UpCloud Appoints Founder Joel Pihlajamaa as Chief Executive Officer

UpCloud Appoints Founder Joel Pihlajamaa as Chief Executive Officer

Today, we’re announcing that Founder Joel Pihlajamaa has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of UpCloud. Joel succeeds Arno Schäfer, who has led UpCloud through an important phase of growth and strategic development, delivering significant revenue growth and strengthening UpCloud’s position as a leading European provider of sovereign cloud infrastructure. We thank Arno for his leadership and contributions to the company and wish him every success in the future.

Since founding the company in 2011, Joel has played a central role in shaping UpCloud’s vision, strategy, and culture as Chief Technology Officer. As CEO, he will lead the company into its next chapter with the same principles that have guided it from the beginning: exceptional engineering, customer-first mindset, and a Nordic approach built on transparency and reliability.

The appointment reflects UpCloud’s continued commitment to building cloud infrastructure that puts performance and customer control first. As organizations increasingly look for cloud partners that offer both technical excellence and digital sovereignty, UpCloud will continue investing in the platform, people, and service that have defined the company for more than a decade.

“From day one, our goal has been to build cloud infrastructure we’d want to use ourselves. As we enter our next phase of growth, I want us to stay true to what made UpCloud successful in the first place. That means continuing to invest in world-class engineering, listening closely to our customers, and building a company that reflects our Nordic roots while helping shape a better future for Europe.”

Joel Pihlajamaa, Founder & CEO, UpCloud

Founder-led leadership marks a natural evolution for UpCloud. Under Joel’s leadership, the company will continue to expand its sovereign cloud platform while staying firmly rooted in the engineering-led and customer-centric mindset that has shaped UpCloud since day one. By developers, for developers.

“Developing UpCloud further has been one of the most defining experiences of my career. I’m handing over leadership with great confidence to Joel, who has shaped this company since day one. I’m convinced that under his leadership, UpCloud will keep growing and strengthen its position as a trusted, sovereign cloud provider in Europe.”

Arno Schäfer, Former CEO, UpCloud

For our customers and partners, this is a continuation of the journey rather than a change of direction. UpCloud remains committed to delivering the world’s fastest sovereign cloud infrastructure with the technical excellence that has defined the company from the start.