CDOIQ Nordic Symposium
We are proud to announce that Aalto University Executive Education and Professional Development (Aalto EE) is bringing the world-renowned CDOIQ Symposium to the Nordics in 2025!
The globally renowned Chief Data Officer & Information Quality Symposium (CDOIQ) hosted at MIT will take place in Nordics for the first time, in cooperation with Aalto EE.
About CDOIQ
For the past 17 years, The Annual CDOIQ Symposium has historically been held at the MIT campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. The purpose has been to advance knowledge in data leadership and create a better understanding of how organizations can ensure quality in the data, algorithms, and programs they manage which in turn will help Chief Data Officers create impactful value for business through trustworthy data.
In February 2025, we will bring together CDOs and data leaders from industries, government, and academia to join us for thought-provoking conversations and collaboration in Finland. The Symposium is organized under the theme "Value from Data for Business and Society" and comprises three tracks. This first-ever CDOIQ Nordic Symposium event will be held at the beautiful campus of Aalto University in Espoo, Finland.
Registration
Registration is now open! You may choose either Onsite pass or Online pass:
Onsite pass
- Full-day admission to the Symposium in Dipoli, including catering (breakfast, lunch, and afternoon coffee)
- 20 planned sessions divided into three tracks – choose the sessions you wish to join
- Interact with CDOs, data leaders, and valued sponsors onsite
- Access to the virtual event platform
- Evening reception event
Online pass
- Access to the virtual event platform
- Follow the main track sessions through a high-quality stream
- Join discussions on the platform and interact with other Symposium participants
Read More about the Symposium Themes
Data for and by Humans
Organizations rely heavily on data created or consumed by humans. The user experience plays a crucial role in the quality of data creation and its usage in different contexts. The culture and communities of practice within an organization can have a significant impact on the way data is managed.
At the same time, data can also greatly impact people's work and personal lives. This theme aims to explore successful approaches, best practices, and inspiring initiatives for addressing human-centred issues in data management and utilization.
Analytic Innovations for Business Value
Companies that rely on data-driven analytics tend to outperform their competitors and dominate the market. These organizations treat data as a valuable product and asset, managing it with care and attention. The latest advancements in analytics and machine learning have given rise to new types of businesses and innovative data and application architectures.
We are interested in exploring best practices, success stories, and cutting-edge initiatives related to the design, management, and utilization of these new architecture styles and their applications.
Responsible Digitalization for Society and Business
In recent years, we have witnessed significant societal events that have profoundly impacted people's personal and work lives. The rapid advancement of technology has brought with it unforeseen challenges, prompting governments to regulate new domains. Data regulations, led by the European Union's GDPR, are expanding globally at an unprecedented pace. Meanwhile, data sharing and utilization for a variety of purposes have been growing faster and more extensively than ever before.
Modern enterprises face numerous challenges, including complying with a plethora of alternative regulations, navigating potentially hostile digital environments, and mitigating internal human and technological risks. This theme aims to showcase successful approaches, best practices, and promising initiatives for managing regulatory and security issues in the context of multi-regulation data sharing, safety-critical services, sustainability, and the global data economy.
This expansion to the Nordic countries marks the beginning of a journey of growth with three purposes:
Engagement
Bringing together the CDO community at a hybrid event that addresses the data professional’s impact on business outcomes.
Networking
Global CDO’s and Data Leaders share and exchange cutting-edge ideas, content and discussions.
Expansion
Strengthen the role of CDO as well as organizations focused on data and technology.
Keynote Speakers
More keynote speakers and speakers to be announced during the Winter/Spring 2024.
Ari Kaplan
Head of Evangelism, Databricks
Ari is Databrick’s Global Head of Evangelism, and a leading influencer in AI, databases, and sports analytics. “The Real Moneyball guy”, the popular movie was partly based on Ari’s analytical and scouting experiences innovating Major League Baseball, and later creating the Cubs and Dodgers analytics departments. He is President of the Independent Investigation into the Fate of Raoul Wallenberg, Sweden’s humanitarian hero.
His background in data includes having been President of the worldwide Oracle users group when they acquired MySQL, Java, and Peoplesoft. He traveled the world with McLaren Formula 1, assisting the racing strategy team to bring AI models to production. Ari was named Caltech’s “Alumni of the Decade”, Crain Chicago’s “40 Under 40”, and IBM’s “Data Science Celebrity”.
Speakers
Camilla Björkqvist
EMEA Commercial Data Leader, Johnson & Johnson
Vesa-Pekka Grönfors
Director, Data and Digitalization, Wärtsilä Energy
Vesa-Pekka spearheads data and digitalization at Wärtsilä Energy, a company recognized by TIME in 2023 as one of the 100 most influential firms. He is entrusted with responsibilities, from driving key digital products to overseeing process digitalization, automation, security & compliance, and customer experience management, and of course, championing all about the data.
