Mika Sarhimaa starts as Sulava CEO as Aki Antman focuses on AI – The Digital Neighborhood Accelerates AI Leadership with Strategic Appointments
The Digital Neighborhood, a growing community of leading independent tech companies specializing in Microsoft AI and Cloud, is rapidly advancing the Copilot and AI frontiers, solidifying its leadership in Northern and Western Europe.
Following the strategic announcement in November 2023 on the establishment of The Digital Neighborhood’s AI Arm under Aki Antman, Founder of Sulava, we are pleased to announce that Aki will now focus exclusively on leading the AI Arm. This move follows the Copilot and AI momentum that the group is witnessing and highlights The Digital Neighborhood’s commitment to transforming business strategies and operations through AI integration.
In light of Aki’s appointment, Mika Sarhimaa, who has been serving as Sulava’s COO from December 2023, will step into the role of CEO at Sulava. At the same time, HR Director Juha Heikkonen, who has worked at Sulava for a long time, joined Sulava’s Board of Directors.
Mika has had a long career in the IT industry, having previously worked at Microsoft as Enterprice Commercial Lead and at Hewlett-Packard for example. He has excelled in driving the business forward in Finland and beyond. His leadership and extensive experience in Microsoft technologies have been pivotal in Sulava’s continued innovation and customer engagement. Mika’s appointment as CEO ensures that Sulava will continue to thrive with the support of strong leadership.
The basic idea of Sulava is to gather a strong group of experts who move with the times, are pioneers and actively develop their skills. Our experts are deeply involved in Microsoft technology, which is how we offer our customers well-thought-out advice on which direction they should take their own environment. This is how technology choices best support the business and the customer’s personnel.
Mika comments, and continues:
“The core of our way of working will continue to be those things that support Sulava’s basic idea. We want to continue to be extremely customer- and solution-oriented. We have invested heavily in productization, making the services easier for the customer to buy. I believe that the focus in the utilisation of technology will increase in change management and training, as technological solutions are increasingly aimed directly at the business and the entire personnel. Sulava has excellent prerequisites for operating in this changing world both in Finland and abroad.”
As one of Microsoft’s leading Copilot partners globally, The Digital Neighborhood is empowering its customers through innovation, accelerating growth initiatives, and empowering employees. This is achieved by delivering unprecedented productivity, efficiency gains, and cost savings through the integration of AI and Copilots into its traditional services and pioneering new AI-driven solutions.
“We are committed to supporting our customers in implementing Copilot and AI technologies, and as such, we are delighted that Aki Antman, a thought leader on Microsoft technologies, will now be leading our Copilot & AI Arm across North and Western Europe, full time. We are equally delighted that Mika Sarhimaa will now be leading Sulava as its new Chief Executive Officer. I want to wish both every success in their new roles”, Jean-Yves Charlier, CEO of The Digital Neighborhood, comments.
Contacts:
Rozzyn Boy, Chief Communications and Brand Officer; rozzyn.boy@thedigitalneighborhood.com
Mika Sarhimaa; mika.sarhimaa@sulava.com
Aki Antman; aki.antman@sulava.com