Johan Ekholm

Johan Ekholm is a founder and Executive Chairman of Virnex. Johan has many years’ experience in global business, technical integration and transformation business. He has worked for several companies and clients in the public, telecom and finance sectors, mostly acting as a leader in various change programs. Johan is driven by his desire to work with keen and enthusiastic people, guiding them through challenging situations and helping them achieve their goals.

Johan has strong leadership and negotiation skills and an excellent business sense. He was a co-founder of Distocraft Oy, a company that was acquired by LM Ericsson in 2007. He has also been invited to sit on several company boards and has helped the companies primarily with leadership and company governance issues as well as guiding them through major changes. He has a background in the military, telecom and finance sectors.

Johan has degrees in telecommunications, military and leadership.

Outside work, Johan enjoys playing golf, travelling, fishing, listening to progressive music and spending time with his family in the countryside.

Tom Gustafsson

Tom Gustafsson is a co-founder and CTO of Virnex. Prior to Virnex, Tom worked as Head of Engineering at Accanto Systems. He has worked on world-leading software systems and products in the telecommunications and forestry industries. He has a great deal of international experience, managing various multicultural teams as well as living in different countries. During his career as an athlete, he lived in the US and Austria and he has also worked in a large IT company in Germany. He has degrees in software engineering and performance management and is currently completing his PhD on virtual team management in software engineering.

Off the clock, Tom likes to spend time with his family and play sports. He would love to continue playing basketball, but has had to slow down because of his knees and back. Nowadays, he focuses more on judo, cycling, running, skiing and other gentler sports.

Jussi Laimio

Jussi Laimio is a co-founder and Vice President in charge of telecom business at Virnex. Jussi has more than 20 years’ experience working in various roles across the telecom sector. Before Virnex, Jussi worked at Accanto Systems, which he joined at the very start of the company’s journey, carrying out many different roles from project manager to VP of customer care and services. Jussi has worked closely with leading operators such as Telefónica Germany, Telekom Austria (A1), Orange Business Services, H3G Austria, Telia, and Elisa. Jussi is a true team player who is able to bring out the best in everybody. He loves to solve his customers’ challenges by listening to and understanding the problem and then providing the best possible solution. Jussi has a Master’s degree in telecommunications and has attended several courses in leadership and telecom technologies. He has always been driven by his keen interest in everything new and his desire to keep learning.

Jussi is enthusiastic about orienteering and is a proud member of his orienteering club’s committee. He also enjoys running, cycling, swimming and playing badminton with his friends. Jussi is married with three daughters, so family life keeps him busy too.

Katja Pesonen

Katja Pesonen works in finance and HR at Virnex. Katja has more than 15 years’ experience in various international business sectors, such as transport, defence and security, and in the telecom industry. Her expertise ranges across several areas, including sales, supply chain and finance. She has a Bachelor’s degree in business studies.

Katja enjoys spending time with her family, being outdoors and reading. She is a keen fitness boxer and likes listening to good rock music.