His entrepreneurial spirit is highlighted by his co-founding of a Helsinki-based AI SaaS startup. With over 15 years in the tech sector, he has showcased global tech leadership, notably in multinational conglomerates such as Microsoft and Nokia. He steered the iconic Nokia feature phone portfolio, which brought the internet for the first time to the hands of low-income families and made multi-billion revenues.
Living and working across the Middle East and Asia has enriched his global perspective, fueling his passion for constructing diverse teams dedicated to pioneering impactful technology. With a rich tapestry of experiences, from startups to multinational corporations, Vesa-Pekka's journey epitomizes the fusion of technology, humanity, and global impact.
Wärtsilä Energy champions the transition to a 100% renewable energy future. They assist customers in maximizing the energy transition's value by optimizing energy systems and future-proofing assets. As industry leaders, they're dedicated to sustainable energy solutions and innovative approaches to meet global energy needs.
Katariina Kari
Lead Ontologist, Inter IKEA Systems B.V.
Ieva Martinkenaite
SVP, Head of Research and Innovation, Telenor
Ieva Martinkenaite is leading Research and Innovation unit in Telenor Group. She is among the key figures at Telenor contributing to building AI research and innovation ecosystem in Norway. Over the last several years, Ieva led a team of data scientists and Machine Learning engineers in Telenor, also holding several high profile regional and national appointments in AI. Among those are Board memberships in Norwegian Open AI-lab, Norwegian Research Council Advisory Expert Group on AI, International Advisory Board of Flanders AI, and the Singapore´s Government International Advisory Council on Ethical use of AI and Data.
Among Ieva’s responsibilities in Telenor is to advance research within AI/ML, 5G/6G and cloud within telco domain, develop Telenor´s thought leadership in selected technology areas and contribute to Telenor´s innovation ambitions together with strategic partners and customers. Her work also involves advisory to Telenor management on digital technologies and innovation strategy. Concurrently, Ieva leads a joint AI task force of Europe’s largest telecommunication operator association ETNO and GSMA Europe.
She has more than 15 years of experience in product development, business research, and advisory. During 2018-2020, Ieva represented Telenor in the European Commission’s High-Level Expert Group on AI, which provided ethical guidelines for building Trustworthy AI in Europe. Ieva is a frequent reviewer of Horizon Europe and Digital Europe programs with a focus on AI and big data.
Ieva holds a PhD in Strategic Management from BI Norwegian Business School (Norway) and Master’s in European Public Administration from K.U. Leuven (Belgium). During 2020-2022, she served on the Board of Telenor Denmark A/S.
Alessio Mezzacapo
Chief Data Officer, Swiss State Bank
Sameli Mäenpää
Partner & CEO, Black Belt Consulting
Sameli Mäenpää is a business, technology, and data leader with international experience. Mäenpää served almost 6 years as a Chief Data Officer at OP Financial Group leading a team of 1200+ professionals. Concepts like AI, data mesh, big data, blockchain, and enterprise agile are part of his daily life. He has over 17 years of experience in banking. Earlier he held Business CIO and Chief Enterprise Architect positions at Nordea Bank. In addition, Mäenpää has founded several start-ups of which Oima (acquired by Visma in 2021) is the most significant.
Bianca Scheffler
Director, Data Culture & Innovation, Swiss Re
Bianca Scheffler is a senior leader within data, analytics & technology with 15+ years of experience developing information and data management strategies across industries. She holds a Bachelor and Master's degree in Computer Science and has held several roles around Data, Governance, Analytics and technology. She is currently leading Swiss Re's interdisciplinary Data Culture and Innovation efforts.
Bianca's technical expertise has been instrumental in developing successful data & tech strategies and promoting a culture of innovation. She is an active speaker and contributor in the broader information and data community, and enjoys coaching and mentoring young female talents and teaching kids data and digital skills.
Fee and Registration
Sponsors
Silver Sponsors
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Community Partners
Program Committee
Nina Walberg
Head of Data & Insight, Oda
Nina Walberg was brought on to establish Data & Insight as a discipline and take a more impactful part of Oda in early 2019. She has built up Data & Insight from 3 to 75 people. The organizational growth, but also the phases of going from one fulfillment center in one market to multiple markets, have given many interesting learnings. Nina has a Master of Technology from NTNU in Industrial Economics and Technology Management. She has experience both from consulting (BearingPoint) and senior leadership roles in media (Schibsted and VG) before joining Oda.
Winfried Adalbert Etzel
Data Governance & Architecture, Aker BP
Winfried is DataOps Manager for Data Governance & Architecture at Aker BP, leading Data professionals in building and maintaining a Data Governance and Data Architecture framework for Aker BP, ensuring a strategic approach to value creation though data, analytics, and AI.
Winfried has an extensive career in Data Management, from Document & Content Management, Metadata Management to Data Governance and Data & AI Strategy. One of his outstanding contributions to our Nordic Data Community has been as host for #MetaDAMA, a podcast missioned to give a voice to data professionals in the Nordics and providing a holistic view on Data Management in our countries.
