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Portrait of Ilkka Paananen.

Ilkka Paananen

Co-founder and CEO of Supercell, the Finnish maker of Clash of Clans and Brawl Stars, famous for tiny autonomous "cell" teams and for trying to be the least powerful CEO in the world.

Supercell · Mobile games, free-to-play · est. 2010

Born in Finland in 1978; M.Sc. in engineering from Helsinki University of Technology (1998). CEO of the mobile-game studio Sumea from 2000 (acquired by Digital Chocolate in 2004). Co-founded Supercell with Mikko Kodisoja on 14 May 2010, building it on small, highly autonomous teams. Supercell — maker of Hay Day, Clash of Clans, Boom Beach, Clash Royale and Brawl Stars — reported ~$3B revenue in 2024 and has been controlled by Tencent since 2016. Also on the LEGO Group board.

Notable achievements

  • Co-founded Supercell (14 May 2010) with Mikko Kodisoja.
  • Built one of the most profitable companies per employee, with ~$3B revenue in 2024.
  • Pioneered the small autonomous "cell" team model and a culture of celebrating cancelled projects.
  • Shipped global hits: Clash of Clans, Hay Day, Boom Beach, Clash Royale, Brawl Stars.
  • Serves on the board of the LEGO Group.

Find them online

Supercell

Stories about Ilkka Paananen

Ilkka Paananen, co-founder and CEO of Supercell, subject of a case study on autonomous teams and free-to-play monetisation.
tech18 min read

Ilkka Paananen: Supercell and the Least Powerful CEO

Ilkka Paananen co-founded Supercell on small, self-directed "cell" teams and a goal of being the least powerful CEO in the world. A sourced, critically neutral case study of an admired management model, the contested loot-box monetisation it rests on, and Tencent’s controlling stake.

Ilkka Paananen