Born in 1974, Alex is the proud father of two children. His son, Arthur, is studying at the Gabelli School of Business at Fordham University, and his daughter, Caroline, is attending the College of Letters and Science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Since 1995, Alex has been the President and CEO of Virala Corporation, a family-owned industrial company founded in Finland in 1977. Under his leadership, Virala has evolved into a decentralized industrial group focused on strategic ownership that endures, grows, and evolves across generations. Virala has actively participated in five IPOs and seven take-private transactions on the Finnish stock market. In addition, he led the first SPAC on the Finnish market, which subsequently became Purmo. Purmo was recently taken private, delivering a very positive total shareholder return (TSR) for all shareholders. Virala operates subsidiaries in Finland, Sweden (through Nidoco AB), in Latin America (through Arfico) and the United States (through Virala Capital Partners Inc.). Virala is a controlling or co-controlling shareholder in several publicly traded companies, including the original family business Fiskars (founded in 1649), Ahlstrom, Munksjö, YIT, Enersense, Betolar, Pila Pharma, and Greater Than. As of 2023, the group’s associated companies had combined net sales of EUR 4.4 billion, an adjusted EBITDA of EUR 299 million, and employed approximately 16,000 people. In addition, Virala has investments in more than 150 private equity and venture capital funds and over 30 direct investments, mainly in startups and co-investments with the aforementioned funds.
Currently, Alex serves on the board of directors of Ahlstrom and holds numerous other private company board memberships and positions of trust. He has previously served on the boards of Fiskars, YIT, Purmo, and Wärtsilä. Additionally, Alex is a board observer at organizations like Singularity University, EndlessAI, and Munksjö.
Alex is also actively involved in various foundations and advisory boards. He is a board member of the Louise & Göran Ehrnrooth Foundation, chairman of the board of the Family G.J. Ehrnrooth Foundation and serves on the Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship’s WAVE advisory board at the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Business.
His educational background includes an Master of Science degree in Economics (Finance) from the Hanken School of Economics in Helsinki (1998) and an Master of Business Administration degree in Entrepreneurship from the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Business (2000). He was recognized as a Kellogg Executive Scholar at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management in 2010. In 2018, he completed the Singularity University Executive Program and is scheduled to complete the “Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Business Strategy” program at MIT Sloan School of Management in 2024.