Päivi Balomenos (FI)

Päivi Balomenos is the Director of the Finnish Design Embassy — a platform helping small and medium-sized Finnish design companies expand globally through events hosted at Finnish embassies around the world. The project is developed in collaboration with designer Ilkka Suppanen, who brings a creative director’s lens to every step of the concept and execution.

With a career spanning the design and museum sectors, as well as the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Päivi brings deep expertise in communications, marketing, and event production. She has worked closely with designers and creative businesses, witnessing firsthand how creativity can unlock new markets and drive collaborative innovation.

Together with Nordic partners, Päivi is also building the Scandinavian Design Embassy — a new initiative uniting Nordic design companies to explore international opportunities grounded in shared values and sustainable growth.

For Päivi, Nordic design isn’t just about aesthetics and function — it’s a way of promoting long-term thinking, mutual respect, environmental responsibility, and peaceful coexistence. She sees design as a tool for shaping more sustainable ways of living, working, and doing business across borders.