Together, our purpose is to educate and inspire people.
Together with partners, Elisa is organizing a not-for-profit event on how to scale product and service design operations, build a design culture, and increase design maturity.
We are doers and design thinkers who believe that sharing is caring.
Aino Horsma
Main Organizer, Speaker Relations
Aino is a Design Operations Lead at Elisa, on a mission to shape a culture where designers thrive. Her proven expertise in leading global design initiatives at GE Healthcare and Autodesk, among others, has driven customer-centric solutions for nearly 20 years on two continents. As an experienced design leader, Aino is dedicated to fostering a design operation that creates impactful and intuitive user experiences while ensuring designers enjoy their work.
Maria Leivonen
Producer
Maria is an event producer specializing in culture and arts. Maria has over 20 years of professional experience in event producing, project management, and marketing communications in public & private organizations and international projects. Maria loves ice swimming, salsa cubana, and singing old Latin hits. .
Mikko Häkkinen
Branding, Event planning, Advisor
Mikko has spent the last 20 years working in various roles, industries, and companies as a designer (a consulting firm, a startup, and an in-house designer). Throughout his career, he has gained extensive knowledge and expertise in helping individuals, teams, and entire organizations recognize and overcome challenges.
As a creative problem solver and a natural communicator, Mikko can inspire and influence stakeholders at all levels, building consensus, removing uncertainty, and driving results. He is confident in his ability to lead projects and people from ideation to launch and beyond and is always eager to take on new challenges and stretch his skills as much as he is dedicated to delivering exceptional results and making a lasting impact.
Roope Leikoski
Content & Host, Event planning
With over two decades of design expertise, he brings a wealth of experience spanning visual design, strategic design, and service design. As a seasoned professional, he excels not only in crafting compelling visuals but also in orchestrating workshops and planning events. Roope’s career journey includes collaborations with industry giants, prestigious consulting agencies, and groundbreaking startups. As a founder of a startup himself, he understands the dynamics of entrepreneurial ventures. Currently, he is thrilled to be contributing his skills and knowledge alongside the remarkable team at Elisa. You might also catch him playing guitar at a local venue.
Jussi Mantere
Advisor
Jussi has been leading the design function at Elisa since 2022. He has a background in design and customer experience leadership roles in both retail and technology, having built up the first in-house design team in K Group and led the UX design of IKEA.com as well as working in various roles in Nokia. Jussi’s interests are in developing design teams into a close partnership role with business and development organisations as well as positioning design as a strategic competence in business leadership.
Sakari Volanen
Advisor
Sakari is a partner management wizard from Finland and a builder of all kinds of new things with a broad range of skills and networks. He has worked in the industry for 25+ years. Currently driving with modern touch impactful software partnerships to deliver valuable relationships, new ideas, and growth. In his free time, he enjoys going on long solo hikes in the wilderness.
Liisa Benmergui
Master of ceremonies
Liisa is a Principal Service Designer at Nitor and she loves engaging with people; designing with and for them. Figuring out how a company can innovate and offer products & services that customers use and enjoy is what motivates her as a designer. For over 17 years, Liisa has helped bridge the gap between strategy, design and development within organisations, all while championing customers’ needs and accessibility. Liisa applies a mix of system thinking with empathy and a dash of genuine enthusiasm to everything she works on. When she is not facilitating a tough discussion at work, you can find Liisa playing beach volleyball both indoor and, as soon as the snow melts, on the outdoor sandy courts around Helsinki.