Our team

Joni Kettunen, Ph.D., CEO, Co-Founder

Mr. Kettunen has pioneered our physiological monitoring applications from both research and commercial points of view. His aim is to lead Firstbeat towards providing solutions for managing our everyday lifestyle and well-being. In his vision, personalized and targeted use of technology can be the edge that makes the difference. Before founding Firstbeat, Mr. Kettunen conducted research in several Universities in the areas of psychophysiology, behavioral medicine, autonomic nervous system function and stress quantification.

Erkki Saarikoski, M.Sc. (Tech.), Global Business Development         

Mr. Saarikoski is developing partnerships with consumer sports brands. He is actively involved in technology licensing arrangements to create consumer products with superior user experience. Mr. Saarikoski is also developing key commercial partnerships in the North American markets. Before joining Firstbeat in 2003, he worked in several international sales and marketing positions in North America, Australia, Spain and South America.

Veli-Pekka Kurunmäki, B.Sc., Sports Performance Products, Exercise Physiologist

Mr. Kurunmäki is in charge of our work in the competitive sports arena with the world’s leading teams and athletes. He has studied exercise physiology at the University of Jyväskylä and has personal experience in both coaching and competitive sports. Mr. Kurunmäki has several years of experience in the application of heart rate variability based tools in competitive sports.

Tiina Hoffman, M.Sc., Exercise Physiologist

Ms. Hoffman is involved in training our international customers for well-being and performance services. She has a B.Sc. degree from the University of Alaska and an M.Sc. degree in Exercise Physiology from the University of Jyväskylä. She is a former cross-country skiing coach at the University of Alaska and has also worked in academic research in heart rate variability field studies. Ms. Hoffman has gained significant experience in the principles of delivering quality heartbeat measurement based services in the corporate wellness sector.

Aki Pulkkinen, M.Sc., Product Manager, Exercise Physiologist

Mr. Pulkkinen is developing physiological content to our consumer products and is in charge of physiology in our product development. He has not only gained extensive experience in physiological modeling, but also in the design of physiologically solid products with meaningful impact on exercise and lifestyle. Mr. Pulkkinen has received a Master's degree in Exercise Physiology from the University of Jyväskylä and he is one of the founding members of Firstbeat.

Juho Tuppurainen, M.Sc., Business Director, Corporate Wellness

Mr. Tuppurainen is responsible for developing our occupational health and corporate wellness business in Finland. He has been working in the field of wellness and performance services already since 2002. Through this work, Mr. Tuppurainen has gained significant understanding in the commercial application of physiological measurement based services in the corporate world. He has a Master's degree in business management.

Aku Kalajo, M.Sc., Director, R&D

Mr. Kalajo has been directing software development at Firstbeat since 2004. The basic principle behind R&D is to provide answers to the specialized needs that our sports and corporate customers have in quantifying performance and well-being through physiological measurements. Before joining Firstbeat, Mr. Kalajo worked in several expert and management positions in ICT companies. He has a Master's degree in software production management.

Sami Saalasti, Ph.D., CTO

Mr. Saalasti is responsible for the mathematical modeling and technical development of our algorithms for different platforms. He has extensive background and experience in the development of heartbeat analysis technology. Mr. Saalasti received his Ph.D. in 2003 on the application of novel algorithms into heartbeat measurement and modeling of body functions.

Heikki Rusko, Ph.D., Professor, Exercise Physiology, FACSM

Professor Rusko is well-known especially for his research on athlete overtraining and recovery and more generally for his applied physiological research. He was the founding director of the Research Institute for Olympic Sports in Finland and a Professor in Sports Technology and Exercise Physiology at the University of Jyväskylä. He is also a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine. In addition, he has been invited to write a training book for the International Olympic Committee and was also a member of the Finnish Olympic Committee. Professor Rusko is one of the founding members of Firstbeat.