•  2007 PhD thesis on using artificial neural networks in forecasting speculative attacks in currency markets
  
• Taught economics and investments in Australia, Mexico, France and other countries
  
• Ran more than 10 marathons, some of them faster than in 3 hours
  
• 2018 European masters diving vice-champion
  
• 2022 took up boxing and won his first fight in amateur competition “Fight Night”
  

Main experience:
One of the principal owners of Stronghold Invest, holding company of Newsec, NIAM and several minor PropTech companies.

Max has over 25 years of experience working within the real estate industry in the Nordic Region. Starting at an early age in Gothenburg, Max has extensive experience as an international advisor for institutions, stock listed companies and family offices among others.
Main focus is International Capital Markets, leadership and international business development.

Anna Pihl is a television journalist working for Estonian Public Broadcasting. After graduating from University College London, Pihl started working at television news, after which she soon joined investigative weekly show “The Eyewitness". As an investigative journalist, she received the Bonnier Prize in 2019. Pihl has also been a presenter for live interview programmes and covered several elections. Pihl's author show "Your new relative" received the best newcomer award at the 2022 EFTA gala. Pihl is currently the presenter of prime-time discussion show called “Impulss”.

Aare has extensive banking, real-estate and finance background from various TOP Estonian and Nordic companies. Aare started his professional career in 1992 working for a Scandinavian based management consulting company SIAR-Bossard. After his MBA studies in Bentley Graduate School of Business in the US, he continued his career as a Head of Sales and Trading in Talinvest Suprema Securities (bought by Evli Bank). In 1998 he took a responsibility as a Chairman of the Board in the State Compensation Fund where he managed to execute successful exit strategy of the fund.  In 2001 Aare continued his career in industrial sector becoming a CFO in large state-owned company Port of Tallinn. Aare was then recruited by Nordea Bank Finland to become a Head of Corporate Banking and Member of the Management Board in Estonia. After strong performance in banking, Aare joined one of the largest real-estate companies in the Baltics Arco Vara, where he served as a CFO and CEO during 2007 – 2008, before accepting a new challenge in Redgate Capital, as a partner. Aare is responsible for leading Redgate’s wealth management operations.

At East Capital since 2001. Albin Rosengren joined East Capital in 2001 and is currently Partner and Head of Real Estate and External Growth. In the past he has held several roles including Managing Partner with responsibility for the management board for the East Capital Group up until 2021. Between 2009 and 2014 he was CEO of the group securities company during which he led the legal consolidation of entities in Sweden and Luxembourg, resulting in an efficient and international positioning of the firm. Leveraging further on economies of scale and scope he has led several acquisitions during 2017-2021 which has broadened East Capital Group’s operation to include global and Nordic equities and fixed income management as well as a direct distribution arm. Within his responsibility for East Capital Real Estate he is Chairman of the board East Capital Baltic Property Fund, the investment committees of Baltic Property Fund II, III and East Capital Real Estate IV. He is also a member of the board of various East Capital Group’s entities. Albin holds a MSc in Finance from the Stockholm School of Economics and studied at Lund University (School of Economics and Management) and the London School of Economics.

Professional background and work experience

Board ember and portfolio manager
CGM Monaco / as of 2017

Member of Supervisory Board and Audit Committee
AS Inbank / as of 2015

Board member and investor relations manager
Colonna Group / as of 2011

Board member and portfolio manager
G&G Prvate Finance SAM / 2009-2017

Real estate professional in Estonia
Management of development and investment projects / as of 2006

Board member and portfolio manager
Finavest Monaco SAM / 2005-2009

Junior client relationship manager
Finter Bank Zurich / 2003-2005

Viktorija Orkinė is a renowned property investment and development professional with 18+ years of experience. Holding a master's degree in law and management, she brings a unique blend of expertise to her role as CEO and Board Member of Eika Asset Management. Viktorija's exceptional track record includes serving as Director of Asset Management and Manager of Commercial Premises at Eika Group. Her sharp business acumen and deep market insights have driven significant growth in the real estate industry. She actively participates in events like NORDIC REAL ESTATE FORUM 2024, sharing valuable insights and fostering collaboration and innovation. Viktorija's commitment to excellence and dedication to advancing the industry make her a driving force in property investment and development.

