Gofore Plc: Gofore appoints Riikka Vilminko-Heikkinen as Director of Sales and Customer Value and Juha Virtanen as Director of Digital Services Development

GOFORE PLC PRESS RELEASE 14 OCTOBER 2021 AT 13:10

Gofore appoints Riikka Vilminko-Heikkinen as Director of Sales and Customer Value and Juha Virtanen as Director of Digital Services Development 

Digital transformation consultancy Gofore Plc has appointed Riikka Vilminko-Heikkinen as Director of Sales and Customer Value and member of the Group Executive Management Team. Juha Virtanen, previously holding the position as Director of Sales and Customer Value, will take the lead as Director of Digital Services Development at Gofore, continuing as member of the Executive Management Team. Both appointments will come into effect as of 14 October 2021. 

"I warmly welcome Riikka to the Executive Management Team and congratulate Juha on his new position. With these appointments we want to ensure the execution of Gofore’s growth strategy in the best possible way. We want to be a company that is constantly evolving, and these changes in management positions help us to achieve this target. Enthusiasm and new ideas support our vision to be one of the most significant digital transformation consultancies in Europe”, says Mikael Nylund, CEO of Gofore. 

Riikka Vilminko-Heikkinen has been working at Gofore as a consultant and in sales since 2016. Previously, Vilminko-Heikkinen has been responsible for the business and sales development in public sector. Prior to joining Gofore, she has been working for the City of Tampere and developing the information architecture there. Vilminko-Heikkinen has a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Business Information Management.

”My new role inspires me. We can help our customers to thrive by combining the strengths of Gofore’s services from different business areas. Gofore has been contributing to several large projects that have been building Finland’s digital foundation. We have been able to build a sustainable digital everyday life, which is something we want to take to the international markets as well. The social welfare and health care reform in Finland is a great opportunity for our company to renew the digital services affecting everyday life of Finnish people. Thanks to Gofore’s strong expertise and services, we can bring modern thinking and concrete solutions to support the reform”, Riikka Vilminko-Heikkinen comments her appointment. 

Juha Virtanen has been working at Gofore for nearly 15 years. He joined Gofore in 2007, being the 13th employee of the company. Virtanen has served as Director of Sales and Customer Value 2016–2021, and previously also as Director of Software Development and as Director of Sales and Marketing. He has been member of the Group Executive Management Team since 2010. Virtanen has a Master’s degree in economics. 

"I am very excited about the change to return to Gofore’s technology and design unit with over 400 talented experts. We have broad and versatile experience in implementing significant digital services, and we have been able to develop our customer’s business as well as improve people’s everyday life in Finland and internationally. We aim to be even more significant and impactful in digitalising societies. In Finland, we want to be a number one choice to our customers as a partner in agile and human-driven development. Internationally we aim to take major steps in the private and public sectors”, Juha Virtanen comments his appointment. 

Aki Koikkalainen who previously held the position of Director of Digital Services Development is now leaving Gofore's Executive Management Team. 

”I would like to thank Aki for his contribution to the growth of Gofore’s digital services. Gofore is evidently one of the most impactful companies in digitalising the Finnish society. This is a great achievement and something to be very proud of”, Mikael Nylund says. 

Following the aforementioned changes, the members of the Group Executive Management Team are as of 14 October 2021: 

Mikael Nylund, CEO 
Teppo Talvinko, CFO 
Riikka Vilminko-Heikkinen, Director, Sales and Customer Value  
Petra Sievinen, Director, Marketing and Communications 
Terhi Vesanen, Chief Growth Officer
Juha Virtanen, Director, Digital Services Development
Elja Kirjavainen, Director, Digital change advisory services
Miika Nurminen, Director, Digital Quality Assurance
Sanna Hildén, Director, People Operations
Kalle Mäki, General Counsel 

Press photo of Riikka Vilminko-Heikkinen and Juha Virtanen. Photo credit: Jonathan Melartin
https://goforeoyj.kuvat.fi/kuvat/FOR+MEDIA/Management+team/Juha+Virtanen+ja+riikka+vilminko-heikkinen+gofore.+Kuva+Jonathan+melartin.jpg

Further enquiries:

Mikael Nylund, CEO, Gofore Plc   
tel. +358 40 540 2280   
mikael.nylund@gofore.com   

Riikka Vilminko-Heikkinen, Gofore Plc
Director, Sales and Customer Value
tel. +358 44 5285181
riikka.vilminko-heikkinen@gofore.com

Juha Virtanen, Gofore Plc
Director, Digital Services Development
tel. +358 50 413 3136
juha.virtanen@gofore.com

Gofore’s media image bank https://goforeoyj.kuvat.fi/kuvat/FOR+MEDIA/

Gofore Plc is a digital transformation consultancy with some 800 impact-driven employees across Finland, Germany, Spain, and Estonia – top experts in our industry who are our company’s heart, brain, and hands. We use our holistic service offering – consulting, coding, design and verification – as tools to incite positive change. We care for our people, our customers, and the surrounding world. Our values guide our business: Gofore is a great workplace that thrives on customer success. In 2020, our net sales amounted to EUR 78 million. Gofore Plc’s share is listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd. in Finland. Get to know us better at www.gofore.com.