Kristiina Tiilas
Head of Digital Platforms, Outokumpu
Marti Colominas
VP Head of Data & Insight, reMarkable
Petri Hassinen
Head of Data, Metsä Group
Sameli Mäenpää
Partner & CEO, Black Belt Consulting
Sameli Mäenpää is a business, technology, and data leader with international experience. Mäenpää served almost 6 years as a Chief Data Officer at OP Financial Group leading a team of 1200+ professionals. Concepts like AI, data mesh, big data, blockchain, and enterprise agile are part of his daily life. He has over 17 years of experience in banking. Earlier he held Business CIO and Chief Enterprise Architect positions at Nordea Bank. In addition, Mäenpää has founded several start-ups of which Oima (acquired by Visma in 2021) is the most significant.
Sirpa Soini
Chief Data Officer, The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare
Advisory Board
Matti Rossi
Professor of Information Systems, Aalto University School of Business
Matti Rossi is a past president of the Association for Information Systems and AIS Fellow. He has been the principal investigator in several major research projects funded by the technological development center of Finland and Academy of Finland. He has been a member of the board of open-source software developer QT Company Plc., MetaCASE Consulting Plc and chairman of the board of Syncron Tech. He won the 2013 Millennium Distinction Award of Technology Academy of Finland for open source and data research.
Jeffrey Chen
SVP Data Science, Viaplay Group
Jeff Chen is the Senior Vice President of Data Science at Viaplay Group, where he leads an organization with a broad mandate to improve outcomes for its video streaming service operating in 13 countries. As one of the early data scientists in the US public sector, Jeff draws on hard-earned experiences as a technical leader in applied and often political settings to build successful, evidence-based data science strategies that ensure that data pipelines, infrastructure, and ML research are relevant for corporate and organizational strategies.
His career has led him to work on high-impact initiatives at NASA, the White House (during the Obama era), US Commerce Department, the United Nations Development Program, DC United (Soccer), and the NYC Mayor’s Office (Bloomberg). Jeff's dedication to technical capacity building is reflected in his experience in establishing and building multiple data teams, his past teaching role at Georgetown University and publishing a textbook on Data Science for Public Policy (Springer Nature).
He holds a BA in Economics from Tufts University, an MA in Quantitative Methods from Columbia University, and is pursuing a DPhil in Computational Statistics at the University of Oxford.
Geoffrey van Ijzendoorn-Joshi
Head of Data Management & CDO Ambassador to Norway, Møller Mobility Group
Inga Gunnarsdottir
Chief Data Officer, The City of Reykjavik
Inga Rós Gunnarsdóttir currently serves as the Chief Data Officer at the City of Reykjavík. Before taking on this role, she worked as a management consultant for a period of four years. She also had her own business for a time and gained experience at L'Oréal in Copenhagen, she has worked in the private and public sector since 2015, in charge of business development, logistics, data governance, and other management projects.
Inga Rós holds an MSc in Product Development and Innovation Engineering from the University of Southern Denmark, along with a BSc in Operations Engineering from Reykjavik University.
In her younger years, she was a dedicated gymnast and was a member of the Icelandic national team in artistic gymnastics for over 10 years.
About Aalto EE
Aalto University Executive Education and Professional Development (Aalto EE), provides executive education, professional development services, and training. We enable opportunities for life-wide learning and educate the game changers of the future; current executives, the next generation of leaders, and experts with an impact on business and society.
Each year, around 7,000 people from 1,000 organizations benefit from our impactful, goal-oriented, and comprehensive learning experience. We nurture and develop the knowledge and skills of individuals and foster self-confidence. We build individual learning paths and meaningful careers, as well as architectures for developing competence in entire organizations. You will also create the best business networks with us.
Aalto University Executive Education and Professional Development has two strongholds: our Helsinki office coordinates our operations in Europe, while Asia-Pacific operations are led from Singapore. In addition to Finland and Singapore, Aalto EE offers education programs worldwide.
About Finland
Did you know Finland is home to many ground-breaking innovations like heart rate monitors, 5G technology, Nokia phones, SMS messages, Linux, and Angry Birds? Finland has a track record of being the frontrunner in the field of technology, and the government has recently set ambitious plans to become a world leader in technology and knowledge by 2030.
Finland’s world-class education system has created a strong foundation for the country’s success. Research, innovation, creativity, and digital skills have a central role in educational policies and are also enhanced by the cooperation between public and private stakeholders. Education in Finland is free of charge from pre-primary to higher education, and it has been designed to provide equal opportunities for all. High-quality education is just one example of the wide range of services the Nordic welfare state offers its citizens.
Finland is highly committed to sustainability and has been ranked first in an international comparison of sustainable development. Finland is strongly committed to United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set for 2016–2030, and they are visibly present both in domestic operations and international cooperation. (Sustainable development report 2022)
The capital of Helsinki is a perfect combination of beautiful architecture and design, as well as beautiful nature and archipelago. Aalto University campus is located a convenient 15-minute metro ride away from the city center of Helsinki.
Are you ready to join us in the happiest country in the world? (World Happiness Report 2018–2023)
