Meet the event speakers

Reidar Wasenius

Reidar is an AI researcher and trainer at Aalto University with exceptionally long and diverse experience in technological transformations. He has worked in the technology sector since 1989, including roles at Nokia (twice), Samsung, TeliaSonera, Digital Equipment Corporation, and Tekes (now Business Finland). Reidar views the rise of AI in the 2020s as the fifth major wave of technological change, having previously been at the forefront of the internet, mobile technologies, and social media. He has worked as an educator since 1984 and is known as a non‑fiction author for Personal Brainer (WSOY, 2016). Today, Reidar helps organizations understand both the opportunities and limitations of AI.

Hanna Hagström

Hanna is the CEO of Lakeview and an AI and data professional with over 25 years of experience in the ICT sector. Together with her teams, she has been building AI products for more than a decade—ranging from small experiments to scalable platforms and growing businesses, through both successes and failures, headwinds and tailwinds. Through this experience, Hanna has developed a strong perspective on what truly drives organizations forward and what slows AI progress. In her talks, she offers a practical view on what real AI capability requires from skills, organizational structures, and leadership.

Antti Merilehto

Antti is one of Finland’s best-known interpreters of practical AI and the author of AI – A Leader’s Guide. Over the course of his career, he has worked at the forefront of digital business transformation, including at Google’s European headquarters, and has served as CEO of an AI strategy-focused startup. Today, Antti works as an AI consultant and trainer at Elev Consulting and invests in early-stage technology startups.

Maria Ritola

Maria Ritola is a co-founder of Iris.ai and an entrepreneur, speaker, and technology influencer. Iris.ai is an internationally recognized AI company, an IBM Watson AI XPRIZE finalist, and a recipient of funding from the European Innovation Council (EIC), specializing in intelligent knowledge management for organizations. Maria has been named among AI Finland’s List of leading AI Women and ranked among the most influential women in technology in the Nordics. She has served on the boards of several organizations and is a well-established voice in the Finnish technology debate, regularly commenting on technology-related phenomena on Yle’s Aamun Jälkidigi. Trained as an economist, Maria has further developed her expertise in futures studies and emerging technologies at Singularity University in Silicon Valley.

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