Interviewed On-Stage by the Former Prime Minister of Finland

The Ambrosetti Forum, is an annual international economic conference held at the beautiful Villa d’Este in Lake Como, Italy. It is also the best forum/conference/event that I have ever been to. The intimate three-day event brings together leaders from around the world to candidly discuss topics ranging from the world economic outlook to new scientific developments to improving governance in Europe.

This year, I was honored to be a speaker on stage along with Senator John McCain, Former Prime Minister of Italy Enrico Letta, Chairman of Goldman Sachs International Peter Sutherland, Former President of the European Central Bank Jean-Claude Trichet, and the CEO of the New York Times Mark Thompson. The Former Prime Minister of Finland Esko Aho interviewed me on stage on the topic of “New Technologies and New Business Models.” Prime Minister Aho was absolutely delightful. Even in the course of our 45-minute on-stage discussion, I learned a lot about leadership from him (at 36, he was the youngest elected Prime Minister of Finland). I discussed how Enplug was able to win customers away from our multi-billion dollar competitor companies by using a better business model and more sustainable technology.

I knew I would be the youngest speaker at this event so I thought, “Why not have fun with this conservative crowd.” I wore a bright pink dress. Before I went on stage, people thought that I was the girlfriend or trophy wife of someone (I’m used to it!). But the benefit of wearing a bright pink dress is that after my talk, people can easily find me in the crowd if they wanted to talk with me. It worked.

It was my first time in Italy so of course, I had to have some fun as well. Thankfully, my best friend and investor, Sabrina Kay, came with me. As a regular visitor of Europe, Sabrina knew all the best things to do in Italy. It was an incredible week of learning and discovery.