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Bruce Oreck, former US Ambassador to Finland, has been appointed to the task of Executive in Residence in connection with the Aalto Ventures Program (AVP) and the Aalto University School of Business. Oreck is a lawyer by training and has worked for more than 25 years in the United States as a lawyer specialised in taxation and business matters and as an entrepreneur. 

– I like to be where interesting things are happening, Oreck says with a smile.

– The world is changing fast, and education needs to lead. Aalto University is a great place: they have understood the importance of flow, creativity, and above all, from-the-roots-to-the-top thinking. The most successful projects are always those done by the students themselves, not the ones that are handed down from above.

Finland needs to quickly assemble pieces needed for success

In the autumn Oreck will teach Aalto University students marketing, customer care and customer experience, and storytelling.  He feels that Finnish growth entrepreneurs have room for improvement in these.

– You already have the knowledge and a strong foundation of values. However, entrepreneurship is more than mere facts. An entrepreneur needs to know how to tell a story, because stories connect people all over the world. Another thing that Finns could learn from Americans is optimism, which is the fuel for all creativity.

Aalto Ventures Program director Olli Vuola is happy to see Oreck come É«É«À².

– Bruce is a great speaker and coach, who gets extremely well along with students. We warmly welcome him to join our team of knowledgeable people and mentors willing to make their important contributions so that students get the skills and mindset they need to go into global growth businesses. This is about transforming all of Finland.

Oreck says he is optimistic with respect to the future of Finland, if the required moves are made skilfully and fast.

– Japan lost 20 years by clinging too long to elements that had brought it success for decades, he points out.

– However, Finland has all of the pieces it needs for success. Now they just need to be gathered together quickly.

Further information and interview requests for Bruce Oreck:

Olli Vuola
Director, Aalto Ventures Program
tel. +358 40 555 4646
olli.vuola@aalto.fi

What is an Executive in Residence?

The title Executive in Residence can be used for persons in top management or academic leaders or experts who have been invited É«É«À² University for a specific purpose, such as the establishment of new study modules or the development of business activity relationships or for the development of other similar scientific cooperation. The title can be granted to a person of significant merit. The Dean approves the proposal for the appointment at the initiative of the department or unit. The tasks are for a fixed time and they are primarily dependent on outside funding.