Speakers ’18

About

Co-founded Tespack at the age of 24 – a smart technology company that has raised more than €2.6M and concentrates on mobile energy solutions. The solutions are currently used by the UN and various government entities. Her company has won more than 30+ international awards. New projects include releasing patented ultra-fast charging technology (re-charge a battery in less than 12 mins!), the first solar smart helmet for action cameras, and testing equipment for astronauts and scientists.

Recognised by Forbes 30 Under 30, named a “tech & Energy” industry disruptor, and one of the Top 200 Leaders of Tomorrow Globally. Participated in the St. Gallen Symposium, debating with prime ministers, top entrepreneurs and higher education (HE) leaders on how to achieve global growth with entrepreneurship and HE. Was also named one of the Top 30 Social Entrepreneurs, Under 30 in Spain and appointed Mentor for the Queen’s Young Leaders to support leading social entrepreneurs and NGOs across 53 commonwealth countries. Advises on tech, personal development, entrepreneurship and PR in the programme lead by Her Majesty, the Queen of England.

#futureofenergy #tespack #mobileenergy

About

Author, speaker, and a practising barrister. Past Fellow of the Harvard University Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society. Studied history and politics at Magdalen College and Oxford, graduating first in his year before turning to the law.

Passionate about technology (from AI to Blockchain, Robotics, and Virtual Reality) and politics. Author of Future Politics: Living Together in a World Transformed by Tech (Oxford University Press, 2018). The book confronts the question of how digital technology will transform politics and society.

Writes and speaks about the future of power, freedom, justice, and democracy.

#AI #futurepolitics #law

About

Entrepreneur-turned-kiteboarder and world-traveler, paving the way for newest ventures. Landed her business on the Forbes list of “Fastest Growing Women-Owned Businesses“, sold her business Matisia Consultants, and has her blue eyes on a new prize.

Her new mission – bring together badass women from around the world. “Women don’t enjoy enough together. There’s always been men’s clubs, they play golf, and it’s where ideas are made. When you get a bunch of strong-willed women together, magic can happen.”

Newest venture SuperShe is a not-so-secret society, a community of women from around the world brought together to create change and achieve the impossible. SuperShe has transformed dated ideas of networking. Ditch your pantsuit and fluorescent-lit ballrooms in exchange for a bikini and beachfront, or in more recent news, a private island?

#superwoman #community #leadership

About

Technology correspondent at The Economist. Interested in internet policy and economics, robotics, artificial intelligence, infrastructure and biotechnology. Also reports from abroad, including Bolivia, Mexico, South Korea and Finland.

Works on stories about the technologies that shape our lives, the systems that control them, and the people who find themselves in the yoke. Has explored warehouse husks filled with insects for human consumption in Ohio, watched dead rivers come back to life in Mexico, rescued a hexacopter from the side of a volcano in Bolivia, debated basic income in a sauna with 12 naked Finns, and seen the world’s greatest robots fail to climb a set of stairs — all in pursuit of a story.

Graduated in 2010 from Trinity College Dublin with a degree in astrophysics.

#dataprotection #innovation #future

About

American journalist based in Washington, D.C. Has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, Bloomberg, as well as several international news outlets and documentaries. Was a correspondent and anchor for the US branch of RT TV from 2011 to 2014 and made international headlines following her resignation from the channel, publicly denouncing the distorted coverage of the conflict in Ukraine and Russian intervention in Crimea.

Has spoken internationally and on college campuses about modern day propaganda tactics, media literacy and disinformation in the  digital age. Previously worked as a news writer and producer in her home state of Connecticut. Born on a US Naval base in the Philippines, and is of Hungarian and Filipino descent.

#disinformation #fightdisinfo #medialiteracy

About

Chris has worked in multiple roles around the startup scene for the past several years both in Europe and in the US. He’s a passionate and driven connector and advisor, and most recently has started a small venture experiment, worked on startup/corporate collaboration, run accelerators and incubators, and helped build and lead brand ecosystems. Chris views startups and technology as an essential element to breaking down the walls between cultures and opportunities that separate humanity. Chris currently leads the 500 Startups Moscow program.

#venturecapital #advisor #connector

About

A social innovator who has worked with numerous global organisations on solving social and environmental issues in collaboration with non-profit organizations, governments, customers and partners. Explores how technology is changing the way we live and work, and advises companies on implementing critical strategic changes that will help them successfully compete in the digital world.

Currently President of the Women’s Council of HypoVereinsbank UNICREDIT and a member of the Computer Science Advisory Board at the University of People. Until departing from HP in December 2015, also served as a Hewlett-Packard GmbH Germany Board of Directors member, an EU Commission E-skills Leadership Board member, a Junior Achievement (EMEA) member, and as a World Economic Forum Council on Social Innovation and the Corporate Advisory Group member in the We Mean Business Coalition.

Was honored by Newsweek and the Daily Beast as one of 150 “Women Who Shake the World” in 2011. Was named by FastCompany to the League of Extraordinary Women, and was awarded the DLDWomen Impact Award in 2012. Named by InspiringFifty as “one of the 50 most inspiring women in European technology” in 2015. Featured among the Top 500 influencers and players active on Twitter in regards to corporate social responsibility (CSR). Included in the Elle magazine HOT 100 list as “one of 10 Power Women to be watched” (Digital 3.0) in 2016.Accomplished international speaker on the subjects of sustainable management, social innovation and the future of work. The author of numerous articles (Forbes, Huffington Post, the Financial Review) and textbooks.

#futureofgoodwork #socialinnovation #humansfirst

About

Worked over 10 years with leading brands to craft and articulate underlying strategy and execution for innovative business models.  Charged with coordinating and managing comprehensive changes addressing everything from updating how a company works, to building out entirely new businesses. A strong bias towards action, bold thinking and external empathy allows for blending and enhancing the rest of the C-Suite to focus on: making digital integral to corporate strategy, implementing an “Obsess over the customer” strategic approach, building agility, speed, and data driven operations.

Intrigued by the revolution implicitly underlying technology: the blockchain, which he expects to have an impact on the global economy greater than the internet. Focuses on artificial intelligence, funcion integration, digital transformation and the internet of things.

Worked many years as an insurance broker at top firms accredited by Lloyds, such as AON and Willis, before joining the digital revolution in 2005. Was in charge of large accounts, regional business development, and organization and operations in Italy, Israel and Asia. Earned a Bachelor Degree in international business and an MSc in finance and strategy from the Cass Business School in London. Currently working on an Executive PhD at Cass Business School and researching digital growth strategies and corporate decision making.

#blockchain #digitalID #IoT

About

Eric is passionate about education, open-source, and everything audio. He currently works for both Snips, a Paris-based startup, and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL).

At EPFL, he co-founded and organizes LauzHack, Switzerland’s largest student hackathon, and is a research assistant with the Audiovisual Communications Laboratory. At Snips, he works as a Tech Evangelist and will join full-time as a Signal Processing Scientist in January 2019.

Created in 2013, Snips enables makers and companies to add a voice assistant to their products. What makes Snips unique is that everything runs locally on the device, meaning no voice data ever gets sent to the cloud and making Snips the first ever voice assistant to be GDPR compliant.

#privacybydesign, #edgeisthenewcloud #voiceAI

About

Raphael is a Senior Adviser, Investor (Undagrid / Beasts of Balance) & International
Speaker with a background in Sales, Marketing & Strategic Business Development
(Apple, Telco etc).
He’s now the Founder & CEO of the Startupbootcamp IoT Program based in
London.
He’s also a Founding Management Board Member & Chair for the SMEs in the AIOTI
(Alliance for IoT Innovation) at the European Commission, an adviser to MakerWharf,
a Founding Board Member of the French IoT Think Tank & a Founding & Board
member of the UK French Tech Hub.

#investor #IoT #DFFalumni

About

Experienced CTO, helping businesses to build IT divisions that fit their needs and set them on a road to success. For over 10 years been rebuilding IT teams and infrastructures to make them more efficient, reliable and up-to-date.

Main skill is staying focused and making timely and optimal decisions in complicated environments with many variables and unknowns.

Currently, applying skills and experience as the CTO of the DYNINNO Group.

