From a martial artist to a CEO

 

I am half Sri Lankan and half Finnish, born and raised in Finland with an education in an international environment. I began training in Han Moo Do, a local martial art, at the age of 12. As a coach and operations leader, I helped expand Han Moo Do into Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. With nearly 100 full-contact fights under my belt, my proudest achievement is winning the World Championship Games of Hoi Jeon Moo Sool in 2000 (Michigan, USA). Additionally, I have won multiple gold medals in Finnish Championships and open tournaments in various martial arts.

 

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

After retiring from martial arts, I worked in Dublin, Ireland, initially in IBM’s multinational call center and later as a customer satisfaction coordinator for Baileys. In Finland, I have held various business roles: Chief Revenue Officer at Naava, Sales Director at Keskisuomalainen Plc, and Country Manager at Mediaplanet. I also played a key role in introducing marketing automation systems to Finland in the early 2010s and have experience in the online video business.

 

Currently, I am the CEO of Selfly Store and previously served as the CEO of Nordic Business Forum, Europe’s largest leadership conference, for four years. I have also been a board member for Differo, Nordic Business Report, Oslo Business Forum, and Presidents’ Institute.