Ari-Pekka Saarikangas

Ari-Pekka Saarikangas has extensive work experience in various roles and positions. Ari-Pekka is currently serving as the Chief Executive Officer at Axopar Boats since February 2022. Prior to this, they held the position of Director of Quality and Service at Axopar Boats from May 2021 to February 2022, and Director of Quality from October 2020 to April 2021.

Before joining Axopar Boats, Saarikangas served as the Chairman of the Board at Active Marin & Outdoor since July 2016. In this role, they gained experience in marketing and selling branded outdoor and sport brands.

Saarikangas also had a significant tenure at Wärtsilä, where they held various positions from 1995 to 2020. Some notable roles include Director of Quality at Wärtsilä Corporation from September 2017 to October 2020, Managing Director at Wärtsilä Sweden for Seals & Bearings from March 2017 to September 2017, and Director of Asset Performance Optimisation at Wärtsilä Finland Oy from May 2014 to May 2016. In these positions, they were responsible for quality management, P&L accountability, and leading teams for solution development and data analytics.

Additionally, Saarikangas worked as a Partner at Hallituspartnerit Helsinki since May 2018, focusing on improving the working methods of executive boards in local companies.

Overall, Ari-Pekka Saarikangas has a strong background in executive leadership, quality management, sales, and service in the marine industry.

Ari-Pekka Saarikangas began their education at Vaasa Institute of Technology from 1990 to 1995, where they pursued a Bachelor of Science degree in Automation. Later on, in 2009 to 2010, they attended SCIL's Management Training center, where they obtained an eCBA degree in Business Administration and Management. In 2016, Ari-Pekka briefly attended IMD for Stratecig Partnership and M&A, although no specific degree was mentioned.