Experienced real estate professional with strong background especially with open ended real estate fund management, real estate transactions, real estate development, leasing and cross-border business development in the Nordic countries and the Baltic countries.

WORK EXPERIENCE
Real Estate Portfolio Manager, Titanium Rahastoyhtiö Oy, Helsinki
Nov 2016 – Present
Real Estate Portfolio Manager for open‐ended real estate funds managed by Titanium Fund Management Company both in Finland and the Baltic Countries.
Various positions, Citycon Oyj, Helsinki
June 2005 – Oct 2016
Marketing Manager, SRV Viitoset Oy, Espoo
Feb 2001 – May 2005

EDUCATION
Master of Science, Helsinki School of Economics, Helsinki
Master of Science, Helsinki University of Technology, Espoo

Kimmo is truly a “Grand Old Man” of hotel consulting, who established SBHC in 2023.
His career spans to mid 1990’s when he started the hotel consulting career in London and worked for HVS International for five years, departing as Senior Associate, before moving into the banking industry.
He then pursued career in London City as a banker working as Associate Director and Relationship Manager for three most important UK lending banks serving the hotel sector, until he was invited to join Christie & Co in late 2004.
At Christie & Co in London, UK, he set up the Consulting Department from the beginning with fellow colleagues and progressed rapidly to become Associate Director. The business grew up and he opened the Nordic office, heading the Christie & Co business for the Nordic region - Scandinavia and the Baltic States from 2008 onwards, capturing the title of Office of the Year of Continental Europe twice.
Thus, Kimmo has very extensive experience of conducting hotel-related advisory projects, including market and feasibility studies, valuations and strategic options analysis, operator & investor searches and hotel transactions throughout Europe, including the Nordic region, all together he has completed over 425 such hotels / projects assignments to date over 27 countries.
Besides all the above, he has been a guest speaker in a number of conferences and venues in the Nordic region over the years.
Kimmo holds an MSc Diploma in Property Investments from City University of London (Bayes Business School) and an MBA in Hotel Management from Michigan State University (Eli Broad, East Lansing, Michigan, USA). He also holds a BSc in Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management from Haaga Institute Polytechnic, Finland. Besides being a native Finnish speaker, Kimmo is very fluent in English and has an excellent working knowledge of Swedish.
Kimmo is also a very keen tennis player and a tennis instructor, having lived 13 years in Wimbledon, this hobby has started already in 1970’s! Our service is Your advantage!

In the region since 1995, David Jenkins joined the Radisson Hotel Group in 2015 as Vice President Business Development and now covers Balkans, Baltics and CAC (Central Asia & Caucuses). This followed on from a 10-year period as one of the most respected hotel consultants in the Russian market with JLL, Cushman & Wakefield, DTZ and Horwath. Prior to consulting, David spent 8 years with Interstate in Moscow working in operations for the 3 Marriott/Interstate properties. David has a degree in Hospitality Management and now has over 30 years of experience in the industry from operations, consulting and development.

In recent years David has signed multiple hotel agreements in Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Kosovo, Montenegro, Georgia, Ukraine, Russia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania amongst others.

Katarzyna Sławińska is a member of Accor Development Team, working successfully in this field for over 10 years. Being Development Executive for Baltic States, Poland and Ukraine, Katarzyna is focused on growth of premium, midscale and economy brands of Accor.
Over the past few years Katarzyna was successfully incorporating existing hotels into Accor network, branding them on the basis of hotel franchise or management agreements. She was working very closely with Partners involved in the property acquisition or property repositioning process in order to increase project profitability after branding. Within her scope she is also cooperating with developers constructing new hotel buildings or mix used projects.
Accor is a world leading hospitality group offering experiences across more than 110 countries in 5,500 properties, 10,000 food & beverage venues, wellness facilities or flexible workspaces. The Group has one of the industry’s most diverse hospitality ecosystems, encompassing more than 40 hotel brands from luxury to economy, as well as Lifestyle with Ennismore. In Baltic Countries Accor is having 17 hotels, being the largest international network in this region.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Since September 2022
Senior Advisor at Pandox AB
Asset Management, Product Development, Transactions.

