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MARCH 26 13.00-19.00 2026
EPICENTER HELSINKI

VERGE |
Future of Work: The edge of what’s next is now the baseline. 

In 2024, we talked about AI. In 2025, we experimented. In 2026, the experiment became the architecture. Work is no longer something we perform; it is something we design. We have moved beyond the flexibility debate into a new reality defined by systems, governance, and economic advantage. This is not a talent conversation. We are having a operating model conversation.

At VERGE, we explore the pillars of the 2026 organization: an Agentic Workforce where AI executes while humans own judgment, a Skills-Based Enterprise that replaces static titles with dynamic talent, and the rise of the Human Premium in an automated economy. We are shifting the goalpost from productivity to the Adaptability KPI, where resilience determines long-term advantage.

The gap between those reacting to change and those architecting it is widening. In 2026, reacting is a liability. Join our community of leaders and operators at Epicenter this March to decide your role in the new landscape.

Are you the architect or the occupant?




Welcome to VERGE by Epicenter.

Agenda

13:00

Welcome

Coffee and refreshments provided at the Verge Refuel Station. Connect with fellow architects of work, partners, and innovators before we dive into the 2026 operating model.

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13:20

Opening Remarks

The Lounge - First Floor
Moderator, Joey Bayer
Head of International Community, Epicenter
13:30

Opening Keynote: From Co-Pilots to Colleagues - Leading the Agentic Workforce

The Lounge - First Floor
Aly Metwaly
Transformation Manager, Nokia
13:52

Panel: The Entry-Level Crisis - Who Builds the Leaders of 2035?

The Lounge - First Floor
Mari Luukkainen
Founder, Herizon.io
Nadia Farooq
Talent Attraction Partner, ICEYE
14:22

Break

Coffee & conversations at the Verge Refuel Station.

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14:34

Keynote: The Skills-Based Enterprise - Beyond the Job Title

The Lounge - First Floor
Teppo Hudsson
Co-Founder, Skene
14:56

Panel: The Frictionless Myth - Software Has No Borders, People Do

The Lounge - First Floor
Ilja Sokoloff
COO, Nerdsbay
Katriina Valli
Lead, AI Enablement, Neste
15:26

Break

Stretch, refresh, and meet speakers at the Verge Refuel Station.

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15:38

Keynote: From Productivity to Adaptability - The Metric That Separates Winners

The Lounge - First Floor
Antti Heino
Principal AI Advisor, SAS Institute, Finland
16:00

Panel: FOBO and Technostress - Performance Under Constant Change

The Lounge - First Floor
Lena Belozerova
Head of People & Culture, Verda
Lotta Tiitto
Performance Psychologist, Supercell
Piia Säylä
Learning and Development Lead, Elisa
16:30

Break

One last chance to meet at the Verge Refuel Station.

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16:42

Panel: Presence With Purpose - Designing for Culture Density

The Lounge - First Floor
Kristian Nieminen
CEO, Epicenter Helsinki
Robin Wycherley
Workplace Strategist and Founder, Itu Design
Patrik Etelävuori
Senior Manager, People Consulting, EY
17:12

Fireside Chat: The Human Premium - Scarcity in an Automated Economy

The Lounge - First Floor
Erik Mashkilleyson
Strategy and AI Director, Avidly
17:32

Closing Remarks

The Lounge - First Floor
17:35

Networking

Head over to Mikonkatu 5 for drinks, snacks and the best networking in town.

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The Inner Yard- Mikonkatu 5
20:00

Thank You and Goodbye!

Thanks for coming, we hope to see you again soon!

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The Inner Yard- Mikonkatu 5

Meet The Experts

Aly Metwaly
Transformation Manager, Nokia

At Nokia, Aly Metwaly specializes in the intersection of AI strategy and high-impact execution within cutting-edge R&D. He is recognized for a strong bias to action, moving teams beyond AI experimentation into scalable, real-world adoption. His work focuses on architecting AI-native operating models and reimagining engineering workflows for the rise of the agentic workforce.

Antti Heino
Principal AI Advisor, SAS Institute, Finland

Data doesn’t create value — better decisions do. Antti Heino helps organizations use Analytics & AI to make smarter, evidence-based decisions at scale.

