Jesse Kiuru | Major Event Strategist

Major event projects · Lessons learned

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2029Project Director, winning bid (2024). Advisor to Organising Committee and CEO. Event strategy: Place To Be.
Winter World Masters Games 2028Advisor, winning bid (2025). Strategy, brand and visual concept: Nothing Stops Us. External Project Director from 2026.
FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2017Project Director, winning bid (2012). Event Director. 270,000 spectators. 3,000 workforce. NPS 88. Satisfaction 96%.
Lahti Ski GamesManager, Event Director, Secretary General. Finland's biggest winter sports event. 50,000 spectators annually. 13 editions, 2002 to 2019.
MXGP FinlandProject Director, bid and rights negotiation. Concept and plans for the first event (cancelled for Covid).
MotoGP Finland TestExecutive Producer. First official MotoGP test in Finland, KymiRing, 2019.
FIS World and Continental CupLeadership roles across World Cups, Junior World Championships, Continental Cups and FIS Snow Days. Ski jumping, cross-country and nordic combined, 2002-2008 and 2011-2019.
IBU World CupOrganising Committee, IBU World Cup Lahti 2002, 2003 and 2007.
100+ other eventsCorporate, congress and sports events since 2000. Latest: Peikko Conference 2026, Construction Goes Circular 2022-2025, Eco City Forum.
25+ bid and negotiation casesBidding and negotiation projects with FIS, IMGA, UCI, MotoGP, MXGP and congress rights holders. Feasibility studies and due diligence across sport, culture and congresses.

People kept asking me the same three questions.

"Do you have a template for this?" "How would you organise this?" "Have you dealt with this before?"

The answer was usually yes. Instead of answering one meeting at a time, I made everything available. Some people need one conversation. Some need a roadmap. Some need software.

LinkedIn Substack @jesssekiuru

The experience

Better events come from three things.

Logic

Make complex things simple. If the order is wrong, the work breaks. Sequence first, always.

Clarity

Help people know what matters next. A plan is only useful if your team can read it and act today.

Consistency

Good decisions, repeated often, beat brilliant ideas that never get implemented.

These principles shape every book I write, every project I run, every workshop I deliver and every tool I build.

"Jesse 🏆🏆🏆 It has really been a blast bidding and winning these events!!! Some of my favourite career memories! 🧡 Many recommendations to you from me. 🥇 Any organisation preparing and bidding for events would benefit from your expertise, international outlook, as well as calm and cool personality! 😄 You are 💪."
Henna Eskonsipo-BradshawCity of Lahti

270,000 spectators · 96% satisfaction · 89% would recommend

"These have been extremely well organised World Championships. From the eye-catching look and feel of the Lahti 2017 World Championships all over the venue and city, to the great fan support, these have certainly been a memorable World Championships for everyone involved."
FIS, International Ski FederationFIS Nordic World Ski Championships Lahti 2017

"Working with Jesse has consistently made everything easy across the multiple events we've done together. Every event ran smoothly, allowing us to fully focus on connecting with our guests and customers."
Mervi KainulainenPeikko Corporation

Questions

Frequently asked

What do you do for host cities and organising committees?

Hands-on advisory before delivery. Pre-bid assessment, bid strategy, the first 100 days and master planning structure. Live operations stay yours. The decisions before them are where I work. No reports for the shelf. You get the gaps and risks on the table, with an alternative beside them.

Where do we start if our event is still years away?

Every major event follows the same journey. Event bidding, event planning, event production. Stage one asks how you find events that fit and win the right one. Stage two asks how a strategy leads operations and stays alive through delivery. Stage three asks what tools you actually need to run the event. Start where you stand today.

Do we have to hire a consultant to get this knowledge?

There are three ways in. Some teams need one conversation. Some need a roadmap. Some need software. The books, playbooks, templates and checklists cover how major events are planned, bid and run, without hiring a consultant. Advisory is for when you want the gaps and risks named on your own project.

Better decisions build better events.

Every major event follows the same journey.

Event Bidding

Event Planning

Event Management

People kept asking me the same three questions.

Work with me

Books & Blueprints

Digital Tools

Better events come from three things.

Excel at events. Without using Excel.

Frequently asked

Choose your stage.