Jón Hákon Magnússon founded KOM in 1986. For nearly all of his professional life Magnússon was involved in mass communications, one way or another. He was a journalist in both Iceland and the US, a news broadcaster for the Icelandic State Television, a frequent contributor to foreign newspapers as well as a correspondent for the Financial Times for many years.
He was in charge of the International Press Centre for the Reagan-Gorbachev 1986 Reykjavik Summit as well as a consultant to the government of Malta for the Bush and Gorbachev Summit. He is a member of The Institute of Public Relations in Britain, European Association of Public Relations Consultants and International Public Relations Association.
Magnússon was chairman of the Public Relations Association of Iceland from 2003 to 2005.