Karsten Schneider
Finland
Mr. Markko Vaarnas serves as Managing Partner at Takeoff Partners. He also serves as Chairman and Board Member at HUONE. He is also a co-founder and CEO of Global Intelligence Alliance Group (GIA Group) between 1995-2014, Markko has worked hands-on on every aspect of business that an internationalizing company needs to consider: product development, strategy, go-to-market planning, sales & marketing, finance, team development, M&A and corporate governance. During his 20 years with GIA Group, Markko oversaw the company's growth from a small Finnish startup into a global leader in Market Intelligence software and services. GIA Group was acquired by M-Brain Group in September 2014, by which time it had 15 mEUR in annual revenue and a headcount of 150. Markko has a reputation of being a strong visionary and a strategist, and yet having close attention to execution with any project he works on. As a leader and co-worker he is widely appreciated among customers, business partners and colleagues alike. Particularly for his ability of getting things done! With Takeoff Partners, Markko wants to make his knowledge and experience available to other companies and individuals who may benefit from them. He values shared goals, transparent cooperation as well as an energetic and result-oriented approach to work. Markko serves as the Chairman of the Board for Meetingpackage.com. In addition, he is a Board Member of Boardman2020, LATO - Leadership Automation Tools, Cuckoo Workout and Deep Lead. Since March 2014, he has also served as a coach at Startup Sauna. He also serves as a Board Member at LATO Tools. He serves as an Advisor at CollectiveCrunch.
Individual/Angel