The Hype is Real 2.0

Luukas Ilves is the top civil servant at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications who is responsible for spearheading Estonia’s ongoing digital transformation. Ilves served as the Head of Strategy at Guardtime, the world’s leading blockchain company, prior to taking the mantle from the previous CIO, Siim Sikkut. Throughout his career, IIves has been dedicated to innovating Europe’s digital society in various capacities at the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, and different ministries in Estonia. He is a renowned speaker who can effectively discuss the Estonian digital developmental plan and its goals for 2030. He specializes in key areas such as eliminating bureaucracy, increasing women’s participation in the tech sector, starting from education, and making government services more accessible through mobile platforms. With his expertise, he can provide valuable insights into Estonia’s successful strategies for streamlining administrative processes, promoting gender diversity in technology, and ensuring convenient access to government services via mobile devices. Luukas Ilves is a graduate of Stanford University with a major in International Relations. He is the son of Estonia’s former president Toomas Hendrik Ilves. Topic(s) at the event: the digital development opportunities in Estonia.

Ott Velsberg is the current Chief Data Officer of the Estonian Government with experience in coordinating data governance and data science, including domains of artificial intelligence, open data, citizen-centric data governance, data privacy and regulation, once-only principle, and much more. Strong experience with innovation management, strategic thinking, data management, data science and digital transformation. Leading Estonia to a trendsetter status in data governance, open data and artificial intelligence. He also serves as a board member for various boards, such as the Board of Statistics, the Board of Estonian Language Technology, the IT Academy AI and the Machine Learning advisory board. He holds a PhD in Informatics from Umea University.

MP Andres Sutt leads the e-Estonia Support Group in the Estonian Parliament. e-Estonia means convenient, user-centric and cyber-secure services for citizens. e-Estonia looks boldly to the future – this is particularly important at a time when technology is evolving rapidly and AI, for example, is opening up entirely new possibilities in virtually every area of life but also bringing new risks that need to be managed.

Sandra is the Deputy Secretary General of Business Environment and Consumer Affairs in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications. Prior to this role she has had both private and public sector experience, having worked at Meta (Facebook), the Estonian tech unicorn, Bolt as well as the Estonian government and the European Commission. She is also a lecturer at TalTech.

Former Chief Information Officer of the Republic of Estonia (2013-2017) and one of the founding fathers of the Estonian e-Residency Programme, Taavi Kotka has spearheaded national proposals such as digital agenda, cybersecurity strategy and cloud policy (including data embassies) and has served as a special advisor to Andrus Ansip, the former European Commissioner for Digital Single Market and Vice President of the European Commission. In 2018, Apolitical named Kotka among the World`s 100 Most Influential People in Digital Government. Prior to that, Taavi Kotka was the CEO of Nortal, one of the largest software development companies in the Baltics, starting his career as a programmer and rapidly rising to the position of Managing Director. In 2017, he launched an independent consulting firm, Proud Engineers, that specializes in digital society solutions, offering services to public and private sector organizations from around the world. Today he runs the Jio Research Center in Estonia. Topics at the event: Story of e-residency. Birth of an idea, e-residency over the years, future of e-residency

Carlos Paniagua is the co-founder and CTO of Estonia’s tenth unicorn Glia. Glia creates digital-first moments that simplify and transform communications between businesses and their customers. Paniagua graduated cum laude from Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech), focusing on computer software engineering.

Henri Arras is the Head of Public Policy in Baltics for Bolt. He is leading the regulatory discussions in all three Baltic countries across all verticals at Bolt. Prior to Bolt, he was the Public Affairs Director at a telecom company Elisa. He has a strong experience in leading public discussions from the time when he worked as a Communications Adviser to the Prime Minister of Estonia, Adviser to the Minister of Foreign Trade and Entrepreneurship and Adviser to the Minister of Social Affairs.

VP of Rentals at Bolt Dmitri Pivovarov is VP for Rentals at Bolt, the leading European mobility platform with more than 100 million customers in over 45 countries across Europe and Africa. He is responsible for the micro-mobility (electric scooters, e-bikes) and car-sharing product lines. With electric scooters deployed in more than 260 cities in Europe, Bolt is the biggest operator on the continent. Prior to Bolt, he was a product manager at ZeroTurnaround, where he launched a new product line of performance profiling solutions for Java applications. He has also founded his own company, UserTest.ru, a platform for remote user testing.

Tarmo has been in Helmes for more than 10 years and his focus has been e-Estonia projects. Tarmo has had a huge impact on e-Estonia during that time. He is also valued for educating state organizations about smart IT procurements.
Right now he is working also for customers like OECD, CERN and European Space Agency.

Terje is an experienced leader with a demonstrated history of working in the electronics, telecommunication and automotive industry. Strong professional skilled in Strategical Management, Negotiation, Business Development, NPI, Project Management, Sales, Account Management, Demand Planning, Operations Management, SCM and Sourcing.

Chris is the founder of Haus of Hiatus, a digital branding and creative agency, and is now exploring Estonia as a digital nomad since April 2022. He’s travelled to many countries on 6 different continents and spent many months in jungles, deserts, mountains and oceans

Matt is a South African living in Tallinn on Estonia’s Digital Nomad Visa. He’s just survived his first Estonian winter and looking forward to exploring Estonia and Europe over the summer and autumn. Matt is also an e-Resident and just launched an Estonian-based startup Borderless Explorer which aims to make travel and networking easier for digital nomads and remote workers.

Bilingual PR & Communication Specialist with 20 years of professional experience as a broadcast journalist and current affairs producer; MA in Audiovisual Journalism; 9 years of experience in consulting Brussels- and London- based international organisations in media relations, communication and marketing; freelance columnist and EU political observer; experienced researcher and creative communication strategist;

After living and working abroad, Erika grew to value the perks of living in a digital society that facilitates everyday life. She believes in equity and accessibility of government services for every citizen through the best user experience. Having contributed previously to education and youth work made her a strong advocate for automatisation and proactive services so that people can focus on what matters – interpersonal communication, both professional and private, rather than engaging in bureaucracy. As a Digital Transformation Adviser at the e-Estonia Briefing Centre, Erika aims to spread the Estonian unique digitalisation experience.

Leonardo Ortega is the Head of the Work in Estonia programme, aiming to make Estonia one of the best destinations for working and living for international talents.

Pallas is Digital Nomad Visa Project Manager @Visit Estonia, enthusiastic about introducing & promoting Estonia as a remote work destination.

Kristi Veskus is the Global Marketing Communications Manager at Work in Estonia. Work in Estonia helps global tech talent discover attractive career prospects right here, in Estonia.

Annika Järs is the Startup Visa and Foreign Relations Development Manager at Startup Estonia. The Startup Visa project is dedicated to bringing outside talent into Estonia and helping promote growth in local startups. The project has thus far accepted close to 4800 applicants.

Ettie Mikita is Marketing and Communication Lead at Startup Estonia. Startup Estonia combines expertise, design thinking, and collaboration to fuel new ventures and cultivate a thriving startup culture. Ettie’s dynamic contributions stem from a multidisciplinary background, entrepreneurial spirit, and commitment to personal growth.