#DyninnoGroup #ITdevision #rebuilding

About

Julia Karmo is a journalist and communications consultant based in Berlin. She has worked for world’s global media companies such as Sky News and Associated Press where she produced and commissioned hundreds of original stories from 19 countries around the world, in formats ranging from documentaries to Facebook video. Lately, she has been advising startups, universities, and nonprofits on strategic communications.

#digitalmarketing #digitalvideo #growthhacking

About

Several years ago, Mārīte decided to take her 10+ years of award-winning communication expertise and shift it towards the benefit of the entire Baltic startup ecosystem. She has since dedicated her full attention to building relationships between corporates and the startup world.
From beginning to the 2nd accelerator batch today, Mārīte has led the collaboration process of creating the very first fintech accelerator in the Baltic countries including a banking partner. She happily devotes much of her time to mentor the startup companies as well – her entrepreneurial background helps her relate to startups on a deeper level, understand their main pain points and help fix them.
Mārīte led the development of DoBe, a co-creation office space in the HQ of Swedbank, which hosts promising startup and ecosystem players and organizes monthly events around fintech and banking trends.

As the main driver of communication activities on Swedbank’s Open Banking platform, she is closely working with an audience composed of fintech professionals and developers, who are eager to connect to the bank’s 7 million customers across four home markets in the Baltics and Sweden.

#Swedbank #Fintech #startups

About

Anastasia caught the entrepreneurial bug at the age of 12, creating a pretend-company for a school project, and never looked back since. She had tons of fun building small businesses all the way through high school, and eventually co-founding her own photo studio with an experimental and avant-garde focus at the age of 19.

After several years, hungry for new challenges and opportunities she moved to NYC where her love for innovation and tech led her to work for several startups, creating marketing strategies and assessing and advancing business development opportunities. Her craving to learn more about the NYC startup ecosystem steered her path towards Starta Ventures, where leveraging her strengths and heavy background in communications and marketing she assumed the role of Director of Сommunications and eventually advanced to become the Head of the Accelerator Program.

Starta Accelerator is a NYC based program that empowers startups from Europe through exclusive 3,5-month mentorship program. Anastasia and her team build successful global companies, contribute funds and other resources to foreign entrepreneurs at seed and pre-seed stages. Starta Accelerator is part of Starta Ventures, a venture capital global brand, the mission of which is to break through traditional venture capital barriers to empower the next generation of tech entrepreneurs.

#Investor #NYAccelerator #Tech

About

Olga holds BSc from Stockholm School of Economics in Riga and MSc from Norwegian School of Economics. She has also completed several MBA courses in Innovative Entrepreneurship, Strategy and Conflict Resolution at the Asian Institute of Management.

Her career started in investment banking and over time deviated towards developmental work, social entrepreneurship and startups. Olga lead Social Actions team at ASSIST Asia (Philippines) – an international NGO which works with Asian Development Bank and various UN agencies on projects related to renewable energy, digital technologies for development and youth leadership, among others.

She also co-managed a Singapore-based IIX Impact Accelerator programme for social startups in the Philippines. Olga helped pioneering design thinking approach at Microsoft Asia.

In late 2016, she returned to her home country and in May 2017 accepted a new challenge – Chief Startup Instigator at Investment and Development Agency of Latvia. In this capacity, she seeks to support Latvia-based startups, thus placing the country on the global startup map.

#LIAA #startups #DFFalumni

About

As Head of VFQ Education at Emergn, Steven leads a team who specializes in creating and delivering content to enable organizations and individuals to change the way they work, forever.

Steven has worked with some of the largest companies in the world, helping them both change the way they work, as well as helping them deliver more valuable outcomes to their customers.

#agile #vfq #discovery

About

Ariana is passionate about creating social impact ventures and building purpose-driven communities.

Currently she is the co-founder of Illumo, a deep-tech venture shaping the future of work and education, automating tasks in the manufacturing industry and upskilling the current workforce. Her expertise in PR and business development has landed her management and advisory roles with technology companies that need better communication strategies.

Ariana has also founded four startups in the field of non-profit, education, fashion, and technology around Europe, and has worked with ten international companies to improve their products, services, and culture.

#deep-tech #community #futureofwork

About

Oleg has started his career in Swedbank more than ten years ago as Head of Project Management Office – leading major Baltic projects. He later was involved in establishment of Swedbank Group Products unit, working through 4 geographies (Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) – result was an establishment of the new organization with more than 1000 employees.

Later on Oleg started to lead Digital Development in Baltic Region contributing to the development of banking market solutions for clients such as Swedbank mobile app, Smart ID at Swedbank, new Internet Bank and many other services impacting millions of users throughout the Baltics.

This year new app was presented – Swedbank mobile contactless payments via NFC – making Swedbank first in the market to introduce this type of payments. Oleg has now taken up a position of Chief Product Owner for Open Banking working with challenge to introduce “Swedbank as a service” in financial technology market.

#Swedbank #DigitalDevelopment #Baltics

About

A serial entrepreneur, with a background from movie production, digital marketing and event coordination. Today Stoyan is a productivity & performance consultant, startup mentor and speaker, travelling the world and inspiring teams to focus on what matters most.
Stoyan is also a co-founder & managing director at Samodiva Masterminds – an organization for high-end business networks and personal growth events. Recently, he became a partner at the consulting group – Pro-Lead A/S.
He is co-authoring an upcoming book about scale ups and business innovation.

#productivity #entrepreneurship #motivation

About

Ilze Paklone is a Latvia born architect, co-founder along with Rafael A. Balboa of “STUDIO WASABI”, an architecture office and think-tank based in Tokyo. She holds a PhD from Riga Technical University and was doctoral student at the University of Tokyo under the fellowship granted by the Japanese Government Scholarship program Monbukagakusho. She has worked as an architect at design studios such as “Wiel Arets Architects” (NL) and “NRJA” (LV). She has been correspondent based in Japan for Italian magazine “DOMUS” and guest editor for the Japanese magazine “a+u” special issue “Feature: Latvia – Architecture Unfolding”, as well as co-curator for the exhibition “Latvia. Architecture at Convergence” showcased in Japan.

#architect #editor #Japan

About

Baiba is the CEO of the largest media group “All Media Latvia” (previously “MTG Latvia” – TV3, LNT, TV6, Channel2, Radio Star FM) in Latvia. Leading the company already for 15 years, she  still enjoys the dynamics and challenges of the media industry. She is passionate and excited to be the driver of the full digital transformation process of “All Media Latvia” that will lead to a wide range of innovative entertainment options for various local audiences in the very close future.

In addition Baiba is active member of the Board of the Latvian Advertising Association, the Latvian Association of Broadcasting Organizations, and the Foreign Investors Council.

In the past Baiba had obtained experience in the advertising industry working on the account side in the leading local advertising and creative agencies. Her first education is in psychology where she holds the Bachelor degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Latvia. She also has some practice working as a psychologist including starting up the first emotional support helpline launch in Latvia (at present known as Crises and counseling centre Skalbes helpline) and this experience has influenced her perspective of life. Baiba also holds the MBA degree from Riga International School of Economics and Business Administration (RISEBA). She is a fan of classical music and loves travelling with her family.

#media #Latvia #digitaltransformation

About

Dana Icikzone is the founder and leader of Diversity & Inclusion Development at Adobe in the Nordics. With a mission to strive for a workplace where everyone can feel included and valued, she goes beyond and encourages everyone take action – always appreciate the unique and amplify others.

Dana is also a Solutions Consultant with experience technology at Adobe. She empowers customers to make quicker and smarter decisions in their marketing activities. She has a strong background in media strategy and technology leading to her main focus in advertising and data management solutions.

#AdobeForAll #diversity #leadership

About

Dagnija is a passionate communications professional with a special interest in technologies, startups and community engagement. In addition to creating the Digital Freedom Festival, she is a Co-Founder of the boutique reputation management company “Lejiņa and Šleiers”, and is a co-founder of “Riga Venture Summit” and the Latvian Startup Association.

In the past, Dagnija has led communications at the largest Nordic bank in Latvia – Nordea, also coordinating communications in Poland and the Baltic countries. She has gained experience in public affairs while serving as Press Secretary and Communications Advisor to the Latvian Foreign Minister.

