Maija Renko is a professor of entrepreneurship at Aalto University in Finland, where she conducts research and teach entrepreneurship courses. Maija joined Aalto in 2024 after seventeen years as an entrepreneurship professor in the USA: first at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and later as the Coleman Chair of Entrepreneurship at DePaul University. Maija's research focuses on the early stages of business development, factors contributing to successful business start-ups, and the role of entrepreneurship in bringing about social change. Maija's work has been published in numerous management and entrepreneurship journals and received awards for both research and teaching.

Maija is passionate about understanding how entrepreneurs build successful businesses that not only generate financial rewards for those involved, but contribute to the advancement of society and positive change, particularly for marginalized members of the community.