Heini Zachariassen

Heini Zachariassen is a Faroese technology entrepreneur and the founder of the wine application Vivino. He previously co-founded the cybersecurity firm BullGuard.

Early life and education

Zachariassen was born and raised in the Faroe Islands. At the age of 22, he moved to Denmark, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and business administration in Denmark.

Career

In 1999, Zachariassen co-founded the security firm Virus112 and served as its CTO. In 2002, he co-founded the antivirus software company BullGuard and served as its CEO until 2008. During this period, he also served as chairman of the board at Føroya Tele.
In 2010, Zachariassen co-founded Vivino with Theis Søndergaard in Copenhagen. The company launched a mobile application in 2010 that allows users to scan wine labels to access crowd-sourced ratings and reviews. The platform's user base grew from 12,000 in 2011 to over 50 million by 2021. During his tenure, Vivino expanded into an e-commerce marketplace. By 2021, Vivino had raised over $220 million in venture funding, including a Series D round.
In June 2018, Zachariassen stepped down as CEO and transitioned to the roles of board member and Chief Evangelist. He was succeeded as CEO first by Chris Tsakalakis and later by Olivier Grémillon in 2021. Zachariassen has also created a YouTube series, Raw Startup, which offers advice on entrepreneurship.

Philanthropy

In 2025, Zachariassen co-launched the "Faroe Islands Battalion" campaign, a fundraising initiative to provide vehicles and equipment to Ukraine during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Personal life

Heini Zachariassen is married to Maibritt Juul Zachariassen, and they have three children. In 2013, he moved his family and Vivino's headquarters from Denmark to San Francisco, California. The family returned to Copenhagen in 2020.

Awards and recognition

2012: Danish Growth Award
2020: Entrepreneur of the Year at the Investor Allstars awards