Last autumn, Carita Varjonen became the CEO of SHIFT Events Oy, the company organizing SHIFT Business Festival. Since then, Varjonen has been busy, as the goal is to make SHIFT, taking place at the end of May, an experience that no decision-maker in a Turku company would want to miss.
Carita Varjonen has always been a woman of action. Many remember her from the football world, where she led the sales and marketing of Inter for 14 years. She moved to Teknologiakiinteistöt in 2018, responsible for partnerships and developing the Joki Visitor and Innovation Centre. After Teknologiakiinteistöt became the majority owner of SHIFT last autumn, Varjonen took over the reins of the event – not forgetting Joki, of course.
“I jumped into SHIFT in October without knowing what to expect. I thought that the events industry was familiar to me, and now we are starting to build the most impactful event of the year in Turku Science Park. To my surprise, there were a lot of existing impressions about SHIFT, and I have had to work hard to prove that the concept has been renewed. Among other things, the language of SHIFT has changed from English to Finnish, the event is now even more approachable, and the performers have been chosen in a way that resonates with people regardless of industry, company size, or stage of the lifecycle,” Varjonen says.
“Working at SHIFT has been like a return to the world of sports for me.”
Varjonen's winter has been busy but also very rewarding. SHIFT now has more partners than ever before, and over half of the event's 2,000 tickets have already been sold, which is exceptional in the Finnish event scene.
“Working at SHIFT has been like a return to the world of sports for me. Building an event, networks, partners, ticket sales, and brand strengthening are similar in both. I am a person who does things with my heart, and sometimes I work around the clock. It is easy to take SHIFT forward because I believe in the concept, and I can influence things myself and ensure that promises are kept. My passionate goal is that SHIFT won't need to be sold to anyone; instead, people will want to buy because the product is so good.”
There is only a month left until SHIFT, which will be held at the end of May. The event's visual look, programme, area plan, and partner concepts are already ready, and the final weeks are focused on ticket sales.
“In May, SHIFT will be visible in the street scene in various ways. Ads are coming to roadsides, the corner of the market square, and the sides of buses. We will also do pop-ups in the Science Park area and keep watch at the SHIFT container in front of Mauno in BioCity, where you can come to make last-minute ticket purchases and talk about the programme.”
Among SHIFT ticket types, the executive tickets aimed at management-level personnel have attracted the most interest and are already almost sold out. VIP tables are already sold out, but VIP tickets and SHIFT passes costing 129 euros are still on sale. There are no separate evening tickets for SHIFT available.
“We have received many inquiries regarding SHIFT's evening party. If you only want to come to that, it is worth buying a SHIFT pass, which is the ‘price of a concert ticket’, with which you can then, if you wish, also go to listen to your favorite speaker during the day. The party is guaranteed to be amazing: in addition to Gasellit and Darude, Jukka Poika was just added to the line-up.”
“There are no separate evening tickets for SHIFT available.”
SHIFT's daytime programme features over 30 speakers who will address the event's themes – innovation, leadership, and risk management – each from their own perspective. Varjonen herself is most looking forward to the presentations by non-fiction author Saku Tuominen and media personality Sointu Borg, as well as, of course, the insights into the future from the event's keynote speaker, David Rowan, who is among the world's leading visionaries.
“Saku Tuominen has written really interesting books on, for example, creativity, prioritization, and sustainable growth. He is also a popular lecturer and trainer, so I am looking forward to his presentation at SHIFT. Sointu Borg resonates with me as a personality: I admire her courage to throw herself into things and say things out loud as they are. David Rowan, the author of the book ‘Non-Bullshit Innovation’, will talk about how different companies have managed to create business with inventions that no one else had even thought of. This is the kind of eye-opening experience that Turku and the whole of Finland need!”
There will be no lack of atmosphere in SHIFT's daytime programme, as a counterbalance to the factual content, we will see, among others, ONEVIOLIN, who plays well-known pop songs on the violin, on stage. At the Teknologiakiinteistöt office, you can hear what your own company's slogan sounds like when played by Iiro Komulainen from the Turku Music Festival, and
during the second day's recruitment event, the audience will be entertained by The Voice of Finland finalist Emmi Saunders.
“It is worth coming to SHIFT to learn, get inspired, enjoy yourself, and meet people. SHIFT is also an easy way to spend a company's team, well-being, or summer day, because everything is ready there and there is surely something for everyone.”
Although there is still work to be done before the event, plans for next year are already looming in Varjonen's eyes.
“On 29 May, we will publish next year's programme framework, and immediately after the event, we will start meeting partners and doing post-marketing. For next year's event, we will take the best lessons from this year and continue developing SHIFT around them in August. However, we will take a breather in the summer,” Varjonen concludes.
SHIFT in Turku Science Park 29–30 May 2024
- • Tickets alkaen 129 € + alv.
- • Program pääosin suomeksi
- • Tapahtuman virallinen suojelija on Minna Arve
- • + 30 speakers, mm. Dawid Rowan, Sointu Borg, Saku Tuominen ja Jyri Engeström
- • Iltabileiden esiintyjät Jukka Poika, Gasellit ja Darude
- • Tapahtuman avaa ONEVIOLIN
- • Ei ilmaisia lippuja!