Askel Healthcare has an experienced Board of Directors supporting the Founders, who are the operational management of the company.
The Board and Management Team
Board of Directors
According to its Articles of Association, Askel Healthcare Ltd.’s Board of Directors is composed of six members. The Board is built with individuals that can best support the realization of both the company’s long-term vision and short-term objectives.
Ted Bird
Chairman of the Board
Ted joined the Board of Askel in 2023. He has over 40 years of global Commercial, Executive and Board leadership experience in the medical device arena, with deep expertise and an extensive network of surgeons, distributors and industry leaders in orthopedics and spine surgery. Ted is currently Chief Strategy Officer at Dymicron and Principal at Bird Medical Group, a strategic consulting firm for MedTech startups.
Jarkko Penttilä
Board Member
Jarkko joined the Board of Askel in 2020. Prior taking on Board responsibilities, he has worked closely with the Askel team as an advisor since 2018. He is the founder of Founders Bedrock Investments where he works as sparring partner in business building and financing for start-ups and growth companies. Jarkko has 15 years of experience in venture capital investing and has been serving as a board member and Chairman of the Board in multiple high-technology companies. He holds a master’s degree in industrial management.
Frédéric Picq
Board Member
Frédéric joined the Board of Askel in 2021. He has been the Head Trader of a global family office in New York City for 10 years. He then founded a venture capital fund, Pi2 & Cenitz, to invest in early-stage ventures that mold the world he wants to live in. He focuses his endeavors on strategy, corporate culture, finance, and execution.
Patrick Jamnik
Board Member
Patrick joined the Board of Askel in 2023. He has nearly 20 years of global market development experience, building businesses across multiple orthopaedic disciplines in both Europe and the US. He currently serves as President of Episurf Medical, Inc. and has previously held commercial leadership positions at Stryker, Zimmer-Biomet, Stanmore Implants, and InspireMD. While at UK-based Stanmore Implants, he played a central role in establishing, commercializing, and growing its US business, leading to its eventual acquisition by Stryker. Patrick holds a BA and MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Virpi Muhonen and Anne-Marie Haaparanta
Board Members
Askel Healthcare founders, Virpi Muhonen and Anne-Marie Haaparanta are also members of the Board. Their backgrounds are presented in the Management Team -section.
Founders
Virpi Muhonen
Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Co-Founder
v.muhonen@askelhealthcare.com
Virpi is the CEO and a co-founder of Askel Healthcare. She has an MSc in animal physiology and a PhD in orthopaedic cell biology. As a principal investigator, she has successfully raised funding for multidisciplinary research projects which she has thrivingly led. She has also supervised multiple MSc and PhD theses and is a credited author in over 20 academic publications in the field. She has been recognized for her commitment to promoting academic entrepreneurship and the impact of research. Currently Virpi also serves as a board member of the Finnish Research Impact Foundation.
Anne-Marie Haaparanta
Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Co-Founder
am.haaparanta@askelhealthcare.com
Anne-Marie is the CTO and a co-founder of Askel Healthcare. She has an MSc in biomaterials and a PhD in biomedical engineering. She has over 15 years of experience of research on biomaterials developing and manufacturing composite scaffolds and membranes for multiple biomedical applications. She has supervised multiple BSc and MSc theses and is a credited author in over 15 academic publications in the field. Her scientific work together with the multidisciplinary scientific co-operation has led to the invention of COPLA®, the cartilage repair device.