Keynote speakers

Kara Pecknold

a VP of Regenerative Design at frog, part of Capgemini Invent

For 20+ years, she has been supporting her clients to transform their products, services, teams and business models. As a global lead of sustainability within the Capgemini Group, she works at the intersection of people and planet by marrying creativity with science to better shape the future of the Next Economy organization.

Kara was born and raised in Canada, where she had her first encounters with the arctic and now lives in Munich, Germany where she leads frog’s design studio. In her free time, you can likely find her in on a mountain, in the forest or by the sea.

Alessandro Colombo

a Milan born architect, Professor at Politecnico di Milano and Politecnico di Torino 

Born in Milan, after his classical and musical studies he graduated in architecture at Politecnico of Milan in 1987, supervisor Marco Zanuso, with the thesis “The Vegetables factory”. In 1989 he began his partnership with Pierluigi Cerri at Gregotti Associati International of which he is associated from 1995 to 1998.

In 1991 he wins with Paola Garbuglio the Major of Osaka City Prize with the project: “Terra: Instructions for Use”. With Bruno Morassutti he participates in international architecture competitions where gets accolades. In 1998/99 he was founding partner of Studio Cerri & Associati, of Terra and Studio Cerri Associati Engineering. In 2004 he was in the winning group of the international competition for the restoration of the Royal Villa of Monza and was awarded the Compasso d’Oro for the Naòs System, Unifor office table system. He is a lecturer at the Milan Polytechnic, Polidesign, the Turin Polytechnic and Naba. He was appointed Ambassador of Italian design by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in collaboration with Triennale and ADI, for the “Italian Design Day” held in 2017 in Vancouver, in 2018 in Jakarta, in 2019 and 2021 in Asunción and in 2020 and 2022 in Helsinki.

He is a consultant for the Salone del Mobile. Milano, the Diocesan Museum of Milan and in 2021 for ADI he designs the TAKE YOUR SEAT set-up at Supersalone 2021 and curates and sets up the Bruno Morassutti 100 + 1 exhibition! at ADI Design Museum in Milan.

Petteri Masalin  

Chief Design Officer, Fiskars brand, Fiskars Group

Petteri Masalin is the Chief Design Officer for the Fiskars brand. Throughout his career Masalin has pushed the Finnish design thinking forward, and he has received numerous design awards.

Masalin holds a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design and has graduated from Lahti University of Applied Sciences’s Institute of Design. He is a board member of Lahti University of Applied Sciences and the Finnish Design Centre.

One of the leading premium lifestyle brands in the gardening, cooking & creating categories around the world, Fiskars’ purpose is to increase human happiness in and around the home. In addition to a wide range of garden tools, Masalin’s team also designs kitchen tools and products for watering.

Masalin is the first person with a design background to have lead Fiskars R&D. Today, design is an integral part of the company’s R&D process, to the extent that the two have blended together almost completely. Masalin has developed a hybrid approach, in which engineers become designers and designers become engineers.

Together with his team, Masalin aims to develop innovative products of a high quality that deliver even after decades use. Masalin sees a lot of optimism in the way in which especially younger generations have started to fight against a throwaway culture in favour of sustainability.

Fiskars Group is the global home of design-driven brands for indoor and outdoor living. Since 1649, we have designed products of timeless, purposeful, and functional beauty, driving innovation and sustainable growth.

Hester van Dijk

 Architectural Design Overtreders W,

Martin Österberg

Chief of Marketing, Polestar Finland Ltd

Martin Österberg on pitkän linjan markkinoinnin ja brändinrakennuksen ammattilainen. Nykyisessä roolissaan Martin oli mukana luomassa Polestarin organisaatiota Suomeen tyhjästä. Hän vastaa Polestarin brändistä, markkinoinnista, kumppanuuksista ja viestinnästä Suomessa. Polestarin kasvu on lyhyessä ajassa muuttanut alan toimintatapoja uudelleenmäärittelemällä autokaupan asiakas- ja ostokokokemuksen, joka on konkretisoitunut brändin nopeaan tunnettuuden sekä myynnin kasvuun.

Ennen Polestaria hän vastasi urheilukellovalmistaja Suunnon globaalista markkinoinnista. Hän on kerryttänyt kansainvälistä kokemusta myös eri markkinoinnin johtotehtävissä mm. Coca-Colalta, kiinteistösijoitusyhtiö Cityconista ja Monster Energyltä. 

EN

Martin is recognized as a long-term marketing and brand building professional. In his current role, Martin was involved in launching Polestar’s organization in Finland and is responsible for Polestar’s brand, marketing, partnerships and communications in the market. In a short time, Polestar’s growth has changed the operating methods of the car industry by redefining the customer journey and purchase experience, which has resulted in rapid growth of the brand’s recognition and sales.

Before Polestar, Martin was responsible for the global marketing of sports watch manufacturer Suunto. He has also gained international experience in various marketing management positions, e.g. from Coca-Cola, real estate investment company Citycon and energy drink giant Monster Energy.

Meghan Preiss

Manager of CX Design Integration at Delta Air Lines, WDO Board member

Meghan Preiss is a mobility design strategists with a passion for understanding and impacting the needs of all living things.

She is currently a Manager of CX Design Integration at Delta Air Lines where she creates design strategies to prioritize the customer experience and develop design thinking capabilities throughout the enterprise. She is an instinctive translator traversing between complex details and big picture ideas.

