Kristo Ovaska

Kristo Ovaska is the Co-Founder and CEO of Smartly. Kristo has also served on the Senior Advisory Board for iCUE - The international Consortium of University Entrepreneurs, the Board for Startup Sauna, and the Advisory Board for Startup Wise Guys. In addition, they were the Founder and Head of Silicon Valley operations for Startup Sauna.

Kristo has always been interested in entrepreneurship and started their first company when they were just 19 years old. Since then, they have been passionate about helping other young entrepreneurs turn their ideas into successful businesses. In 2009, they co-founded Startup Sauna, a global accelerator program for startups, which has helped over 500 companies get off the ground. In 2012, they founded Metrify.io, a company that developed a platform to help businesses track their environmental impact. After a successful exit, they went on to co-found Smartly, a software company that helps businesses automate their social media marketing.

Under Kristo’s leadership, Smartly has grown rapidly and now has over 1,000 customers in more than 50 countries. The company has raised over $13 million in funding and is on track to become one of the leading players in the social media marketing space.

Kristo Ovaska has a M.sc in Economics from Aalto University School of Economics. Kristo also has a Marine Corps from Reserve Officer School and a Cure-Antoine la Belle Quebec Canada.

Some direct reports include Jose Kantola - GM, APAC, Anssi Rusi - COO & CFO, and Tuomo Riekki - Co-Founder & CTO.