Readpeak Appoints Former Nokia & Microsoft Tech Leader as CTO
by on 25th Aug 2026 in News
Readpeak, a leading programmatic native advertising platform trusted by brands like IKEA, BMW, and Bosch, has appointed seasoned tech expert Sami Pippuri as chief technology officer to accelerate its international expansion and AI investment.
Pippuri joins Readpeak with over 25 years of experience in software engineering, product development, technology leadership, and entrepreneurship. His career includes more than a decade at Nokia, leadership roles at Microsoft, and notably serving as CTO of MaaS Global, the company behind the pioneering Mobility-as-a-Service platform Whim.
At Readpeak, Pippuri will lead technology and product development. His mandate includes scaling the company's high-traffic ad tech platform, developing its engineering organisation, and accelerating AI use across products and workflows.
Alongside technical innovation led by the new CTO, strengthening commercial leadership ensures Readpeak can effectively scale its sales operations across diverse markets. To that point, Martin Garfalk, country manager, Norway, has been appointed VP sales Europe. Martin has also been preparing for Readpeak’s forthcoming US launch in a parallel business director position.
Tomas Forsbäck, CEO, Readpeak, says: "From our first interactions with Sami, he showed himself to be a dynamic, AI-driven technology leader who fit perfectly with our strategy and rapid growth pace. Sami brings 25 years of building and scaling technology internationally, and a genuinely AI-native way of working. AI is reshaping every industry, and ad tech is no exception. Sami is exactly the leader to make sure our platform and our team stay ahead of it as we expand across Europe and the US."
Sami Pippuri, CTO, Readpeak, says: "Readpeak has already built a product that publishers trust and advertisers keep coming back to. My focus is on what we do with that next. AI has changed how much a focused engineering team can build, and I want Readpeak to be one of the companies that uses it to great effect, inside the product and in how we work."
Martin Garfalk, VP sales Europe, Readpeak, says: "Having been part of the Readpeak journey for nearly five years, I know this company inside out - the product, the people, and the culture we've built together. That culture is something I'm deeply proud of and committed to protecting as we scale.
In my new role as VP sales Europe, I'll be focused on sales strategy and positioning to ensure we're set up for the digital landscape we're already operating in and the one that's coming. Commercially, my ambition is straightforward: to take what is already a strong sales organisation and make it even stronger. We've come a long way from our roots as a small Finnish start-up, and I genuinely believe we're just getting started."
Readpeak serves over 3,000 brands and works with more than 1,500 premium publisher partners. Technology and AI will play an increasingly important role in supporting its international growth.
Readpeak recently added Italy and Poland to its active markets, marking a significant step in its ongoing European expansion. By extending its premium native advertising infrastructure to Southern and Central Europe, they continue to support publishers and advertisers with new opportunities for growth and collaboration.
Readpeak
AIAppointmentNativeProgrammatic
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