October 2020 – August 2022
Director of Nordic Hotel Consulting
Interim Management, Valuation, Transactions, Investment Advisory, Asset Management.

April 2015 – April 2020
Senior Advisor at Pandox AB
Asset Management, Product Development, Transactions.

May 2013 – February 2015
General Manager/Owner of Melody Hotel

August 2004 – December 2014
General Manager/Owner of Villa Källhagen

October 2000 – May 2004
Rezidor/ Radisson SAS
Regional Director Sweden, VP Business Development Nordics and Baltics
Head of operations of 7 hotels and responsible for 9 franchise hotels.
Develop the Radisson SAS and Park Inn brands.

Peeter Koppel is an asset manager and a columnist whose whole 25-year career has had always something to do with financial markets. He has traded a variety of instruments, analysed markets, companies and asset classes and also tried to make the markets understandable to the common man. Peeter has most recently been involved with launching portfolio management services in Redgate Capital. Befor that He was involved in the same business in one of the big foreign-owned banks in Estonia.

Viljar Arakas (born 1979) is a founding member and a member of the board of EfTEN Capital AS, and also a member of the board of EfTEN Kinnisvarafond AS, EfTEN Kinnisvarafond II AS, and EfTEN Real Estate Fund III AS. Before putting together the team of EfTEN Capital he was the chairman of the board of Arco Vara AS. Viljar holds a master's degree in economics from Estonian Business School.

Indrė Genytė-Pikčienė is the Chief Economist of Šiaulių Bankas Group. With 18 years of experience in central and commercial banking, she has cultivated expertise in diverse areas, including strategic planning, macroeconomics, financial markets, regional economic policy, and sectoral analysis. Her insights on the global and local macroeconomic environment, financial markets, regional competitiveness and trade, monetary and fiscal policy, as well as sectoral developments of the Baltic region are highly valued by business leaders, policymakers, and various international bodies. Regarded as one of the most prominent thought leaders in the country, she actively engages in public debates on economic, political, and social topics.

Kristi is the founder of Moderan, a leading software platform for real estate lease portfolio and utilities management, and reporting. She’s is an active member of European PropTech community and has supported real estate companies in their journey to digitalization for more than a decade. Working closely with property owners and managers across Europe and beyond, she has become the trusted expert and partner for both real estate and proptech companies.
 
Moderan is the go-to property management solution for commercial real estate owners, specializing in automating lease and utility management, and portfolio reporting, including CO2 calculations for ESG reporting. Moderan’s cutting-edge solutions help optimize property management processes and portfolio performance. Moderan software is used to manage over €6 billion worth of assets in the Baltics and beyond.
Read more at https://moderansolutions.com/

Siim Täkker, MSc, is the Co-Founder & CEO of R8 Technologies, the leading AI technology company that manages 4 million m² of commercial real estate in Europe. With 12+ years of experience in computational intelligence, energy, and HVAC, Siim's visionary work drives sustainable real estate innovation. His extraordinary leadership and management skills are one of the key drivers behind R8 Technologies' success.

Hannu helps the investors and managers to create better value for their retail assets and he is a recognized expert in the leading retail real estate and property technology forums.
Hannu is also a founding member of PropTech Finland initiative, a serial PropTech entrepreneur and earlier he has worked at Fiskars - the leading Nordic consumer brands company.
His strengths are combining technology management and industry knowledge with softer values in sales and marketing. Hannu holds a MSc in industrial engineering and management from Lappeenranta university of technology.
About HyperIn:
hyper[in] - MANAGE. MONETIZE. CONNECT.
hyper[in] brings a game-changing solution for people who MANAGE shopping malls. We provide all the tools for multi-channel communication, collaboration and integration between you and your tenants. You can MONETIZE spaces to outside advertisers and marketers. You have always up-to-date information that you can use to CONNECT to consumers and understand them.
 