Antti is a Principal Advisor on Analytics & AI, guiding European and global organizations through complex data & AI-driven transformation challenges — from strategy to scalable implementation. Antti blends deep technical expertise with practical business understanding to turn analytics into real business outcomes.

For 15 years Antti has worked with leaders in many major companies and organizations regarding their AI challenges, digital modernization and industry specific use cases — whether it’s enabling production-ready AI systems, transforming manual processes into AI-enabled automation, or advising on pragmatic AI adoption and augmentation in the public and financial sectors.

What sets Antti’s perspective apart is a blend of hands-on delivery experience, advisory insight, and a focus on impact — not just theory. Antti regularly speaks on AI in practice, writes articles, and collaborates with organizations navigating their analytics journey.

Erik Mashkilleyson
Strategy and AI Director, Avidly

London-trained strategist and creative who leads brand strategy and AI at Avidly, one of Finland's leading creative agencies. He writes about weak signals and the phenomena reshaping work and culture.

Ilja Sokoloff
COO, Nerdsbay

Ilja is an employee mobility expert and tech-business executive with over 10 years of experience building businesses in the Nordics. Currently focused on building an Employer of Record platform to help international businesses hire and manage employees locally in Finland and Sweden.

Katriina Valli
Lead, AI Enablement, Neste

Katriina Valli has 30 years of experience in the field of IT. During this time she has

always aimed to be at the leading edge of technology development. However, her

true love is Data and AI. In her career she has worked in companies such as

Nokia and Gartner. She founded her own AI company in 2018 and after selling her

shares autumn 2023, she worked as a freelancer supporting organizations in their

AI journey. She is passionate about technology but does not take it – or herself –

too seriously. As a side hobby she acts as a start-up advisor and helps companies

enter the Nordic market.

Kristian Nieminen
CEO, Epicenter Helsinki

Kristian is an ecosystem leader, entrepreneur, and startup founder focused on the intersection of innovation, growth companies, and the future of work. He serves as Country Manager at Epicenter Helsinki, where he leads one of the Nordics’ most active growth company communities, connecting founders, investors, and corporates to accelerate collaboration and new business creation.

Earlier in his career, Kristian held senior leadership roles in sales and product marketing at global technology companies including Apple, EMC, and Cisco, leading go-to-market strategies and high-performing teams in international markets. Following his corporate career, he moved into entrepreneurship and startup founding, gaining firsthand experience in building and scaling ventures.

This combination of corporate leadership and startup execution gives him a practical perspective on how AI and emerging technologies are reshaping organizations, leadership, and talent.

Outside of work, Kristian spends time in the boxing gym — partly for fitness, partly for focus, and partly because it’s one of the few places where there are no Slack messages or AI agents claiming attention.

Lena Belozerova
Head of People & Culture, Verda

Lotta Tiitto
Performance Psychologist, Supercell

Lotta Tiitto is a psychologist, leadership coach, and People Partner at Supercell. She combines deep expertise in human behavior with business acumen to help leaders and teams perform at a high level, without sacrificing psychological wellbeing. She specializes in supporting CEOs, founders, and senior leaders operating in fast-paced, high-growth environments.

With a background spanning executive coaching, psychological assessment, and digital wellbeing product development, Lotta brings both clinical depth and strategic perspective to her work. Her focus is on unlocking sustainable high performance by strengthening mental skills, building trust at scale, and helping teams navigate complexity and change with clarity, courage, and resilience.

Mari Luukkainen
Founder, Herizon.io

Mari Luukkainen is a growth technologist, investor, and founder with two decades of experience in startup growth and early-stage venture. She has worked with more than 100 pre-seed startups through Icebreaker.vc and invested in diverse founders across Europe with Identity.vc. Mari is the founder of Herizon.io, a nonprofit helping international talent become employable in the Nordics. Known for scaling companies from early traction to significant growth, she previously helped grow Freska’s ARR from under €200K to €13M. Today she builds internet companies with AI tools and teaches founders how to build and scale with AI.

Nadia Farooq
Talent Attraction Partner, ICEYE

Nadia is a technical recruiter at ICEYE, based in Helsinki and working closely with engineering teams in the new space sector. She has a background in International Business Management, focusing on how human resources can help startups scale sustainably. From initial candidate conversations to working with hiring managers on role design, she sees up close how decisions about “who gets a shot” are changing: which skills still matter at the start, what’s now delegated to AI, and how that shapes the experience people build in their first few years.

