Nordic Speakers: Scandinavian Talent At Home And Abroad

Hélène Barnekow

Stockholm-based Hélène Barnekow spent 30 years in C-level technology roles at Ericsson, Telia and Microsoft Sweden. She speaks on value-based leadership, the subject of her book Re:start, and on building cultures where diversity and inclusion are part of how the business runs. She also has board experience at GN Store Nord and Handelsbanken.

Caroline Farberger

Caroline Farberger spent six years at McKinsey and 25 years in senior management, and was CEO of Swedish insurer ICA Insurance until 2022. She transitioned at 50 while serving as a CEO. Her keynote uses that experience to show how differently people are treated based on gender, and what inclusion looks like in practice.

Antoni Lacinai

Stockholm-based communication expert Antoni Lacinai has written or co-written 14 books, and his TEDx talk has passed 400,000 views. His CARE-centric approach gives leaders practical tools to communicate plans in a way teams act on. His session The Power of High Impact Communication suits leadership conferences and management programmes.

Niklas Modig

Niklas Modig researched innovation and operations management at the Stockholm School of Economics from 2003 to 2018, including two years working with leading Toyota researcher Professor Takahiro Fujimoto at the University of Tokyo. He speaks fluent Japanese and turns lean thinking into clear lessons on cutting waste and delivering more value in service and operations teams.

Dr Martin Gutmann

Born in Sweden, Martin Gutmann is a professor at the Lucerne School of Business and a senior lecturer at ETH Zurich. He combines history and organisational psychology to help leaders make decisions in uncertain conditions, and his TED Talk has drawn more than 2 million views. He was named on the 2026 Thinkers50 Radar.

Christiane Vejlø

Copenhagen-based futurist Christiane Vejlø advises boards, CEOs and the Danish government on AI and digital transformation. She has served on Denmark's Data Ethics Council and the Prime Minister's Disruption Council, and founded Elektronista. Her talk Arguments for Humans (About AI) helps leadership teams adopt AI while keeping people and ethics at the centre.

Aric Dromi

Aric Dromi is a Gothenburg-based futurologist and former in-house futurologist at Volvo Cars. He works with governments, cities and global companies on automation, AI and urban design, and on how policy, society and technology shape each other. His session AI as a Strategic Catalyst is built for leaders planning for uncertainty.

Thomas Anglero

Oslo-based Thomas Anglero pioneered internet voice calls in 1993 and has worked at the front of technology change ever since. As Nordic CTO at Cognizant he closed more than $500 million in enterprise transformation deals, and he founded the IBM Watson AI Lab for Cancer at the Oslo Cancer Cluster. He has delivered more than 450 keynotes in 30 countries.

Dominique Rose Van-Winther

Dominique Rose Van-Winther is a Danish-American AI evangelist based in Singapore, where she leads the AI consultancy Final Upgrade. After two decades at firms including McCann WorldGroup and WPP, she now helps executives build AI strategies and trains more than 3,000 professionals a year.

David Gram

David Gram spent nine years at LEGO, including as Senior Innovation Director at its Future Lab, and was Head of Innovation at Scandinavian Airlines. He co-founded Diplomatic Rebels, which helps organisations and intrapreneurs innovate from within. His keynote Radical Innovation Through Intrapreneurship shares the methods he developed at LEGO.

Mads Korsgaard

Danish psychologist Mads Korsgaard specialises in the psychology of creativity and innovation. He is known for projects that combine science with music, including working with rappers to show how the brain generates creative ideas. He has spoken for IBM and at international conferences, and his talk The Psychology of Creativity suits teams looking for new ways to solve problems.

Simone Giertz

Swedish inventor Simone Giertz built a global YouTube following with deliberately useless robots, from a toothbrush hat to an alarm clock with a rubber arm. Now based in Los Angeles, she has spoken at TED and uses her work to show teams how creative risk-taking and experimentation lead to better ideas.

Jesper Buch

Jesper Buch launched Just Eat from a basement in Denmark in 2000 and took it to the UK, the Netherlands, Iceland, Sweden and Ireland. He went on to co-found fashion retailer Miinto and invest in startups, and has appeared on Løvens Hule, Denmark's version of Dragons' Den. He speaks on entrepreneurial mindset, resilience and scaling a business.

Esko Aho

Esko Aho was Prime Minister of Finland from 1991 to 1995, leading the country towards European Union membership during a severe recession. He went on to become Executive Vice President at Nokia, a Senior Fellow at Harvard University and a member of JPMorgan's Advisory Council for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He speaks on geopolitics, technology and high-stakes decision-making.

Fredrik Erixon

Fredrik Erixon co-founded and directs the European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE) in Brussels. He previously worked at the World Bank and JP Morgan, and the Financial Times named him among Brussels' 30 most influential people in 2010. He helps business audiences understand trade, regulation and technological disruption.

