President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), interim President of Mobile Infrastructure

Justin is a passionate believer in the power of technology to solve global challenges and advance human progress. Throughout his career, Justin has driven innovation, technology leadership and shareholder value creation at global tech companies.

Justin was appointed as Nokia’s President and CEO on April 1, 2025. Prior to Nokia, he was at Intel as Executive Vice President and General Manager, Data Center & AI Group. In this role, he was responsible for a significant expansion of Intel’s data center and AI business.

Ronnie Vasishta leads NVIDIA’s telecom vertical, including business management product definition, development, and go-to-market strategy. As SVP, telecom at NVIDIA, his organization is responsible for defining and architecting next-generation virtualized, open 5G advanced and 6G networks, which act as a software-defined overlay on telecommunication networks powered by accelerated computing.

Mosaab Abughalib is GM and Head of Wireless Solution Group at Keysight Technologies, where he leads wireless technology, product strategy, and development. With more than 15 years of experience in wireless communications, he has helped drive major technology transitions across multiple generations of cellular technology. His current focus is advancing 5G-Advanced and shaping the evolution toward 6G, including AI-native wireless, integrated sensing and communications, next-generation MIMO, and non-terrestrial networks.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mosaab-abughalib/

Laurent Jaffart is the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Director of Resilience, Navigation and Connectivity and Head of ESA’s European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications (ECSAT) in Harwell, United Kingdom.

As Director of Resilience, Navigation and Connectivity, Mr Jaffart leads ESA’s commitment to bolstering resilience and enhancing navigation and connectivity in line with the security and defence priorities of its Member States, the European Union and defence-related agencies across Europe. This will be crucial to establish ESA as the design authority for the European Resilience from Space (ERS) programme.

From France, Mr Jaffart has 25 years of experience in the European space and Defence sector, most notably in senior leadership roles at Airbus Defence and Space.

Minister of Transport and Communications Lulu Ranne has served as a Member of Parliament since 2019 and as Minister of Transport and Communications since 2023. In 2024, she also served for several months as Minister of Transport, Communications and the Interior. She has held several parliamentary leadership roles, including Chair and Second Vice-Chair of the Finns Party Parliamentary Group, and has been active in local government in Hämeenlinna since 2008.
Ranne holds a Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering (Construction Technology) from Tampere University of Technology. Before entering Parliament, she worked as an environmental and project expert and in various positions at Finland’s Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY Centres).

Enrico Buracchini Is currently 3GPP RAN Plenary VICE CHAIR-MAN and 5G/6G senior project manager into INNOVATION DEPT of TIM (former famous CSELT R&D labs)

His Main activities concern:

• TIM RAN Head of Delegation, RAN1 & ITU R 5D/4C delegate
• 5G and its evolution & 6G
• 5G based I4.0/I5.0 & private nets
• More than 700 presentations and business development for TOP/BUSINESS TIM clients
• 5G courses & training to all TIM personnel
• E2E network manager of TIM 5G SAN MARINO POC (march- nov 2018), including mmW @26GHz.
• More than 30 years in wireless comms, managing several innovation projects on 3&4G and consultancy projects
• in former TIM foreign branches in Austrian A1 (lived in Wien 1 year), Spanish Amena and Greek TIM HELLAS
• Author of several papers, tutorials, panels in scientific and business conferences/fora and of 14 IPRs on Wireless Comms
• Lecturer from 2009 to 2014 of “Wireless Comms Course” into the Master for Foreign Students of Polytechnic of Turin
• Several seminars in University Of Bologna, Milan Bicocca, University of Athens and Pireus and other Italian and EU universities

Erzsébet Fitori is the Executive Director of the Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking (SNS JU) with a mission to boost 5G deployment and foster Europe’s technology sovereignty in 6G.

Previously, she was responsible for Vodafone Group’s engagement with the EU institutions and stakeholders, heading Vodafone’s Brussels Office, and as Board Director in industry organizations. Before joining Vodafone in 2020, Erzsébet was Director General of the FTTH Council Europe, the pan-European trade association representing over 160 technology innovators, network operators, and investors across the fiber value chain. As chief executive, she focused on transforming it into a growing organization, increasing its membership base, revenues, and engagement with key decision-makers.

She joined the FTTH Council from the European Competitive Telecommunications Association (ECTA), where she represented 100+ challenger telecoms network operators. As Director of ECTA, she oversaw its public policy, regulatory, and PR activities and led ECTA’s engagement with the EU institutions, national regulators, and governments. Before joining ECTA, Ms Fitori was Head of Regulatory Affairs at Telenor Hungary in Budapest.

