Confirmed speakers 2020
Meet our first confirmed CityChangers, and stay tuned for many more.
Meet our first confirmed CityChangers, and stay tuned for many more.
Vice Chair at the Clinton Foundation,
Author and teacher
Chelsea will share her insights on young leadership and sustainability, on how we should empower the next generation to take action, and how to make cities more livable and sustainable for the humans living there.
Seeing that Chelsea Clinton has worked her whole life for social change, and being a “champion for social good”, she is perfect for Evolve Arena. By emphasizing the importance of social dimensions she’s bringing a different point of view to what’s important when developing our future cities. The goal is to develop cities that are putting its people first.
We’re honored that our guide to inspiration and impact at Evolve Arena will be none other than Chelsea Clinton.
Moderator, journalist, reporter and author
In her role as a technology reporter Kate has had the opportunity to travel the world looking at the latest smart city technologies – from autonomous wheelchairs in Tokyo airport to Robo-cops policing the streets of Dubai. She will bring to our stage this breadth of experience and incurable enthusiasm for the role of technology when creating smarter life in human cities.
Currently Russell appears regularly on BBC technology programme Click and writes a monthly column for National Geographic Traveller magazine. She also speaks regularly at technology events and conferences and digital strategy and policy meetings, as well as lecturing in schools and universities to inspire the next generation of technologists.
Her website has won multiple awards for best technology blog and she has been featured as one of the top 50 most influential women in UK IT by Computer Weekly magazine for the last two years. She also writes sci-fi and fantasy with two published novels now available.
As Head of PwC’s Disruption practice, Leo Johnson explores the big ideas that will shape business and society in the years to come. What – in the tsunami of exponential technology – is real and what is hype? More importantly, what will become the impact on business?
By pinpointing the trends and laying out both the risks and the opportunities for business and finance, Leo makes sense of sustainability. Listening to Leo’s talk at Evolve Arena you will get insights into how you as a business leader can succeed in this rapidly changing world. How can we confront the system-wide automation and instead use technology to find human talents?
Leo is a co-presenter at BBC Radio 4’s flagship series FutureProofing, and an occasional commentator for the Financial Times, New Statesman, Evening Standard and Wall Street Journal. He also co-authored the book “Turnaround Challenge: Business & the City of the Future”.
His presentation addresses questions regarding the future no forward-looking company can afford to ignore. Can you?
TEDx award-winning speaker,
«Hacking Human behaviour»
Chosen by VIVA Magazine as one of the most inspiring women in The Netherlands, Sangbreeta Moitra is a TEDx award-winning expert and thought leader on hacking human bahavior and mastering change. Enabling professionals and leaders to be relevant for the unpredictable future.
Working with top corporates as well as startups and scaleups, she has observed that even the best of ideas face the biggest resistance. Using powerful techniques based on cognitive neuroscience, leadership development, behavioural science, change & transformation, Sangbreeta’s talk will enable the changemakers in the audience to get into the mind of their toughest decision maker, understand why they think, choose, decide, behave the way they do and create an ‘offer’ that no one can refuse.
In other words; Sangbreeta will bring sharp, eye-opening and powerful insights into how you and your organization can truly affect the development of our future cities. The tools you need to actually get things done.
With over 27 years of experience in advanced urbanism, city planning and urban design, Brent Toderian is an internationally respected and award-winning practitioner and thought-leader.
At Evolve Arena, Brent will draw upon his city building experience across the world to provide insights and inspiration on critical elements of doing density successfully and how we, through smart design, make active communities where people can thrive.
He has a reputation as a hands-on visionary and brought in new approaches for place-making, active transport, green design and architectural diversity while being Vancouver Canada’s Chief Planner. Now, Vancouver is consistently ranked among the world’s most livable cities, and known internationally as a “city by design”.
Expert on future human behaviour
Monte Königs is born 1990 and a leading expert on future human behavior. As an urban sociologist Monte will give you the answers on how your company can be organized smarter for the future generations.
Monte looks at social structures, trends and behaviors and how they interact with our build environment. At Evolve Arena he will give you insights into important social trends that will shape our behavior in future cities.
Monte Königs works at Whetston Strategic Foresight. He is a trusted coach for top leaders and in 2017 he was nominated for Young Research Talent of the Year in the Netherlands.
