President and CEO
“We don’t take slow for an answer.”
Jukka-Pekka Mäkinen, better known as simply “J-P”, admits that his personal strengths are the drive for achievement and enabling those around him to embrace a sense of urgency. At the helm of The Switch, he strives for world-class customer service, both customer care and technical support. And his own professional experience supports him in the role of leading The Switch to be known as being a truly customer-based organisation.
“I enjoy every bit of this! For me, it’s like the frosting on the cake for my working life,” J-P confirms, after many years of working with large OEM and brand label companies and delivering them with advanced technical solutions and products. When studying the global market, he saw a wide-open opportunity for the package of permanent magnet generators and full-power converters. According to J-P, The Switch has a truly unique offering for this solution.
After receiving his degree in electrical engineering, Jukka-Pekka Mäkinen held various positions in ABB Drives from 1986 to 1997, including managerial positions in the medium voltage drives and OEM businesses. His assignments included being based in Switzerland and the US. In 1997, J-P took over as President for an Ericsson owned electrical distribution company. From 1999 to 2006, he worked as Vice President of Vacon with responsibility for the brand label and OEM business. Vacon acquired 2001 stake in Rotatek, which is now part of The Switch. Since then he worked as Managing Director or Chairman of the board for the company. In August 2006, J-P started full-time forming The Switch by merging three companies to carry the same name, appearance and strategy. He has been CEO and President of The Switch since November 2006.
