Lauri Tähtinen
Chief Executive Officer
Strategist and entrepreneur at the intersection of geopolitics, technology, and business
Harvard, Cambridge PhD. Advised public and private sector leaders globally.
About Mission Grey
Built by operators, researchers, and intelligence experts.
Mission Grey builds the intelligence layer between the world and enterprise decisions. Organizations operate in a world shaped by external forces. The company exists to connect those forces directly to the decisions they affect.
Four disciplines, one system
Why Mission Grey exists.
External intelligence is not one job. It takes people who have run international businesses, people who read the world for a living, people who can price risk, and people who build the models underneath. All four are in the company.
Operators
Entrepreneurs and executives who have built and scaled international businesses.
Intelligence experts
Specialists in geopolitical analysis and global systems who translate complexity into strategic implications.
Risk experts
Experts in risk management and financial modeling who quantify impact.
Research
Economists, data scientists, and complex systems researchers building the models behind the platform.
Why grey
Built for the grey zone.
The world does not arrive in black and white. Every consequential decision is made in between, where signals conflict, incentives collide, and certainty is not on offer. The mark is black and white resolving into grey. Mission Grey is the instrument for operating there.
Black and white, resolving into grey
Core team
The people accountable for the work.
Names, roles, and prior workProfiles link out where public
Jouko Ahvenainen
Founder & Chairman
Serial entrepreneur in data analytics, fintech, and external intelligence
Built and scaled companies across Asia, Europe, and the US.
Janaki Kates
Head of Intelligence
National security expert with 18 years in intelligence and government
Former CIA analyst. Briefed executives at the Department of State and National Security Council.
Jani Kinnunen
Chief Research Officer
Senior researcher in economics, finance, and computational modeling
100+ peer-reviewed publications.
Andrew Ong
Chief Growth Officer
C-level executive with 30+ years scaling fintech and SaaS businesses globally
Delivered triple-digit growth across Asia-Pacific markets.
Akseli Kettula
VP, Product & Business Development
Expert in insurance, risk management, and large-scale corporate exposure
Managed portfolios for 40+ organizations.
Teppo Koskinen
Founder & Chief Technology Officer
Technology entrepreneur specializing in scalable software and machine learning systems
20+ years building products from architecture to production.
Mercy Kuo
Head of Strategy, United States
Geopolitics, strategic risk, and external intelligence expert with experience across government, corporate advisory, and international affairs
Former CIA analyst and executive in U.S. risk intelligence, helping organizations understand how external developments shape business decisions.
Runi Irnandari Arnowo
Head of Enterprise, APAC
Senior banking executive with 30+ years in corporate, transaction, and investment banking across Asia-Pacific
Former Managing Director at Deutsche Bank. Led multinational client coverage and transaction banking across ASEAN and Australia.
Richard Andrew
Head of Public Affairs and Strategic Partnerships
Public affairs and geopolitical strategy expert with 25 years advising organizations across Asia
Former Chairperson, Public & Government Affairs Asia Pacific at Edelman. Led public policy for Mastercard and DHL in Asia Pacific.
Lauri Byckling
Strategic Advisor
Senior executive and advisor with 30+ years in consulting, technology, and business transformation
Former Deloitte Managing Partner. Helps global organizations build practical business and technology solutions.
Erno Pirinen
VP, Technical Product Management
Product leader in AI and data-driven enterprise platforms
Scaled a cloud orchestration platform from concept to Fortune 500 adoption.
Monique Boddington
Head of Campus
Professor at Cambridge Judge Business School
Directs the Master's in Entrepreneurship. Leads research collaborations.
Peter Steube
Head of Community
Strategic community builder for executive-level intelligence networks
Former Gartner executive community lead.
Pekka Virkki
Co-founder & Intelligence Recruiter
Geopolitical author and journalist specializing in international power dynamics
Published by The Times, El País, CEPA.
Eva Mikkonen
OSINT Specialist & Software Developer
OSINT specialist and cybersecurity professional
Full-stack security experience. Specializes in open-source intelligence.
Seán McLoughlin
Practice & Community Developer
International politics researcher focused on geopolitical complexity
Background in municipal politics, civil society, and global insurance brokerage.
Advisors and network
Kuan Yen Tan
Co-founder of IQM Quantum Computers. PhD in experimental physics
Named CTO of the Year 2023 by Technology Industries of Finland.
Pasi Eronen Watt
Expert in information operations, strategic analysis, and hybrid threat assessment
Career spanning NATO, OSCE, EU missions.
Jay Tannon
Business lawyer and principal investor in infrastructure and renewable energy
Recognized by Best Lawyers in America for 25 consecutive years.
Markus Lampinen
Serial entrepreneur and investor with global fintech and AI scaling experience
Based in Silicon Valley.
Research partnerships
University of CambridgeJudge Business School
Aalto University
Tampere University
Partners
Another shade of grey
Grey is where decisions happen.
The world is increasingly full of grey zones: incomplete information, competing interests, weak signals, overlapping risks and opportunities, and situations where there is rarely a simple black-or-white answer.
There is also Michele Wucker’s “Gray Rhino” concept: a highly probable, high-impact threat that can still be neglected despite visible warning signs.
That idea is relevant to Mission Grey too. Important external developments often become visible before their full business impact does. The challenge is to recognize what matters, connect it to your own exposures and decisions, and act while there are still choices.
And the same discipline applies to opportunities and strategic shifts, not only threats.
Where we are
Three regions
Globally present, locally connected.
77W
Americas
Arlington, VAUnited States
2E
Europe, Middle East & Africa
PuteauxFrance
104E
Asia
Singapore
Other offices and operations
122W
San Francisco, USA
24E
Tampere, Finland
Access
Intelligence, modeling, and expertise in one system.
Mission Grey combines intelligence, modeling, and expertise into one system. The platform, the research models, and the Guild operate together. Access is by request.
Request accessFor organizations ready to start working with Mission Grey.
See it on your decisionA short working session using a real question, exposure or opportunity from your organization.