SPEAKERS & INVESTOR JURY

IVAN ALBINO

INVESTMENT PRINCIPAL

E.ON

Ivan works as Investment Principal in the corporate venture capital arm of E.ON SE since 2017, with a primary investment focus on electric mobility, clean tech and city energy solutions. Passionate about energy and finance topics he started his career in the energy industry in 2005, when he first joined Enel in Italy and later in 2009 E.ON in Germany. Some of the positions that he covered at E.ON include the origination of carbon emission reduction projects, the first establishment of the energy efficiency business in several European countries and the development of the financial strategy for E.ON’s customer solution business. Ivan holds a master’s degree in Engineering and is a Chartered Financial Analyst charterholder.

ANTON ARTS

MANAGING PARTNER

SET VENTURES

Anton Arts is a Managing Partner at SET Ventures since 2018. From 2010 until 2018, he was an independent advisor providing strategic advisory and corporate finance services to software & high-tech companies and investment funds. Clients he advised raised €75m+ in 12 transactions. Before that, Anton was a Partner at US firm New Venture Partners where he worked closely with the R&D organizations of major European technology corporations to incubate and invest in spin-out transactions. Prior to NVP, Anton was a Partner at Gilde IT Fund, a leading international venture capital fund based in the Netherlands that he joined in 1997. His track record includes 20+ investments and exit transactions valued at >€1B. Anton holds a degree in Business Administration from Nyenrode University.

FRED VAN BEUNINGEN

MANAGING PARTNER

CHRYSALIX VENTURE CAPITAL

Fred is Managing partner of VC firm Chrysalix building a global braintrust around emerging intelligent technologies and solutions that will disrupt a variety of industries and lead to next level productivity and sustainability. He has worked as general manager, Chief Executive Officer and Board member for international industrial companies and as an entrepreneur. His industry experience ranges from oil, chemicals and industrial gas to packaging, logistics and shipping with companies such as Linde and Smurfit Kappa. Fred is Board member of the Young President’s Organisation Sustainability network, member of the European Leadership Platform and Board member of hydropower company Aquazoom. Fred also serves as executive Board member of Clean Tech Delta and Board member of the International Clean Tech Network.

JAMIE BUTTERWORTH

PARTNER

CIRCULARITY CAPITAL

Jamie Butterworth has developed a deep understanding of how the circular economy drives value. He is a multitasker of circular economy by being one of the Founding Partners of Circularity Capital, a specialist investment firm supporting the growth and innovation of businesses operating in it, by having been the former Chief Executive and part of the team who founded the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and by also having been instrumental in developing and launching the Circular Economy 100, a platform for multinationals, SMEs, academic institutions and municipalities to capture commercial opportunities. He also holds several advisory positions.

ROEL CALLEBAUT

INVESTMENT ANALYST

FININDUS

Roel started his career with BESIX in the Middle East where he prepared technical files for execution and managed sub-contractors on large construction projects. Afterwards, he further built on his project management expertise by managing & delivering projects for clients like Airbus and DLR at Acrosoma, a Belgian company active in lightweight composites. In 2014 he joined Sonaca where he took on responsibilities in operational technical support, R&D manufacturing, industrialisation and costing. Roel Callebaut holds a master’s degree in Civil Engineering from the VUB (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) complemented with a master’s degree in Composite Engineering from PFH Göttingen. He joined Finindus in October 2018 as Investment Analyst.

KATE DALY

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

CLOSED LOOP PARTNERS

Kate Daly is Executive Director of the Center for the Circular Economy at the investment firm Closed Loop Partners. The Center is a hub for business acceleration, investment, and research on circular solutions for packaging, food, the built environment and apparel & textiles. Kate previously served as Senior Vice President at the NYC Economic Development Corporation, where she oversaw New York City’s job creation programs in sectors including advanced manufacturing, smart cities, cleantech, fashion, tech, and media. Prior to NYCEDC Kate served as the Executive Director of the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission.

GABRIELE DINI

ASSOCIATE PARTNER

BREED REPLY

Mr. Gabriele Dini is an Associate Partner at Breed Reply, focusing on early stage European IoT and Deep Tech startups. He has been working in venture capital for more than nine years, leading 18 seed and series A investments and managing over 40 transactions across different sectors, from digital to biotechnology. Before moving into VC, Gabriele held research and project management roles in multinational academic and industrial environments (Gambro, Cleveland Clinic Foundation), in Europe and the United States. Gabriele holds a BEng and MSc in Biomedical Engineering from Politecnico di Milano, complemented by an MBA with focus on strategy and finance (SDA Bocconi) and by a Masters in Finance with a corporate finance concentration (London Business School).