Eric Hardouin leads the Orange research on Networks and Infrastructures, which aims at designing the future mobile, fixed and Home network technologies and infrastructures. Eric received his Ph.D. degree in signal processing and telecommunications from Telecom Bretagne and the University of Rennes 1, France, in 2004. Since then he has been with Orange, where he has been involved in research, standardization and international cooperation activities on future mobile networks, including in 3GPP RAN1 & RAN Plenary, NGMN and French and European research projects. Since 2016, Eric is in charge of the Orange Research on future networks, including mobile, fixed and Home networks. Eric currently represents Orange on the Board of Directors of the IOWN Global Forum, and participates in the Board of Directors of NGMN as an alternate to the chairman. Eric is a member of the Scientific Council of the Centrale-Supelec research and teaching institute. Eric is the author of the book “LTE et les réseaux 4G” (in French). Eric is an Orange Fellow.

Dr. Kalle Härkki is the President and CEO of VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd. since August 2025. He is passionate about driving impactful innovations and sustainable growth and holds board memberships in several start up and growth companies. VTT is a visionary research, development and innovation partner and one of the leading research organisations in Europe with more than 2 300 employees. VTT aims to create impact through science and technology.

Kalle Härkki has a strong experience in combining research and business and a proven track record of leading international organisations. Previously Kalle Härkki has worked as the CEO of Resand Oy and he has had a long international career in Outotec Oyj as leader of several business units. He has worked as the CEO of Outokumpu Research Oy / Outotec Research Oy, and also in multiple global roles in sales, production and product development in Outokumpu Oyj. Dr. Härkki holds a Doctor of Science (Technology) degree from Helsinki University in Finland.

Dr. Sudharman K. Jayaweera is a Program Director in the Emerging Technologies section in the Directorate of Technology, Innovation and Partnerships, or TIP, at the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) with program responsibilities in Advanced Telecommunications, Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning (AI/ML) and Immersive Technologies. Dr. Jayaweera is also a Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of New Mexico and was the Founder and President of Bluecom Systems and Consulting, an R&D startup company in Albuquerque, NM. His research expertise and interest are in mobile wireless telecommunications, AI/ML, space systems and satcom, dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS) and coexistence, spectrum and space situational awareness, statistical signal processing and information theory.

Dr. Jayaweera completed high school education in Sri Lanka at Rahula College, Matara, and was a science journalist at the Associated Newspapers Ceylon Limited (Lake House) in Colombo Sri Lanka. He received the B.E. degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) with First Class Honors from the University of Melbourne, Australia and obtained his M.A. and PhD degrees in Electrical Engineering (EE) from Princeton University. During 2009-2011 he was a faculty fellow at the Kirtland Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Space Vehicles Directorate (AFRL/RVSV), NM and was a National Academy of Sciences National Research Council (NRC) Senior Fellow at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), Monterey, CA, in 2013.

At NSF, among other things, he designed the NSF-24-545 Breaking Low Ideas Lab program for accelerating next-generation wireless technologies to enable low-latency demanding vertical industries and the Track 2 of the NSF 25-539 VINES program for verticals-enabling intelligent network systems and is the Cognizant Program Director for NSF 24-111 AI-Ready Testbeds, an NSF CISE and TIP joint program.

Matti Latva-aho (IEEE Fellow) is one of the world’s top researchers in wireless communications. Wireless data communications systems and networks are already central to the effective functioning of society, and their significance is continuing to increase. The capacity of wireless communications networks is ultimately constrained by limited spectrum availability. Under current plans, new spectrum allocations for mobile data communications will only be made at much higher frequency bands than those used at present. This will bring major changes to how future wireless radio systems should be planned and optimised. Latva-aho’s research will help to improve understanding of how the design criteria for future wireless systems will change and what kind of transmission technologies and transmitter/receiver architectures they should use. Matti Latva-aho was Academy Professor in 2017 – 2021 and Director for National 6G Flagship in 2018 – 2026 with a total budget of 251 M€.

Matti Latva-aho has worked on wireless communications research at the University of Oulu since the early 1990s. He was appointed professor of communications engineering in 2000. In 1998 – 2006, he served as the director of the Centre for Wireless Communications (CWC).

Dr. Sari Leppänen is Chief Technology Officer at DNA, a leading Finnish telecommunications operator within the Telenor Group, where she leads the Technology unit across IT and networks. With broad international experience across telecommunications, digital services, mobile technology and finance, Sari combines deep technology expertise with a strong sense of business purpose and customer value.

