From a martial artist to a CEO

 

I am half Srilankan and half Finnish. Born and raised in Finland and done my studies in an international environment. I started to train a local martial art called Han Moo Do when I was 12 years old. I was part of the expansion to other Nordic countries by acting as a coach and the responsible person for the operations in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. I have experience of full-contact fights for a bit under 100 fights. The best merit being the winner of the World Championship Games of Hoi Jeon Moo Sool, in 2000 (Michigan, USA). I have also won several gold medals in Finnish Championships and open tournaments for several martial arts.

 

I have a Master of Science degree in international management from Gothenburg University’s Business School. I received the Malmsten Award for the best thesis of my class. I have also received a BBA degree from Jyväskylä Polytechnic on International Business.

 

After finishing my martial arts career, I moved to work in Dublin Ireland. First to work in a multinational call center of IBM, then to being customer satisfaction coordinator for Baileys. In Finland, I have mainly worked in business roles. For Naava as a Chief Revenue Officer, for Keskisuomalainen Ltd (stock-listed company) as a Sales Director, and for Mediaplanet as a Country Manager. I have also been part of bringing marketing automation systems to Finland at the beginning of 2010 and worked in the online video business. My current position is being the CEO Nordic Business Forum - the biggest leadership conference in Europe. I also act on the board of directors of Differo and Nordic Business Report. Have also been a part of the board of directors for Oslo Business Forum and Presidents’ Institute.