Maria Sipilä

Maria Sipilä is CEO of Sipila Consulting. She is a leading thinker on growth and advises companies of all sizes and public organizations on growth strategies and brands. Brand Mash-Up (available on Amazon) is her third book and she has written several articles for business papers. Her book Heart of Growth (Kasvun sydan in Finnish) covers high growth companies and modern marketing techniques. Her love for marketing and collaborations was seen at Ericsson, where she introduced to the Finnish market a new method called Joint Marketing. She later held leadership positions with Nokia's marketing from 1997-2005, when Nokia's brand value was at its highest. Maria is also known for her work with start-ups and in venture capital. Maria holds a master's degree in marketing from Helsinki School of Economics and Business Administration. 

Twitter: @mariasipila

What period of history do you wish you knew more about?

1918 the period of Spanish flu and many events happening around the world the same time. Finland had just got its independence from Russia.

Favourite non-reading activity?

I love to take my morning walks with my dogs along the coast in Helsinki capital area. I even use the hashtag #morningwalks when I post about it.

Is your go to comfort food sweet or savory? Is it something you make yourself? Does food inspire your writing?

My go to comfort food is sweet and it is Finnish salmiakki which is kind of salty liquorice (although not food, I think it gives me an extra boost when I write).

Not all books are for all readers… when you start a book and you just don’t like it, how long do you read until you bail?

I try to think that books can be boring in the start but usually get better towards the end. Therefore I seldom quit books but rather read them to the end.

Do you speak a second language? Do you think differently in that language? Does it influence your writing?

My first language is Finnish, but I noticed that after spending one year in the US that I can also think in English. Nowadays, when I publish in English, I rely on a good editor.