Pekka Paavonpera

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VPR Media & Marketing

Co-Founder, Chief Strategist | Based in Portland, ME

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Pekka was born in Oulu, Finland and launched his professional career in New Zealand. He is an out-of-the box thinker, problem solver and ideas junkie.  He is an award winning, seasoned communications and marketing professional with significant experience gained working with corporate industry, not-for-profits, national sports bodies, higher education, healthcare and government in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Ethiopia, South Africa and other locations worldwide.

As a journalist, Pekka has covered civil unrest, murder trials, Government, Royal tours, Olympic Games; interviewed Prime Ministers, Nobel Peace Prize recipients, the everyday ‘man on the street’, winners and losers. He believes everyone has a story to tell and knows precisely how to tell the tale for maximum interest and exposure.

Pekka has devised campaigns for official openings ranging from hospitals to airports; managed media centers at events ranging from World Cup skiing to college graduations; has encouraged more than 25,000 people to crawl through a 4 foot high and 40 foot long model of a human colon to promote colon cancer awareness and prevention; helped an order of sisters recruit members; helped raise funds for organizations ranging from the International Red Cross to a small local pony rescue service – and through it all has never lost his sense of humor.