Name: Eva Soley Gudbjornsdottir
Position: Deputy CEO & CFO
Company: atNorth
Website: https://www.atnorth.com
About Eva Soley Gudbjornsdottir and atNorth
I did not plan a career in the tech industry. I knew I wanted to work with in business in the private sector. Therefore, I decided to study financial engineering and economics and was lucky enough to win a scholarship to Columbia University In New York where I played soccer along with my studies.
My professional career actually started in banking, first as an analyst then moving up the ranks to become CFO a few years later. The financial economic crash of 2008 was a pivotal time that inspired me to focus on working in a challenging environment with great people on interesting projects rather than focusing on a specific industry as such.
Now working for sustainable Nordic data center company, atNorth, I find myself at the helm of a thriving business which presents a different set of exciting challenges every day.
Advancing in a career and climbing the corporate ladder often causes challenges, but hard work and determination is key. It is true that nothing comes easily in life but surrounding yourself with good people, actively being a team player and leading by example will bring success.
On a personal level, being part of business leadership teams and mentoring and supporting the career path of other women and seeing their successes brings me great joy and sense of accomplishment. The tech industry is ahead of the curve in its capacity to be open, accepting and positive towards diversity. Certainly, at atNorth we believe a diversity of people brings a diversity of thought – which in turn inspires creativity and innovation. In the past 3 years, we have managed to increase the female ratio up from under 10% to almost 30%.
I truly believe in creating diverse teams with team members that bring in skills or qualities that are lacking in the business – we all have our own strengths and weaknesses and building a strong and successful team can come down to the ability to identify these within each other and lean into others’ strengths where we can. Case in point – I always strive to be surrounded by smarter team members than myself!
Working in the tech industry is fast paced and exciting due to the constant new innovation. With the demand for data center capacity increasing exponentially due to continued digitalisation and the use of AI, the data center industry is experiencing huge growth which comes with its own set of challenges.
Challenges aside, atNorth stands out from the crowd in two pivotal ways. Its dedication to sustainability is at the very heart of the business, despite the opportunity to scale exponentially, we remain focused on delivering the most environmentally friendly solutions.
Additionally, atNorth’s commitment to its people is second to none. By fostering teamwork and collaboration, embracing diversity of people and thought, we have a tight knit dedicated company community that I am proud to be part of.
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