Dr Sari Arho Havrén

Dr Sari Arho Havrén is a geopolitical analyst specialising in China's foreign policy and great power competition. She is Senior Advisor for geopolitical foresight at Business Finland and an Associate Fellow at RUSI, and lived and worked in mainland China and Hong Kong for 15 years. She helps organisations prepare for geopolitical change through scenario planning and strategic foresight.

Helle Thorning-Schmidt

Helle Thorning-Schmidt was Prime Minister of Denmark from 2011 to 2015, the first woman to hold the role. Now based in London, she speaks on global leadership, international policy and sustainable business.

Interested in booking Helle? Get in touch with the PepTalk team.

Eliza Reid

Eliza Reid was First Lady of Iceland from 2016 to 2024. Her book Secrets of the Sprakkar, a New York Times Book Review Editors' Pick, explores Iceland's approach to gender equality, and she served as a UN Special Ambassador for Tourism and the Sustainable Development Goals. She helps organisations turn equality goals into practical change.

Interested in booking Eliza? Get in touch with the PepTalk team.

Mika Häkkinen

Finnish driver Mika Häkkinen won the Formula One World Championship in 1998 and 1999 with McLaren-Mercedes, taking 20 race wins and 51 podiums. Based in Monaco, he joined Viaplay's Nordic F1 broadcast team in 2022. He shows audiences how split-second decisions, teamwork and resilience win championships.

Valtteri Bottas

Born in Nastola, Finland, Valtteri Bottas has 10 Grand Prix wins and 67 podium finishes. He helped Mercedes win five consecutive Constructors' Championships alongside Lewis Hamilton, and races for Cadillac, which entered Formula One in 2026. He speaks on elite mindset, teamwork and performing under pressure.

Thomas Bjørn

Thomas Bjørn is Denmark's most successful golfer, with 15 European Tour wins and 94 top-ten finishes. He chaired the European Tour's tournament committee for a decade and was a Ryder Cup vice-captain four times. Based in Stockholm, he speaks on team cohesion, leadership and strategic decision-making.

Rasmus Ankersen

Danish author and football executive Rasmus Ankersen co-founded Sport Republic, the major shareholder in Southampton FC. His books The Gold Mine Effect and Hunger in Paradise examine where top talent comes from and how successful organisations avoid complacency, and he has worked with Google, LEGO, Microsoft and Coca-Cola. He is based in London.

Thor Pedersen

Thor Pedersen is the first person to visit every country in the world in one continuous journey without flying. The trip took nearly ten years, from 2013 to 2023, including two years stranded in Hong Kong during the pandemic. The author of The Impossible Journey, he speaks on resilience, adaptability and keeping going when plans repeatedly fail.

Karina Hollekim

Norwegian athlete Karina Hollekim was the first woman to perform a ski-BASE jump. After a skydiving accident left her with 25 fractures and a prognosis that she would never walk again, she went through 20 operations, learnt to walk and returned to skiing. A certified coach and author of The Wonderful Feeling of Fear, she works with executives and teams on mental toughness.

Peter Schmeichel MBE

Peter Schmeichel captained Manchester United to the 1999 Champions League title that completed the Treble, won five Premier League titles and helped Denmark win Euro 1992. He now works as a football analyst for the BBC and international broadcasters, and speaks on accountability and sustaining high standards.

Interested in booking Peter? Get in touch with the PepTalk team.

Björn Borg

Björn Borg won five consecutive Wimbledon titles and six French Open championships, retiring at 26 with 64 career titles. His rivalries with John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors give him first-hand lessons on mental discipline and managing pressure.

Interested in booking Björn? Get in touch with the PepTalk team.

Annika Sörenstam

Swedish golfer Annika Sörenstam won 89 international tournaments, including 72 LPGA titles and 10 majors. In 2003 she became the first woman since 1945 to play in a PGA Tour event, and she was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame the same year. She speaks on strategic focus, continuous improvement and breaking barriers.

Interested in booking Annika? Get in touch with the PepTalk team.

Sofie Hagen

Danish comedian Sofie Hagen is based in London and has won both the Chortle Best Newcomer Award and the Best Newcomer Award at the Edinburgh Fringe. Sofie hosts the podcast Who Hurt You, co-hosts true-crime podcast Bad People, and has appeared on The Nightly Show and Comedy Central Live. Suitable for events that want a host with a candid sense of humour.

Sandi Toksvig OBE

Danish-British broadcaster Sandi Toksvig was the first female presenter of QI, co-hosted The Great British Bake Off and co-founded the Women's Equality Party. She has written more than 20 books and brings wit and a clear message on inclusion to leadership and diversity events.

Interested in booking Sandi? Get in touch with the PepTalk team.