FELIX FERSTL

ASSOCIATE

ANANDA IMPACT VENTURES

Felix is an Associate at Ananda Impact Ventures, a European impact investor focussing on impact-driven for-profit companies. He is enthusiastic about the power of leveraging entrepreneurial potential to generate innovative, positive social impact at scale. He gained first-hand experience in an own start-up project in education and at an green energy start-up. Combining a background in Economics and Philosophy, Felix analyses start-ups generating impact in sectors such as education, health, ageing population and consumption with a passion for the potentials of the Circular Economy.

MARTIN GARRATT

CHIEF EXECUTIVE

CAMBRIDGE CLEANTECH

Martin is the founder and Chief Executive of Cambridge Cleantech. Martin supports members by encouraging supply chain opportunities for companies in the sector, enabling shared experience of innovative growth businesses and providing collective services such as access to finance, government regulatory updates and links to international partners. Previously, Martin was the Environmental Manager for IBM, has undertaken governmental liaison roles whilst working for Boots the Chemists and was one of the UK’s first City Centre Managers in Nottingham. He is a member of the Royal Town Planning Institute.

DENNIS HAMRO-DROTZ

INVESTMENT MANAGER

NEFCO

Dennis works as Investment Manager at NEFCO, the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation. Previous experience include work at the Nordic Investment Bank, the United Nations Environment Programme, and as Commercial Director at Alleco, a Finnish SME specialized in the marine environment and the company behind the world’s first underwater tablet computer. Dennis’ fields of expertise include investments in cleantech & environmental projects, climate change adaptation&mitigation, the underwater environment and small-and medium sized enterprises.

NINA HARJULA

MARKETING DIRECTOR

DANFOSS EDITRON

Nina Harjula is Danfoss Editron’s Marketing Director, being in charge of marketing, communications and the product management. Prior to joining the company, Nina was a co-founder and board member of the Global Cleantech Cluster Association and worked for the Finnish Cleantech Cluster. She also developed and acted as Executive Chairman of the Nordic Innovation Accelerator digital platform, and responsible for planning the annuaL Cleantech Venture Day event. Due to her reputation as one of the pioneers and thought leaders in cleantech business development in Finland. Nina was invited by Business Finland to be a member of the Cleantech Advisory Board.

KAISA HIETALA

CLIMATE CHANGE & BUSINESS EXECUTIVE

Kaisa Hietala is a climate change & business executive who helps companies to transform the challenges of environmental megatrends into business opportunities and growth. Until 2019, Kaisa spent 20 years in changing the oil industry from inside. During her leadership, a startup team in Neste Corporation transformed the oil refining company into the world largest and most profitable renewable products’ company (3Bn EUR revenue with 1Bn EUR profit). After a successful corporate career, Kaisa now brings her expertise available for companies who want secure future for the business and the planet. Kaisa enjoys learning more about wellbeing and actively develops her skills as a licensed personal trainer.

JUKKA HONKANIEMI

SUSTAINABLE BANKING EXECUTIVE

SEB

Jukka is a Senior Banker at SEB’s Large Corporate & Financial institutions division focusing on sustainable finance and banking including ESG integration into client advisory and risk management practices. Since joining SEB in 2006, he has led the client franchise in Finland and the corporate segment globally. He has an MBA (hon.) from Helsinki School of Economics and B.Sc. in Economics from University of Oregon. He is also a DBA candidate at Aalto Executive Education researching the impact of sustainability and disruptions on financial value and risk. Jukka is the Deputy Chairperson at FINSIF and also serves on the board of Junior Achievement Finland as well as finance working group of Climate Leadership Coalition.