Whether it’s hiking in the Himalayas or exploring the thick jungles of southeast Asia, Dagnija has never denied a challenge and aims to push herself to unknown horizons. At the same time she looks for ways that she can help others to achieve their goals by connecting people and building purpose driven communities.

#DFF #WomenEmpowerment #unicorn

About

Olga Grinina is a blockchain journalist and Head of Communications at Akropolis.io. With legal, linguistic and design backgrounds and experience at top-tier law firms in Moscow and Los Angeles, over the course of the last year she has been engaged with a number of blockchain startups building the strategic content and PR vision.

#blockchain #writer #PR

About

Eero Vassinen is based in Helsinki and has over a decade of experience from the media industry, having worked for leading global and local companies in content creation, business development and strategy roles. During his career, he has done reporting for Reuters, Bloomberg, Helsingin Sanomat, the largest daily in the Nordics, and the Finnish public broadcaster Yle. Before entering management consulting at CIVITTA, he spent several years working as a digital business strategist for Sanoma, involved with digital and print media as well as live, linear and on-demand entertainment.

#media #business #strategy #developement

About

Devon Smiley is a Negotiation Consultant & Speaker with 15 years of experience with Forbes’ finest and small business alike. She closed $5 billion of commercial contracts as a lead negotiator and brings this experience to organizations, entrepreneurs and founders focused on securing strong commercial results without sacrificing relationships.

Devon’s global consultancy firm works with companies of all sizes, and she contributes as mentor and advisor for programs including Startup Bootcamp FinTech NYC, Startup Canada and the HEC Paris Incubator @ StationF. Her insights on negotiation have been featured in the New York Times, Glamour magazine and the Chicago Tribune.

A strong believer that negotiation benefits more than just the bottomline, Devon is honoured to work with pro bono partners including The Clinton Foundation and UN Women to lead negotiation skills training for their teams and communities.

#maketheask #negotiation #leadership

About

Kaspars Vendelis is the co-founder of the Biohacking.lv community and organizer of the first and largest biohacking conference in the Baltic States. He’s also a father of 3 children and is frequently organizing seminars and training to teach how people can prolong their lifespan until 120 years just by changing lifestyle.

Biohacking is process in which anybody can become a better version of oneself with enhanced body and minds performance. Biohackers use a systematic approach where science, technologies and natural processes are united and compliment each other.

#biohacking #lifestyle #community

About

Evita Lune is a Partner who drives the firm’s Global Digital Economy. She has completed over 50 senior level assignments in 29 countries within this practice, out of her total portfolio of over 600 assignments. Ms. Lune works extensively with FinTech clients from the Baltic sea region (Scandinavia, Baltics, Poland) and supports their global expansion plans in all continents by providing effective executive search solutions. As a team leader and regional director, she manages Pedersen & Partners teams in Poland, Baltics and Belarus. Her previous experience includes three years with the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga as the Executive MBA Program Director and six years with Shell in international and regional marketing management functions in Riga, Budapest, and Brussels.

Ms. Lune was a speaker at the CEE FutureTech congress in Warsaw – one of the most important business summits in Central and Eastern Europe and participated in Blockchain Pre-Accelerator Program at University of Latvia. She is also a blogger for RigaTechGirls and a Jury Member of CEE Capital Markets and FinTech Awards. Ms. Lune was recognized by Forbes as one of the top 25 most influential women in Latvia for two years in a row.

Ms. Lune has a PhD in Social Economy. Besides her native Latvian, Evita Lune speaks fluent English and Russian and has a basic understanding of German, Swedish, and Polish.

#Fintech #ForbesTOP25 #Balticsearegion

About

Oliver Ronald Bramwell has considerable experience in the banking sector, financial management, credit risk control and lending area.

Previously, Oliver Ronald Bramwell held executive posts in a number of banks in the United Kingdom and Russia, in particular, Barclays Bank and Citibank.

Prior to joining the AS PNB Banka`s team Mr. Bramwell acted as Managing Director of the Russian Vyatka Bank (Вятка-банк). His duties included risk management, management of strategic IT projects and development of financial projects.

Oliver has earned Master’s Degree in Mathematics at the University of Warwick, United Kingdom. In 2012 Oliver obtained the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) qualification.

From December 2013 – Chief Executive Officer at AS PNB Banka

#PNBBanka #IT #DFFalumni

About

Founder of Art and Science center RIXC in Riga. Artist and RIXC festival curator.
Assistant professor at Visual Communication department in Latvian Academy of Art; and Visiting lecturer at MIT Art, Culture, Technology Program.

#RIXC #curator #MITart

About

Alex is a technology entrepreneur and developer, who builds applications, some have become businesses that have raised Venture Capital funding, from the likes of: 500 Startups and SOSV.

Alex regularly: consults on technology projects, advises startups, mentors businesses, speaks at conferences and travels for cultural experiences. He is good at identifying new business opportunities.

Alex has developed a network across varying industries in Developed and Emerging Economies, with an understanding of: Western Europe, North America, Latin America, South East Asia and China.

Industries Alex Has Worked In:
– Social Impact and Charity
– Logistics, Fleets and Delivery
– Mobile and Web Development
– Grocery, Retail and Food
– Blockchain and Cryptocurrency
– Government and Corporate
– Venture Capital and Accelerators
– Social Media and Marketing

#blockchain #crypto #distributed

About

An experienced journalist, editor and columnist, Juris is a Co-Founder of “Riga Venture Summit”, the Latvian Startup association and Co-Founder of the NGO Nordic Reputation Hub and flagship event “ReputationTime” conference. In addition to organizing events, Juris actively attends tech conventions and never misses opportunity to dive into the after parties.

Juris was Editor in Chief at Klubs, the largest men’s lifestyle magazine in Latvia for 10 years. He has experience in premium corporate publishing as the Editor for Audi Magazine and contributed to Mercedes Benz corporate publications. Juris has been published in local lifestyle magazines such as Klubs, Santa, Pastaiga, Deko, as well as international brands: Cosmopolitan, FHM, Shape, AutoBild, SNOB, Robb Report.

Wine, cats and writing. That’s Juris, if you had to describe him in three words. Juris enjoys long-distance running, and every now and then conquers mountain summits, such as Kilimanjaro. Juris believes in balance – if you drink fine wines and eat good food, then you have to stay in shape. He’s adopted the ‘work hard, play hard’ attitude in both his personal and professional life.

If you’ll be joining us at our after-parties, you’re guaranteed to see Juris in the spotlight orchestrating all the fun.

#DFF #WorkHardPlayHard #publishing

About

Uldis is someone who doesn’t believe it until he’s seen it. A passionate photographer, Uldis has traveled to over 50 countries around the world, which included trekking across Iran (twice), and reaching the summit of Asia’s largest volcano the Damavand.

Uldis is an experienced and awarded entrepreneur, designer, and co-founder of distinguished startups such as Attitude.ai, a conversational interfaces for marketing automation, and Infogr.am, an interactive data visualization tool. He’s mentored startups in several regions as part of the Pirate Summit and Pioneer Festival.

#DFF #digitalnomad #startups

About

When it comes to creativity, passion is key. As Cannes Lions’ Global Head of Development, Creative Excellence, Italian-born Fiorenza Plinio’s desire to seek out inventive and collaborative business concepts never wavers.
Fiorenza is responsible for nurturing creative excellence across all the company’s products as well as for creating new opportunities for growth and engagement with the creative community and wider organisations. She is also a frequent speaker on creativity and creative leadership in the communications industry.

In 2009 Fiorenza launched the PR Lions awards, working closely with the PR industry to create a platform to promote and reward the PR campaigns that demonstrate the highest levels of creativity and business results.
Fiorenza launched also the Mobile Lions awards in 2012 and worked more recently on rebuilding the wider Cannes Lions awards’ architecture to ensure it not only reflects the way the industry works, but also helps set a clear and cohesive framework that shows the way forward, painting a coherent picture of the industry.

Previously Fiorenza was editor at news agency ANSA Paris, and she wrote for several international publications. Originally from Rome, Italy, Fiorenza holds a Masters’ degree in Media and Journalism from the LUMSA University in Rome and the Sorbonne in Paris.

