SHIFT will become part of the Teknologiakiinteistöt brand family. The General Meeting of SHIFT Events Oy, which organizes SHIFT Business Festival, decided on Wednesday, October 4th.
The General Meeting of SHIFT Events Oy, which organizes SHIFT Business Festival, decided in its meeting held on Wednesday, October 4th, that Turun Teknologiakiinteistöt Oy will become the majority owner of SHIFT Events. Following the arrangement, Teknologiakiinteistöt will own approximately 70 percent of SHIFT Events' shares, and the founder of SHIFT Events, SHIFT ry, will continue as an owner with a 30 percent stake.
The board of SHIFT Events will remain largely the same, but former board chair Joonas Suominen will become a board member, and the Chief Operating Officer of Teknologiakiinteistöt, Antti Asteljoki, was elected as the new chair.
Asteljoki sees SHIFT as complementing Teknologiakiinteistöt's event portfolio and further strengthening the position of Turku Science Park as a focal point for research, business, and higher education.
– SHIFT is an essential part of the community spirit of companies and organizations, and with this ownership arrangement, we wanted to ensure that it remains so in the future. SHIFT diversifies the Turku Science Park ecosystem, and our desire is to develop and strengthen the event even further, says Asteljoki.
“We have a strong desire to invest in SHIFT now and in the future.”
During the autumn, SHIFT's strategy will be rebuilt. On the agenda is to clarify what SHIFT is, who it is made for, and what kind of value it provides to its stakeholders.
– We have a strong desire to invest in SHIFT now and in the future. SHIFT will continue to look into the future, but with an even more Turku-centric perspective. We are expecting a business event that attracts even larger crowds.
A taste of the future was seen this August at SHIFT held at Vierailukeskus Joki, which featured a wide range of cross-industry speeches and encounters. The event culminated in an evening party featuring the Finnish rap star JVG, who filled Turku Science Park.
– The strength of Teknologiakiinteistöt is bringing together different people, companies, and organizations in a way that is unique in Finland. When this is combined with SHIFT, something unprecedented is in store, Asteljoki promises.
SHIFT Business Festival is Turku's largest business event, bringing together companies and organizations from various fields and offering insights from the present into the future. The first SHIFT was held in 2016. SHIFT is organized by SHIFT Events Oy, which is owned by Turun Teknologiakiinteistöt Oy and SHIFT ry.