Listening to Monte Königs will help you put your company in the right position for a smarter life in human cities.
As a Research Engineer at the Ford Motor Company, Victoria Schein (25) is developing innovative vehicle concepts and designing technology to keep drivers safe on the road. To date, she holds 40+ patent applications relating to many topics, such as driver-assist technologies, autonomous vehicles, additive manufacturing, and mobility.
Listening to Victoria’s talk you will get insight into inventions that will shape the future of mobility, and the challenges we face when mobility advancements interacts with urban infrastucture. Her unique experience as someone without a driver’s license really helps her explore the passenger perspective, and how to move around from A to B without a car.
With her work, Victoria wants to help change the way the world moves and make distracted driving a thing of the past. She also has a great passion for STEM/STEAM and works to inspire and engage young girls in the fields of science and technology.
Do as Ford, look to the millennial generation to keep up with tech competitors and make innovative solutions for the mobile city.
Norwegian Diplomat
and former politician
Erik Solheim is a well known global leader on environment and development as well as an experienced peace negotiator.
He served as Norwegian minister of Environment and International Development from 2005-12. During that period he initiated the global program for conservation of rainforests. He brought Norwegian development assistance to 1%, the highest in the world.
Erik has been chair of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (the main body of world donors) as well as Executive Director of UN Environment. Erik led the peace efforts in Sri Lanka as the main negotiator of the peace process and has played a vital role in peace efforts in Nepal , Myanmar and Sudan.
Currently he is senior adviser at World Resource Institute and Convener of the Global Coalition for Green Belt and Road, and serves as the CEO of the Plastic REVolution Foundation. The latter is a newly founded initiative that aims to eliminate plastic waste and pollution, beginning in Accra, Ghana.
Environmental entrepreneur and author,
Co-founder Global Goals Accelerator
Ed Gillespie is a seriously credible and experienced voice on a range of key future-focused issues; from ‘Big Data’, through the future of work and the impact of AI, robots and technology, to climate action.
His core talent is to take the complex, interconnected, interdependent nature of the many urgent challenges the world faces, from climate change to disruptive competition, and make common sense of them. He is renowned for his entertaining presentations laced with thoughtful insights, trends and humour.
Ed is the co-founder of the Global Goals Accelerator, a business programme aimed at delivering the Sustainable Development Goals. He was also the co-founder of Futerra, internationally renowned for its influential and award-winning work on some of the biggest corporate sustainability initiatives.
In addition he is a regular media contributor from the BBC to the Guardian.
Erling Fossen is CEO of Oslo Metropolitan Arena (OMA) and known as Norways first “urbanist”. He is also a well a known author, debater and TV-personality, and has given lectures and led debates on urbanism, urban development and city planning throughout Norway for many years.
His lectures include a dashing sense of humour, wake up calls to the audience and practical examples that makes sense for most of us.
His special field is to make diagnoses on the general condition of cities and prescribe the right recipe for moving forward. At Evolve Arena he will give you a great insight into why good urban development is important – and how politicians should build e.g. urban spaces, streets and squares so they become dance floors where we humans can dance our lives.
– Technology alone is not a miracle cure. It’s how we apply the technology in the cities that is the key to success.
CEO of Coreo
Ashleigh is widely recognised as a circular economy visionary, with the skills experience and
ability, to not only inform future strategy but to also lead the much-needed action required to transform our economy from linear to circular.
Ashleigh is the CEO of Coreo, a globally recognised company with projects in Australia, Chile, the United States, New Zealand and most recently Coreo has been invited to the United Nations General Assembly to discuss circular economy and the enablers required to accelerate the transition.
At Evolve Arena Ashleigh and Jaine are going to take you on the journey of how they are driving forward a circular economy in Australia from a street, to a Lab, to Australia’s largest local government.
In recognition of her bold leadership Ashleigh is one of only 44 people globally to be an appointed ‘Circular Economy Pioneer’, by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. In addition to this, Ashleigh was the only Australian to be invited to speak at the 2019 World Circular Economy Forum in Helsinki 2019.
Jaine is a diversely skilled circular economy professional, and as Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Coreo Jaine has led multinational corporations, governments and communities towards a circular economy.
