With the sun now thawing the Nordic part of the world and an active volcanic eruption, it’s been an exciting time at Iceland’s Vivaldi office in Seltjarnarnes, a small town near the capital Reykjavík, which celebrated its 50th birthday.
Joining the celebrations the President of Iceland, Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson also visited our Vivaldi office. President Guðni and his wife First Lady Eliza Jean Reid were on an official trip to Seltjarnarnes and their trip involved getting to know the community and meeting townspeople of all ages.
Having served 2 terms as President of Iceland with this one being his last, it was a pleasure to have him visit the office and talk to him about what Vivaldi is, as a browser, and what we stand for as a company.
But how did this fascinating rendezvous transpire? Our Software Engineer, Geir Gunnarson meets with the President once a week—in the ocean for a swim!
Geir and First Lady Eliza Jean Reid worked together previously and were part of the hiking club at their workplace. Geir gladly reveals, “This is when I got to know President Guðni because he joined most of the hikes even if his wife did not.”
Later, at the cold water sea-swimming club that was also started, President Guðni was already sea-swimming there! “He’s been an avid swimmer and most active member for a few years. He’s been swimming with me and others every Wednesday of the week and he’s always shown curiosity for Vivaldi and our CEO Jon, who’s also from Seltjarnarnes.”
“President Guðni did not want to miss out on the opportunity to visit Innovation House and the Vivaldi office for a tour and learn more. He also wanted his delegation to know more about our browser,” Geir says.
“We talked about how the Vivaldi browser is the most feature-rich browser in the market compared to others and how we challenge Big Tech like Microsoft, Google, and Apple,” continues Geir.
It was a pleasure for our teams in Iceland to meet President Guðni, First Lady Eliza Jean Reid, and his delegation and we wish them all the best in their future endeavors.
