Mikael Hed

Mikael Hed
Birthplace	Finland
Nationality	Finnish
Occupation	Entrepreneur, business executive
Title	Founder and former CEO, Rovio Entertainment; Founder, Kaiken Entertainment
Known for	Founding and leading Rovio Entertainment; development of the Angry Birds brand; founding Kaiken Entertainment

'Mikael Hed is a Finnish entrepreneur and business executive who founded Rovio Entertainment, the company behind the globally successful Angry Birds mobile game franchise. As CEO of Rovio from 2009 to 2014, Hed oversaw the transformation of Angry Birds from a mobile gaming phenomenon into a multi-platform entertainment brand encompassing animated television series, feature films, consumer products, and digital publishing. Following his tenure as CEO, he transitioned into a role overseeing Rovio's animation and film operations before founding Kaiken Entertainment in 2017, a venture focused on animation, digital applications, and publishing. Hed was named to the Vanity Fair New Establishment list in 2011 alongside his cousin Niklas Hed and colleague Peter Vesterbacka, and was included in Fast Companys list of influential business figures the same year. His leadership was instrumental in building Angry Birds into one of the most recognizable entertainment properties of the early 2010s, drawing comparisons — which Hed himself encouraged — to the early trajectory of The Walt Disney Company and Mickey Mouse.

Career

Rovio Entertainment and the Rise of Angry Birds

Mikael Hed served as the chief executive officer of Rovio Entertainment, the Finnish mobile game development company he founded. Under his leadership, Rovio released Angry Birds in December 2009, a physics-based puzzle game in which players used a slingshot to launch birds at structures sheltering green pigs. The game became a global sensation, downloaded hundreds of millions of times across multiple mobile platforms and establishing itself as one of the defining titles of the smartphone gaming era.

By 2014, Hed had spent more than five years as CEO and had guided Rovio through a period of rapid expansion. Under his watch, the company pursued an aggressive strategy of brand diversification, extending the Angry Birds intellectual property far beyond its origins as a mobile game. The company developed merchandise, licensing agreements, theme park attractions, and educational products, all built around the Angry Birds characters and universe.

Hed articulated an ambitious vision for Rovio that extended well beyond gaming. In a comparison that attracted considerable media attention, he argued that the Walt Disney Company had started in a similar fashion, building a vast entertainment empire from the debut of Mickey Mouse in the 1928 short film Steamboat Willie. Hed suggested that Angry Birds could serve as a comparable foundation for Rovio's expansion into broader entertainment. European CEO described Hed as having "transformed the brand into a global phenomenon" during his tenure as chief executive.

Stepping Down as CEO

On August 29, 2014, Rovio announced that Mikael Hed would step down as CEO at the end of the year, with Pekka Rantala being promoted to succeed him in the role. The transition came after more than five years of Hed leading the company.

Time magazine reported on the departure, noting that the head of the company behind the "mobile megahit" Angry Birds was "flying the coop." Rather than leaving Rovio entirely, Hed transitioned to a new role within the company, overseeing animation and movie projects — a shift that reflected Rovio's deepening commitment to expanding the Angry Birds franchise into film and television.

The leadership change occurred during a period of both achievement and challenge for Rovio. While the Angry Birds brand remained one of the most recognized entertainment properties in the world, the company faced competitive pressures in the mobile gaming market and underwent significant organizational changes, including substantial layoffs in 2015 when Rovio cut approximately 260 jobs.

The Angry Birds Movie

A major component of the strategy Hed championed was the development of a feature-length animated film based on the Angry Birds franchise. The project was formally announced in December 2012, and development proceeded over several years as Rovio collaborated with Sony Pictures on the production.

The first image from the film was revealed in October 2014, alongside the announcement that the cast would include Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Danny McBride, Bill Hader, Maya Rudolph, and Peter Dinklage. Directed by Clay Kaytis and Fergal Reilly and written by Jon Vitti, The Angry Birds Movie followed the character Red, an outcast on an island of anthropomorphic flightless birds who suspects a visiting crew of pigs of harboring malicious intentions.

Rovio and Sony Pictures committed roughly €100 million to the marketing and distribution of the film, making it the most expensive Finnish-produced film at the time of its release. Animation services were handled by Sony Pictures Imageworks.

The Angry Birds Movie was released in the United States on May 20, 2016, distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing through its Columbia Pictures label. The film grossed $352 million worldwide at the box office. Critical reception was mixed, with Variety among the outlets that reviewed the film. Despite the mixed critical response, the film's commercial performance was sufficient to prompt Rovio to announce plans for a sequel. The Angry Birds Movie 2 was subsequently released in 2019, and a third film, The Angry Birds Movie 3, has been scheduled for 2026.