SHAHEER HUSSAM

PRESIDENT

ASTRID ENERGY

Shaheer Hussam is an American power sector executive with 15 years of experience in strategy, investment due diligence, and interim executive management. As founder of Astrid Energy, Mr. Hussam’s clients have included infrastructure managers, tech companies, energy startups, and investors. He is also a Senior Advisor with VaasaETT, and an Advisor to Grid.vc and Energea. Prior to Astrid Energy, Mr. Hussam was at GenPower Holdings, a power asset management joint venture with First Reserve, the largest energy-focused private equity fund in the U.S. at the time. Mr. Hussam is a graduate in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

MIKKO HUUMO

MANAGER, STARTUP INVESTMENTS AND ACQUISITIONS

FORTUM

Mikko Huumo is responsible for Fortum’s startup investments and acquisitions. Our goal is to help early phase technology companies to grow together with Fortum by providing possibilities for pilots and partnerships, capital for growth or acquisitions to build something really meaningful together. I am getting really excited when emerging technologies intersect with megatrends like mobility, urbanization, circular economy, empowered customer or climate change. My most recent deals are Valo Ventures, Plugsurfing and Infinited Fiber Company. With all these deals we are aiming for a cleaner world!

ELINA KAJOSAARI

CORPORATE VENTURING LEAD

AVANTO VENTURES

Elina Kajosaari works at Avanto Ventures as Corporate Venturing Lead. Elina has 10 years of experience in digital transformation and business development from corporations and startups. At Avanto she helps corporations discover new business opportunities working with and like startups. Elina holds a MSc in Engineering from the Information Networks program in Aalto University School of Science.

TIMO KETONEN

CEO & FOUNDER

ABOA ADVEST

Timo is an entrepreneur and angel investor with a broad work experience in finance, media, marketing and service design. Founded Aboa Advest in 2015, a family-owned investment company focusing on startups and other growth companies. Aboa Advest is particularly interested in impact investing. Timo is passionate about helping startups grow profitably and his responsibilities include Board memberships in four companies and two foundations.

MINNA KORPI

DIRECTOR IN GLOBAL LISTING SERVICES

NASDAQ HELSINKI

Minna Korpi is Director in Global Listing Services at Nasdaq Helsinki. She is working in the Nasdaq Nordic IPO team and also as a Relationship Manager for listed companies in Finland. She has been enthusiastically involved in several Nasdaq’s projects in developing the capital markets and facilitating the listing of growth companies in Finland. Minna has been working with Nasdaq Helsinki since 2007 both within the IPO team and Corporate Solutions sales.

MARKO KOSKI

ENERGYSPIN

Marko runs a global energy solutions acceletor EnergySpin. Energyspin is a growth program for startup companies which are seeking for international growth. The ten-week-long Accelerator programme twice a year includes company-specific training for business growth planning, product development, commercialization, marketing and communications, and especially financing together with internationally leading energy tech companies in their areas. Marko also operates as regional business angel in Finnish Business Angel network.

TIINA KÄHÖ

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

HELSINKI METROPOLITAN SMART & CLEAN FOUNDATION

Tiina Kähö is the Executive Director of Helsinki Metropolitan Smart & Clean Foundation. She leads the unique Smart & Clean change project, which is turning Helsinki region into the world’s best test bed for smart and cleantech solutions. This five-year project combines a unique spectrum of Finnish public and private sector actors to develop the best urban solutions for the most pressing challenges of humankind, using Helsinki region as a cocreation platform. The areas are energy, mobility, built environment, waste & water, and consumer solutions.

JUHA LINDFORS

PARTNER

LIFELINE VENTURES

Juha’s background is in private equity and investments. He joined Lifeline Ventures in January 2016. Before joining Lifeline, Juha has been an active angel investor and co-investor in small-&mid-cap buy-outs. He was previously a partner with EQT, a leading private equity firm. At Lifeline, Juha has worked e.g. with Altum Technologies, Blok, Minima Processor, Realstocks, Solar Foods, Sulapac and Swappie.

ALEKSI LUMIJÄRVI

PROGRAM MANAGER

NORDIC DEVELOPMENT FUND

Aleksi Lumijärvi works as a Program Manager in the Nordic Development Fund, a climate finance institution of the Nordic countries focusing on low and lower-middle income countries. Aleksi has worked in cleantech sector, especially in renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors, for more than 20 years, with a global perspective from both developed and developing countries. He has held managerial, partner and board positions in consulting, financial advisory and fund management businesses. In addition to private sector experience he used to work e.g. in the International Renewable Energy Agency in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

PIIA MAARANEN

CEO

AVANTO VENTURES

Piia Maaranen is CEO of Avanto Ventures, the leading Nordic Corporate Venturing house. Piia has 15+ years of experience in major FMCG businesses leading sustainable business development and transformation globally. At Avanto Piia has gained a strong experience on advising Nordic corporations on their innovation & venture strategies. Piia specialises in Circular Economy, especially new circular business models. Prior Avanto Piia has worked as a COO for tech startup (SaaS) raising funding and scaling operations globally.