In 2017, alongside Ashleigh, Jaine successfully managed the complexities of enacting systems level change in Australia’s first circular economy proof of concept project (The Circular Experiment), applying circular economy principles at a precinct scale to prove the social, environmental and economic value of a circular economy.
At Evolve Arena 2020 Jaine and Ashleigh are going to take you on the journey of how they are driving forward a circular economy in Australia from a street, to a Lab, to Australia’s largest local government.
Jaine is a storyteller at heart and understands that the best way to mobilise a community is to tell stories that engage, influence and evoke change. Jaine uses her advanced communication and human wrangling skills to bring about collective action towards a circular economy in disparate organisations, businesses and communities.
Andrew Hoyne is the Founder and Principal of brand agency Hoyne, who are now considered global thought leaders on place branding and place making. Hoyne has won over 250 awards both national and internationally.
Andrew has been working in and around the property sector for the last 25 years, helping major Australian and international developers and Councils create recognisable landmarks across Australia and South East Asia. This, coupled with Andrew’s travels around the world, mean he has seen how the power of effective placemaking can completely transform communities.
Over the years, Andrew has developed a profound belief in the power of place and the categorical link between good placemaking and significantly higher profits (both economic and social). It’s a passion that has led him to produce The Place Economy, a series of resource books that presents thought-leadership on best practice placemaking from around the world
Marquise Stillwell is a designer, entrepreneur, and activist. As the founder and principal of the design
studio Openbox, he created a human-centered company focusing on improving the lives of people in the communities its clients serve.
Marquise is passionate about the power of design, and has a boundless curiosity for life. You can find him riding his bike through the streets of Manhattan, doing his part to build a greener urban future.
By 2050, 64% of the developing world and 86% of the developed world will be urbanized. With this, the green space of cities worldwide is threatened. Cities have become creative with how to reclaim it by finding innovative ways to reuse infrastructure. At Evolve Arena 2020 Marquise will address the questions; Who gets to shape the design of public spaces? Who is seen in these spaces?
Marquise also brings his passion for supporting diverse cultures and bringing about positive change to his many philanthropic and creative activities. For instance from serving as a board member for the Lowline Underground Park in New York.
Three decades as lead on large-scale urban masterplans in the Nordics for private investors and city municipalities has given Sissel Engblom an insight into what does and doesn’t work in order to succeed with designing attractive urban environments. By using an approach called UrbanEthics – based on human interaction in urban context she sees a gamechanger in understanding socially sustainable city development.
In her talk at Evolve Arena 2020 she will explore human behavior by urban design, explain why gender and age are crucial factors to consider in the rise of Smart Cities and what themes private investors and city municipalities should focus on in order to create cities where people will thrive.
As a visionary architect she is passionate about exploring holistic human approaches that combine mobility, landscape and architectural design to achieve connected, safe and sustainable surroundings for a life well lived.
She has received international awards for her architectural designs and won several strategic commissions in major pilot areas for sustainable urbanism.
Dr. Tomas Eric Nordlander is a research director at IFE, responsible for the sector IFE Digital System that consists of 7 departments and 9 laboratories in Halden. The sector handles all projects that involve interaction between people, technology and organisation, and safety in the complex process industries.
Tomas has a passion for AI and research-based innovation that brings new technological solutions into practical use, and sits as board member of several european tech companies and a Venture Capital company. He has a broad academic background, worked in AI labs in Ireland and Scotland and has over 50 research papers and book chapters.
In addition he is an Honorary Research Fellow at University of Aberdeen and has been editor and programme committee member for many scientific journals and conferences over the years. Tomas also has considerable experience as an entrepreneur, starting up and running companies both in Sweden, Ireland, and in Germany.
Co-founder and partner of
Tredje Natur
Flemming, Co-founder and partner of TREDJE NATUR, will give an introduction to his key concepts that are driven by the notion that a coherent and optimized design creates the most powerful impact and sustainable solutions for the city as a whole, but also adds to the sensitivity to individual spaces, places and the people. A sensitivity that invites the users to a more informed and thus sustainable everyday life.
THIRD NATURE calls its approach nature-based responses to man-made problems. The architecture office explores the territory between plan, infrastructure, building and nature. This optimistic yet critical approach leads to innovative
proposals for new building typologies and urban natures, that are developed with a deep understanding of the city’s metabolism, as well as the pragmatics of the architectural gameplay and profession.
