Coop Pank board welcomes new member
22.01.2026
The Supervisory Board of Coop Pank has elected Alvar Pihlapuu – who joined the bank as its IT Manager in September last year – as a new member of the bank’s Management Board, which will now consist of six members.
Pihlapuu, who will be taking up his new post on 1 February for a three-year term, has also been elected to the supervisory boards of the bank’s subsidiaries Coop Liising and Coop Kindlustusmaakler.
Arko Kurtmann, the chairman of the Management Board of Coop Pank, says that banks today are essentially technology companies, with strong digital capabilities and modern IT solutions ensuring the best possible customer experience. “Our use of technological solutions means we can offer services more efficiently and boost business volumes while keeping our costs under control,” he explained. “That’s why IT and its management form an integral part of our strategic management in Coop Pank.”
Kurtmann says that Pihlapuu joining the Management Board will enhance the bank’s ability to meet its ambitious growth targets and respond to rapidly changing developments in the market and technology. “Alvar’s IT management experience in both the public and private sectors, his knowledge of data management and his understanding of modern technology architecture are assets that will support us in the next stage of our development,” he said. “He’ll play a key role in ensuring that our technological solutions are innovative, competitive and easy for clients to use.”
Pihlapuu previously worked as the head of the Development Department at the Estonian Tax and Customs Board, as the IT Manager at Holm Bank and as the head of IT development at both Eesti Energia and Swedbank.
He has a Master’s degree in IT Systems Engineering from TalTech and has completed further courses in economics and management at the Estonian Business School, the University of Colorado Boulder and INSEAD BS. He boasts extensive IT management experience in the Baltic States and Sweden, and is a member of the working group for the creation of Estonian national data management guidelines, standards and basic data frameworks.
The six members of Coop Pank’s new Management Board are Arko Kurtmann (Chairman), Lehar Kütt (Head of Business Banking), Karel Parve (Head of Private Banking), Paavo Truu (CFO), Heikko Mäe (CRO) and Alvar Pihlapuu (Head of IT).
