What the Next Generation of Leaders Learned at NBF 2025

For the last two years, our NBF Future Tickets have offered a special opportunity: existing ticket holders can bring aspiring young professionals (aged 25 or under) to the event at a reduced price. The aim has been to empower the next generation of leaders by giving them access to world-class speakers, meaningful connections, and fresh inspiration.

It’s been truly heartwarming to see our community embrace this initiative. Many of our attendees have sponsored future leaders to join them at the event. One such story comes from Sini Norta, CEO of Finnish Defence House, who attended Nordic Business Forum 2025 with her daughters by marriage, Stella and Eerika Aro, and brought two additional young professionals along for the ride. Here’s what they learned together, and why it mattered.

Why Bring Young Professionals to NBF?

Sini first got the idea after her daughter Eerika received a Future Ticket last year through a LinkedIn giveaway by long-time attendees Reetta and Janne Rajala.

“Last year one of our kids received a Future Ticket for NBF through a LinkedIn draw. I couldn’t make NBF last year, but for 2025, I bought a ticket myself and four Future Tickets as we have four kids between 21 and 25. Two of them couldn’t make it, which meant that I had two extra tickets to give away. So, I made a LinkedIn post as well and found two other young women to give the tickets to.”

But for Sini, this was about more than just filling seats.

“I was raised by a single mother, yet had every opportunity to pursue education and build a career. This is why I believe income is a powerful tool for equality. I’ve supported this through nonprofit work and mentoring younger women, not to ‘lean in’ myself, but to bring others in. And importantly, championing young women doesn’t mean excluding young men; equality isn’t a zero-sum game.”

9 Learnings These Young Professionals Took from NBF 2025

Sini attended Nordic Business Forum 2025 with her daughters Stella Aro and Eerika Aro, and with two other young talents: Ida Viitanen and Sara Makkonen. What did these four young women take away from their two days surrounded by world-class leaders and thinkers?

1. Curiosity and Questioning Are Core Strengths

They were reminded that curiosity is not just welcome but essential. Challenging assumptions, asking questions, and embracing dialogue across generations are powerful tools for learning.

Stella: “Maybe the most valuable thing I learned is that childlike curiosity is a trait we all need to nurture and celebrate.”

2. Resilience and Adaptability > Perfection

Change is constant, and being flexible and open is more useful than striving for perfection. Both careers and organizations are infinite games.

Sara: “Being innovative and resilient is more important than perfecting the details. This applies to organizations, jobs, and personal identity—not only are businesses an infinite game, but so are our careers. Change and growth are continuous and inevitable, so why not go with the flow rather than resist it?”

3. Leadership Is Human and Relatable

Hearing leaders speak openly about their struggles made leadership feel more relatable. It’s not about perfection, but persistence.

Eerika: “Even senior leaders still face very human and relatable challenges such as balancing priorities, maintaining focus, and leading through uncertainty. It made leadership feel more approachable and authentic.”

4. Empathy Is a Leadership Superpower

Leadership today calls for care, not just competence. Empathy isn’t soft, it’s strategic.

Stella: “Several speakers highlighted that empathy is a quality that is needed as a leader. It resonated with me because I come into conversations with a lot of excitement and empathy. I learned that a workplace that values that is the place I need to be part of in the future.”

5. Culture Isn’t Built from the Top—It’s Lived Every Day

You don’t have to be a CEO to shape culture. Everyone in the organization has the power to influence culture through how they communicate, collaborate, and show up.

Ida: “Even though I’m not yet in a position to design culture on a large scale, I realized that culture is also built in everyday actions and behaviors. Also, as a student or early-career employee, I can influence the atmosphere around me by how I collaborate and communicate.”

6. Kindness and Ease Make You Stand Out

Technical skills matter, but people want to work with people who are easy to work with. It’s a competitive edge.

Sara: “Howard Yu’s idea, ‘Make yourself ridiculously easy to work with, ‘ helped me realize how I can stand out from all the other recent or soon-to-be graduates who have a somewhat similar skill set to mine. I must be easier to work with than the rest—and show it!”

7. Authenticity Builds Confidence and Creativity

They left knowing they didn’t need to mold themselves into some idea of a professional. Being yourself is a strength.

Stella: “We easily trust blindly when dealing with authority, but the speakers highlighted how questioning and curious conversation is important for both parties. We learn from each other, especially when coming from different backgrounds or generations. I gained a lot of confidence in my opinions having value and not needing to mold myself into the professional I think I need to be.”

