Nordic Innovation Summit 2024

Alex is a long-time visionary for trust and identity in mobile calls, having launched the first caller ID and spam-blocking apps for mobile. Alex founded and bootstrapped two companies: Ekata, a leader of ID verification to enterprises via SaaS (sold to Mastercard in 2021) and Whitepages.com, which he started in the 1990s at college. Currently, Alex is the CEO of his third start-up, Hiya, leading product vision and corporate strategy. He is based in London with his wife and three children, and splits his time between London and Seattle. Alex holds a B.A. in Economics and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, both from Stanford University.

Chris Levesque is president and chief executive officer of TerraPower, and also serves as a member of the TerraPower Board. He was appointed to that position in November 2018 after having served as president of TerraPower since 2015. Levesque leads this nuclear innovation company in the pursuit of next-generation nuclear energy solutions and also oversees TerraPower’s new venture into therapeutic medical isotopes. His proven track record in scoping, planning and implementing complex projects began with his service in the U.S. Nuclear Navy and features more than 30 years of experience in the nuclear field. 

Levesque holds a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a Master of Science in mechanical engineering and a Naval Engineer degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He also serves on the Board of the Nuclear Energy Institute.

Jay Inslee is a fifth-generation Washingtonian who has lived and worked on both sides of the state. He grew up in the Seattle area where his father, Frank, was a high school teacher and coach. His mother, Adele, worked as a sales clerk at Sears & Roebuck. Jay worked his way through college and graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in economics before earning his law degree at Willamette University. He and his wife, Trudi, then moved to Selah, a small town near Yakima where they raised their three sons. Jay worked as an attorney and prosecutor.

Jay and Trudi are now proud grandparents to six active little Inslees. Besides writing and illustrating books for his grandchildren and sketching scenes from around Washington, Jay is an avid cyclist and charter member of Hoopaholics, a youth basketball academy.

Jay first became involved in public service in 1985 when he and Trudi helped lead the effort to build a new public high school in Selah. Motivated to fight against proposed funding cuts for rural schools, Jay went on to represent the 14th Legislative District in the state House of Representatives. He was then elected to Congress in 1992. The Inslees later moved back to Kitsap County where Jay was elected to Congress in 1998, serving until 2012 when he was elected governor.

He is currently the longest serving governor in the United States.

During his time in Congress, Jay became known as a forward-thinking leader, especially on issues of clean energy and climate change. He co-wrote a book, "Apollo's Fire: Igniting America's Clean-Energy Economy," about fighting climate change through clean energy innovation and job-creation. As governor, he has helped put Washington state at the forefront of climate action and is helping lead numerous subnational partnerships. Since 2013, the state has passed nation-leading policies to transition to 100% clean electricity, cap carbon pollution, electrify transportation, and more.

Over the past decade, Washington has consistently been among the few states to rank as one of the best states for business and one of the best states for workers. From commercial space and sustainable maritime to advanced agriculture and forest products, the growth of Washington’s key sectors is helping attract new companies and create jobs in communities all across the state. Washington has one of the nation’s highest minimum wages, paid sick leave for all workers, a best-in-the-nation paid family leave program, and one of the highest union membership rates.

Ambassador Jesper Møller Sørensen is the Ambassador of Denmark to The United States at the Royal Danish Embassy in Washington D.C.

Most recently, he held a position as the State Secretary for Foreign Policy in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark (2019-2023). Prior to this, he was the Political Director in the Foreign Ministry (2015-2019).

Ambassador Møller Sørensen has also previously been the Ambassador of Denmark to Pakistan (2013-2015), and the Deputy Ambassador to Afghanistan (2010-2011).

In 2019, he also briefly served in the EU’s European External Action Service (EEAS).

Ambassador Møller Sørensen began his career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Denmark in 1997. He served abroad at the Royal Danish Embassy in Ankara, Turkey (2000-2003), and he was Minister Counsellor for political affairs at the Royal Danish Embassy in Washington D.C. (2005-2009).

Earlier in his career, Ambassador Møller Sørensen worked in the department for European Enlargement (1997-1998), the department for Africa (1998-2000), and the department for Security Policy (2003-2005). He also served as the Head of Department of the Analysis Unit (2011-2013).

The Ambassador holds a Master of Political Science from University of Copenhagen and a bachelor from Aarhus University. He is a First Class Knight of the Order of Dannebrog.

Ambassador Møller Sørensen lives with his partner, Rasmus Windeløv. They have two young children.

Karin Ekdahl Wästberg, director of innovation, has a long career in the City of Stockholm, and has held numerous positions in the city. For six years, Karin Ekdahl Wästberg served as Head of the Vice Mayor’s Office. Before being appointed Chief Innovation Officer, Mrs Ekdahl Wästberg served as Head of the Elderly Services Administration. For three years (2016-2019), Karin Ekdahl Wästberg worked for the Swedish government on trust-based governance and management for the public sector.

In 2020, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee appointed Laura Watson to serve as the 13th Director of the Department of Ecology.

Watson came to the position well-prepared for the challenges that come with protecting Washington’s air, land, water, and climate. For 22 years, she worked on environmental issues with the Washington Attorney General’s Office, including five years as Ecology’s chief legal counsel and the head of the 38-member environmental division.

Implementing new climate policies

Under Watson’s leadership, Ecology has begun implementing Washington’s major new climate policies, including the Climate Commitment Act, the Clean Fuel Standard, and Zero Emission Vehicle Standards. The agency is also helping Washington prepare for a changing climate by investing in water supplies, improving flood management and resiliency, and tracking ocean acidification and rising sea levels. And Ecology is working with partners to improve water quality in Puget Sound, to clean up the Hanford Site, and to reduce toxic chemicals in our homes and communities.