#CannesLions #creativity #tech

About

Workplace strategy consultant with a focus on design management for commercial interiors. With a degree in business from Stockholm School of Economics in Riga and a 15 years experience in event production, Olegs combines the best out of these two fields to help businesses find leverage workplace environments to increase collaboration and engagement within the organization.

In 2017, working with RE developer Hanner Olegs launched an award-winning coworking space in Riga, Teikums. It was during that time, Olegs identified a substantial gap between businesses’ expectations for office design and interior designers’ mindsets and values. To minimize this gap, after the project was completed, Olegs started his consultancy, which develops interior design solutions for commercial spaces, as well as implementation strategies for change management.

#futureofwork #workplacestrategy #officedesign

About

Māris Naglis has 19 years of Marketing and Sales experience in top management positions for a whole range of marketing disciplines – media research, advertising sales, agency relationships, ecommerce and digital marketing, marketing technologies. Specialties: Marketing. Technology. Media. Advertising. Ecommerce

#marketing #media #ecommerce

About

Milja Liimatainen, art historian, curator at EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art

Kiasma, the number one contemporary art musem in Finland. Milja will share their know-how on how to commission, exhibit and preserve various new forms of digital art: video, computer and internet art.

#digitalart #artpreservation #modernart

About

After studying Business Administration at the University of Latvia, she moved to  Canada where she lived for 17 years. At first she worked in Travel Industry, but soon decided to change her career towards IT. Postgraduate Programming diploma and short job experience landed her a Java internship at Accenture Canada. Since then Alda has had an opportunity to grow from a programmer to Development Lead to Business Analyst to Engagement lead and finally to PCS Capability lead for Nordics now in Accenture Latvia. High-tech MBA from Walden University has been an asset for her career development.

In addition to her direct job responsibilities, Alda leads the Inclusion and Diversity program. We at Accenture believe that no one should be discriminated against because of their differences, such as age, ability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity and expression, religion or sexual orientation. At the Baltic Pride 2018 Alda was presented an “LGBT Hero” award for her work in promoting diversity.

#Accenture #diversity #inclusion

About

Rune Theill is the co-founder and CEO of Rockstart, a company that support startups in becoming scalable by providing access to capital, market, talents and expertises. Prior to building Rockstart, he launched a couple of startups, one that failed pre-market and one that slowly grew over four years before being sold to a competitor. Next to working in his own startup, Rune took an active role in the Danish Startup Ecosystem working part-time for Startupbootcamp and Venture Cup. Rune has expertise within business strategy, pitching personal and team development, marketing strategies and fundraising.

#rockstart #pitching #DFFalumni

About

Latvian University choir with a history of nearly a hundred years.
Around 40 amateur singers of all kinds of non-musician backgrounds and professions make up the choir.
Dziesmuvara has taken part in numerous international choir competitions and festivals around Europe.
In Latvia it is ranked one of the top choirs, considering national competition results. Choir repertoire is as diverse as the performance venues and everyday life. From folk songs and performing under a starry sky to pop music arrangements and singing in Arenas.
Lead conductor – Nora Žeigure

#latvianchoir #singingtradition #europe

About

Majda has 18 years’ experience from the payment industry, where she has spent the last 10 years working for Visa in various roles.

Today Majda heads up the Business Development team for Visa in the Nordics and Baltics, a role that is responsible for development of Visa’s solutions with particular focus on Visa’s engagement in the fintech companies across the region.

#VISA #fintech #bussinesdevelopment

About

Baibas life motto is “Aut viam inveniam aut faciam.” /I will either find the way or make one/. She believes that recipe for success consists of 4 key elements: matching skills, resources, practice and innovation.

She has handled numerous M&A transactions as lead counsel or lead negotiator.
Managed all facets of a multi-million transaction involving 11 vested interests across four jurisdictions.

Co-author of Latvia’s Corporate (Commercial) Law and Law on Commercial Pledges, registered the first Latvian alternative investment fund and established custodian services for the first Latvian pension fund.

She moderates panels in conferences on corporate governance, corporate law and conflict resolution and has conducted the first environmental mediation in Riga.

#troubleshooter #decisionmaking #investmentnegotiations

About

Compassionately sharp professional and agent of more than 14 years of experience in conflict resolution – international peacebuilding, supporting leaders, companies, start-ups and communities in developing effective and lasting strategies for transforming conflicts and building sustainable collaborations and partnerships. Know-how to support leaders and teams in facing inconvenient truth about their habits of communication and developing conflict resolution strategies that embody values and ways of being that serve everyone’s needs and bring about greater good.

Expert of conflict analysis and resolution, multi-party negotiations, violence prevention, criminal justice reforms, local and international environmental conflict resolution in Latvia, Guatemala and United States.

Ilze brings mindful communication and emotional intelligence bridged with researchers’ inquisitive mind to the table. Her company Peace Lab and her social initiatives in peace education and inner peace development are directed towards enhancing individual wellbeing and contribution to meaningful social change in this digital age.

Ilze holds Master in Peace and Justice Studies from University of San Diego, Master in Law, degree in Political Science, is board member of Latvian Certified Mediators Council and Latvia Iyengar Yoga Association.

#conflictresolution #mindfulness #mediator

About

Olga heads stakeholder engagement in Brussels for Telia Company, the leading Nordic and Baltic telecommunications provider. She manages day-to-day relations with EU institutions, trade associations, media and other stakeholders, as well as develops the company’s contribution on a variety of public policy issues that affect a modern telco – from privacy rules to digital skills. She has previously worked for the European Commission on energy and infrastructure financing issues. Self-professed policy geek, staunch European and diplomat by training, she is passionate about public and private sector dialogue and collaboration.

#newgentelco #publicpolicy #gigabitsociety

About

Anton is a professional strategist with over a decade of experience launching and leading innovative IT projects for international businesses such as AstraZeneca, Novartis, Orange, Mars, MaximaTelecom. He also has an experience of launching technological startups like Psychofriend and IconicMobile.

Currently Anton consults a number of blockchain startups on their business strategy and fundraising. With a multitude of experience gathered over his professional career, it became evident to Anton that the success of a project is closely tied to the health of its community. Thus, he brings his expertise to establish a community building Apex, which might change the way projects work with their audience

#marketing #community #businessdevelopment

About

Co-founder and board member of Paybis.com, CryptoCash and Latvian Blockchain Association. IT Expert with over 15 years of experience in Software Development, Project Management and Blockchain Technology. Last 4 years focusing on blockchain and cryptocurrency industry and it’s adoption.

#bitcoin #cryptocurrency #blockchain

About

Janis is the founding partner and strategist for several full-service digital marketing agencies operating in the Baltic States, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia, with 15 years of experience in product development, communications, innovation, and creative marketing. He previously worked as a Creative Director and Creative Account Director at Ogilvy and Red Cell affiliated agencies specializing in interactive projects. In 2016, Janis joined ASKfm and currently serves as the company’s Chief Executive Officer. Janis has an extensive track record in public speaking as a guest lecturer to MBA students at Riga Business School for over 3 years, in addition to having run numerous innovation workshops in Europe and the Middle East.

#ASK.FM #digitalmarketing #workshops

About

Tarmo is an experienced media professional and entrepreneur, who founded CoFounder Magazine back in 2014, and whose latest endeavour has taken him to launch Lahhentagge Distillery, making gin and tonic on the island of Saaremaa.

#media #startup #DFFalumni

About

Holds a PhD in Artificial Intelligence. Co-Founder and Head of Research and Education at Women in AI. Currently Head of Research and Development at A.I.Mergence, a robotics and artificial intelligence startup specialising in intelligent autonomous robots for home security. Lecturer at Sorbonne Universities, conducts research in specific areas of applied artificial intelligence. Has been published in several international peer-reviewed conferences and journals on social robotics and intelligent affective computing. Research interests include artificial intelligence, human-computer interaction, social robotics, computer vision, machine learning and affective computing. Advocate of technology for the common good, and is currently investigating how blockchain technology could transform artificial intelligence and vice-versa.

