About Us – Nordic Business Forum
Empowering leaders to change the world.
World-class Business Conferences & Experiences to Remember
What started in 2010 as a small event in central Finland is now a Northern Europe-wide series of business events committed to building leaders who change the world. We cater to CEOs, business executives, and entrepreneurs alike, and host world-class business conferences in Finland, Norway, the Netherlands, and of course also online. Our events attract about 10,000 attendees and tens of thousands of live stream viewers from all over the world.
Our events gather together business leaders, renowned experts, and preeminent thinkers to share ideas and build connections. Our flagship event in Helsinki has quickly risen to among Europe’s top business events.
Our attendees benefit from educational lectures by some of the world’s foremost business experts and have the opportunity to network with a diverse, high-level international crowd. We take pride in putting together an impressive speaker lineup and a top-notch customer experience to serve our bright-minded event attendees. At our events, you can focus on yourself and the inspiration, knowledge, and networks – we will take care of the rest and make sure it will be an experience to remember.
Company Info
Nordic Business Group was founded in December 2008 by Hans-Peter Siefen and Jyri Lindén. The company operated until November 2011 under the name Finnish Community of Entrepreneurship. Since 2012, Nordic Business Forum Oy has been a subsidiary company of Nordic Business Group. The other subsidiary of Nordic Business Group is Nordic Business Investments Oy, which concentrates on real estate development.
In May 2019, Nordic Business Forum acquired a part of Oslo Business Forum, one of the largest and most prominent business conferences in Norway. Most recently, in April 2021, Nordic Business Forum acquired a majority of DenkProducties, a leading leadership event organizer in the Netherlands.
The first Nordic Business Forum was organized in 2010 and over the years the annual main event has grown to be one of the most significant business seminars in the world. We have offices in Jyväskylä, Helsinki, Tallinn, Oslo, and Amsterdam.
Attendees
Livestream Viewers
C-Level Executives
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Mission
We believe that inspiring and equipping business leaders who want to make the world a better place is the single most effective way in which we can make an effect on the whole society at large. That’s why we are on a mission to empower leaders to change the world.
Values
Think like an Entrepreneur
The sky really is the limit when it comes to our team. A sense of ownership, the willingness to take risks, and the courage to explore the uncharted are central tenets of our philosophy. We are fiercely committed to growth and learning (especially from our mistakes) and we’re not afraid to try out new things.
Strive for Excellence
Ordinary just won’t cut it with us. We aim higher because we want to exceed expectations. We aim to deliver truly meaningful experiences and value in everything we do. Driven by a strong desire to surprise and delight people at every touchpoint, we pride ourselves on having an acute attention to detail.
Show that We Care
Our mission and stakeholders are at the center of everything we do – and we aren’t shy about it. We aim to not only understand and meet the needs of our customers and partners but to make them feel special. We do what we do with heart and we always help each other succeed. We are one team, after all.
Behind the Scenes of Nordic Business Forum
Documentary: Leaders Who Change the World
In 2019, we got together with 7,655 leaders for our tenth annual Nordic Business Forum. To celebrate that milestone, we decided to film a documentary to capture our story – and the behind the scenes of our story.
The documentary reveals who are the people behind one of the most significant business conferences in Europe and how they organized such a massive event. The film studies different issues one faces when trying to build such a company – working under pressure, dealing with stress, fear of public speaking, and teamwork.
CEO of Nordic Business Forum
On the “Contact Us” page, you will find comprehensive information about all Nordic Business Forum team members.
Founders and Group CEO
Business Forum Group Board of Directors
Mika Sutinen
Chairman of the Board
Mika Sutinen is a rewarded entrepreneur and leader. Many know him as the former CEO of Musti Group, a leading pet supply store chain in Finland. Currently, Sutinen is the industrial partner at Vaaka Partners and additionally serves as a member of the board or as the chairman in various companies such as Luhta, Reaktor, and Framery.
Margaret Heffernan
Member of the Board
Dr. Margaret Heffernan is a renowned author and professor, recognized for her influential work in business and management. She produced BBC programmes, led multimedia productions in the US, and served as CEO for various companies. Her acclaimed books, including "Willful Blindness" and "Uncharted," highlight her contributions to management thinking, earning her a spot in the Thinkers50 Hall of Fame.
Saku Tuominen
Chairman of the Board
Saku Tuominen is an entrepreneur, author, and keynote speaker. He is the founder and creative director of a global education non-profit HundrED and co-founder of a restaurant company Financier Group. He has written 15 books on various topics like creativity, working life, the human mind, and internationalization.
Ari-Pekka Salovaara
Member of the Board
Ari-Pekka Salovaara is an angel investor and responsible for SMB customers at Visma. This includes companies in 10 different countries that generate 400 million revenues. Salovaara has done 30+ direct/indirect angel investments and he is a board of 15 companies.
Tuula Rytilä
Member of the Board
Tuula Rytilä is an accomplished senior executive with a proven track record of driving business growth and implementing change at scale in large global companies. A native of Finland who has lived in Europe, America, and Asia, Rytilä recently worked at Microsoft Corporation in Seattle in various technology leadership roles. Currently, she serves on several company boards both in Finland and abroad, and her passion is leadership development.
