Rovio CEO Mikael Hed to step down by the end of the year, CMO Pekka Rantala to take over the reins

Mikael Hed, Angry Birds maker Rovio's co-founder and chief executive officer, will be replaced at the helm by current CMO Pekka Rantala at the beginning of next year, the company just announced.
Rovio CEO Mikael Hed to step down by the end of the year, CMO Pekka Rantala to take over the reins

Angry Birds creator Rovio Entertainment today announced that co-founder Mikael Hed will be stepping down as chief executive officer on January 1, 2015, to be succeeded by current CMO Pekka Rantala.

Kaj Hed, chairman of Rovio's board and Mikael's father, has nominated his son for a position on the board of directors of the company, according to the official company statement. (Gee, thanks dad!)

Mikael Hed will also take on the role of chairman of Rovio Animation Studios, where he will oversee Animation and Movies, an increasingly important part of Rovio's overall business (which hasn't been just about mobile games for a long time now).

Mikael Hed comments:

It has been an amazing ride and in the coming months I will be very happy to pass the hoodie to Pekka Rantala, who will take Rovio to the next level. Pekka is known to be a great leader with experience building successful global consumer brands.

I will continue to play an active role and will support Pekka in any way I can to ensure Rovio’s continued success.

We'll dig to find out if there's more to it than a long-planned transition, though.

Last April, Rovio reported disappointing financial results for the year 2013, with 156 million euros in revenue and a not-so-solid 26.9 million euros in net income for the year.

Last June, the company got a capital injection from the European Investment Bank to the tune of 25 million euros.

Featured image credit: Twin Design / Shutterstock

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