Sampo Lappalainen

I have 20 years of experience in high technology, mostly in the fields related to interactive 3D graphics. My job history is an even mix of startups (Umbra, Hybrid), where I’ve held founder/executive roles, and tech corporations (Amazon, NVIDIA), where I have managed people and owned products. I am currently in the process of launching a new company.

My most defining characteristic is the ability and desire to dive deep into the nitty gritty of the problem at hand, a trait I apply to both professional and hobby projects alike. Details without broader context are seldom useful, and I do take pride in my ability to be able to zoom out and think how products and services best serve their markets.

I thoroughly enjoy working on difficult problems in collaboration with a diverse set of people. I am a strong believer in that it is managers’ biggest responsibility to put the wellbeing and needs of the employees first. I’ve applied this mindset with success in building highly productive, world-class teams.

My current hobby craze is about the physiology of running. I have recently self-trained myself from a jogger to a sub-3 marathoner in two years.