Jani Laitasalo Kekkonen joins HiQ Finland as Business Area Lead

Jani Laitasalo Kekkonen joins HiQ as Business Area Lead of Software Development & Design and Managed Services in August 2022. During his long and versatile career, he has worked for example, as Creuna Finland’s CEO, Director and Consultant at Tieto and lastly, as Valtti’s Director of Consulting Services.

“I graduated at the beginning of the millennium. My friends were working in the IT business, and I also felt this was what I wanted to do. I wanted to be asking the “why” questions.”

The first role for Laitasalo Kekkonen was interaction and concept designer in 2001. Since then he has been combining technology and design for over twenty years. Regarding passion, Laitasalo Kekkonen admits to being among the few excited about pension insurance schemes.

“The most rewarding projects for me are the ones where technology helps to create a better society and world.”

Laitasalo Kekkonen assesses that understanding the user needs will be emphasized in the future. Similarly, he believes that the demand for interdisciplinary knowledge grows in the technology field.

“Anthropologists and philosophers can help understand the user's needs more profoundly. Technology enables a lot, but the main point is why to create a digital product or service in the first place and how it affects the world.”

Laitasalo Kekkonen has followed HiQ’s growth for quite some time. For him, HiQ is one of the few technology companies that can provide extensive end-to-end services to its customers. He feels the people at HiQ are enthusiastic, driven, and professional.

“We need to remain relevant and provide our top professionals with attractive projects. We must first be quality employers to bring quality for our customers.”

Laitasalo Kekkonen estimates that HiQ’s competitive advantages in the recruitment market are stability and healthy work-life balance. The fact that some employees have stayed 15 or even 20 years in the company gives something out about the culture.

“We are an agile company that strives for constant renewal. The basis is stable, however, and the employees do not have to face sudden 180-degree turns in strategy or other struggles of startup companies.”