Rovio Entertainment, the Espoo, Finland-based game developer behind the global hit Angry Bird, announced that Mikael Hed will step down and succeeded as Chief Executive Officer by Pekka Rantala on January 1, 2015.
Between now and then, Pekka will work closely with Hed to ensure the succession.
Pekka Rantala has more than 20 years of international leadership experience within branded consumer products in various industries.
The Chairman of the Board, Kaj Hed, has nominated Mikael Hed for a Board of Directors position. In addition, Mikael Hed has also been appointed as Chairman of Rovio Animation Studios, where he will oversee Animation and Movies.
The company had raised $42m in Series A funding from Accel Partners, Atomico Ventures, and Felicis Ventures in 2011 (read here).
Read the press release below:
MIKAEL HED PASSES THE HOODIE — PEKKA RANTALA TO SUCCEED AS CEO OF ROVIO IN 2015
Espoo, Finland — August 29, 2014 — Rovio Entertainment — After more than five years of leading Rovio and successfully turning Angry Birds into a global entertainment phenomenon, Mikael Hed will be succeeded as Chief Executive Officer by Pekka Rantala on January 1, 2015.
Pekka Rantala has more than 20 years of international leadership experience within branded consumer products in various industries.
The Chairman of the Board, Kaj Hed, has nominated Mikael Hed for a Board of Directors position. In addition, Mikael Hed has also been appointed as Chairman of Rovio Animation Studios, where he will oversee Animation and Movies.
The CEO transition will happen by January 1, 2015. Between now and then, Pekka will work closely with Mikael to ensure a smooth succession.
“It has been an amazing ride and in the coming months I will be very happy to pass the hoodie to Pekka Rantala, who will take Rovio to the next level,” Mikael Hed said. “Pekka is known to be a great leader with experience building successful global consumer brands. I will continue to play an active role and will support Pekka in any way I can to ensure Rovio’s continued success.”
Rovio Entertainment Ltd, the creator of Angry Birds™, is a global industry-changing entertainment media company headquartered in Finland that creatively combines digital with physical, breaking the boundaries of traditional content delivery. What started as a casual game in 2009 became an international phenomenon within a few months of its release. Today Angry Birds is the most downloaded game of all time and a globally known entertainment brand in publishing, licensing, animations, books and location based entertainment. Rovio’s animated Angry Birds feature film is slated for July, 2016. www.rovio.com
FinSMEs
01/09/2014