#WomenInAI #biasInAI #WomenEmpowerment

About

IT and wireless telecommunications professional. Significant experience in international sales, business development, management, public speaking, marketing activities, R&D projects, new products development.
Created and succesfully grew regional offices in Riga (Latvia), Kiev (Ukraine), Denver (USA) and Toronto (Canada).

#telecommunications #development #Ubiquiti

About

Creativity and inspiration are very important to Gerard. Applying psychology is like holding a mirror in front of people. The power of behavior lies in the combination with other disciplines: spatial planning, technology, public administration, etcetera. Logic brings you from A to B; Imagination takes you everywhere. The combination is perfect.

#trafficpsychology #humanbehavior #inovation

About

DELFI social network manager, who has a thriving rap career. Has collaborated with popular and underground Latvian artists and performed in the biggest Latvian festivals.

#socialmedia #musician #DELFI

About

A little bit schizophrenic personality – at the same time he wants the new technologies to leave him alone (he still IS NOT in Facebook, Twitter & Instagram!), but when it comes to corporate interests he wants DELFI to be the most progressive and advanced brand in the field.

#notonsoacialmedia #DELFI #newtechnologies

About

Holds a master’s degree and international professional diploma in marketing. He has specialized in business management, sales and marketing. Has more than 14 years of sales and marketing experience in the media and advertising business, both at the start stage and also during active growth. Also more than 9 years of sales and marketing management experience in media and advertising business, including as executive director in the largest media holdings of Latvia. Developed and teaches a number of courses in higher educational institutions.

#media #marketing #advertising

About

Hans H. Luik is an Estonian businessman and journalist. Not long after graduating from the University of Tartu, he founded the biggest weekly newspaper, Eesti Ekspress and also Ekspress Grupp of which he’s still the majority owner. AS Ekspress Grupp is the leading media group in the Baltics. The Group excels in online media platforms, publication of daily/weekly newspapers, magazines and books including all the printing services. The group online portal Delfi is well-known in all three Baltic countries.

Hans is a regular speaker and panel moderator on many well-known international conferences and seminars as well as a journalist interviewing top politicians, arts leaders and historians.

#journalist #businessman #DELFI

About

Organ House is a San Francisco bay area community devoted to normalizing non-monogamy and sexual exploration. Senior Product Manager at Beyond, formerly Pax Labs and Huge. Thought leader on consent. Overshares on platforms such as Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, The Independent, Medium, and OrganHouse.org.

#nonmonogamy #consentissexy #sexploration

About

With more than 15 years in the travel industry as a traveler, travel seller and travel technology provider, Kitija has had a front-row view of changes in the industry. She has seen the travel industry move at the speed of lightning and doesn’t see the innovation stopping anytime soon.

Being part of the Amadeus IT Group as a General Manager for Latvia & Lithuania, she has been responsible for bringing all of the group’s solutions and innovations to Baltics, helping industry players innovate and grow their business.

As a Head of Retail, Travel Channels at Amadeus for the Nordics and Central Europe, Kitija continues to make the travel experiences more connected, efficient and rewarding for industry players and travelers alike.

#travel #technology #Amadeus

About

Created and developed SAAS startups, have 10+ years experience in digital marketing, angel investor. Building healthy, lean and productive workforces, founder of wellbeing platform Efectio.com and co-founder of biohacking.lv.

#biohacking #health #startup

About

Christian is a startup advisor and mentor to early and growth stage entrepreneurs in B2B SaaS and enterprise software. He is an investor in Pipedrive and currently works with the founders of Hotjar and Lokalise and other selected entrepreneurs on go-to-market strategy, recruiting, SaaS metrics, pricing software products, and VC fundraising. He has a geographic focus on Germany, the Nordics & Baltics, and Central/Eastern Europe. Christian had a 6 year career in Venture Capital as Principal and Venture Partner at Wellington Partners in London and Munich, as well as Paua Ventures in Berlin. Previous to his investor role Christian had a successful five-year career in technical product sales and key account management at ORACLE, the global leader in enterprise software.

#hotjar #remotework #culture

About

Arthur Analts (1991) is a Latvian artist and designer working and living in London, UK. Following studies of sculpture at the Riga School of Design and Art (2011) he successfully graduated from the prestigious Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, UAL (2014).

Analts work takes a critical view of political, cultural and environmental issues. His objects are made in a process based on in-depth research, taking into account innovative experiments with materials, new technologies, production techniques and scale. The artist’s methodology remains constant – every work’s theme determines its material and form, while the result always is emotionally powerful.

In 2018 Arthur Analts represented Latvia at London Design Biennale where he was awarded with the gold medal for the best design. Arthur Analts work is in the permanent collection of the Latvian Museum of Decorative Arts and Design and part of several private collections across Europe. Analts most recent exhibitions include Atelier Lachaert Dhanis (Tielrode, Belgium), Royal Academy of Arts (London, UK) and London Design Biennale at Somerset House (London, UK).

#industrialdesigner #london #exhibitions

About

Start-up-preneur, animal advocate, athlete, cosmopolitan and wannabe president. Co-owner of Amrita Water, the first anti-aging water in the world. Volunteer for more than 15 years at an animal shelter and participating in animal saving around the world. Founded a global charity foundation, which will focus on animal welfare, Amazon jungles and clean water to everyone.

Graduate of the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga and alumna of a VC backed startup programme in Singapore, where she worked with a team on developing a system allowing any car become autonomous. Lived in the USA while doing market research, was featured on TV shows while launching Amrita Water in Los Angeles.

#startuplife #biohacking #girlboss

About

Originally an archaeologist, Jonathan was a strategist at two of the world’s top advertising agencies, Saatchi & Saatchi and Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, both in London. He worked for several years with the zoologist Desmond Morris, bestselling author of The Naked Ape and Manwatching, to bring evolutionary psychology into business.
Jonathan is also a theatre improviser and has taught and performed improvisation across Europe and the USA, and in 2004 he created the world’s first live, improvised, interactive TV drama for the BBC. For the last 15 years he has taught strategy, creativity and leadership to advertising and PR agencies, government ministries, multinationals, startups, law firms and NGO’s around the world. He is the co-founder of a new sustainability currency, and is writing a book on excess consumerism called Candyland. He now spends much of his time in Riga, and is on the editorial board of Rigas Laiks’ English-language edition.

#strategist #marketing #publishing

About

Jurgis Ozolins – creative, strategic and energetic marketeer willing to contribute to the leading brands and to help develop sports In depth: digital and sports marketing, strategic planning, branding, advertising, other types of brand communications

#Lattelecom #sports #communication

About

Inga Springe is an award-winning Latvian investigative journalist and a co-founder of the non-profit investigative journalism center Re:Baltica. A previous year Springe spent in the US visiting major newsrooms like New York Times, Washington Post, and Buzzfeed to develop a Media management program at the Stocholm School of Economics Riga. One of the recent Re:Baltica’s products in cooperation with SSE Riga is Baltic Media Health Check which analyses the most popular media outlets in the Baltics and how are their owners doing financially

#journalist #investigativejournalism #re:baltica

About

Expert on how technology impacts our global human identity. Sitting at the intersection of technology, travel, culture and branding, he architects scaling strategies shaped around a new augmented, nomadic and tribal human. Organizations such as Microsoft, Conde Nast, eBay, Fujitsu, Lagardere Travel, IATA, SAB Miller, EDF, EY, Criteo, Siemens, Evernote, Tumblr and the ITU have trusted him to challenge them.

A sought-after keynote speaker, he impacts audiences on all continents, and has been billed next to leaders such as Barack Obama and Steve Wozniak. Draws his unique perspective from a multicultural background – a Swiss, Greek and Finn having lived in Tokyo, Geneva, Manila and London – and his constant travels to discover more. His understanding of our time has appeared in The Economist, ABC, TF1, Channel 4, or the Japan Times. Also hosts extraordinary conferences, and is the creator and host of successful shows about the future of travel, the future of finance and the future of enterprise.

Has always been at the forefront of understanding what’s next, from shaping the first ever commercial mobile website, to participating in the development of numerous startups ecosystems. An air travel nerd and chocolate lover.

