Jolla names Tomi Pienimäki as new CEO, Marc Dillon to become Head of Software Development
As Jolla gears up for the imminent unveiling of its first smartphone packing the MeeGo-inspired Sailfish OS, there's been another shake-up at the highest level of the company. Marc Dillion will no longer be CEO as of May 6th, with a man by the name of Tomi Pienimäki taking over leadership of the company. He's no stranger to Jolla -- he's an investor and his brother Sami is one of the company's founders. Using nearly the same wording as when previous CEO Jussi Hurmola changed roles, Dillon will now be able to "fully concentrate on the development of Sailfish operating system" under his new title of Head of Software Development. Pienimäki's record shows he's all business, with experience in management, logistics, supply chains and driving growth -- you know, all the fun stuff that keeps a company ticking. Following the handset reveal in May, Jolla expects to start a "pre-sales campaign" in the same month and have devices available for purchase during the second half of this year.
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Jolla Ltd. grows into a new phase: strengthens its board and management
Jolla Ltd., a smartphone technology company, enters the next phase in its development. From the early days of product creation, the company has moved on to the phase where it prepares for the sales start in the second half of this year. The number of personnel has grown to 70 and the team extends to a wide network of collaboration partners. To ensure the successful market entry and further growth, the company is strengthening its board and management structure.
The Jolla Board continues to be chaired by Antti Saarnio, one of the Jolla founders. The other board members are Steve Lau from China Fortune, Mohamed Boukerche, a representative of a private investor, Ari Jaaksi, an industry advisor and a long time expert in open source development, and Stefano Mosconi, CTO of Jolla and one of the company founders.
Jolla is appointing Tomi Pienimäki as the new CEO as of May 6th. Tomi joins Jolla from Itella Corporation, one of the largest logistics operators in the Nordic countries. Tomi joined Itella in 2005, first as CTO, and since 2008 has held the position of CIO. At Itella, Tomi has gained extensive experience in business management and managing large technology organizations. He also has experience from the start-up world in the role of a board member in several companies and having co-founded Done Solutions, an IT company, in 1999.
This appointment allows Marc Dillon, who has been Jolla's CEO as of October 2012, to fully concentrate on the development of Sailfish operating system as Head of Software Development. Marc has been in charge of Jolla's software development right from the start and his strong focus on this will be crucial in the months leading to the market entry of the first Jolla phone and the company's success when the sales starts.
"Jolla is a great company with an exciting and promising future. I truly believe we can make a difference and bring something unique to the consumers. My task is to listen very closely to our customers and further build the collaboration network. I also want to ensure that our team can fully concentrate on the most important task: bringing the first device to the market this year," says Tomi Pienimäki, the new CEO of Jolla.
"Tomi brings a great combination of expertise in leading large technology organizations and understanding of the world of growth companies. He is an excellent addition to the Jolla team and will offer valuable insights into the company operations," says Antti Saarnio, Chairman of the Board. "I warmly thank Marc for his inspirational leadership in the CEO role during the past months. Marc continues to lead our Sailfish OS development, and his drive and talent continue to be crucially important for us, when we navigate towards the launch of our first device," Antti Saarnio continues.
"I am really excited to get an experienced executive such as Tomi on board so that I am again able to give 100% attention to what I love – working on the product with the Jolla team. An important part of my role will also be spreading the news on Sailfish OS to the world and further grow the movement we currently have supporting and co-creating it," says Marc Dillon.
Jolla will showcase its first device in May. A pre-sales campaign is expected to start after mid-May, and the actual sales start will take place during the second half of 2013.
