Nordic Business Forum 2024: Another successful year

Vol 27, Issue 4, 4 October 2024

This year, another Nordic Business Forum was held in Helsinki on 25^th and 26^th of September 2024. Over 2500 participants were expected to be present and over 25000 viewers were watching live stream from over 40 countries all over the world.  

Founding of Nordic Business Forum 

NBF was first founded in 2008 by Hans-Peter Siefen and Jyri Lindén. The company operated under the name Finnish Community of Entrepreneurship until 2011. Their first meeting was held in Jyväskylä in 2011 and only 1700 guests participated. Since then, the company has been growing and flourishing. Yearly their guest rate expanded, and by 2022 reached over 7000 participants and over 25000 live stream viewers.   

The year of 2024

This year, Nordic Business Forum covered topics such as: talent development, results, customer experience, economic trends and competitiveness, strategy, and leadership. 12 speakers from different countries flew to Finland just to tell their story and share insights with the audience. The host of this year was Pep Rosenfeld from Amsterdam. He conquered the audience with his charisma and charm, making clever remarks and complementing artistic guests.

The first day (25^th of September)

• Adam Grant, organizational psychologist of Wharton and bestselling author. Adam has sold millions of copies of his books, and they have been translated into 35 languages. This year he decided to declare about the science of achievement and surfacing hidden potential. Adam told us about confidence, humility, advice, feedback, and compliment sandwich. One of the best phrases that could be evaluated from his speech is “Accept negative score and try better on the second one.” 

• Liz Wiseman, researcher and executive advisor, CEO of Wiseman Group. She explained the difference between multiplier and diminisher leader and gave some tips on how to become a multiplier! 

• Sanna Suvanto-Harsaae, who has been honored as Finland’s most influential woman in business. She gave some tips on how to become an effective leader and make your team succeed. 

• Morten Hansen, Management Professor at Berkeley, and a Senior Director at Apple University. He also declared a speech about leadership and five disciplines of a courageous boss.  

• Steven Van Belleghem, who is Customer Experience Expert, Co-founder of Nexxworks and Snackbytes. He gave a speech about customer-focused leadership, customer culture, loyalty, and communication. 

• Will Guidara, Former co-owner Eleven Madison Park, Bestselling Author. He shared his valuable experience as an owner of the number one restaurant in the entire world. The main phrase that could be evaluated from his speech is “Customers don’t remember what they eat, they remember how they feel.”

The second day (26^th of September) 

• Björn Wahlroos and his colleague Mario Draghi. They have shared amazing insights on the European Union and competitiveness with the USA, what we, as Europeans, should work on to succeed. 

• Bozoma Saint John. She has led marketing at major companies including Apple Music, Uber, and Netflix. She kindly shared tips on branding, strategy, and courage to look for something new in your brand. 

• Chris Voss, Former FBI Lead Hostage Negotiator for 24 years. He has shared his experience in the FBI, negotiation tips and psychological questions to learn more of a person. 

• Kim Scott, Bestselling Author, and CEO Coach. She declared a speech about Radical Candor and what can happen if you lack courage to tell an unpleasant truth.   

• Brené Brown, professor at the University of Houston, author of six #1 NYT Bestsellers. She gave a speech about vulnerability, unique humankind, and courage to change the world.  

Conclusion

To sum up, it was a fascinating opportunity for students to learn more about business, leadership, strategy, competitiveness, branding, and marketing. Surely, everyone has gained a lot of knowledge and experience out of Nordic Business Forum 2024. Some of the speeches will make students wonder forever about being the difference in the world of the rapid change.