#getshitdone #trulyglobal #uniqueoutlook

About

Emerging technologies are Kristine’s passion. She is amazed by game-changing companies aiming to fix major inefficiencies in our world using tech. As an expert in coordinating diverse teams and resources, she always strives to ensure maximum satisfaction, and increase social value and impact.

Kristine has BA diploma and background in finance, but now has a strong devotion to the tech industry. Past few years Kristine spends significant amount of time in Silicon Valley where she studies software engineering, working on her own startup and keeps herself in up-to-date of the latest tech industry activities. Fields of interest include space, human sexuality, neuroscience, and mindfulness.

Kristine joined DFF team because of her strong belief in DFF values. With her international experience to back her up, she’s covering everything related to Startups and Investors to help them get ahead of the game.

#startup #emergingtech #communitypower

About

Stewart Rogers has over 25 years experience in sales, marketing, managing, and mentoring in the software and IT industries. He is currently Analyst-at-large VentureBeat, where he analyzes and studies marketing technology, artificial intelligence, blockchain technologies, and virtual/mixed reality.

He is also a journalist for VentureBeat, reporting the news on those same topics. Prior to VentureBeat, Rogers ran a number of successful software companies and held global roles in sales and marketing for businesses in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and the U.K. He has contributed to several sales and marketing publications and is regularly invited to speak at major tech events across the globe.

#AI #digitalnomad #mentalhealth

About

CEO at blockchain healthcare startup Shivom with extensive experience also as a VC, advisor, lecturer and mentor. In his 20+ years of professional experiences, Henry has had the opportunity to engage in all aspects of business as an entrepreneur, advisor and investor. As a VC, he focused on early stage investments in frontier technologies while working at multiple Silicon Valley-based VC funds. Henry also has extensive cross border advisory and corporate finance experiences focused in a variety of sectors ranging from information technology, healthcare, telecommunications to consumer & industrial products. Henry began his career as a management consultant to Fortune 100 companies.

Aside from his current work at Shivom, Henry also serves as an advisor to blockchain projects and tech startups in Silicon Valley; and as a mentor for accelerators & incubators worldwide. He has been a judge for numerous startup pitch competitions and is routinely a featured speaker at industry events globally for a variety of audiences ranging from startups, investors to Fortune 500 companies.

#blockchain #investor #startup

About

Manuel Koelman is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor and advisor.

Manuel has built companies since 2003 and has experienced the entrepreneurial rollercoaster first-hand. Currently, he is actively pushing for purposeful disruption and opening up startup ecosystems with PIRATE.global and Startup SAFARI.

Manuel is a sought after advisor and helps corporates understand technological disruption and startup dna. He supports on board level with successfully implementing corporate innovation initiatives.

Finally, Manuel is co-director of the Founder Institute Cologne-Bonn and mentor in various startup programmes. He also invests as an angel investor in tech-focused very early stage companies in the machine intelligence space.

#PIRATE #CorporateInnovation #DFFalumni

About

Head of the Digital Innovation and Blockchain Unit at the Digital Single Market Directorate for DG CONNECT, as well as Co-chair of the European Commission FinTech Task Force. Was nominated for CoinDesk’s “Most Influential People in Blockchain 2017”. Former Visiting EU Fellow at St. Antony’s College and University of Oxford from 2013-14, where he’s an Associate in the Political Economy of Financial Markets programme. From 1997 to 2005 was Deputy Head of the Bioethics Department at the Council of Europe, within the Directorate General of Legal Affairs.  In addition, he’s held various positions in the Latvian civil service (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development). Former Senior Environmental Law Advisor at the World Bank/Russian Federation Environmental Management Project, and Regional Environmental Specialist for the Baltic Countries at the World Bank. Member of the California State Bar since 1991, completed his J.D. at the University of Southern California, a B.A. in Political Science Cum Laude at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the High Potentials Leadership Programme at Harvard Business School. Recently published “The Need for an Innovation Principle in Regulatory Impact Assessment: The Case of Finance and Innovation in Europe” in Policy & Internet.

#FinTech #innovation #blockchain

About

A former DJ, advertising guy and Member of European Parliament turned travel designer, designing worldwide tailor-made travel experiences and curated cultural adventures. On a daily basis, he steps into the shoes of at least 55 different types of people and connects them to travel adventures that fit their personalities.

Aldis looks at and analyses travel trends as part of economic and societal development. He believes human development is closely related to who travels, how people travel and most importantly, why they travel.

With worldwide cultural connections and insider knowledge, he also curates the Michelin 3 Star Guide for culture, seeking out performances and exhibitions representing the highest achievements in the fine arts, music, and other artistic manifestations.

#traveldesign #tailor-made #traveltrends

About

Kaspars Zalitis is one of Latvia’s most prominent human rights defenders. His activism has ranged from community outreach and support to LGBTI people in Latvia, to organising the organising EuroPride 2015 in Riga and Baltic Pride 2018 which has become the largest LGBT event in the for-Soviet region gathering over 8000 people in the streets of Riga.

Recently Kaspars initiated of Latvian Diversity Charter and Equality Index which will be the first cross-sector commitment and analysis of diversity principle implementation within company policies in Latvia. Also, he is started the very first Baltic Diversity Business Forum to share the best practices in diversity management for the Latvian and Baltic businesses.

He has been involved with human rights issues for over 15 years. He has served on the Boards of various local and international human rights organisations.  

Kaspars’ biggest passion is working with human rights defenders around the world. He has worked far beyond the borders of Latvia, engaging in activities such delivering training and security strategies for human rights defenders in hostile environments, and speaking on numerous panels and at countless events around the globe.  

Currently, Kaspars works as a communications consultant at communications management agency Deep White.

#humanrights #LGBT #diversity

About

Steve Munroe is the Founder of Hubud, a coworking community in Bali that has been the home and inspiration to thousands of digital nomads since opening in 2013. He also runs CU Asia, Asia’s largest coworking conference series. The main motivation for him these days is understanding how place and purpose can help rehumanize the working experience.

Hubud is recognized as one of the world’s best coworking spaces by Forbes, Lonely Planet, Coworker.com, and the ASEAN Rice Bowl Awards. It pioneered the concept of destination working.

In 2015 Steve founded the Coworking Alliance for Asia Pacific (CAAP), which organizes the annual Coworking Unconference Asia (CU Asia), Asia’s premier coworking conference. There, hundreds of coworking spaces from over 30 countries connect and explore the future of work, startup solutions, real estate directions and other industry disrupting trends. It has been called “The best coworking conference on the planet”, and strives to be an experience, not an event.

#futureofwork #digitalnomad #humanconnection

About

Not all life-changing experiences are easy, and some of us take the hard road. This happened after not one, but two accidents. After a few operations (9 in total) and some setbacks, his journey began through YouTube. From being told he will never run again and will never be able to play the sports he did, to beating the odds and doing exactly what they said he never would. This time he went a step further. Not only did he get back up, but he became a fitness instructor, started his own company entering and running obstacle-course races in Europe and the USA. This was just the beginning of his journey. With all the information and inspiration out there, no matter what your situation, there will always be someone to lift you up. Someone who will be a mentor, and open the door to becoming the best you can be.

#liveinthemoment #dontbeordinary #nooneisaverage

About

Received Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Engineering and a PhD in Telematics. Began designing, developing and coding a unique, free 42-day self-development programme in 2005. Created an online platform incorporating new technology to help people balance their busy lifestyles and digital behavior. The online meditation service platform has served more than 120,000 people worldwide.

Become ordained as a Theravada Buddhist monk in Thailand after completing his PhD, and was subsequently invited to join the Peace Revolution project as a meditation instructor. Teaches an online meditation programme and Peace-On-Demand meditation sessions to over 10,000 people from 123 countries. Taught in 20 Fellowship programmes, as well as meditation workshops and retreats in 52 countries all together, incuding Africa, America, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, the Caribbean.

#digitaldetox #monkwhocodes #DFFalumni

About

Ilhan Zengin is founder and CEO of ShowHeroes, one of Europe’s fastest growing video startups. He demonstrated his extensive expertise in international business development and advertising for several years as part of the management of the Native Advertising Platform – plista, which he was responsible for rolling out in 15 markets.

