Agenda
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.
Aly MetwalyTransformation Manager, NokiaOpening Keynote: From Co-Pilots to Colleagues - Leading the Agentic Workforce
Aly Metwaly
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 HeinoPrincipal AI Advisor, SAS Institute, FinlandKeynote: From Productivity to Adaptability - The Metric That Separates Winners
Antti Heino
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 MashkilleysonStrategy and AI Director, AvidlyFireside Chat: The Human Premium - Scarcity in an Automated Economy
Erik Mashkilleyson
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 SokoloffCOO, NerdsbayPanel: The Frictionless Myth - Software Has No Borders, People Do
Ilja Sokoloff
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 ValliLead, AI Enablement, NestePanel: The Frictionless Myth - Software Has No Borders, People Do
Katriina Valli
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 NieminenCEO, Epicenter HelsinkiPanel: Presence With Purpose - Designing for Culture Density
Kristian Nieminen
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 BelozerovaHead of People & Culture, VerdaPanel: FOBO and Technostress - Performance Under Constant Change
Lotta TiittoPerformance Psychologist, SupercellPanel: FOBO and Technostress - Performance Under Constant Change
Lotta Tiitto
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 LuukkainenFounder, Herizon.ioPanel: The Entry-Level Crisis - Who Builds the Leaders of 2035?
Mari Luukkainen
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 FarooqTalent Attraction Partner, ICEYEPanel: The Entry-Level Crisis - Who Builds the Leaders of 2035?
Nadia Farooq
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 EtelävuoriSenior Manager, People Consulting, EY Panel: Presence With Purpose - Designing for Culture Density
Patrik Etelävuori
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 SäyläLearning and Development Lead, Elisa Panel: FOBO and Technostress - Performance Under Constant Change
Piia Säylä
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 WycherleyWorkplace Strategist and Founder, Itu DesignPanel: Presence With Purpose - Designing for Culture Density
Robin Wycherley
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 HudssonCo-Founder, SkeneKeynote: The Skills-Based Enterprise - Beyond the Job Title
Teppo Hudsson
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 BayerHead of International Community, EpicenterOpening Remarks
Moderator, Joey Bayer
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.
