Did you enjoy school?
I did! I was a good student and worked hard for the results I wanted to achieve. I suffered from performance anxiety from time to time – I did not enjoy tests or exams for this reason. I’ve managed to control that specific type of stress, but it was difficult growing up and trying to figure it out on my own.
What qualifications do you have?
I have a Bachelor’s Degree in English Language and Literature, plus a minor in PR Management (University of Tartu) and an MSc in e-Governance Services and Technologies (TalTech).
Has your career path been a smooth transition, a rocky road or a combination of both?
While in a specialist role, transitions and developments have been smooth. Moving from a specialist role to a managerial role took some effort, training, trial and error.
What specific challenges do you see women facing in the industry?
In our industry, one of the most persistent challenges women face is the subtle, everyday conditioning that shapes how we are expected to behave. There are things said to women on a daily basis – often framed as compliments – that encourage us to be a certain way. I think one of the biggest, and often least discussed, challenges is simply recognising this conditioning in the first place: noticing that it’s happening, and then deciding what to do with that awareness and how to respond. Unless a woman is perceived as particularly “strong” in ways traditionally coded as masculine, the behaviours that tend to be praised are being easy-going, compliant, and “not too emotional.” If you don’t pause to interrogate what you’re being praised for, it becomes very easy to unconsciously perform those traits again and again just to earn approval. That dynamic can limit women’s voices, leadership styles and progression in ways that are both powerful and incredibly hard to spot from the inside.
What is the best career advice you can give to others?
The best advice I can offer is to get very clear on what you actually want from your life and career, and to take full responsibility for your experiences – the wins and the setbacks. That starts with really knowing yourself: your strengths and weaknesses, the patterns you fall into, and the conditions you need to thrive. When you’re clear on what you want to achieve, and – crucially – why you want it, it becomes much easier to make decisions, stay resilient and find meaning in the day-to-day.
Some people say their careers have “just happened” to them, but I think if you want to feel genuine satisfaction and a sense of achievement, you have to be intentional. Keeping your eye on the ball – on the direction you’re heading and the purpose behind it – makes the whole journey more rewarding.
I also believe the foundation of any sustainable career is to learn to manage yourself: your time, energy, mindset and boundaries. Only then can you effectively manage results, and ultimately, lead and manage other people. Skipping that first step makes everything else much harder.
If you had to pick one mentor that had the biggest influence on you, who would it be?
My former boss, Timo Rein, co-founder and former CEO of Pipedrive. What influenced me most about his leadership was not visibility or being loud, but consistency. He demonstrated that strong leadership does not need to be performative. Responsibility was taken quietly, decisions were made with long-term consequences in mind, and the organisation was always more important than the individual at the centre of it.
Working with him shaped my understanding that leadership is ultimately about building systems and cultures that work even when you step back. He showed that authority comes from trust, not from position, and that the best leaders create clarity and autonomy rather than dependency. That approach has stayed with me across very different environments, from the private sector to government, and continues to guide how I think about responsibility, culture and sustainable impact.
From where do you draw inspiration?
Even if this sounds a little trite – the people. I am mostly inspired by young people whose belief in themselves hasn’t yet been worn down. There’s something very honest about that kind of determination – they work hard, they go after what they want, and they don’t overthink whether they’re “allowed” to dream big. They’re not yet limited by all the invisible boxes we tend to build around ourselves over time.
At this stage of my life, I’m very aware of those boxes and different roles, responsibilities and expectations. Spending time around people who haven’t accepted or who haven’t yet internalised those limits is both refreshing and grounding. It reminds me to question assumptions and to stay ambitious in my own way, and not let structure turn into self-doubt.
What is the biggest challenge you have faced to date?
Because we are relational by nature, the most difficult challenges I’ve faced have always involved people – whether at work or in my personal life. Leadership challenges can be complex, but it’s often the personal transitions that really test who you are.
The most intense period I’ve experienced was when three major life events collided in the same month: going through a divorce, moving house alone with four children (then aged 14, 11 and 2-year-old twins) and starting a new job. There were moments when it felt physically overwhelming, as if I might simply stop breathing.
But that period also became a profound lesson in resilience. I learned how to operate under extreme pressure, how to ruthlessly prioritise what truly matters, and how to keep moving forward even when everything feels uncertain. It shaped the way I lead – with greater empathy, perspective and an understanding that people’s lives outside of work are inseparable from who they are within it.
What qualities do you feel makes a good leader?
For me, good leadership starts with personal responsibility. You cannot delegate responsibility before you are ready to carry it yourself. A leader sets the emotional and ethical standard of a team, and that’s especially relevant in difficult moments. If you avoid hard decisions or blur accountability, the team will mirror that.
Clarity is equally important. People don’t need constant motivation; they need to understand where they are going, why it matters, and what is expected of them. A good leader creates structure and psychological safety at the same time: clear goals, clear ownership, and room for others to grow.
I also think many of the qualities we increasingly value in leadership – empathy, long-term thinking, consistency, the ability to listen and build trust – are strengths that women are often socialised to develop early on. When those qualities are combined with decisiveness and accountability, they become incredibly powerful. Leadership today is less about dominance and more about steadiness, judgment, and the ability to hold complexity without losing direction. And that is something many women are exceptionally well equipped to do
From a work viewpoint, what have the last 12 months been like?
The past 12 months have been the most professionally demanding of my career. Around nine months ago, I stepped into an executive board role while continuing to lead the e-Residency team at department level.
At the same time, I was tasked with centralising a function of roughly 80 people, which is something that has been a historic challenge in our organisation. The change is absolutely necessary. The public sector must be capable of reforming itself. If we want to increase efficiency and make impact measurable, we have to evolve structurally, not just rhetorically. But leading that transformation while holding multiple layers of responsibility has been intense. There were moments when it genuinely felt like too much.
What I have learned though – or perhaps relearned – is that everything changes. Difficult phases pass. And the one thing I can fully control is myself: my mindset, my knowledge, and how I manage my time and energy. If I want to support my teams well, I have to continuously adjust and grow. Leadership at this level is less about control and more about endurance and clarity.
What would you say are the biggest tech-based challenges we face today?
I believe one of the biggest challenges today is related to AI agency and the uncertainty that comes with it. We are entering a world where AI systems are no longer just tools but actors that make decisions, optimise processes, and influence outcomes at scale. The governance, ethical frameworks, and accountability structures around this are still forming. That gap between capability and clarity is significant.
At the same time, technology has become deeply embedded in geopolitics. Supply chains, data infrastructure, semiconductors, AI models…they are no longer neutral assets, they are strategic levers. In a world where economic interdependence is increasingly weaponised, technology is both opportunity and vulnerability. The challenge is not only innovation, but resilience and sovereignty.
What can be done to encourage more women into the industry?
Role models matter. We are wired to compare ourselves to others, and visible examples have real power. When someone sees a woman leading in tech or digital government, the reaction is often simple: “If she can do it, so can I.” Representation reduces psychological distance.
But inspiration alone is not enough. We also need to demystify technical education early. In Estonia, for example, there is an incredible initiative called The Unicorn Squad – a free technology program for girls funded by a private family. It removes financial and psychological barriers at a young age. Over time, initiatives like this will change the pipeline. We will see more female founders, engineers, and leaders – not because of quotas, but because access and confidence were ingrained early.
Give us a fact about you that most other people wouldn’t know.
I tend to reach clarity on tough decisions while running. Many of my most difficult decisions have been made mid-run. Apparently my brain negotiates better when my legs are tired!