Together with Mario Tiedemann and Dennis Kirschner, Zengin founded ShowHeroes in 2016. Based in Berlin and Riga, the company offers publishers and advertisers a complete solution for content production, player technology and mobile first video marketing.

#mobilemarketing #video #advertising

About

Chief Scientific Officer at Hoomano, startup based in Lyon creating advanced software for social robots. Holds a PhD in Computer Sciences (with a focus on Artificial Intelligence) from the University of Lyon. Before joining Hoomano in 2017, she was an Associate Professor at the University of Lyon and worked at the LIRIS Lab for 10 years. At Hoomano she applies state-of-the-art research results to enhance human-robot interactions and make them more intuitive and engaging. Contributes to creating new ways of envisioning artificial intelligence in robots by implementing developmental learning solutions. She also co-animates a joint laboratory called Behaviors.ai and brings together researchers from the LIRIS Lab, as well as engineers from Hoomano.

Amélie Cordier is also Founder and President of Lyon-iS-Ai, a collective dedicated to promote  AI in Lyon and the region.

#AI #socialrobots #startup

About

One of the leading global voices in urbanism. Advises cities and businesses on how to embrace and design bicycle and pedestrian-friendly streets that improve urban life. Known for his pioneering philosophies about simplifying urban planning, and how cities and towns should be designed, instead of engineered. Author and host of urbanism TV series The Life-Sized City. Inspires people around the world with his keynote about making cities better.

#bicycleurbanism #designingcities #design

About

Gamechanger Audio is a music electronics company founded in 2017 in Riga, Latvia. In a little over two years the company produced two innovative and groundbreaking devices – the PLUS Pedal and the PLASMA Pedal. Both pedals instantly achieved cult status and are currently used by thousands of musicians all over the world, including some of the world’s greatest rock acts – Jack White (The White Stripes) and Keith Richards (The Rolling Stones) to name a few…

Gamechanger Audio is also a crowdfunding success story. It has always been fully financed by an online community of fans and followers. The latest product, PLASMA Pedal, raised almost 10 times the funding goal on Indiegogo, reaching the first $100 thousand in less than 24 hours.

Both pedals are manufactured in Latvia and the company is developing a new line of products to release in January 2019. Oh, and, Yeah – and they’re hiring engineers 😉

#startup #crowdfunding #lifestyle

About

Ton is CEO & Founding Partner of 01Ventures – European early and growth stage deep tech VC targeting 150M Eur. Next to that, he’s the Investor In Residence at StartupDelta working closely together with HRH Prince Constantijn of Oranje. Founder of Angel Island (first edition 2016) ~ Yearly unconference taking place on an island near Amsterdam where we bring together the world’s most original thinkers & founders and connect them to toptier VCs & ultra-high net worths from Europe & the US. Angel Island is co-organized with HRH Prince Constantijn of Oranje.

#vamos #vc #community

About

Director of Strategic Initiatives at ni2o, a revolutionary AI-driven, brain-computer interface for the treatment of neurological disorders and cognitive enhancement.

A community leader, organiser and facilitator in fostering tech ecosystems in France and the CCE, both at the local and global level. Always ready for the next challenge, and believes that making a positive difference is a just a choice away.

Extensive networking and leadership experience working in international environments. Consultant on growth strategy, development and open source practices.

Skilled professional with 7+ years of diverse experience in strategy, operations, cross-project team management in global environments and with tech startups.

#AI #neuroscience #technology

About

Based in Berlin and Moscow, Lucian Kim is an American journalist who has covered Europe and the former Soviet Union since 1996. He has reported for Bloomberg, Reuters, BuzzFeed, Slate, The Moscow Times, among other news organizations. He is currently National Public Radio’s Moscow correspondent.

#journalism #media #news

About

A seasoned European technology journalist and Founding Editor of Tech.eu, the premier source of European technology news, data analysis and market intelligence. Formerly the European Editor at The Next Web, and a Senior Editor at TechCrunch.

#entrepreneurship #startups #DFFalumni

About

Arnis Rītups holds PhD in philosophy from KULeuven (Belgium), he specializes in Aristotle and his Greek commentators. He is also a Latvian translator of Descartes’ “Meditations on the First Philosophy”, a part-time lecturer at Stockholm School of Economics in Riga and Latvian Academy of Fine arts, publisher and editor of an intellectual magazine “Rīgas Laiks” and conversation partner of many interesting people around the world.

#RigasLaiks #publishing #lecturer

About

Agnese Kramēna, most experienced Learn IT coding school teacher. Agnese work in Agnenskalna State gymnasium as a computer science teacher for 4 years and have lots of experience in leading electronics, robotics, coding workshops and camps for primary and secondary school kids.

#coding #micro:bit #kidsinventions

About

CEO and Co-founder Martins Sulte founded the award-winning peer-to-peer lending marketplace Mintos, which to date is the top European P2P lending market and has raised EUR 2 million in funding to facilitate growth. The company’s mission is to facilitate free and efficient movement of capital from investors to those who need it.

Martins gained more than six years of experience in corporate finance at the leading Nordic corporate bank SEB Enskilda. He holds an MBA from INSEAD (Singapore, France), which is where the idea for Mintos took root. After encountering problems receiving a loan from a traditional bank, he realised that alternative finance solutions could provide the answer!

Martins also holds B.Sc. degree from the Stockholm School of Economics Riga, which is the top  business school in the Baltic/Nordic region, and is also a Supervisory Board Member at the Alternative Financial Services Association of Latvia. In his free time Martins is a passionate poker player.

#P2P lending #fintech #innovations

About

Managing Director at Techstars, and a board member, advisor, mentor and investor in multiple startups and accelerators around Europe.

Has started, succeeded and failed with several startups in Europe and the Middle East – including Farmvillain – an app which some described as the ‘South Park of Facebook’. First started building games (as an eight-year-old) to impress girls in the late 1980s. His efforts were unsuccessful. His love for games lives on in spite of that fact.

After that business was acquired by Gamestop he worked with Kiip helping them win their first clients, and establish their footprint and offices in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

In addition to working at Techstars he is a board member and advisor at Lingvist, Motivii and Sorry as a Service where he helps with the product, marketing and business development. Acts as a special advisor at Brandwatch, the leading social monitoring and analytics tool.

Has invested in over 25 companies around the world and is a regular conference speaker. He also writes for Wired, TechCrunch, Mashable and other media.

#investor #startups #DFFalumni

About

Passionate about innovation, Azam is active in the projects that creating the impact on billions of lives. She is currently the senator director of global outreach at project Shivom. Previously, she worked for CNN world report in Iran and is a frequent guest contributor in technology outlets.

#innovation #blockchain #shivom

About

Andris Kārkluvalks has been a journalist for more than ten years. He has covered Latvian national politics and economics, and, for the last four years, works as foreign news journalist for Latvian online media DELFI, focusing on the EU, Middle East and defense issues. He has degrees in Communication and International Politics.

#journalist #politics&economics #DELFI

About

Corporate mindfulness and emotional agility coach with a background in management and marketing. Passionate about implementing neuroscience-based cognitive training tools in workplaces across the globe.  

Worked in the public and NGO sectors during the first half of his 20-year career. Over the past decade during the short periods he wasn’t busy studying the legacy of ancient contemplative traditions in Asia, he worked with companies as an independent consultant. A dynamic public speaker with experience in TV journalism, PR and organizational change.

His immersion in traditional mind training practices over the course of 10 years (including as a Buddhist monk) has led him to become a Teacher in Training at the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute in San Francisco – an NGO set up to meet the increasing demand for the mindfulness-based emotional intelligence program called SIY, which was born at Google.

Studied Management & Governance at the LSE (UK), Duke University (US), NPS (US) and Tartu University (EE), gaining MSc and MA degrees. Also considers himself a hobby-anthropologist and an amateur-linguist, and can find his way around in 4 to 8 languages, to varying degrees. Adapting obscure concepts from Eastern thought into the secular language of the West has become one of his driving interests.

#mindfulness #leadership #neuroscience

About

Deniss Pashkevich is a prominent figure in the Latvian jazz scene and the Baltics with his name included in the European Jazz Tree. His is currently an official artist-endorser of the “Marca reeds”, “Tittmann” companies. He is artistic director at “Riga Winds”.