Launched Office of Equity and Environmental Justice

In 2021, Watson launched Ecology’s new Office of Equity and Environmental Justice, the first office at any state agency dedicated to ensuring that Washington’s environmental laws protect every resident of our state equally, and that the health and economic impacts of past pollution and toxic contamination are identified and addressed.

A child of Finnish immigrants, Senator Marko Liias is a lifelong Washingtonian born and raised in the neighborhoods he now serves. He represents the communities of the 21st Legislative District, which includes neighborhoods in Edmonds, Everett, Lynnwood, and Mukilteo.   

Marko was appointed to the House of Representatives in 2008 and won re-election three times. He was appointed to the Senate in 2014 and is currently serving his third term as a senator.  Throughout his service in the Legislature, he has prioritized policies to increase access to public transportation across Washington, provide educational and career opportunities for students, make the state safer and more inclusive for LGBTQ+ youth, and build an economy that works for everyone.

Markus Paulsson is energy strategist at the city of Lund and project manager for CoAction Lund, a system demonstrator for how a city can become climate neutral. Markus has many years of experience of leading innovative project where the city cooperates with companies to master new solutions. With a PhD in biology, experiences from companies and working for a city he has a holistic view of the society.

Mårten Mickos is the CEO of HackerOne, the world's most popular bug bounty platform. Previously Mårten was the CEO of Eucalyptus Systems, acquired by Hewlett-Packard where he served as head of the cloud business. Mårten was the CEO of MySQL AB from 2001 to 2008. He served on the board of Nokia from 2012 to 2015. Marten is a thought leader on leadership and disruptive business models.

Martine Kildeby is responsible for global partnerships and cross-border collaboration at BLOXHUB – the Nordic Hub for Sustainable Urbanization. Representing 350 organizations, all working in creating our future cities, Martine Kildeby is framing a bigger picture of how competences and solutions come together to solve the urban challenges of our time. Based on the experience that challenges of global urbanization and climate change require new ways of collaboration, Martine exchange knowledge and innovation across spearhead communities, supporting business and sustainable change in cities and organizations worldwide.

With a background as Environmental Engineer and experience from the private and public sector, Martine has thorough insights to challenges and solutions aiming to creating a more sustainable future. Creating actual impact from across-borders collaboration is the backbone in her professional live, where she expands key knowledge about how we make a holistic and sustainable urban future. Martine has headedimplementation projects at the Danish Energy Agency, lead high-level stakeholder involvement processes and expanded the collaboration across borders from a base in Munich for the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In her current position as Head of Strategic Partnerships at BLOXHUB, Martine is activating unique competences within the BLOXHUB ecosystem in cross-sector, cross-border collaborations world-wide.

LinkedIn

“The urban challenges we are facing today calls for close collaboration across sectors and borders. Bringing together the brightest and most innovative minds from across nations is central to solve complex challenges and bring the solutions of today in play already tomorrow. When we work together potential turns into reality.”

Recent Key Notes & panels:
• Investment Expo, Berlin, May 2021
• World Expo, Dubai, October 2021
• Circular City Week, New York, May 2022
• Smart Country Convention, Berlin, May 2022
• The International Mobility Summit, Copenhagen, September 2022
• Smart City Expo, Barcelona, November 2022
• SPUR Digital Discourse, San Francisco, February 2023

Mikko Hautala became Ambassador of Finland to the United States in September 2020. Prior to that (2016-2020), he served as Ambassador of Finland to Russia. 

In 2012-2016 Ambassador Hautala worked as Foreign Policy Adviser to the President of the Republic of Finland. In 2011, he was appointed Deputy Head of Mission to Embassy of Finland to Russia, located in Moscow.

Ambassador Hautala has also served as the Diplomatic Advisor the to Minister for Foreign Affairs (2007-2011) as well as the First Secretary at the Permanent Representation of Finland to the EU in Brussels (2002-2007).

In the beginning of his career, he has served as Attaché at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Helsinki (2001-2002) and as Attaché at the Embassy of Finland in Kyiv, Ukraine (1998-2001). He joined the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland in 2001.

In August 2020, Hautala was awarded (“Ambassador Prize”) by the Confederation of Finnish Industries for his excellent work in promoting the interests of Finnish companies in Russia. During his career, he has received several civil and military decorations both nationally and internationally.

Ambassador Hautala was born in 1972 in Seinäjoki, Finland. He holds degrees in Master of Political Science (M.Pol.Sc) and Master of Philosophy (MPhil), both from Helsinki University. He currently holds the military rank of Captain (RESVT).

Ambassador Hautala is, in addition to the native Finnish, fluent in English, Swedish, Russian, Ukrainian and Polish. He likes to read and think.

He is married to Heli Hautala, who is also a career diplomat. They have two sons.

Molly Wright Steenson is the president and CEO of the American Swedish Institute, a 95 year-old museum and cultural center in Minneapolis. She is an author, speaker, and researcher whose focus is AI, design, and ethics. Her groundbreaking book Architectural Intelligence: How Designers and Architects Created the Digital Landscape, published by MIT Press in 2017, is a history of AI in architecture and design. 

At Carnegie Mellon University, she was vice provost for faculty, senior associate dean for research in the College of Fine Arts, the inaugural K&L Gates Associate Professor of Ethics and Computational Technologies, and holds tenure as an associate professor in the School of Design. 

Prior to leading ASI and her academic career, Steenson was a web pioneer starting in 1994, working at groundbreaking studios, consultancies, and companies, including Reuters and Netscape. She holds a PhD in Architecture from Princeton University.