Speakers

Bonnie Buchanan, Professor of Finance, University of Surrey, UK

Bonnie Buchanan is the Head of Department of Finance and Accounting at the University of Surrey. Previously, she was the Fulbright Finland Distinguished Chair in Business and Economics at Hanken School of Economics. She has taught in the USA, Australia and Finland. Professor Buchanan has authored 50 research papers and 2 books and her research areas include Fintech, AI, Securitization and International Finance. She is the author of an Alan Turing Institute report, titled AI in Finance and Quo Vadis? Fintech in China versus the West (SWIFT Institute). She recently provided testimony to the AI Taskforce at the House of Financial Services, Washington DC and appeared on Radio National, ABC (Australian Broadcasting Commission).


Jarkko Forsberg, CEO, LVS Brokers

Jarkko Forsberg is the CEO of LVS Brokers, a fintech company with an AI-based brokering technology platform and brokering services in the financial industry in Finland and in Poland with volumes exceeding €1 billion in 2019. Jarkko has over 10 years experience in digital business and marketing from finance and media industries.


Hugo Gävert, Product Owner, AI, Financial Intelligence, OP Financial Group


Kaj Hagros, Founder, Redstone

Kaj is a managing partner of venture capital firm Redstone. Earlier, Kaj worked as the president & chief executive officer at Nasdaq-Helsinki traded Tecnotree and as chief operating officer of FOX Mobile, part of NewsCorp.
Kaj is one of the founders of Prodeko Ventures, and chairman of several growth companies such as Heltti, Hibox and Inderes, and chairman of the board of Aalto Alumni Network.
Founder of 8 companies, lived in 8 countries, served 30+ boards, executed 50+ startup investments in digital media, health and fintech domains.
M.Sc. (eng) in industrial management from Aalto University & Trium MBA from New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business, London School of Economics and HEC Paris.

Matti Hellqvist, Senior Economist, Bank of Finland

Matti Hellqvist is working as a senior economist in the Bank of Finland in the Oversight of market infrastructures division. He has over 13 years of experience on oversight and financial stability analysis from the Bank of Finland and the European Central bank. He has developed analysis software used in this field in over 100 central banks worldwide and since 2012 has been a coordinator of a related Eurosystem expert and working group.  Recently he has been involved in the core team of the Bank of Finland analyzing the impact of digitalization and fintechs. He is representing the bank in external expert groups on Distributed Ledger Techology.

Mr Hellqvist holds a Master’s degree on engineering physics and mathematics (Operation research and economics) from the Helsinki University of Technology.


Timo Hotti, OP Financial Group

Timo Hotti has over 10 years of experience of architecting distributed data management technology and its applications. Additionally, Timo has acted in various IPR consulting, management and development assignments. Timo is an inventor in 8 granted US patents from the areas of distributed data management and financial service platforms. Currently Timo works as the solution architect of blockchain solutions at OP Financial Group.


Sampsa Laine, Head of Digital Banking CBB, Nordea

Corporate banker with drive towards digital transformation. Responsible for Digital Banking at Nordea Corporate and Business Banking. Dedicated to push Nordea into the most digitally engaging corporate and SME bank in the Nordics.

 


Sirpa Nordlund, Senior Vice President, Customer Team Head, Country Director Finland, Nets

Sirpa Nordlund is Senior Vice President in Financial Services and Country Director for Finland at Nets with focus on delivering new exponential payment technologies to key customers. Nets connects banks, businesses, public sector and merchants with solutions making tomorrow a little easier for their customers. 

Sirpa is an experienced leader at financial and hi-tech industry. She has held several management positions in mainly in sales, but also in market strategy, business development and finance at Nokia and later at Venyon, a subsidiary of Giesecke & Devrient. Sirpa came to Nets from the position of Executive Director of Mobey Forum, a global industry organization empowering banks and financial institutions to lead in mobile money, which she held since 2010. 

For 15 years, Sirpa has been internationally recognized commentator in digital transformation, both in fields of payments and leadership. She has had speaking engagements at global thought leader events, such as Mobile World Congress, European Payment Summit and Retail Banking Europe.  

Sirpa holds a Master of Science degree in economics from the Helsinki School of Economics and Business Administration, majoring in finance. She also has advanced studies in performing arts at Sibelius Academy (University of Arts), as well as Political Science at Helsinki University.

Ms. Nordlund has held the position of SVP at Nets since February 2017.


Timo Ritakallio, President and Group Executive Chairman at OP Financial Group,OP Financial Group

Timo Ritakallio has worked as President and Group Executive Chairman at OP Financial Group from 1st March 2018. Before that he worked at Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Company as President and Chief Executive Officer since 2015 and as Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer between 2008-2015. Previously Timo Ritakallio has worked for 20 years in various top management positions in the banking industry.

He has taken Master’s degree in law (LL.M.) in the University of Turku in 1985, Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Helsinki University of Technology, Helsinki in 2001 and AMP (Advanced Management Program) in Harvard Business School, Boston, USA in 2006. In 2016 he left Aalto University with a degree of Doctor of Science (Technology).


Risto Siilasmaa, Chairman of Nokia Corporation, Chairman and Founder of F-Secure Corporation

Risto Siilasmaa is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Nokia Corporation.  He joined the Nokia Board in 2008 and became Chairman of the Board in May, 2012. Under his tenure Nokia has successfully transformed from a mobile phone manufacturer to a leading communication technology company.  Mr Siilasmaa is the founder of F‐Secure Corporation, a Finnish cybersecurity company and served as the President and CEO of the company between 1988‐2006. Since then he has held the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Mr Siilasmaa is a Board member of the Federation of Finnish Technology Industries and Futurice Corporation. He is a member of the European Roundtable of Industrialists (ERT) and The Global Tech Panel – launched by EU High Representative Federica Mogherini bringing together leaders from the tech industry, the world of investment, and civil society.  He is also a member of the Tsinghua SEM Advisory Board at Tsinghua University, a member of the International Advisory Board at IESE Business School, University of Navarra and a member of the Global Advisory Board of Yonsei University School of Business (YSB).

Mr. Siilasmaa has received several awards including Nordic Chairman of the year 2009, the Most Influential IT Leader 2007, The Leader of the Decade 2003 and Innovation Luminary Award 2015 granted by EU Open Innovation Strategy and Policy Group.

Mr. Siilasmaa holds a Master of Science degree from the Helsinki University of Technology and he was awarded Honorary Doctorate in Technology by Aalto University schools of technology in 2018 and by L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University in 2019.


Eija Warma-Lehtinen, Partner, Head of Data Protection & Privacy, Castrén & Snellman Attorneys Ltd

Eija heads Castrén & Snellman´s Data Protection & Privacy practice with over 15 years of experience.

She has assisted numerous clients faced with data breaches, which call for strong nerves, fast reaction time and cooperation between experts in numerous fields. She also represent clients in disputes and criminal matters before both general and administrative courts.

Eija advises clients in outsourcing and cross-border data transfer arrangements. She has carried out numerous data protection audits and drafted privacy programmes. She also regularly advises clients in issues related to marketing, employment-related privacy and the processing of patient data.

Chambers Europe, Legal 500, Who’s Who Internet & e-Commerce, Information Technology and Women in Business Law rank Eija among Finland’s leading legal experts. Finnish technology magazine Tivi listed her as one of the top 100 technology influencers in Finland.

Education: CIPP/E (Certified Information Privacy Professional/Europe), IAPP 2015, LL.M., University of Minnesota Law School 2009, Master of Laws, University of Lapland 2004.