Building a Winning Tech Leadership Team: Leadership Lessons from Antti Kleemola
A strong CV tells you what someone has done, in a different environment, in a different time with different people. Understanding what they could bring to your team takes a different conversation.
For Antti Kleemola, formerly Finnair’s Chief Digital Officer and Executive Board member, that conversation starts with the situation: what the business needs to achieve, what the team is missing and how ready the organisation is to change in order to achieve those goals.
His career spans Accenture, Posti, Vapo, VR, Outokumpu and Finnair, including major IT and digital transformations. Along the way, building teams has become central to how he leads.
“I’ve learned that my superpower is at building teams and organisations, getting people moving in the same direction and helping them exceed their own expectations.”
We spoke with Antti about hiring tech leaders, working with a talent partner and giving people a reason to join.
Hire for the situation you’re in
When building a leadership team, Antti considers both a person’s expertise and their contribution to the group. He wants people whose strengths complement each other and flourish in collaboration and achieving together.
That requires clarity before the search begins. What will this person be accountable for? What do their colleagues need from them? What needs to change in organisation, in culture and in the small moments everyday?
One common mistake is assuming that previous success will transfer automatically to a new environment.
“You assume from their CV that they’ll succeed here because they’ve succeeded somewhere else. You need to take the time to look at who fits this team, this company and its current situation.”
Antti recalls weighing two profiles for a hire at Finnair. One candidate brought deep expertise and would challenge established practices. The other was more familiar with navigating a corporate environment, and had a strong background in substance that we were looking for.
He chose the person who would challenge the existing approach, after considering whether Finnair was ready for that change.
For a scaling deep tech company hiring a CTO or VP of Engineering, the lesson is practical: define the change behind the job title. Then consider whether the person will have the authority and support to deliver it.
Make capability visible in the interview
Antti draws a distinction between assessing senior specialists and leaders. Specialists need to demonstrate deep expertise. Leaders also need to work effectively with people beyond their own discipline.
Both require evidence beyond a polished application.
“A senior specialist has to demonstrate their expertise somehow. In the age of AI, it can’t just be something proven in a Word document.”
For leaders, Antti wants to see how they handle difficult interactions and help others move forward.
A practical application is to bring a realistic challenge into the interview. Explore how a specialist approaches an unfamiliar problem, or how a leader works through disagreement. Follow-up questions help reveal the reasoning behind a prepared answer.
A good talent partner challenges your thinking
Antti values a talent partner who helps him understand the need more clearly. That means exploring the team, the wider organisation and what the new person must achieve.
“I want someone who has the courage to challenge what kind of person we actually need.”
A busy leader may have an initial view of a role without having worked through every detail. A good partner helps make those details explicit and brings a perspective of their own.
“The partner can help you work out those final details of who you really need and what you’re actually looking for.”
What weakens that relationship? The sense that someone is trying to sell a particular candidate.
For companies choosing a talent partner, the questions they ask matter. Do they understand your situation? Can they challenge the brief thoughtfully? Are they helping you make a better hiring decision?
Give people a concrete reason to join
Antti is straightforward about how Finnair attracts tech talent.
“We certainly don’t compete on salary. The working environment has to be attractive, and the work has to be meaningful and interesting.”
At Finnair, that included helping rebuild and develop Finnish aviation, with opportunities to influence digital services customers use every day.
Antti also points to visible results, modern technology and an international working environment. Together, these gave candidates something tangible to consider.
Purpose needs a credible business behind it, too. He emphasises that people need enough confidence in a company’s financial situation to feel comfortable making a move.
For deep tech companies building an employer brand, this means connecting the mission to the actual role. Explain the technical challenge, what the person can influence and who they will work with. Be ready to discuss the company’s situation and direction.
A compelling employer story helps candidates imagine themselves doing the work.
Listen for energy. Protect trust.
When Antti meets a tech team, he starts with a simple question.
“What excites them? Where do they get their energy?”
He listens for what people care about and whether that energy is present. Simple questions can reveal how a team is doing, provided the leader makes time to hear the answers.
Asked what damages a team fastest, he points to distrust. It can emerge between colleagues or between a team and its leader.
His starting point is to trust people. When collaboration isn’t working, the issue needs an honest conversation. Sometimes that means finding a different role for a capable person as the organisation’s needs change.
Keep adapting as the work changes
As AI changes how work gets done, Antti expects adaptability to become increasingly important. People need to question familiar habits, and leaders must examine their own ways of working too.
“Nobody is going to come and tell you which direction to take. You have to keep finding ways forward.”
That makes clarity within the team especially valuable. Antti has seen organisational changes where reporting lines moved but responsibilities remained unclear.
People need to understand what they are there to achieve, which decisions they own and how their work connects. A new structure needs active leadership to make it work.
Antti’s formula for building a winning tech team
Start with the situation. Define what the business and team need now.
Look for complementary strengths. Assess expertise and contribution to the group.
Welcome challenge. Choose a talent partner who helps sharpen the brief.
Make the opportunity tangible. Connect purpose with meaningful work and influence.
Keep listening. Address gaps in trust, clarity and role fit as the team evolves.
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