JUSSI MANNINEN

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT

VTT

Jussi Manninen is Executive Vice President at VTT responsible for the business area of Solutions for Natural Resources and Environment. Jussi moved to VTT from the Ministry of Employment and the Economy of Finland, where he was responsible for the implementation of the Finnish Government’s key projects on the Bioeconomy and Cleantech and the Finnish bioeconomy strategy. Jussi holds a PhD in Process Integration from University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST). Previously Jussi worked at VTT for 15 years in research, development and innovation management in the fields of energy, the forest sector and the bioeconomy.

JANNE MIELCK

INVESTMENT DIRECTOR

KORKIA CAPITAL

Janne has over 25 years experience in senior level P&L management, M&A, Private Equity and business development positions in ICT, software, renewable energy and finance sectors. Janne has been CEO of a Nasdaq listed company Dovre Group Plc, Investment Director at 3i Group, Orienteq Capital and Korkia Capital, as well as Vice President, M&A, Venturing and Business Development at Neste Corporation. Janne is also an experienced Board member, having Board experience in both unlisted and publicly listed companies in EMEA and APAC regions. Janne holds a M.Sc. (Eng.) in Industrial Economics & Management.

LASSI NOPONEN

CO-FOUNDER

LOUDSPRING PLC

Founder and investor in cleantech since 2000. Developing and growing technology companies that fight climate change and save natural resources. Loudspring is Europe’s only listed accelerator with portfolio of companies that solve some of the worlds biggest challenges by providing cutting edge technology in area of energy and material efficiency. Loudspring companies have a direct and measurable positive impact on the environment. Our companies also lead the transition to a circular economy, with businesses operating in the online secondhand market and surplus restaurant food.

MOONA POHJOLA

CORPORATE VENTURING LEAD

AVANTO VENTURES

Moona has over 10 years of experience in international leadership roles. In various commercial positions she has grown business sustainably with innovations. Her expertise lies especially in consumer goods. At Avanto Ventures Moona is responsible for LOOP Ventures ecosystem. To build circular business for the future, piloting new business models should be started today with rapid experimentations. LOOP ventures finds the partners, runs the pilots, measures and gathers learnings so the pilot can be scaled up to a future growth business.

ANTTI RANTANEN

FOUNDER, HEAD OF AVANTO VENTURES EUROPE

AVANTO VENTURES

Antti Rantanen is one of the Founders of Avanto Ventures, a leading corporate venturing advisory in the Nordics. He has worked in various advisory roles for 20+ years in the forefront of Digital Transformation, through companies such as Accenture, Vibe, Avaus Consulting and advised leading European companies in various industries. He has also been involved in starting several companies during his career, from his own ventures to setting up new ventures for larger corporations. Currently with Avanto Ventures he advises corporations on how to create structures to enable growth through innovations with the global start-up ecosystem.

MATTI RAUTKIVI

DIRECTOR

WÄRTSILÄ

Matti Rautkivi is an energy industry thought leader. As an engineer for the Finnish energy technology company Wärtsilä, his innovative, value-based ideas have helped electric utilities in North America, Europe, Australia and the Middle East seize new business opportunities through flexible power generation. Matti is an active speaker and writer, his articles about energy markets have been published in TIME magazine and in many energy industry publications.

VESA RIIHIMÄKI

HEAD OF STARTUP & GROWTH FINLAND UNIT

NORDEA

Vesa Riihimäki is Head of Startup & Growth Finland Unit at Nordea. Nordea caters most of the startups in Finland by combining and tailoring traditional loan products so that they fit better for high growth situations. Cooperating closely with VC funds, business angels and accelerators.

JUHO RISKU

CO-FOUNDER & PARTNER

BUTTERFLY.VC

In the fore front of digital technologies from mid -80s, serial entrepreneur since 1996, founder in four companies, M.Sc. in Economics, VC since 2012, participated 100+ investment rounds, visionary technology guy and an enthusiast ice climber and mountaineer. Juho is often the first contact for a startup at Butterfly Ventures. He’s passionate about great products and enjoys taking deep dives in to the competitive landscape. He’s customer value driven, knows a lot about metrics and business models and most important of all he knows how’s the life with a VC from the both sides of a table. His entrepreneur minded thinking is greatly valued by our portfolio companies.

