Chair
Reima Linnanvirta, Vice Chair
Saga Forss
Esa Mäkeläinen
Ali Omar
Markko Vaarnas
Teemu Varpanen

Board 2018
Janne Jormalainen, Chair
Sami Etula, Vice Chair
Pia Erkinheimo
Esa Mäkeläinen
Ali Omar
Torsti Tenhunen
Teemu Varpanen

Board 2017
Torsti Tenhunen, Chair
Pontus Stråhlman, Vice Chair
Anna-Kaarina Lipsanen
Esa Mäkeläinen
Mirja Laulajainen
Janne Jormalainen
Sami Etula

Board 2016
Jaakko Salminen, Chair
Torsti Tenhunen, Vice Chair
Anna-Kaarina Lipsanen
Kaisa Hernberg
Harry Brade
Juha Saarinen
Pontus Stråhlman

Board 2015
Jaakko Salminen, Chair
Anna-Kaarina Lipsanen, Vice-Chair
Aarne Sipilä
Ari Hyppönen
Harry Brade
Juha Kurkinen
Torsti Tenhunen

Board 2014
Riku Asikainen, Chair
Jaakko Salminen, Vice-Chair
Aarne Sipilä
Anne Berner
Ari Hyppönen
Juha Kurkinen
Pekka Vartiainen

Board 2013
Riku Asikainen, Chair
Jaakko Salminen, Vice-Chair
Ari Hyppönen
Jaakko Salminen
Marika Af Enehjelm
Pekka Vartiainen
Tapio Heikkilä

Board 2012
Juha Kurkinen, Chair
Ari Korhonen, Vice-Chair
Feodor Aminoff
Jussi Heinilä
Mammu Kaario
Riku Asikainen
Tapio Heikkilä

Board 2011
Juha Kurkinen, Chair
Ari Korhonen, Vice-Chair
Feodor Aminoff
Jussi Heinilä
Mammu Kaario
Riku Asikainen
Tapio Heikkilä

The Founders of FiBAN