Speakers

JOHN THOMPSON

Senior Vice President & Principal, GenAI Program & AI Products, The Hackett Group Inc.
Adjunct Professor, University of Michigan

John is an international technology executive with over 38 years of experience in data, advanced analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI).

John is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Michigan in the School of Information (UMSI), where he teaches AI, Entrepreneurship, and Product Management classes.

John was the global head of AI at EY. He led the design, development, implementation, and use of innovative AI solutions, including Generative AI, Traditional/Classical AI, and Causal AI, across all EY Service Lines and functions for EY’s clients.

John was an Executive Partner at Gartner, where he was a management consultant to market-leading companies in digital transformation, data monetization, and advanced analytics. Before Gartner, John was responsible for the advanced analytics business unit of the Dell Software Group.

John’s most recent book, The Path to AGI (Technics Publications, 2025), examines the most practical and pragmatic path to developing Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). The book focuses on the long-term evolutionary path of Artificial Intelligence (AI). As a technology field, we have developed a substantial body of technology, tools, techniques, methodologies, approaches, and more in the broader field of AI over the last 70 years.

Other books by John:

EVENT:
Helsinki Data Week Opening Event [LIVE] (Monday, October 28)

JOE REIS

founder, joe reis media

Joe Reis is a “recovering data scientist” and co-author of the best-selling book, Fundamentals of Data Engineering (O’Reilly, 2022). He’s a business-minded data nerd who’s worked in the data industry for 20 years, with responsibilities ranging from statistical modeling, forecasting, machine learning, data engineering, data architecture, and almost everything else.

Joe keynotes major data conferences worldwide, advises and invests in next-generation data product companies, and hosts the popular data podcasts The Monday Morning Data Chat and The Joe Reis Show. In his spare time, he’s writing new books and thinking of ideas to push the data industry to the next level.

EVENT:
Helsinki Data Week Opening Event [LIVE] (TUESDAY, October 28)

maija hovila

Chief Data & AI Strategist, Futurice

As the Chief Data and AI Strategist at Futurice, Maija Hovila helps various companies re-factor their competitiveness through data and (generative) AI. Maija has extensive international experience in data, analytics, AI, and strategy across consulting, large multinationals, and start-ups in the B2C and B2B sectors.

Maija joined Futurice from the role of Chief Analytics Officer at KONE. Her responsibilities included leading KONE’s analytics and data strategy, building data capabilities and organization, leading priority use cases, developing data assets, and driving data culture creation. Before KONE, Maija worked at Unilever in London in leadership roles developing analytics and insights at the forefront of Unilever’s global digital and data transformation.

Two Master’s degrees in business and engineering (MBA from Cambridge University and M.Sc. from Aalto University) and living in six countries have given Maija plenty of learning opportunities and broad perspectives.

In her spare time, Maija is an avid athlete. She has represented Finland in the World Championships in Ironman triathlon and cycling, as well as the Youth Olympics in alpine skiing.

EVENT:
Helsinki Data Week Opening Event [LIVE] (Monday, October 28)

TIANKAI FENG

Director, data & ai strategy, thoughtworks

Tiankai is a data leader by day, a musician by night, and an optimist at heart. He is the author of Humanizing Data Strategy (Technics Publications, 2024) and is currently working as the Director for Data & AI Strategy at Thoughtworks.

With 12+ years of experience in Data Analytics, Data Governance, and Data Strategy, he found a passion for the human aspect of data: how to collaborate, communicate, and be creative around data. He is passionate about making data more understandable, approachable, and fun through unconventional methods like music and memes.

EVENT:
Helsinki Data Week Opening Event [LIVE] (TUESDAY, October 28)

katariina kari

head of data, in parallel

Katariina Kari is a leading expert in semantic web technologies, recognized for building knowledge graphs that elevate customer experiences for brands like IKEA and Zalando. A global talent and frequent speaker on knowledge graphs, she holds both a Master of Science and a Master of Music, blending her passion for technology and the humanities.

As Head of Data at In Parallel in Helsinki, Katariina is shaping the future of data-driven decision-making, integrating ontologies, linked data, and AI into scalable solutions. In her previous role as Lead Ontologist at Inter IKEA, she established the ways of working for the IKEA Knowledge Graph team, integrating semantic web best practices. That team is globally known for driving value through semantic recommendations and other smart knowledge graph-driven solutions.

EVENT:
Helsinki Data Week Opening Event [LIVE] (Monday, October 28)

hannes mühleisen

co-founder & ceo, duckdb labs

Hannes Mühleisen is a creator of the DuckDB database management system and Co-founder and CEO of DuckDB Labs. His main interest is analytical data processing.

Hannes is a senior researcher at The Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) in Amsterdam.

Hannes is also Professor of Data Engineering at Radboud University Nijmegen.

EVENT:
Helsinki Data Week Opening Event [LIVE] (TUESDAY, October 28)