I've had the priviledge to have Mikke as my godfather. He had great passion and drive for doing things. He was also keen on marketing and international business. These are also things that have shaped me as a person. Rest in peace.

– Risto-Matti

Noin seitsemän ja puolen vuoden työtoveruus Miken kanssa oli monivaiheinen ja unohtumaton matka. Persoonana hän oli erityisen ystävällinen, avoin ja erilaisia ihmisiä ymmärtävä. Kaipaamme hänen iloista hyvän huomenen toivotustaan ja uskomatonta energiaa, joka väistämättä tarttui muihinkin.

Työssä Mikelle tärkein elementti oli näkemys: kuuluisan punaisen langan löytäminen jokaiselle asiakkaalle sekä sen johdonmukainen ja sitkeä seuraaminen. Hän oli päämäärätietoinen ja sinnikäs kuin terrieri – vertaus jota hän usein itsekin käytti motivoidessaan meitä muita yhä parempiin suorituksiin.

Hienointa oli näkemysten jakaminen ja yhdessä tekeminen, sillä Mikke oli aito tiimipeluri. Onnistumiset olivat yhteisiä ja takapakit yhdessä oppimista varten. Luottamus tiimin osaamiseen ja jatkuvaan kehittymiseen tuli jatkuvasti esiin isoissa ja pienissä asioissa. Tämä luottamus myös velvoittaa meitä, jotka kaipaamme häntä esimiehenä ja työtoverina. Vain muutama viikko sitten Mikke sanoi tiimipalaverissa, että kun yksi tiimin jäsen on poissa, muiden tehtävä on järjestäytyä uudestaan ja ottaa tilanne haltuun.

– Terhi

Mikael always asked how was the office without me when he came back from the meeting outside. I often answered that everything was ok. But I was wrong. It’s really empty without him. Because he is the spirit of Vipu.

He cared about everyone, professionally and personally.

Every morning, he would say hi to everyone in the office with a big smile and ask : how are you?. And after finishing lunch and before leaving, he often said thank you for nice talk.

The reason why I admire my boss is because of his encouragement. He knew I had difficult task in Finnish so he came to my table and said: “Good job! Look how improve your Finnish does”.

It felt every comfortable to have conversation with Mikael since he supported team member’s idea by actually help to look for the resources. And he always spoke with most excited voice and used such nice words like great ideas, good stuffs.

He focused on solutions

I sent a tons of finnish email to swedish contacts and the client had been spammed by hundred of angry replies from SE contacts. Mikael still talked to me with calmed voice. He didn’t spend any time on blaming, instead he gave me very clear instruction what to do next: find the reasons, make the solution (send apologizing email). And I still remember exactly what he said: “When shit happens, we need to to keep communication between the team”. As the result, even some swedish contacts later sent email to said that they were satisfied with the way we handled the problem.

Personally, he is my benefactor, my life saver. When everyone focused on my weakness, he saw my strength and open the door to me. I still remember the day he was call with excited voice to offer me the job. And since then, my heart is always full of appreciation to Mikael and to the opportunity to work in Vipu.

Thanks millions! (that’s how Mikael often said)

– Anh

I have learnt a lot from him:

• take a deep breath and listen
• don`t make hasty conclusions
• enjoy life - even if it is not always healthy (drink a glass of wine)
• be strong believe - tomorrow is a new day
• take care of yourself and the people you love
• don`t forget your inner kid - I love his Christmas candles ….
• be supportive
• you can everything get done
• ask the right questions to coach people - What is preventing you from …..?
• stay inspired
• be brave

– Barbara

Mikael was a dear friend and his passing is heartbreaking. He was impeccably honest, incredibly intelligent, thoughtful of others, empathetic towards all, and wonderfully endearing man with a great sense of humor. I will miss him and already regret not having gotten together more often.

– Ray

A great father. Mikael never saw life as a zero-sum game.

– Kenneth

He was such a great man. A man of great kindness, great friendliness, great integrity and great warmth - all characteristics he so freely shared out to so many, so often.

How he used to say my name. 'Richard', he would say on phone calls and when meeting. He would say it with such affection and intensity that he made you feel like the most important person in the world in that one moment.

In fact I first met Mikael 6 years ago in Boston. A room full and people and yet he stood out. That huge smile and infectious laugh. How we all loved him. And even just a few nights ago at the Guinness Storehouse we had a few beers, we talked and talked and laughed so much.

– Richard

Mickey var en fantastisk och unik person och bästa tänkbara lojala vän. Han levde fullt hela tiden och var alltid optimistisk (vilket sedan spridde av sig på alla han träffade) och vi kommer alla att sakna honom massor.

– Ben

Mikael was one of the few persons who marked my life, full of joy, professionalism and energy...

– Hans

In the summer of 2012 I had to pleasure to meet Mikael for the first time when he visited our town Nijmegen for our first "Inbound Summit", together with Richard and Emma from Deeply Digital.

