Simo Ratilainen appointed CEO of Ihmeitätekevä Ikoni Oy – “Growth is at its best when it is profitable”

Simo Ratilainen has been appointed CEO of Ikoni with effect from 1 October 2026. The company’s current CEO, Jarkko Kemppainen, will continue at Ikoni as COO. Ratilainen will focus particularly on developing commercial operations and sales. He will also become a shareholder in the company.

Ratilainen’s expertise centres on commercial management, sales and driving profitable growth. Throughout his career, developing commercial operations has gone hand in hand with delivering results. What particularly attracted him to Ikoni was the company’s strong technological expertise and the opportunity to take it into its next phase of growth.

“Ikoni is a partner that connects technology with the client’s business and makes the benefits tangible. The opportunity to develop this further with a skilled team felt like something I wanted to take on,” Ratilainen says.

Jarkko Kemppainen is one of Ikoni’s founders and says the company has reached a good position with its current team. Growth has largely been based on the company’s own networks, existing client relationships and opportunities arising through the HTGP Group. In the next phase, the company will take a more active approach to acquiring new clients and a more systematic approach to sales.

“We have recognised for some time that the next stage of growth requires stronger commercial expertise. We now want to make a clear investment in that,” Kemppainen says.

Ratilainen’s previous experience is well aligned with Ikoni’s goals. He says effective sales starts with a precise understanding of three key things: who the company wants to create value for, what problems it solves and why clients should choose Ikoni.

“After that, you need a clear offering, active sales efforts and shared metrics. Growth is at its best when it is profitable,” Ratilainen says.

For his first year, Ratilainen has set concrete goals: a clear direction, a more diverse client base and commercial operations that work effectively.

“My goal is also to help turn our strong technical expertise into value that clients can see even more clearly.”

The two say they will work closely together. Ratilainen will focus particularly on clients, sales and commercial management. Kemppainen, in turn, will be responsible for solution development, delivery and the company’s operations.

“Our roles complement each other well, as my strengths lie in technology, solutions and delivery. Simo’s strengths, in turn, lie in commercial management and sales,” Kemppainen says.

Ikoni builds software and data platforms to meet its clients’ business needs. The company is part of the HTGP Group and has offices in Helsinki and Oulu.