Kristel Sarlin is retired from the position of CIO at Helsinki University of Technology, which is the biggest part of the university fusion making up Aalto University, Finland. She was one of the founding members of EUNIS in 1993. She was Vice President of EUNIS in 1997- 2002 and President 2002 – 2004. She organised the EUNIS Congress in 1999 in Helsinki. In 1994 she wrote a report on Research Networking in Europe, published by EUNIS.
She graduated in 1973 as Master of Science in Information Technology from Helsinki University of Technology. Her theses was part of the pioneering research on relational databases at The Royal Technichal University in Stockholm. After graduation she worked a few years at the Computing Centre at Helsinki University of Technology and then at the State Technical Research Centre responsible for their database system and the development of a new financial records system based on a relational database system with pioneering capabilities. After nine years at the State Technical Research Centre she was recruited back to Helsinki University of Technology as Director of the Computing Centre. She was acitvely involved in national cooperation groups and committees appointed by the Ministries of Education and Finance i.e. the Committee of Information Security. She was a member of the Steering Group of the Center of Scientific Computing in Finland, CSC, appointed by the Ministery of Education from 1994 until her retirement.