HARRI ROTO

CEO

GREENSTREAM NETWORK

Harri is the CEO of GreenStream Network Ltd. He has 18 years of professional experience in energy efficiency, carbon, climate and clean energy markets, currently pioneering and opening new markets and business models for energy efficient technologies. He is an expert in emerging new green finance instruments, ESCos in particular. Harri also acts as the fund manager for GreenStream’s carbon funds, and has vast experience in emissions trading and emission reduction projects.

JUHA SAARINEN

FOUNDER

AVANTO VENTURES

Juha is a Cleantech focused Angel Investor, board professional and co-founder of Avanto Ventures, a Growth Accelerator with a mission to build Sustainable Businesses and Fertile Ecosystems using proven Corporate Venturing methods. His advisory and investment targets include Solved, Biotehdas, Watrec, Pelago Bicycles, EkoRent, ERTH, Joukon Voima, Smartmile and others.

JAAKKO SALMINEN

PARTNER

GRANNENFELT FINANCE

Jaakko Salminen is an active business angel, with investments mainly in B2B software companies in Finland and other New Nordic countries. In the past, he’s been a CEO and VP of software and service companies, and has driven strong growth and M&A in Finland and internationally. During his 8 years as angel investor, he has been a coach and advisor to dozens of companies, evaluated and screened hundreds of startups, and has been a board member and chairman of more than a dozen startups and SME companies. He’s currently a Partner at Grannenfelt Finance Oy, a financial advisory to growth companies, with over 200M€ funding organised to 40+ companies so far.

NOORA SALONOJA

DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

TOUCHPOINT

Noora Salonoja works as the Development Director at TouchPoint, a company that provides sustainable workwear for service professionals in various industries and is a pioneer in the field of closed loop solutions in textiles. Noora is responsible for the company’s daily operations and she is also heading the company’s transition strategy into a service-minded and digital company. Prior to working at TouchPoint, Noora was the Head of Business Development at Reima, a children’s premium outdoor wear brand. She also lead various digital projects and new initiatives in the company. Noora holds a MSc in Economics from Aalto University and CEMS Master in International Management.

PIA SANTAVIRTA

MANAGING DIRECTOR

FINNISH VENTURE CAPITAL ASSOCIATION

Pia Santavirta is the Managing Director of the Finnish Venture Capital Association (FVCA). FVCA represents the Venture Capital and Private Equity industry in Finland. Continuously growing membership covers all the active private equity investors in Finland and the service providers to the industry – standing now at 140 members. Pia and her team work actively together with decision-makers, investors, startup- and growth companies and other stakeholders in order to improve investors’ and entrepreneurs’ operating environment and to further fuel economic growth in Finland and in the Nordics. Pia is a lawyer by training (University of Helsinki).

JONATHAN TRENT

FOUNDING DIRECTOR

UPCYCLE SYSTEMS & OMEGA GLOBAL INITIATIVE, NASA

Jonathan Trent, Ph.D., has worked at NASA since 1998, initially in Astrobiology, then bio-nanotechnology, and finally in sustainable life-support systems for the Earth. He was the lead scientist on Project OMEGA (Offshore Membrane Enclosures for Growing Algae)—a system to produce microalgae for biofuels, food, and fertilizer, while treating wastewater, sequestering carbon, and promoting environmentally sustainable aquaculture. Jonathan is an Adjunct Professor in BioMolecular Engineering at UC Santa Cruz and a Fellow of the California Academy of Sciences. He speaks internationally on food, water, and energy sustainability; the purpose of space exploration, smart Cities, and the circular economy.

JARKKO VIRTANEN

NORDIC VENTURE PARTNER

ETF PARTNERS

Jarkko Virtanen is the Nordic Venture Partner at ETF Partners, and the founder and chairman of IPR VC. ETF Partners invests in innovative European companies that deliver sustainability through innovation. Jarkko has a vast experience as a VC and angel investor, with over 30 investments, board seats and exits both within Finland and internationally. Previous experience include positions as global partner at 3i Group Plc, and as a Senior Advisor for CapMan in technology investing. Through his extensive international business experience, Jarkko has developed profound understanding of different cultures and business environments in Europe, North America and Asia.