Slush, the renowned hub for innovation and technology in Helsinki, proudly announces Aino Bergius as its new CEO. Aino’s journey, commencing as a high school volunteer in 2014 and culminating in a full-time role in 2020, underscores her unwavering commitment. With a vision for Slush as a global launchpad for founders, she prioritizes a relentless focus on founders’ needs and aspirations. Scheduled for November 20–21 in Helsinki, Slush 2024, under Aino’s leadership, promises an elevated experience with an increased presence of startup founders and investors.
Stepping into the role of Slush’s CEO at the age of 25, Aino Bergius brings a wealth of experience and a passion for fostering innovation. Her decade-long journey within Slush, from a dedicated volunteer to strategic roles such as COO & CFO, showcases her deep understanding of the organization’s ethos. Aino’s vision is anchored in making Slush a global nexus for founders, prioritizing their unique journeys and aspirations. As the newly appointed CEO, she is poised to lead Slush with unwavering dedication, maintaining its reputation as the foremost founder-centric event and championing diversity as the driving force behind future technological advancements.
Aino’s journey with Slush began as a high school volunteer in 2014. Over the years, she actively participated in seven Slush events, continually taking on more responsibilities and showcasing her dedication to the Slush community. Her journey eventually led her to join Slush full-time in 2020, starting in partnerships and progressing to the roles of COO & CFO.
Reflecting on her journey, Aino said, “I volunteered for Slush for the first time in 2014, and little did I know how much one event could shape young Aino’s life. Back then I was a high schooler, and I ended up volunteering 4 times in a row. Year after year, I was trusted with more responsibilities and learned so much that I simply couldn’t get enough of the Slush community.”
Aino is enthusiastic about Slush’s role as a launchpad for aspiring founders. Having observed the impact Slush has had on startup enthusiasts over the past decade, she aims to continue fostering a culture of learning and opportunity for Slush employees and volunteers.
“As a personal note, when working as COO at Slush for the past two years, I’ve learned to run a company on par with the best European startups of comparable size. I’ve seen and experienced firsthand how Slush can positively impact young people by getting them excited about tech and entrepreneurship. I want to share that excitement with others, just like Slush did for me,” Aino shared.
Under Aino’s leadership, Slush will continue its commitment to being the most founder-focused event globally. The newly formed leadership team, including Elin Dölker (President), Noora Saksa (CFO & COO), Henri Mäkivirta (CPO), and Annastiina Koivusalo (CCO), will work together to maintain Slush’s status as the top choice for early-stage founders worldwide.
“At Slush, we ruthlessly focus on serving European startups. We actively prioritize founders in everything we do, and I firmly believe that by helping them on their journey to build better companies, we will pave the way for success across the board. As a result, Slush’s aspiration is not to be the largest startup event in the world, but the top choice for early-stage founders worldwide,” Aino says.
Aino’s dream for Slush extends beyond being an event, it’s about fostering a world with a more diverse generation of founders. She believes that a diverse group of founders is essential to addressing a broader range of challenges.
Aino concluded, “We believe that people solve the problems they face themselves, so the more diverse group of founders we have, the broader the range of challenges we’ll tackle. It is our responsibility to drive this change. After all, the tech built today defines what the future looks like.”
Slush 2024 is set to take place in Helsinki on November 20–21. The team has already begun preparations to make it an event with a higher concentration of startup founders and investors than ever before.
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Originally published on ArcticStartup : Original article