London, United Kingdom /Full UK right to work

Jaakko Haili.

Operator & Startup Co-Founder

AI, software & digital transformation

Ex-Director of PMO·20+ concurrent projects

I turn ambiguous problems into clear priorities — and see them through. Eight years across delivery, client relationships, procurement and sales. From tech consultancy to building a company from zero.

€15M+
Closed sales
50+
Projects delivered
Hands-on, from 3-day sprints to multi-year engagements
20+
Concurrent projects
A little more about my work

Building. Leading. Delivering.

Sep 2023 — Sep 2026

Turku, Finland

Co-Founder

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

NAICC

Co-founded and ran a company helping industrial organisations identify, evaluate and prioritise AI investments. Combined expert-led consulting with Challengine, NAICC’s AI-first SaaS product for initiative management.

  • —Owned strategy, operations and delivery across AI, software, data and digital transformation.
  • —Worked with publicly listed industrial companies and early-stage startups, turning ambiguous problems into prioritised, resourced initiatives.
  • —Led software developer hiring from screening through offer.

Anders Innovations

May 2018 — Aug 2023 · Turku, Finland

Five years of progression, from Assistant Project Manager to Business Director and Acting COO.

Jan 2023 — Aug 2023

Business DirectorActing COO

  • —Directed a 4-person PMO spanning 40+ developers and 20+ concurrent customer projects, owning prioritisation, resourcing and delivery.
  • —Closed over €10M in IT consulting sales with public-sector and enterprise buyers.
  • —Owned developer hiring in the final year: approximately 90 interviews and 9 hires.

May 2020 — Jan 2023

Business Manager, Smart Cities

  • —Grew public-sector business 30% (2020–2021), owning approximately €2M in annual revenue across tenders, resourcing and delivery.
  • —Joined the Management Team in 2022, taking responsibility for all operational matters.
  • —Coordinated multi-stakeholder software delivery, public procurement and resource planning across internal teams and external partners.

Nov 2019 — May 2020

Customer Relations ManagerPart-time

  • —Owned municipality-sector accounts from tendering through resourcing to invoicing; grew public-sector business 77% (2018–2019) and managed approximately €1.2M in annual revenue.

May 2018 — Nov 2019

Assistant Project ManagerPart-time

  • —Started in IT alongside studies, then took responsibility for municipality clients and public-sector tenders.
NAICC↗

Industrial AI. From possibility to priority.

A company built from zero.

We started with the idea of making software consulting more efficient in the age of AI.

01

The format

3 days, 3 experts, 1 challenge to solve — hackathon style.

Instead of long consulting engagements, a client brought one concrete challenge. A small team of senior experts worked on it intensively for three days and delivered a tangible outcome.

3 days

Time-boxed sprint

3 experts

Senior, cross-disciplinary team

1 challenge

One clearly defined problem

The ambition: build a platform that makes this delivery method repeatable and scalable.

02

The pivot

From sprint events to a B2B SaaS: Challengine.

03

The product

An AI-first initiative management platform for identifying opportunities, aligning stakeholders and moving ideas into execution.

€450k
Revenue generated

Advisory.

Consulting · Commercial strategy · Business development

7
Clients at peak
6
IT consultancy clients
1
Platform business

Building an independent advisory practice.

Alongside building NAICC, I developed a consulting practice advising technology companies on public-sector sales and commercial strategy.

At its peak, the practice served seven clients — six IT consultancies and one consumer-facing platform business.

My work focused on helping technology consultancies navigate public-sector procurement, develop their commercial approach and pursue new opportunities, alongside broader business advisory work for the platform.

Education & beyond

2016 — 2020

Bachelor of Engineering, IT

Turku University of Applied Sciences

Thesis: “Enhancing Public Sector IT Sales in a Software Development Company” · Grade 5/5

2015 · National service

Finnish Defence Forces

Navy · Radio NCO

Selected to train incoming conscripts. Rated top trainer among approximately 900 conscripts and 200 NCOs/officers.

What I bring

01Cross-functional execution
02Ownership under ambiguity
03Commercial & business analysis
04Facilitation
05Cross-functional team building
06Early-stage startups

Languages

FinnishNative
EnglishFluent

Let’s talk.

A new challenge, an interesting opportunity, or simply a conversation. I’d like to hear from you.

jaakko@haili.pro