We are a Red Herring Top 100 Winner in recognition as one of the leading private technology and innovation companies.
For more information, visit www.hyperin.com.

Harri is the founder of GBuilder, a leading BIM-based platform that connects the silos in the construction industry and creates a seamless customer journey for construction projects. With over 15 years of experience in the sector, Harri has a vision to transform the way end users and builders interact and collaborate, using cutting-edge technology and customer-centric design.
 
Harri launched GBuilder in 2014, after co-founding CubiCasa, a successful PropTech company that exited in 2021. Harri is also an active angel investor in ConTech startups, supporting innovation and disruption in the industry. Harri's core competencies include new business development, marketing communications, project planning, and BIM-based solutions. Harri holds a degree of economics from Helsinki School of Economics, the top business schools in Finland.

Rustom Vickers is Vice President, Head of Development for Blueground, a global proptech company that is reinventing the way people live across the globe. With a portfolio of over 15,000 apartments in 30+ cities, Blueground's mission is to make people feel at home wherever they choose to live in every global city.
Rustom has a diversified background in hospitality & real estate, from operations to consulting and from real estate ownership – development / investment – to hospitality platforms.
Previously he has been in Development roles for Choice Hotels, Hyatt, Dusit International, EMAAR in addition to being a consultant with Horwath HTL and TRI Hospitality and working for Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts in operations. A graduate of Les Roches Hospitality Management School in Switzerland, Rustom furthered his education with an MBA from Bayes (formerly Cass) Business School in London.

Indrek has over 20 years of experience in international real estate fund management, transactions and restructurings and has been developing Workland into a leading coworking brand operating in Baltic’s and Finland. Indrek is also leading the development of Krulli Kvartal, a new destination quarter in north Tallinn.

Domas Dargis has been the General Manager of EIKA since 2014. Since 1993, the EIKA group has built over 6,000 apartments and 600,000 m2 of premises. Now alongside its natural activity – real estate development – EIKA group develops technologies, reorienting its activities to sustainability principles and manufacturing solar energy products. It also develops and manages hospitality and public infrastructure projects, owns investment funds, invests abroad, and is one of the largest philanthropists in the country.
 
Domas is one of the main initiators of the PropTech movement in the Lithuanian and Baltic markets. Now he is a chairman of the PropTech Lithuania board and an active member of the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO) Lithuania.
 
Before joining the EIKA team, Domas worked at one of the largest real estate consulting and broker companies in the world, Cushman &Wakefield in London, for three years. He acquired international experience in developing and managing shopping centers and in real estate fund management in this company. Domas completed his business management studies at King’s College London, in the UK.

Liis Reisner is the Global Workplace Projects lead at Wise, a global tech company building the best way to move and manage the world’s money. Since 2019, Liis has been looking after Wise's office spaces where today, over 5,000 Wisers from Austin to Singapore are building money without borders.   Combining her real estate and interior design background, Liis is creating spaces that provide innovative, inclusive and modern working environment, with a focus on sustainability.
Wise is one of the world's fastest growing, profitable technology companies, with 10 million active personal and business customers. In fiscal year 2023, Wise processed over £105bn in cross-border transactions, saving customers over £1.5bn. Headquartered in London, Wise's biggest office with over 2,000 employees is located in Tallinn.

Linda is Sustainability Manager, based in Sweden. Linda has worked with sustainability issues in the real estate industry for over 12 years. Amongst other things, she has developed and built the Sweden Green Building Council (SGBC). Linda helps tenants, property owners, investors and various projects to set and achieve ambitious and concrete sustainability goals. She has solid experience in various environmental certifications and is a frequently hired lecturer and moderator in many different forums.

