• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, December 6, 2020

The Finnish engineering and software development company Finlabs is expanding to North America and has named agency veteran John McGarry CEO to oversee development of the company’s operation in the region. He’s based in New York. The office there will provide local support for existing U.S. clients and serve as the headquarters for further expansion into new American markets.   

McGarry, son of mcgarrybowen co-founder John McGarry, most recently has been an independent advisor and consultant. Earlier this year he served a brief stint as managing director of Barbarian’s Samsung business. 

Before that he was Chief Growth Officer at Austin ad agency Drumroll. He was Chief Digital Officer and partner at mcgarrybowen from 2008 until 2013. 

Finlabs is headquartered in Oulu, Finland and has operations in Helsinki. It focuses on hi-tech solutions for companies combing AI, machine learning and other tech to create “smart” products and platforms. In the U.S., the company is working with healthcare company CareConnect to build and design an agency management platform that facilitates more efficient communication between care agencies and their remote caregiver workforce. 

The firm is also working with a team of neurologists to develop software that will power a device using light and sound patterns to help stimulate and heal parts of the brain that have been damaged by trauma and depression.   

The company has also named Eric Vukmirovich COO/CFO, North America to oversee the region’s finance and operations. He is a former CFO at mcgarrybowen, where he worked with McGarry. Most recently, he’s been an angel investor, advisor and consultant to several start-ups.  

Finlabs founder David Papworth stated, ““I am excited to reunite with John and Eric. Together, we will make a big, bold, and purposeful impact for our U.S. clients.”