Rami Rantala Appointed as New CEO of WeAre Solutions
WeAre Solutions has appointed Rami Rantala as the new CEO of the company starting August 30, 2021. Rami Rantala succeeds Henri Vass, who held the position of CEO since the establishment of WeAre in 2016.
Here are some thoughts from both the outgoing and new CEO as WeAre takes its next leaps on its journey.
Henri Vass: "The time has come to give that wand to the next person"
"2,000 days sounds like a lot, but in the end it’s just one flick of a wand. The time has come to give that wand to the next person."
I noticed about 400 days ago (yes, I set up a day counter back then, which is now running at 30 days) that my skills and interests would not be enough for the next phase of WeAre. I could have developed myself in that direction, but it didn’t feel like the right thing to do. My love and passion are more on the technical side of things and in innovation.
I have been doing the CEO task on the side, which is disrespectful towards our lovely and passionate WeAre team. It’s not what they deserve, and it’s not what makes rockets like WeAre launch off to the next planet. They need new fuel, passion, and love, which we have been looking for and found.
Some statistics from my journey with WeAre:
I would like to thank you all for the great journey. A lot of people joined us in the very early stages from steady jobs and gave us their 110% trust and commitment, even though we could only promise next month's salary. I could not have made it this far without Stefan, Tanja, Lassi, and Tuija. They master all the other competence areas where I am... well... not so good. Things like remembering something longer than 4 hours and a bunch of other really important things. Thanks and sorry ❤️
The arrangement we had regarding CEO duties worked fine, but it was the classic situation of burning the candle from both ends, and eventually that does not end well... not for me or the company. Luckily, there’s now quite a bit of candle left, and I think it’s a green momentum candle.
The process of finding a new CEO was a targeted headhunting effort for us. The next captain has been on our radar for two years, and now all the pieces of the puzzle have finally fallen into the right places. I’m happy to announce that – drum roll – Rami Rantala will be the CEO of WeAre starting from August 30, 2021.
I’m not disappearing anywhere and will stay to help until I’m not needed anymore. I’m really excited and happy about this, and Rami is exactly what we were looking for: he understands our technical people, our business, and shares the same core values as WeAre.
Rami Rantala: "The longest recruitment process I have ever been involved in"
"This is the longest recruitment process I have ever been involved in. It started over two years ago, and since then we have had several discussions with board members of WeAre."
I have worked in software development for over 20 years, most of it hands-on and as a team or technical lead. My recent assignments have been at Paf, Zalando, and Alma Media.
The number one reason for me joining the company is the values WeAre has. I share these values completely. We are not driven only by financial figures; we are driven by professionalism, good spirit, respect, and working together with our customers, partners, and even competitors. We believe in good work.
There is no doubt that this is a big jump for me, and I’m sure I need to learn a lot and grow together with WeAre. I have never been after titles, and I have never planned my career. I have chased interesting and challenging things with value, and this is by far the biggest challenge for me so far. The trust I’ve received makes me humble.
I’m really looking forward to meeting everyone we work with and am excited about the things we can deliver in the future to our customers. I’m not going to try to replace Henri; instead, I will bring my style and personality, and I’m sure we will have good times in the future as well.