Aitoware Becomes Strategic Partner for the Football Division of Tampere Ilves ry
Aitoware and the Football Division of Tampere Ilves ry have entered into a strategic partnership aimed at supporting the club’s 2025–2030 strategy, covering all levels, from junior teams in the Futisliiga all the way to the top-tier men’s and women’s league teams.
Ilves Football is one of Finland’s largest and most recognized football organizations, with a strong community presence, a history of developing top-level players, and an ambition to become the best football club in Finland and reach the top of the Nordic region. Its 2025–2030 strategy emphasizes community spirit, ambition, continuous development, and excellence both on and off the pitch.
Aitoware’s founder and CEO, Harri J. Salomaa, will work closely with the club’s leadership and key stakeholders as the lead strategy facilitator and advisor. His role covers the design and execution of the strategy process as well as providing guidance on leveraging artificial intelligence within the organization.
Salomaa brings over 30 years of international experience in business and technology leadership. He has lived and worked for more than 20 years in the United States and Germany, leading global strategy processes, scaling businesses, and delivering major digital transformations, always with a human-centered, collaborative approach.
“I have been an Ilves supporter since birth; hockey and football have been part of my life since childhood in the Kumpula neighborhood of Tampere. In the early 2000s, I served as team manager for Ilves’ A-junior ice hockey team under head coach Mikko Mäkelä. It’s a great privilege to now combine my Ilves roots with my international expertise in strategy and technology to help develop the club,” says Salomaa.
Heikki Tarvainen, Chair of the Ilves Football Division, adds:
“Harri’s expertise in facilitating strategic processes and in the application of AI brings significant value to us. This collaboration helps ensure our strategy process is implemented effectively and that we can move Ilves forward in line with our ambitions.”
Through this partnership, Salomaa will support Ilves Football in:
Facilitating and implementing the strategy process
Developing leadership and organizational capabilities
Strengthening player development and coaching competitiveness
Leveraging AI solutions to enhance training, communications, community engagement, and financial performance
The Ilves Football Division’s strategy emphasizes community spirit, ambition, and continuous development. Salomaa’s role is to ensure these values are translated into concrete actions and measurable results in the club’s day-to-day operations.
Aitoware to Lead Nordic Innovation-Funded Feasibility Study for Nordic Innovation Exchange (NIX)
It all begins with an idea.
We are proud to share that Aitoware will lead the newly funded feasibility study for the Nordic Innovation Exchange (NIX), supported by Nordic Innovation under the Resilience and Competitiveness for 2050 program.
The project is carried out in close collaboration with Business Finland, Innovation Norway, Vinnova, and Innovation Centre Denmark, bringing together a strong Nordic consortium to shape the future of research commercialization in the region.
NIX aims to strengthen the commercialization capacity of Nordic university-based deep tech research by building a shared support platform for Tech Transfer Offices and innovation offices. It addresses current fragmentation by fostering structured Nordic collaboration, sharing best practices, and connecting to global innovation ecosystems.
This feasibility phase will validate the program design through co-design workshops, stakeholder engagement, and international benchmarking, drawing inspiration from world-leading university ecosystems such as Stanford and UC Berkeley.
The feasibility study project is led from Finland, ensuring strong regional proximity and anchoring. Aitoware is honored to support this important step toward positioning the Nordics as a global leader in research-driven innovation and impact.
For more information, contact paula.salomaa@aitoware.com
Onitio Group AS Strengthens Strategic Integration with Aitoware’s Adaptive Unified Leadership Assessment
Aitoware, the Nordic leadership innovation firm announced today that Onitio has successfully used the Adaptive Unified Leadership Assessment (AULA) to support the company’s leadership alignment and integration process.
The AULA assessment was conducted on a pro bono basis by Harri J. Salomaa, founder of Aitoware, as part of his onboarding to Onitio’s Board of Directors. The process was offered as an internal contribution to support the company’s strategic alignment efforts during a critical phase of transformation.
As Onitio continues to evolve under new ownership and strategic direction, AULA served as a neutral, confidential, and structured way to assess the leadership team’s cohesion, clarity, and readiness to execute. The process provided insights into how aligned the team was around core priorities, how trust and dialogue functioned internally, and where opportunities for strengthening execution existed.
“The AULA process gave us a valuable external mirror,” said Malin Yrwing, CEO of Onitio Group AS.
“It helped us validate where we were aligned as a leadership team and where we could improve, especially as we move deeper into our integration journey. I appreciated the non-blame, constructive nature of the process, it created space for honest and forward-looking dialogue.”
The assessment, developed by Harri J. Salomaa, combines quantitative self-evaluation with qualitative feedback, followed by synthesized insights and actionable next steps.
“It’s a well-structured and trust-based way to align leadership teams, especially useful when multiple cultures or leadership backgrounds are being brought together.”, added Runar Kvåle, Director at Aars AS, Onitio’s parent company.
Aitoware’s AULA service is designed for executive teams navigating change, whether due to M&A, leadership transitions, strategy shifts, or cultural integration challenges. It is built on decades of real-world leadership experience in global organizations and is tailored to each customer context.
“I’m honored to support Onitio’s journey,” said Harri J. Salomaa.
“AULA was created to help leadership teams move forward with shared purpose, and it’s rewarding to see it in action with a company as dynamic and ambitious as Onitio.”
About Aitoware
Aitoware helps organizations navigate change by building trust, clarity, and alignment in leadership teams. Through tools like the Adaptive Unified Leadership Assessment (AULA), Aitoware enables boards, CEOs, and executives to lead with impact during times of transformation.