Through examples of THIRD NATURE’s work he will talk about how they put ambitions on sustainability, climate change and the UN’s 17 world goals into practice in their design.
CEO, Telia Norge
Stein-Erik Vellan has been CEO of Telia Norway since December 2019. Vellan has extensive national and international management experience from the telecom industry, with management positions in India, Serbia and Bulgaria. For the past three years he has led Telia Finland. Previously, he has worked several years as a marketing director at Cap Gemini and CEO of Thrane-gruppen.
When Telia launches 5G in Norway, Lillestrøm is the first city to adopt the new and groundbreaking 5G technology. At Evolve Arena May 12th, Stein-Erik and Jon Christian Hillestad (CCO) will talk about the opportunities that follow the launch of Telia’s new 5G network and how they use IoT technology to create smarter cities. For instance when it comes to collecting mobility data and the efficiency of public transport
CCO, Telia Norge
Jon Christian Hillestad has worked in the Telia Group since 2007 and is currently Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) in Telia Norway, including Telia Business and Phonero. Hillestad has extensive management experience both nationally and internationally. Prior to the role of CCO, Hillestad was Technical Director (CTO) of Telia Norway and responsible for both IT development, operations and the comprehensive 4G development that led Telia to be the winner of the largest coverage test two years in a row. Prior to this, Hillestad was responsible for IT and product development in all countries in the Nordic and Baltic.
When Telia launches 5G in Norway, Lillestrøm is the first city to adopt the new and groundbreaking 5G technology. At Evolve Arena May 12th, Stein-Erik and Jon Christian Hillestad (CCO) will talk about the opportunities that follow the launch of Telia’s new 5G network and how they use IoT technology to create smarter cities. For instance when it comes to collecting mobility data and the efficiency of public transport.
Expert on digitalization and technology
Founder of EIRIK NORMAN AS
Eirik Norman Hansen is a genuine technology optimist. He gives inspiring lectures on digitization, technology, artificial intelligence and robots, with focuses on the effect of technology on mankind, organizations and our societies. How does this shape the world in the future and what will be the effect for your business?
With more than 20 years of experience as manager, advisor and business developer within digitization and transformations, Eirik is truly highly competent within all these topics.
At Evolve Arena 2020 Eirik will address the following:
Who owns the infrastructure in the future? Being aware of the fact that more than 70% of the worlds population will live in urban cities before 2050, we acknowlidge this will change our way of living. One of the major efficiency losses in modern times, is latency. How can we change this? What are the consequences for mankind, organizations and our societies?
Thor Moen has more than 9 years of experience with the Smart Cities & Communities concept, both nationally and internationally. As Head of Smart Cities and Communities in Smart Innovation Norway, he is managing smart city-programs within water, mobility, buildings, energy, welfare and governance.
There is a tremendous potential to contribute to sustainable community development through smart water products and digital water services. At Evolve Arena Thor will define the potential that municipalities, inhabitants and businesses will have by collecting water usage digitally.
In close collaboration with Norwegian municipalities and businesses he is working with digitalization, design thinking and end-user engagement. Thor is one of Norway’s representatives in Nordic Solutions for C40, a collaboration between the five Nordic countries, which gathers the best people and competence from the entire globe to find climate change mitigation in the largest cities in the world.
Previously, Thor has years of international experience from the renewable energy industry as CEO of Renergy Biogass AS, Director of Business Market in Fortum and Vice President of Customer Relations and Sales in Fortum.
Partner at EY
As Partner at EY, Jonas Groes is responsible for the public and governmental sector at EY Denmark and for major clients such as the Municipality of Copenhagen, The Danish Regions, the Danish Business Authority and the Ministry of Finance.
Jonas is leading EY’s effort in shaping the future of Danish cities by aiding the Danish public and governmental sector in their digital transformation with progressive technologies within intelligent automation e.g. robotic process automation, machine learning and data analytics.
For the last couple of years Jonas has had special focus in asssisting Danish cities in digitalizing and optimizing their asset management approach and making decisions regarding renewals and maintenance, more data driven and fact based than ever before. This transformation is a key building block in creating smart cities that both increases the quality of life of its citizens and leaves as small as possible impact on the environment.