The film also generated associated media products, including a soundtrack featuring contributions from artists such as Demi Lovato and Charli XCX. Lego announced Angry Birds-themed building sets tied to the film. An Angry Birds balloon was featured in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2015 as part of the broader promotional effort surrounding the franchise and the film's impending release.

Animated Television Series

In addition to the feature film, Hed's tenure and post-CEO role at Rovio encompassed the development of animated television content. The success of the Angry Birds Toons animated series, which premiered in 2013, was a precursor to the feature film and represented an early step in Hed's strategy of expanding the Angry Birds brand beyond gaming into episodic entertainment. Further animated series content, including Angry Birds Blues, continued the franchise's television presence.

Founding of Kaiken Entertainment

In March 2017, Mikael Hed announced the formation of a new company, Kaiken Entertainment, focused on animation, digital applications, and publishing. As part of the arrangement, Kaiken acquired Rovio's television animation and publishing departments, effectively transferring those business units from Rovio to the new entity.

Variety reported that Hed, described as the founder and former CEO of Rovio, had "formed a new entertainment company" with the Kaiken venture. Animation Magazine similarly reported on the launch, noting that Hed's new company was focused on animation, digital apps, and publishing, and had purchased Rovio's TV and publishing departments as part of its founding.

The creation of Kaiken Entertainment represented a continuation of Hed's long-standing interest in building entertainment brands that extend across multiple media formats. By acquiring Rovio's television animation and publishing operations, Kaiken positioned itself to continue producing Angry Birds animated content while also developing new intellectual properties and entertainment ventures.

Recognition

Mikael Hed received significant recognition during the period of Angry Birds' greatest cultural penetration. In 2011, he was named alongside his cousin Niklas Hed and Rovio's chief marketing officer Peter Vesterbacka to the Vanity Fair New Establishment list, an annual ranking of influential figures in business, technology, and media. The listing reflected the perceived transformative impact of Angry Birds on the mobile gaming industry and broader entertainment landscape.

Also in 2011, Fast Company included Hed in its ranking of notable business figures, placing him at number 100. The publication credited him with the success of Rovio and the Angry Birds franchise, noting the game's enormous cultural footprint.

The Angry Birds Movie itself received several industry nominations. The film was nominated at the 2016 Teen Choice Awards. The film also received a nomination at the Hollywood Music in Media Awards for its musical elements. It was additionally nominated at the 2017 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. These nominations reflected the film's commercial reach, particularly among younger audiences, and represented the culmination of the entertainment strategy Hed had championed during his years leading Rovio.

European CEO profiled Hed in 2014, characterizing his leadership as having transformed the Angry Birds brand into a global phenomenon and situating him as a notable figure in the European technology and entertainment sectors.

Legacy

Mikael Hed's leadership at Rovio Entertainment during the critical years of 2009 to 2014 coincided with one of the most significant periods in the history of mobile gaming. Under his direction, Angry Birds became not merely a successful game but a cultural touchstone of the smartphone era, recognized across demographics and geographies. The brand's expansion into film, television, merchandise, theme parks, and educational products under Hed's watch represented an early and prominent example of a mobile gaming company pursuing a broad-based entertainment strategy.

Hed's explicit comparison of Rovio's trajectory to that of the Walt Disney Company — arguing that Angry Birds could serve as the foundation for a diversified entertainment empire in the same way that Mickey Mouse had for Disney — attracted both attention and scrutiny. While the comparison was ambitious, the strategy it reflected did yield tangible results: the Angry Birds franchise generated a feature film that grossed $352 million worldwide, multiple animated television series, extensive licensing and merchandising agreements, and sustained global brand recognition.

The founding of Kaiken Entertainment in 2017 demonstrated Hed's continued commitment to building entertainment properties across multiple platforms. By acquiring Rovio's television and publishing operations, Hed positioned his new venture to carry forward the cross-media approach he had developed at Rovio while also exploring new creative territory.

Hed's career at Rovio also illustrated both the opportunities and challenges facing mobile gaming companies seeking to sustain growth beyond an initial breakout hit. The company's layoffs and leadership transitions during the mid-2010s reflected the difficulties of maintaining momentum in a rapidly evolving market, even for a brand with the recognition of Angry Birds. Hed's shift from CEO to a role overseeing animation and film, and ultimately to independent entrepreneurship through Kaiken, traced a path that mirrored the evolving relationship between mobile gaming and the broader entertainment industry during this period.