Deniss Pashkevich has collaborated with artists such as: Seamus Blake, Christian Frank, Paul Bollenback, Christian Howes, Arkady Gotesman, Vjacheslav Ganelin, Brian Melvin, Neff Irizarry, Ryo Kawasaki, Peter Eldredge (NY Voices), Janet Lawson, Bill Harper, Ted Curson, Stenley Jordan, Victor Fonarev, Brian Linch, Tim Miller, James Tomas Werts, Jill Scot Heron, Ray Blue (Spirit of Life), Bob Ferrel, Vincent Coutro, David Kikoski, Rick Margitza, Aaron Parks, Randy Brecker and many more.

https://www.youtube.com/user/DenissPashkevich/playlists

#jazz #RigaWinds #musician

About

Co-founder of Learn IT coding school, experienced in leading electronics, coding and robotics workshops for primary school kids.

#electronics #kids #edtech

About

For the past 2 years, Karlis is working at UL Business Incubator, helping to create support programs for young entrepreneurs and managing their successful implementation.
Since last spring he has also organized events in multiple locations for Blockchain startups and community, to help startups show themselves for potential investors and users.

Besides this, he is involved in a couple of more larger or smaller scale, international projects connected with startups.

#ULbusinessIncubator #startups #blockchain

About

Viesturs Celmins is an anthropologist working in design and planning. Between 20013/2014 he co-organized the “City Seminar” series at the University of Cambridge. In 2016 he worked for the Baltic Pavilion in the XV Venice Architecture Biennial and starting 2018 explores the use of immersive technologies in urban design for INTERREG project “Augmented Urbans”.

#Urbanplanning #AR #DFFalumni

About

Artis Ozoliņš – the public relations consultant that has worked in the NGO, private and public sectors with experience in comms, digital marketing and PR means. Besides the day job Artis has been hosting a morning show at the Radio NABA station and produced a technology segment #DigitalBreakfast for over 3 years, does impro at the Riga Improvisation theatre group DOBE and MCs events and discussions.

#radiojournalist #publicrelations #digitalbreakfast

About

Davids Stebelis is experienced Board Member (as ALINA Ltd and Management Service Company Ltd) and entrepreneur. Skilled in Product and business model development, Marketing Management, Digital Strategy, Sales and Customer Relationship Management (CRM), with a passion on innovation and business design.

#entrepreneur #coach #startups

About

Alise Bēržvade (born 1991) graduated from the Art Academy of Latvia in 2016 with a Bachelor´s Degree in Painting; she is completing her Master´s studies at the academy in 2018. Bēržvade has previously studied at the Janis Rozentāls Riga art High-school, continuing with a year of studies focused on culture management and environmental design.

#painter #environmentaldesign #culturemanagement

About

Almost ten years of experience working in TV. Pursued an interest in filmmaking at the Backyard Productions production houses in Los Angeles, and at Ark Media in New York. Works with documentary, experimental and narrative genres as a filmmaker and curator. Holds an MFA in Film/Video from the California Institute of the Arts, where she worked under the supervision of mentors Betzy Bromberg, Thom Andersen, James Bening, Debrah LaVine and James Franco. Started working at the New York-based studio of Jonas Mekas, the legendary ‘godfather’ of avant-garde cinema, in 2012. Premiered her debut feature documentary “Flying Monks Temple” in 2017. It tells the story of the award-winning structure at the top of the Songshan mountain in China.

#lifestyle #filmmaking #music

About

Zane Zelmene is a new media artist working in the fields of video art, audio-visual performance and land art. Her work covers a range of diverse areas, and examines the intersection between technology and nature, antiquity and modernity, opposites and their coexistence in space. Zelmene graduated from the Visual Communication Department at the Art Academy of Latvia in 2016, going on to complete her MA in new media art at the University of Lisbon, Portugal in 2015. She mainly works in the field of new media art experimenting with various new technologies – including new Virtual Reality, video projection mapping and 360 ֯ video.

https://vimeo.com/zanezelmene

#multimedia #VR #opposites

About

Works as a 3D modeler, animator and content creator for VR. Experience in optical motion capture and 3D scanning. Teacher at the National School of Arts and is currently studying Virtual Reality and Smart Technologies at Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences. Has a Master’s degree from the Art Academy of Latvia, department of Visual Communications.

#3D #VR #artist

About

Unlimited liability company GolfClayderman* is a multipurpose organisation established in 2016. It encompasses all spheres of life and looks after the improvement of their quality. The collective’s core consists of Margrieta Griestiņa and Aksels Bruks. Both members studied at the Department of Visual Communication of the Art Academy of Latvia.

Since the beginning of their creative careers, the artists have taken up haute couture, holding important fashion shows that have influenced the understanding of style and taste of all Latvia. GolfClayderman have held several personal exhibitions in Riga and the rural regions. This April, the collective presented its first retrospective in Alma Gallery.

GolfClayderman are active in a multitude of fields of art and life – performance, music, theatre, lifestyle, fashion, body art, and others. The group’s artistic events are full of humour and irony inviting laughter about themselves as well as the society at large.

*Provisional results in office spreadsheets show that the services of GolfClayderman will possibly soon be prescribed as medication against forced unconsciousness.

About

Music producer and composer Andris Indans has been an active musician since the late 80s; his project Gas of Latvia is one of the most significant experimental electronic music projects from Latvia.

Gas of Latvia have recorded and released over 10 studio albums, each of them having a different vibe and sound – swithing it up from drone, noise, IDM to industrial music and techno, but still keeping their signature sound. Andris Indans is also writing music for films, video works, dance & theatre performances.

youtube.com/gasoflatvia

#music #electronic #experimental

About

Liga Spunde is a visual artist based in Riga, Latvia. She graduated from the Art Academy of Latvia, Visual Communication department in 2016. Along studying she has been participating in various projects and exhibitions in Latvia and internationally. Her main source of inspiration and influence comes from events, relationships and observations of absurd and uncanny in day to day life. Her work often is an extremely subjective retelling of a story that invites the spectator to question the objective and subjective truth. Along using such mediums as photography and video, installation is a fundamental element in bringing the pieces of the story together.

Most recently her work deals with the idea of serendipity and the search for a happy medium between analogue and digital. I’m creating works that tend to do the opposite of everyday life. First constructing them in a digital form through editing and only later having them become an object, that inhabits our living space.

#VR #artist #creat

About

DJ Roland Levan started DJing at “Ritma Institūts” in 2016. Since then he’s playing in many parties and nightclubs in Riga and other cities around Latvia. He has also played for a few nightclubs outside of Latvia. In the free time, he occupies himself with music production. House music is his passion. It’s a spiritual thing!

About

DJ EK started DJing for fun at school events and house parties in 2013. After he took up studies at Ritma Institūts, he decided to take his career in music seriously. Music has always been his passion, and he’s still trying to grow and improve his skills as a DJ.
EK is always up to new experiences in DJing, so he could learn more and use the knowledge later.

About

DJ AmberZoo, real name Dzintars Leja-Gžibovskis, is a Latvian professional DJ, music producer, composer, mixing and mastering engeneer. He started his career as pianist and percussionist.
Over the years he is known as DJ, music composer (movie Frankenstein,…), jingle composer and multiple remix contest winner. He collaborated with artists all over the world. His remix for song ’’Happy Nation” by Ace of Base have reached almost 2’000 000 plays on Spotify.
Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.

#musician #dj #composer

About

DJ Diane is a young Dj, who is looking for her place in the world of electronic music. She’s a freelancer. Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy for her. Diane is inspired by travelling, books and nature. She’s also interested in astrology and yoga. She
believes that love will save the world!

About

DJ MEI DEI started her DJing career in September 2017. During the summer of 2018, she graduated a DJ class at Rhythm Institute. She’s holding a residency at the club “Golden” and the bar “Limonāde”. She has performed with her sets for local house lovers at “Kaņepes Kultūras centrs” and “Autentika” as a part of the event series “Underground Station”. Currently, she’s discovering new grounds at corporate events, weddings and other bars all over Latvia like “Follow the Rabbit” and “Roof Bar-B-Q & Music” just to name a few.