The founding Aquarian
The founding Aquarian, our beloved ancestor Vilho Vihtori Bergsten - commonly known as Ville - was born in the Satakunta region in southwestern Finland in January 1903. At the age of 15 he became the principal breadwinner for their family when his father left for the U.S.A. to seek his fortune - and was never heard of since.
During "les Années Folles" in the 1920's Ville became a prominent businessman, well known in the region. Studying both commerce and languages while working, he was able to win the respect of the business heavyweights of the era, eventually paving his way into Jyväskylä, Central Finland where he settled in with his family in 1943. Ville soon became one of the key business figures in the region and was also influential on the national level up to and even after his retirement in 1968. Ville also remained a welcomed mentor to his family members up until his passing away in 1993.
The present day Aquarian
The present day Aquarian, Erkki I. Räsänen - son of Ville's daughter Ritva - was born in Jyväskylä, Central Finland in January 1957, took his military training in 1977 and started his studies in the (then) Helsinki School of Economics in 1978. He also studied politics in the University of Helsinki. When Finland became a member of the European Union, Erkki further completed his education by studying European Law and Integration in the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium.
While Erkki made most of his career in the Financial Sector, working for three out of four major Finnish banking institutions of the era, his main professional expertise was in corporate security and business continuity. He also worked in close collaboration with the Finnish Defence Forces from 1997 to 2008. Erkki eventually started to work for the National Emergency Supply Agency from where he retired in 2021 to establish Aquarian Inc.