3rd speaker announcement
Our third release for Iceland Innovation Week speakers is here!
R. Michael Hendrix
Founder, creative director, professor, and author
R. Michael Hendrix is a founder, creative director, professor, and author with over 30 years of experience in design and innovation. He leads Invisible Notes, a design practice that helps organisations, brands, and individuals unleash their creative potential. He also teaches international trends in creative industries at Bifröst University, where he shares his insights and knowledge on the intersection of design, culture, and business.
Previously, he was a Partner and Global Design Director at IDEO, one of the world's leading design and innovation firms. He led transformative initiatives, managed brand creative direction, built a global creative excellence program, and consulted with clients across various sectors and domains. He also co-founded Tricycle, Inc., a sustainable design firm that pioneered innovative software that reduced textile industry waste, and the Open Music Initiative, a non-profit that simplifies music rights management with cutting-edge technologies. He co-authored Two Beats Ahead, a book that explores what the musical mind can teach us about innovation. He is an AIGA Fellow, a BMW Foundation Responsible Leader, a Marshall Memorial Fellow and a Fulbright Specialist.
Renata Bade Barajas
Co-Founder and CEO of Greenbytes
Renata Bade Barajas is a mechanical engineer turned software startup founder. She started her journey in sustainability through her work in the wind energy industry and then switched gears to preventing food waste as the CEO and co-founder of GreenBytes. Renata merges tech innovation with environmental advocacy spreading awareness about the role of food in sustainability as a TEDx speaker and board member of Iceland's circular economy, NGO Hringrásarsetur Íslands..
Caritta Seppa
Investment manager at Spintop Ventures
Caritta Seppa is an Investment Manager at Spintop Ventures, an early stage VC fund investing into Nordics based SaaS companies from their €100M 4th fund. Caritta is also a co-founder at Tespack, a company specialised in smart mobile energy, in providing access to green energy and Internet in off-grid regions. Caritta has been awarded as Forbes 30 Under 30 and as one of the Top Finalist Winners of Nordic Women in Tech while she is also an invited speaker to leading tech events such as Forbes Fintech Summit, Arctic15, WTO Public Annual Forum and ChangeNOW. Caritta has been featured by Financial Times, Huffington Post and Tech.eu and she is also a TedX speaker. Caritta is passionate about energy, education and in creating positive social impact through her work while supporting other aspiring entrepreneurs and founders.
Guðrún Aðalsteins-dóttir
CEO of Krónan
With experience from New Zealand and Denmark, Guðrún has settled down in Iceland to lead one of Iceland’s biggest companies, Krónan. Krónan is a leading grocery store in sustainability in Iceland, is certified with the Swan ecolabel and has a a strategic focus on the environment and public health.
Guðrún's biggest mantra is to simplify the life of the customer. She is passionate about making innovation a driving force at Krónan through digital development, sustainability and excellent customer experience. During Innovation Week, Guðrún and her team will launch a new feature in the Krónan app that brings Krónan's future vision closer to the now – and that is a healthy and sustainable lifestyle for all.
Dr. Erla Björnsdóttir
Founder and CEO of SheSleep
Dr. Erla Björnsdóttir is a psychologist with a PhD in medicine with the focus on sleep and sleep disorders. Erla has specialised in cognitive behavioural treatment of insomnia. She has published many peer reviewed research papers and written and published three books on sleep. Erla is the founder and CEO of SheSleep, a company specialising in digital solutions for women and sleep.
Aviaja Riemann-Andersen
CEO & Founder, Agrain by Circular Food Technology
Aviaja Riemann-Andersen is the CEO and Founder of Agrain, a groundbreaking company at the forefront of sustainable food production and circular economy solutions. With a passion for environmental stewardship and a keen eye for innovation, Aviaja has dedicated her career to reshaping the landscape of food.
Her journey into entrepreneurship began with a deep passion for food and a growing concern for the environmental impact of the traditional linear production methods in the food industry. Determined to make a difference, Aviaja set out to create Agrain, a company committed to revolutionizing the way we produce and consume food.
Aviaja’s entrepreneurial spirit and expertise in the circular economy have earned her recognition on the global stage. She holds several board positions and relentlessly works to show us that a sustainable future is within reach, with a healthier planet and a brighter tomorrow.
Isaac Kato
Founding General Partner at Two Ravens
Isaac Kato is a serial entrepreneur and an experienced early-stage technology investor. He is the co-founder of Verne Global, the first large-scale data center in Iceland, and has invested in several Icelandic startups, including CCP Games, where he served on the board for 12 years. Isaac has co-founded two companies, led three, raised over $200M of capital for his companies, and all three of his companies had successful exits. He has also been a professional investor for over a dozen years at highly regarded firms, including General Catalyst, Summit Partners, and Techstars.
He recently formed Two Ravens, a pre-seed and early seed stage venture capital firm, which invests in extraordinary founders from non-obvious backgrounds.
Nille Skalts
Head of Nordic at B Corp
Nille is a strategic advisor and change maker in the international business environment, where she designs, facilitates and drives business transformation with social ambition, sustainability and purpose as the red threat. Her main area of expertise is corporate activism and she helps companies define and ignite social ambition and drives the organisational transformation needed. Nille also heads the Nordic B Corp community, she was recently appointed to Regeringens Task Force for Civilsamfundsstrategi as a representative for the business community with a specific expertise on Social Enterprise and Benefit Corporations and she serves on several advisory boards.