She spent nearly two decades at Nokia in roles spanning networks, research, software & services and mobile phones, before moving into senior leadership positions at Telia Group and Telia Finland. She later served as CIO of 3stepIT and Aktia Bank, gaining valuable experience in finance before returning to telecommunications.

She is passionate about turning innovation and technology into customer-focused services, sustainable growth and lasting business value, and enjoys bringing people together to translate strategy into tangible results. Sari holds a PhD in Computer Science complemented by business education. She is also a co-founder and board member of a deep-tech start-up and serves on the boards of two Finnish listed companies.

Professor Ari Pouttu is the Director of 6G Flagship at the University of Oulu. He has more than 30 years of scientific and engineering experience as a researcher, project leader and research manager in information and communication technology. His work has covered waveform and system design for military radio communications, radar systems, embedded device networks, and wireless communications from early cellular systems to emerging 6G technologies.

Pouttu has led projects in cognitive networks, navigation applications and dependable wireless solutions for business verticals including security and defence, energy, industry, health and automotive. He has authored approximately 100 peer-reviewed publications and holds two patents. From 2006 to 2012, he was Director of the Centre for Wireless Communications at the University of Oulu. He heads a research group focused on experimental networks, including the University’s 5G Test Network (5GTN), and collaborates on major European initiatives in satellite and terrestrial communications.

Mr. Pekka Rantala is the Head of Business Finland’s 6G Bridge Program. This 4-year national program started in January 2023 with a funding budget of 130 MEUR. The public launch event in February was greeted in person by Mr. Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for Internal Market, and Mr. Pekka Lundmark, CEO of Nokia. The 6G Bridge program focuses on ecosystem-driven collaboration in research and innovation for 5GA/6G and building future business ecosystems in future connectivity.

Pekka is Business Finland’s delegate for Finland’s European Space Agency’s (ESA) Business Incubation Centre. Previously, Pekka acted as the National Contact Point for Horizon 2020/Horizon Europe in digital themes and clusters. He has an extensive team, project, and product management background from different industries, entrepreneurship, and innovative-born global ventures.

Juhapekka Ristola is Head of the Innovation and Enterprise Financing Department at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland. In this role, he is responsible for Finland’s technology, innovation and industrial policy and their implementation, overseeing key public organizations such as Business Finland, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Finnvera, Finnish Industry Investment (Tesi), the Geological Survey of Finland and the Finnish Center for Pharmaceutical Development. He also serves as Chair of the Finnish Space Committee. Mr. Ristola has more than 20 years of leadership experience in Finnish ministries, innovation ecosystems and regulated sectors.

Mikael Rönnholm is a seasoned professional in emerging technologies and business development, currently serving as the Director of Emerging Technologies at Volvo Group since November 2023. Previously, Mikael held the position of Vice President of Emerging Technology Business Development at Koenigsegg Automotive AB from March 2022 to November 2023, contributing to the company’s innovative automotive technology initiatives. Prior experience includes leadership roles at CEVT, Brandboxer AB, Knowit, and Acando Consulting, with a strong emphasis on strategic innovation and digital transformation. Educational accomplishments include a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Gothenburg and a Civilekonom degree in Entrepreneurship & Business Development from Växjö University.

Dr. Jukka Tanskanen is the Head of Science Policy and International Affairs at the Research Council of Finland (RCF). He holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Eastern Finland and has a diverse background spanning materials science, nuclear waste management, and science policy. Before joining the RCF in 2014, Tanskanen worked as a materials physicist at Posiva, a leading expert organization in nuclear waste management, and as a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University. In 2017–2018, he also served as a part-time process engineer for Applied Materials in Santa Clara, California. During 2023–2024, he was on a leave of absence from the RCF to work as a senior specialist at the Ministry of Education and Culture’s Department for Higher Education and Science Policy. In his current role at the RCF, Tanskanen is responsible for shaping science policy advocacy, advancing knowledge management and utilization, and coordinating the agency’s international engagement.

Katri Makkonen is a Finnish journalist, moderator and strategic communications professional. She spent nearly 20 years at the Finnish Broadcasting Company Yle, working as a foreign news journalist, Asia correspondent and host of Finland’s flagship current affairs programme, A-studio.

She also served for six years as Director of Communications to former President of Finland Sauli Niinistö. Today, she works as a moderator and strategic communications advisor at Aina Advisors, a consultancy she co-founded.