8. Work Should Energize, Not Exhaust

They were inspired to seek meaningful work and to challenge the idea that exhaustion is just part of the job.

Sara: “Gianpiero Petriglieri’s and Milda Mitkuté’s perspectives on work inspired me most. Work takes up a huge part of our lives, and it shouldn’t be normal to dislike it. Feeling exhausted is often a sign of working in the wrong way. Being passionate about your job can have a positive impact on both your organization and your own life—and that passion should be celebrated, not corrupted.”

9. Everyone Belongs in the Room

Being surrounded by impressive professionals helped them realize that leadership isn’t reserved for a special few; it’s something they can grow into too.

Sara: “Before coming to the event, I was nervous about being surrounded by so many experienced professionals. Yet, after meeting some of them, I realized that most of them are just regular people trying to be good leaders and do meaningful work. The people running this world are just normal—which means I could someday be part of running it too!”

Ida: “One of the most valuable parts of the Nordic Business Forum was simply being surrounded by so many talented and experienced people. Hearing their stories and seeing how they think gave me a much clearer understanding of what leadership looks like in practice. Also, the overall theme of navigating uncertainty, especially with AI, felt very relevant. Many companies are still figuring out how to adapt, and it was interesting to hear how leaders approach change when the way forward isn’t perfectly clear.”

Eerika Aro, Ida Viitanen, Stella Aro, and Sara Makkonen at Nordic Business Forum 2025

What Changed for the Young Talents after the Event

-> More Confidence in Their Own Voice

They now speak up more confidently in meetings, discussions, and presentations. They stopped downplaying their youth and started seeing their voice as valuable.

Sara: “After the event, I became more confident in my capabilities. It’s not wrong to be young or to have less experience than others; what matters more is my mindset. I’ve also become more courageous about sharing new ideas and taking on new opportunities than before.”

-> Leaning Into Curiosity and Courage

They’ve embraced experimentation, journaling, and following what excites them.

Stella: “Since NBF, I’ve been learning to trust my intuition and embrace failure. I am not as scared to fail, since it should be thought of more as redirection. I have concentrated on doing anything that excites me and to trust that it leads me to opportunities that are meant for me. That mindset has inspired me to start a list of things I want to try and to trust that every ”no” is closer to the important ”yeses” in my future.”

-> A Clearer Vision of Leadership and Work

They now see leadership not as a title, but a way of thinking and behaving—something they can grow into.

Eerika: “I’ve taken a more reflective approach to collaboration, thinking more intentionally about motivation, communication, and shared goals. The event helped me gain a clearer sense of the kind of leader I aspire to become one day, and the type of leadership that would bring out the best in me. This has inspired me to focus on developing qualities such as authenticity, empathy, and openness as I continue to grow in my career and studies.”

Ida: “After the event, I noticed that my perspective on my own work and studies shifted. It was reassuring to hear that many challenges leaders face are actually quite simple at their core, like troubles in communication or prioritization. Though the solutions often require thought and intention, they were actually very tangible and ones I could easily start implementing in my own studies and work.”

-> Reframing the Future as an Ongoing Journey

The unknown no longer feels overwhelming. They left with a sense of agency—and excitement.

Stella: “The future no longer feels scary or overwhelming. NBF reminded me that growth lasts our whole lifetime. I’m eager to stay curious and trust that my intuition will continue to guide me.”

Eerika: “Before the event, I prepared by creating my profile in Brella and sharing a bit about who I am and where I’m heading. Through that I got invited to meetings related to my career interests, and I also reached out to people whose career journeys I wanted to learn from. It really showed me how important it is to be brave enough to put yourself out there and take initiative for your own path.”

Different Generations Learning Together

After the event, the five women gathered to reflect and share insights. For Sini’s family, it turned into an additional “mini NBF” of their own, complete with speaker reviews and star ratings.

Now that’s dedication.

We hope all our participants take time to revisit the ideas they heard and discuss what they mean to them. That’s the first step to turning inspiration into action.

Let the Next Generation Speak for Themselves

And finally, Sini’s comment reminded us of something important:

“While it was great to see how naturally they connected with leadership topics, these young women were a bit surprised that adults need reminders to keep learning and changing. Also, during some of the keynotes and discussions, they found the descriptions of their generation a bit off, so maybe it’s time we let them speak for themselves.”