We’re ready to take on 2021, and the U.S. is our big target.
At Finlabs, we’ve been experiencing great demand for our skills and knowledge. Since starting the company in early 2018, we’ve been on an exciting journey with some awesome clients and built a great team. Now it’s time for us to go even bigger and sink our teeth into the market that we’ve had our eyes on since day one, the U.S.
To drive our expansion into North America we are expanding on our New York office. The office will provide local support for our existing U.S. clients, and serve as the headquarters as we continue to grow the team.
Why?
We are aiming to build upon the momentum of 280% revenue growth and the doubling of our staff since 2018. We’ve built a reputation for closing technology, creativity, and knowledge gaps with real, actionable methodologies and solutions. The New York office will provide a direct link to Finnish innovation and our deep bench of technologists, engineers, and product builders who deliver fast results, efficiencies, and strategic thinking.
Founded in 2017, Finlabs will continue to be headquartered out of Oulu, Finland, supported by our new office in Helsinki. Oulu is the perfect location for us to continue to cultivate the technical skills and knowledge within our team. Considered one of Europe’s “Living Labs” where residents experiment with new technology on a community-wide scale, experimentation and technical exploration is engrained in town and its occupants.
Our existing team has built a deep bench of technology experts with knowledge in AI, machine learning, computer vision, natural language processing, and data science. Finlabs infuses these technologies to create intelligent products and platforms that solve problems and improve business results.
We’ve developed intelligent technology solutions in partnership with companies like Glaston, Greenmaster, Dosh, Nordkapp, Haltian, Suunto, and Wellmo. In the U.S., Finlabs works with CareConnect, a healthcare technology company, where we serve as their technology partners to build and design an agency management platform that facilitates more efficient communication between care agencies and their remote caregiver workforce. In doing so, we have helped them drastically simplify the often-complex shift allocation process and turned employee compliance into a smart digital solution. We aim to further build on the relationship with CareConnect while aggressively seeking out more clients and partners in the U.S. to add to our roster.
How?
The Finlabs expansion into North America will include the addition of John McGarry and Eric Vukmirovich. Both were integral members of the leadership team at advertising agency mcgarrybowen during its most successful years. During their tenure, the company was acquired by Dentsu International and received multiple awards including the coveted “Agency of the Year” award by both Advertising Age and Adweek. The team helped to lead mcgarrybowen’s expansion from one office with 25 employees to over 1,000 employees in five countries with revenue exceeding $200 million. And they additionally were instrumental in creating mcgarrybowen’s digital practice, which grew to over 300 in New York, Chicago, London, Shanghai, and Dusseldorf.
Who?
McGarry has been appointed CEO, North America, and brings more than 25 years of experience in using innovation and technology to help companies build powerful brands. He will lead client services and will spearhead Finlabs’ U.S. vision, culture, products, and services for the company.
Prior to this, McGarry started a creative, design, and innovation consultancy called 2MRW that primarily focused on identifying a brand’s promise and bringing it to life through content. 2MRW was acquired by Austin Texas-based agency Drumroll, where he then served as its Chief Growth Officer.
“I’m honored to be working with such an incredibly talented and innovative team. So many people talk about innovation and the transformative impact modern technology can on businesses — our teams in Finland are building that reality every day.”
Vukmirovich will oversee the company’s North American finance and operations division as COO, North America. He will work across the organization driving strategic prioritization with a focus on operational excellence.
Vukmirovich’s background includes 20 years of operations, finance, accounting, legal and M&A experience. He started at EY and Arthur Andersen before venturing out into more entrepreneurial roles. Most recently, he’s been an angel investor, advisor, and consultant to several successful start-ups.
“Almost all companies know digital will disrupt their industry, but only 20% believe they’ve completed their digital transformation, and over 90% agree that technologies like AI, machine learning and IoT are necessary to reach their goals. Finlabs’ proven track record of quickly delivering intelligent products using the latest technologies perfectly positions us to fill these gaps in the U.S. market.”
Are we excited?
Both Eric and John have previously worked with Finlabs founder and CCO, David Papworth at mcgarrybowen and 2MRW. This has helped them all hit the ground running and jump straight into the task of planning the growth of the team in the U.S. and seeking out new business opportunities.
“I have witnessed first-hand the successful impact both John and Eric have had on dynamic, emerging businesses, and the critical roles they’ve played,” said Papworth. “I am excited to reunite with John and Eric. Together, we will make a big, bold, and purposeful impact for our U.S. clients.”
This is a strong strategic move by Finlabs where we see 2021 as a year of purposeful growth of the company. Priority goes to building the team that can really move the needle and takes Finlabs to new heights. Globally, Finlabs is led by Afa Heikkinen as Founder and Global CEO, who’s words reflect this ambition and purpose
“Coming from the world of motor racing, I’m very focused on building and cultivating great teams. John is a technology visionary with the perfect balance of technical expertise, business acumen and client management skills to lead our U.S. strategy and take advantage of the market opportunities there, and he has the proven ability to secure and inspire new talent. Eric brings a successful track record and extensive experience in managing growth stage companies. It was clear from our earliest conversations that John and Eric share our core values and the enthusiasm behind the organization. We are at a critical moment, and they are the ideal ambassadors to lead our global expansion. They are perfect additions to help round out our team.”
For more information on Finlabs, check out finlabsgroup.com