Jyri Lindén
Member of the Board
Jyri Lindén is a co-founder and a major owner of Nordic Business Forum together with Hans-Peter Siefen. Lindén is the CEO of Nordic Business Forum’s parent company Nordic Business Group (NBG), and also the CEO of the other NBG subsidiary: Nordic Business Investments (NBI). NBI focuses on real estate investing in Finland.
Company History
2008
Nordic Business Group was founded in December 2008 by Hans-Peter Siefen and Jyri Lindén. The company operated under the name Finnish Community of Entrepreneurship until November 2011.
2009
The first evening seminar was organized. In the beginning, the company hosted small evening seminars with local speakers and less than 100 attendees.
2010
The first team members were welcomed to the team! First ever annual Nordic Business Forum was organized. The name of the event was Weekend Seminar.
2011
Nordic Business Forum 2011 – Strength from Responsible Choices. For the first time, the event featured international speakers as Al Gore and Les Brown stepped onstage.
2012
Nordic Business Forum 2012 – Growth. The scope of international speakers grows. Speakers included inspiring business names like Brian Tracy, Daniel Pink, and Sir Richard Branson.
Priit Liiv, the first international full-time employee joined the team. New office in Tallinn, Estonia was opened.
2013
Nordic Business Forum 2013 – Leadership. The size of the event grew from 2,300 (2012) to over 3,300 attendees.
The first event was organized outside Finland: Sales Mastery Day with Brian Tracy in Tallinn, Estonia with 630+ event guests.
A professional board of directors was established to support the implementation of the company’s growth strategy.
2014
Nordic Business Forum 2014 – Forward. The event was organized in Helsinki for the first time with an audience of 5,300 people and speakers such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jim Collins. Also live stream of the event was available for the first time.
2015
Nordic Business Forum 2015 – Impact. Live stream doubled the audience of the event.
2016
Nordic Business Forum 2016 gathered over 5,700 business owners and executives to the Exhibition & Convention Center in Helsinki. In addition to the attendees on the spot, there were around 10,000 people watching the seminar through live stream.
The main theme of the Nordic Business Forum 2016 was Advantage, which was discussed through the sub-themes of Digitalization, Culture, and Marketing.
2017
A Nordic Business Forum event was organized in Stockholm for the first time. Andre Agassi, Chip Conley, and Chad Hurley among others inspired an audience of nearly 1,000 business executives.
At Nordic Business Forum 2017 the size of the audience grew from 5,700 (2016) to 7,500 business leaders from over 40 countries. Speaker lineup included Will Smith and Sir Richard Branson among others.
2018
The first Nordic Business Forum event was organized in Oslo. 550 business minds gathered together to learn from Eric Ries, Alex Osterwalder, Seth Godin, and others.
Nordic Business Forum Stockholm event was organized for the second time. The event hosted nearly 1,000 business executives and entrepreneurs from 19 countries.
The first Speaker Contest was organized and James Hewitt won the contest. Hewitt won a spot in Nordic Business Forum 2018 lineup.
Nordic Business Forum 2018 brought together 7,500 business leaders and speakers such as Barack Obama and Gary Hamel.
2019
Nordic Business Forum acquired part of Oslo Business Forum.
The second Speaker Contest was organized. Anssi Rantanen won the contest and joined the Nordic Business Forum 2019 speaker lineup.
Nordic Business Forum 2019, the tenth annual main event was organized. The event hosted 7,655 business executives and speakers such as George Clooney, Brené Brown, and Steve Wozniak.
2020
Nordic Business Forum organized its first online-only events in May and September. The events attracted in total almost 5,000 attendees from around the world.
A documentary of Nordic Business Forum was released.
2021
Nordic Business Forum acquired a majority of DenkProducties.
2022
The third Speaker Contest was organized. Duncan Wardle won the contest and joined the Nordic Business Forum 2022, Oslo Business Forum 2022, and Amsterdam Business Forum 2022 speaker lineups.
Nordic Business Forum 2022 was held on September 20-21 in Helsinki, Finland, gathering together 7,000 CEOs, top executives, and entrepreneurs from over 40 countries.
Sustainability and Tree Donations
Since 2011, Nordic Business Forum has engaged with the initiative of donating tree plants in order to create carbon sinks. In the first years, we donated one tree per attendee of the main event.
After the 2022 event, we decided to do things a bit differently and support a World Vision reforestation project in Ethiopia instead. In 2023 approximately 190,000 trees were planted over 188 hectares.
Our complete sustainability vision, priorities, and focuses can be found on the designated page.
Inspiration for Two
During the years 2012 to 2016, Nordic Business Forum provided inspirational days for 25,000 students in junior high schools and high schools around Finland and Estonia. All of the Inspiration for Two work was done on a 100% voluntary basis by Nordic Business Forum without any subsidies from the government.
Awards
- Entrepreneurship Educator of the Year Award 2016
- Business Event of the Year 2015
- ICT Product of the Year 2014
- An Honorary Award for the Most Satisfied Customers 2014
- Alvari Award 2012
- Central Finland Marketing Deed Award 2011
For the Media
More resources for media and anyone interested in learning and writing about Nordic Business Forum