Askel Healthcare has an experienced Board of Directors supporting the CEO and the operational Management Team.
The Management Team consists of six members with various areas of expertise from R&D to commercial, clinical, and quality & regulatory.
The Board and Management Team
Board of Directors
According to its Articles of Association, Askel Healthcare Ltd.’s Board of Directors is composed of six members. The Board is built with individuals that can best support the realization of both the company’s long-term vision and short-term objectives.
Jarkko Penttilä
Chairman of the Board
Jarkko joined the Board of Askel in 2020. Prior taking on Board responsibilities, he has worked closely with the Askel team as an advisor since 2018. He is the founder of Founders Bedrock Investments where he works as sparring partner in business building and financing for start-ups and growth companies. Jarkko has 15 years of experience in venture capital investing and has been serving as a board member and Chairman of the Board in multiple high-technology companies. He holds a master’s degree in industrial management.
Pauli Marttila
Board Member
Pauli joined the Board of Askel in 2020. He was the Senior Lead in venture capital and risk management in Sitra, The Finnish Innovation Fund. Before retiring, Pauli was a member of Sitra’s Investment Committee and responsible for selected portfolio companies and funds. He has 15 years of experience in the industry as a business executive, business developer and product developer. Pauli has also served as a venture capital investor for 21 years. He holds a master’s degree in technology and has also studied venture capital investment and financing. Pauli has a wide experience as a Board Member of several Finnish high-technology companies.
Frédéric Picq
Board Member
Frédéric joined the Board of Askel in 2021. He has been the Head Trader of a global family office in New York City for 10 years. He then founded a venture capital fund, Pi2 & Cenitz, to invest in early-stage ventures that mold the world he wants to live in. He focuses his endeavors on strategy, corporate culture, finance, and execution.
Harri Hallila
Board Member
Harri joined the Board of Directors of Askel Healthcare Ltd in 2022. He is the Founder and Managing Director of Synoste Ltd, which became part of Globus Medical Inc. in 2020. Over the past 15 years Harri has built teams, technology, and partnerships with investors and corporates to bring academic results to the global market in the field of orthopedic implants. Currently he is leading the international advanced technology team of Globus Medical in Finland and acting as a board member in medical device startups.
Virpi Muhonen and Anne-Marie Haaparanta
Board Members
Askel Healthcare founders, Virpi Muhonen and Anne-Marie Haaparanta are also members of the Board. Their backgrounds are presented in the Management Team -section.
Management Team
Virpi Muhonen
Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Co-Founder
v.muhonen@askelhealthcare.com
Virpi is the CEO and a co-founder of Askel Healthcare. She has an MSc in animal physiology and a PhD in orthopaedic cell biology. As a principal investigator, she has successfully raised funding for multidisciplinary research projects which she has thrivingly led. She has also supervised multiple MSc and PhD theses and is a credited author in over 20 academic publications in the field. She has been recognized for her commitment to promoting academic entrepreneurship and the impact of research. Currently Virpi also serves as a board member of the Finnish Research Impact Foundation.
Anne-Marie Haaparanta
Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Co-Founder
am.haaparanta@askelhealthcare.com
Anne-Marie is the CTO and a co-founder of Askel Healthcare. She has an MSc in biomaterials and a PhD in biomedical engineering. She has over 15 years of experience of research on biomaterials developing and manufacturing composite scaffolds and membranes for multiple biomedical applications. She has supervised multiple BSc and MSc theses and is a credited author in over 15 academic publications in the field. Her scientific work together with the multidisciplinary scientific co-operation has led to the invention of COPLA®, the cartilage repair device.
Niina Huikuri
Chief Commercial Officer (CCO)
n.huikuri@askelhealthcare.com
Niina has been the CCO for Askel Healthcare since fall 2022. She holds an MSc in business administration. She has previously worked in various leadership roles in Optomed, Johnson & Johnson and Boehringer Ingelheim in business development, sales, marketing and communications. She has experience of IPO processes and international financing rounds as well as investor and analyst communication. She has been a member of a leadership group responsible for establishing a subsidiary and starting commercial operations in the USA. She is also a member of the Board of a medical devices R&D and manufacturing company.
Petra Raatikka
Clinical Operations Director
p.raatikka@askelhealthcare.com
Petra has been the Clinical Operations Director for Askel Healthcare since fall 2021. Previously, she has led clinical research strategy for various business segments in GE Healthcare. Petra has over 15 years of experience bringing clinical insights to global medical device projects and medical innovations. She has a background as a registered nurse in Intensive Care and has been a company representative in academic health technology collaborations at a national level. Petra has extensive expertise in clinical evidence generation for both regulatory and marketing needs for different regions.
Mirva Ekman
Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs (QA&RA) Director
m.ekman@askelhealthcare.com
Mirva has been the QA&RA Director at Askel Healthcare since November 2021. She holds an MSc in mechanical engineering. Before Askel, she lead the QA&RA functions at ConMed Linvatec Biomaterials and Arctic Biomaterials as part of the management team and she has also worked in different quality positions at Perlos in Finland and China. Her over 20 years’ of experience includes implantable biodegradable medical devices and establishing and maintaining quality management systems according to the relevant regulatory requirements.
Niina Ahola
Research and Development (R&D) Director
n.ahola@askelhealthcare.com
Niina has been the R&D Director of Askel Healthcare since November 2021. She holds an MSc in chemical engineering and a doctoral degree in biomedical engineering. She has a strong background in the research of bioabsorbable materials and the behavior of these materials throughout their lifetime. She has more than 15 years of experience in the research and development of medical biomaterials and has worked in various roles in both academia and industry.