The minute he joined us, it felt like Mikael was a friend that I have known forever. He was generous to share his stories about Vipu and had an immediate warm interest in me as a colleague and fellow HubSpot agency owner. Also he told proudly of you both, his sons, with a great and warm smile.

After a few hours of the conversations that we had in English he suddenly started talking Dutch to me with a great and triumphant smile on his face, not hiding the pleasure he had about the surprised look on my face that this energetic guy from Finland spoke in my mother language in a very acceptable accent. He told me that he had lived and worked in Belgium for a while and that he learned Dutch there.

We had a great time at that Summit.

After that first meeting we kept in touch over email a few times a year, did some phone calls to discuss HubSpot best practices and bumped into each other on HubSpot Events in Dublin and Boston. Every time when I saw him, his great smile and his strong voice greeted me: "Hi Rob, how are you" "Really, that is SUPER", many times.

In January this year in our "Helsinki Inbound Summit" I was blessed to receive the tireless hospitality of Mikael. Arriving at the Airport in Vantaa on a late Saturday night Mikael texted me the exact instructions of how to get from the Airport to the hotel and invited me over for lunch in the city. He picked me up at the hotel on late Sunday morning and gave me a very nice sight seeing tour around Helsinki talking enthusiastically about his business and his team. We sat down for lunch in a very nice spot in the harbor and with a big smile he recommended me to try the Elk Meatballs, while showing so much interest in my experiences with inbound and my vision, constantly challenging me to tell me my opinions. Such a man was Mikael, always looking for more answers in such a warm and enthusiastic way. It was a great afternoon, that I will never forget!

In the night he took us, Richard, Emma and myself to a traditional Finnish restaurant, where we shared fun anecdotes and had the best food possible from the traditional Finnish kitchen. Mikael couldn't stop smiling looking us enjoying his company and his food. We ended fairly early that night, because we were invited for the Monday Morning team meeting at Vipu HQ.

That Monday morning a loud voice and a great smile Invited us in to his office, of course it was Mikael, who immediately gave us a tour and introduced us proudly to his great team, eager to start the new working week. In the meeting I could see with my own eyes how Mikael loved and praised his team for their work (saying his characteristic "SUPER") and how the team looked at him as if he were the conductor of an orchestra. We stayed in office all day and had a great night out in town. Asking Mikael about which Finnish gift to buy for my girlfriend, he said with a laugh: you should buy a Moomin, and of course I followed his advice and I am so glad I still have this stuffed animal as a memory to this great trip.

The last time I saw Mikael was last week. We met at the airport, hugged and went together with Richard to our hotel, telling stories to each other as if we were back in Helsinki again. On Tuesday we went to the event, applauded and cheered loudly for him when Vipu received a special announcement about winning the Impact Award, to his delight and had beers and many laughs in the night at the Guinness Storehouse. He was so happy to be there and I enjoyed standing next to him having conversations with old and new friends from the world of Inbound.

After the event we shared a cab and grabbed a quick bite in a shabby fast food place together with Rich, Emma and Tuomas and shared our stories of the evening in loud laughter, it was a night with no worries and so much fun.

In the hotel I hugged Mikael goodbye and invited him to another Nijmegen Summit soon to be discussed and wished him a safe flight home on Wednesday. It was the last time I saw him, he was happy, full of energy and full of new ideas..

Last Saturday I received the sad news that Mikael had suddenly passed away while in his office, I was shocked that this had to happen to this great man, an inspiring example of leadership, friendship and generosity.

Dear Mikael, I will dearly miss your warm personality, your relentless energy, the wisdom that you always shared with me and I will cherish the great moments together for the rest of my life. Thank you for everything, you are a great man!

– Robbert

With Mikael passing away, an important anchor point and very good friend fades away from the network of important persons and events which gives our lives value and drives us to live it 200%.

He will always be with us. In our heart and in our minds

– Hans

I first spoke with Mikael on a Friday afternoon in July 2016 and we spoke almost every Friday thereafter.

I suppose it could be hard for someone to understand how a person living so far away from you, from a different culture, a different generation and level of seniority could become a friend and such an inspiration. Anyone who knew Mikael would understand this.

Mikael brought out the best in people, personally and professionally. Seeing someone already so wise, respected and successful being completely transparent and always willing to learn more, to look forward, made me constantly push myself.

He drove me and inspired me every single week. His goals became my own. Though in different countries and companies, I felt like we were on the same team. He was a true leader and you could see this from the way his colleagues, and even his competitors spoke so highly of him.

I feel honoured and immensely grateful to have had the pleasure to work with him and to also be lucky enough to enjoy some laughs with him every week, he was always tremendous fun and could relate to anyone.

My big learning from Mikael was that no matter how successful you are, share your knowledge and time with those who are just starting out. He had so much wisdom, but equal empathy and kindness to match.

I will think of him every Friday at 11am Irish time and remember how lucky I was to work with the best.

– Rachel