Nadia is particularly interested in how AI can be used in structured learning for example, to help juniors prototype, debug, and explore solutions faster, while still protecting the space they need to practise judgment, make mistakes, and grow into independent engineers. On this panel, she brings a grounded view from recruiting in deep tech: what it means for the leaders of 2035 if junior opportunities are quietly outsourced to AI, and what companies can realistically change in their hiring and development practices today to prevent that.

Patrik Etelävuori
Senior Manager, People Consulting, EY

Patrik Etelävuori is a senior leader in the future of work and people‑centric change. He empowers organizations to navigate, transform, and operate more efficiently in an evolving world of work through a human‑centric and data‑driven approach. By aligning strategy and culture with ambition and vision, he helps teams build better workflows, improve employee experience, and create future‑proof, sustainable ways of working that foster innovation and resilience. Patrik has led large, complex initiatives ranging from pay transparency initiatives across multiple European countries to future of work programs for global companies, award‑winning workplaces, and AI‑ and metaverse‑driven operations in highly regulated industries. In every case, he brings clarity, structure, and measurable impact—turning ideas about the future of work into practical routines, visible results, and long‑term competitive advantage.

Piia Säylä
Learning and Development Lead, Elisa

Piia Säylä describes herself as a “learning geek�� on a mission to help humans and technology grow together. She has spent more than decades building organizational learning cultures and leading large‑scale capability transformations. Today, Piia serves as the Learning and Development Lead at Elisa, where she drives the company’s strategic skills agenda and has helped build one of Finland’s most recognized learning cultures. She brings a distinctly human perspective to the future of work, highlighting how emotions, skills and organizational culture intertwine in times of rapid transformation - and why supporting people through rapid technological change is just as important as the technology itself.

Robin Wycherley
Workplace Strategist and Founder, Itu Design

Robin Wycherley is a workplace strategist, interior architect and founder of Itu Design, a Nordic-based workplace design agency.

With over 15 years of experience delivering workplaces for global corporations, Robin and his team are committed to creating inspirational and functional workplaces that promote culture, collaboration and performance.

Going beyond design trends, Robin focuses on developing workplaces that earn their place in the blended world of physical and digital work.


Through close collaboration with multinational corporate teams, he brings a deep understanding of how global organisations approach workplace strategy and real estate decision making.


Itu Design has delivered workplace projects for international organisations including Samsung, pharmaceutical leaders AbbVie and Takeda, and global business data firm Dun & Bradstreet, among others.


Robin's guiding principle:Let’s make your workplace a magnet, not a mandate.

Teppo Hudsson
Co-Founder, Skene

Teppo Hudsson is a seasoned entrepreneur and one of the co-founders of Skene, a platform helping developers supercharge Product-Led Growth with AI. With a track record of founding four companies and building multiple AI-powered services that generate over €1M in annual revenue, Teppo thrives at the intersection of business and technology. He’s advised more than 100 founders on project management and tech architecture, and his sweet spot is translating technical possibilities into real-world results. At his core, Teppo is all about integrity, transparency, and helping teams drive real impact.

Moderator, Joey Bayer
Head of International Community, Epicenter

Joey Bayer has been responsible for creating conversations that matter for more than 16 years.

From creating the space, to connecting key players, to driving / setting the agenda, Joey brings together individuals for moments that both transform and inspire.

Over the course of his career, Joey has hosted the world's most fascinating and influential people - from world leaders, like Bill Clinton, to iconic legends like Liza Minelli, to the CEOs of today's Fortune 500 companies.

Joey's intuitive ability to connect with others, his passion for people and dialogue, and ability to get directly to the heart of the discussion have earned him a reputation of trust and respect with leaders around the world, and made him a central figure in today's most important conversations.

ABOUT VERGE

Step into VERGE, the new Nordic event series by Epicenter—the house of innovation.

At VERGE, we stand at the tipping point of what’s next.

Designed for those who dare to explore, challenge, and redefine the future, this is the movement that is set to amplify innovation on a global stage.

See you at Epicenter.

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