Meghan’s passion to provide new paths for future generations to impact the world around them is becoming more of a reality with each new role she takes on. It was this passion that led her to become the youngest board member of the World Design Organization (WDO) in their 60-year history. Previously the United States female representative in WDO’s inaugural Young Designers Circle, Meghan has worked with global communities to elevate design education and gender equality design initiatives. In the United Kingdom, she taught 12- to 18-year-olds how to merge design, engineering, user research, and business, while also mentoring them through different phases of life.

Meghan is a motivational speaker at conferences, universities, and communities around the globe including Industrial Designers Society of America’s International Design Conference, Dassault Systemes, Auburn University, Savannah College of Art and Design and more! Since graduating Savannah College of Art and Design with degrees in Service Design and Industrial Design, she gained experience in both consulting for LEGO, Boston Scientific, Hamilton Medical, BMW, Honda, and more. As well as working in-house at corporations like Ford Motor Company and IBM. 

Jonathan Sands

OBE

Jonathan has a more than forty year career in the creative industries. Perhaps most notably he is known for building the UK headquartered design consultancy Elmwood into a global enterprise famed for winning more design effectiveness awards than any other agency ever and all started from a small provincial studio outside Leeds in the North of England. In 2021 Jonathan handed down the various studios located in Leeds, London, New York, Singapore and Melbourne to the respective management teams with the London, New York and Singapore studios ultimately being sold to MSQ. Jonathan still retains a significant shareholding in Born Ugly which is the new name for the founding studio in Leeds however Jonathan has also stepped out of that business and now runs a new virtual enterprise for his own consulting clients called ‘The Third Pig Company’ and at the end of last year he was named as the Mentor of the Year by the business network ‘Connect Yorkshire’.

Jonathan was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Huddersfield University in 2000 where he also served for many years as a ‘Visiting Professor of Innovation’. He is a past council member of the Design Council on which he served for ten years. He is a fellow and past council member of the RSA and was the youngest ever Chairman of the Design Business Association and the first Chair from outside London. Jonathan was awarded an OBE for services to the creative Industry in the Queen’s New Years Honours List in 2011.

 Finally Jonathan is a current Trustee of the Royal Armouries and Chairman of their commercial business RATE. He is a collector of classic cars, a proud father of three, a moderate golfer and a long suffering Derby County supporter.

Jonne Hellgren

CEO and Co-Founder Re-Pack

Jonne Hellgren is a business leader and developer and has founded two pioneering companies in sustainability and circular economy.

His first company introduced the term carbon footprint — and the popular online test — to Finnish audiences. Years of exposure to LCA’s and ESG strategies of cities, companies, products and supply chains taught Jonne how value is created (and lost).

 In his second company, together with two industrial designers, sustainability analysis was combined with new product development & design, based on the belief that 80% of the environmental impact of any product is determined in the design process. Since then Jonne has realised marketing and budgeting often play a bigger role.

Countless hours in warehouses led them to create a globally unique reusable packaging service for e-commerce. Today RePack is used by hundreds of online retailers in Europe and North America from global giants to brand owners. It’s a multi-award-winning innovation that combines product, operational and business model design in an elegant way.

In his current role as CEO of RePack Jonne works in the business and on the business; strategy, sales, product, concept, marketing, funding and team development & execution.

Jonne grew up in Finnish Lapland and studied management in the UK.

Liisa Aulin

Viesintäjohtaja / Communications director

Metsähallituksen viestintäjohtaja Liina Aulinilla on vahva kokemus vaativista viestinnän ja yhteiskuntasuhteiden sekä yritysvastuun johtamistehtävistä. Metsien käyttöön, ilmastoon ja luonnon monimuotoisuuteen liittyvät kysymykset kiinnostavat laajasti eri sidosryhmiä, mikä korostaa viestinnän ja avoimen vuoropuhelun merkitystä.

Metsähallitus’ communications director Liina Aulin has strong experience in demanding communications and social relations and corporate responsibility management tasks. Questions related to the use of forests, climate and biodiversity are widely of interest to various stakeholders, which emphasizes the importance of communication and open dialogue.

Matias Kotkasaari

CEO Joutsen Finland Ltd

Matias Kotkasaari on perheyritys Joutsen Finland Oy:n toimitusjohtaja jo neljännessä polvessa. Yrityksen perusti hänen isoisoisänsä vuonna 1936. Jo alusta asti kantavana ajatuksena on ollut laadukkaiden, hyvää oloa ja mieltä tuottavien tuotteiden valmistus mukavassa työyhteisössä. Ajaton design ja huolellinen suunnittelu ovat tuotteiden pitkäikäisyyden kulmakivet. Tuotteiden muotoilun ja ominaisuudet nostaa omalle tasolleen ainutlaatuisen puhdas vastuullisesti tuotettu untuva, joka jalostetaan Joutsenen omassa tehtaassa. Joutsenen tuotteissa muotoilu, laatu ja vastuullisuus kulkevat käsi kädessä, toisiaan tukien.

Matias Kotkasaari is the fourth generation CEO of the Finnish family business Joutsen Finland Oy. The company was founded by his great-grandparents in 1936. Marius and Saima, the great-grandparents said from day one ’The goal is to manufacture high quality products, creating pleasure and wellbeing for their users, in a working environment that creates wellbeing also to the employers’. The goal is as valid today. Timeless design and a well thought design process create products with a long lifespan. The raw material is the key, the unique down produced sustainably is given a final touch in Joutsen’s own factory. In Joutsen design, quality and responsibility always go hand in hand, supporting each other.

Päivi Tahkokallio

Muotoilufoorumiemme moderaattori Päivi Tahkokallio on strategisen muotoilun asiantuntija ja Tahkokallio Design+ -yrityksen perustaja ja toimitusjohtaja. 

Kuva: Pascal Demeester