Ms Vivian Loonela is the Head of the European Commission’s Representation in Estonia since January 2022. Previously she worked as the Commission’s Coordinating Spokesperson for the European Green Deal.
Before, she was the foreign policy and cybersecurity advisor in the Cabinet of Andrus Ansip, Vice-President for the Digital Single Market. She has also worked in the Cabinet of Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, responsible for Euro and Social Dialogue.
Vivian has been a member of several EU-U.S. negotiation teams on data protection and security, the Secretariat-General’s rule of law and economic governance teams, and contributed to efforts to develop justice and home affairs cooperation with Ukraine.
Before joining the Commission, she was an Estonian diplomat, including a posting at the Estonian Permanent Representation to NATO.
Ms Loonela holds a law degree from the University of Tartu in Estonia. In 2019, Vivian Loonela was awarded with the Order of the White Star, 4th class.

Evaldas Savickis, CEO and founder of Vesta Consulting, with over 10 years of expertise in the sustainable Real Estate sector and Corporate sustainability, brings profound knowledge, strategic thinking, and a sustainability-driven mindset to the forefront. Evaldas will share practical insights and success stories, reflecting his dedication to responsible business practices and long-term client success.

Andres has been working in Swedbank for nearly 20 years. During his long career he has been holding different managerial positions. In 2013 Andres started to merge Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian private lending businesses. From 2017 he has been in his current role - developing private segment business in Baltic Banking.
Andres is not afraid of challenges but greets them with excitement.

Gabriele Gegeviciute joined Capitalica’s Investments Team in 2020 and since then successfully closed acquisitions of 6 logistics centers across the Baltics.
Gabriele has extensive experience structuring transactions in the Baltic markets. Since 2015, she has played an instrumental role in over €215 million worth of transactions in all major commercial real estate asset classes while working in different consultancy houses.
In 2022, Gabriele also started to write a monthly real estate newsletter on LinkedIn called “Water & Concrete: What’s behind?”, with ca ~700 subscribers.

15 years at East Capital / 25 years in industry
Martin Otsa is part of East Capital’s real estate team and is responsible for investment management in the Baltics and asset management in Estonia. He has more than 25 years of experience in real estate including valuation, leasing, project development, construction- and investment management. Martin holds a master’s degree in civil engineering and economics from Tallinn Technical University. He speaks Estonian, English and Russian.

Oleg is a seasoned finance professional, focusing on real estate finance and investment over the last 15 years. He has been working at EBRD since 2012 and is a Senior Banker with Property and Tourism, based in London. At EBRD, Oleg is responsible for origination and execution of real estate debt and equity transactions (including property funds) in the Baltic States, Ukraine and the CEE countries. He is passionate about sustainable real estate and complex urban regeneration projects. Oleg is a CFA Charterholder.

 Laurynas Kuzavas is a logistic real estate investment and development professional with 20+ years of experience. He worked as a credit risk management specialist at Swedbank in Lithuania and as a finance controller at the largest asset-based transport company in Europe Girteka Group. Laurynas finished economics at Vilnius University, was an active member of various local and International Organisations. His favourite sport triathlon. It has also developed his personal character, which unfolds in measured maximalism, sharp and accurate assessment, passion for life, and professional improvement. A perfect example of this approach - current CEO position at SIRIN Development. Being in this chair for over 16 years, he is in charge of significant business growth, which led to the development of over 600,000 sqm of modern, energy-efficient, and sustainable logistics parks in all Baltic region.

Jussi Vyyryläinen, Vice President Leasing at Citycon, is responsible for Citycon’s leasing and specialty leasing function across the Nordics and Baltics. He has worked at Citycon over 14 years and in the industry almost 20 years. Jussi has also been part of the NCSC Board for 8 years and in 2022 he was elected the Chairman of the Board of NCSC.

Vantaan Valo is a JV-company which is the largest owner of the Jumbo shopping and entertainment centre in Finland.
In terms of sales Jumbo is the number 1# shopping centre in Finland.  
 
Jukka Vakula has long term working history in the Shopping Centre industy in several leader positions. He is also experienced Managing Director and business development professional with a demonstrated workig history in addition to shopping centres, in Innovation Campuses and widely real estate development industry.
 
Jukka Vakula has board positions in the Sagax Campus Development -company and the Finnish Council of Shopping Centers. In 2023 he was elected as the Vice Chairman of the Board of the Finnish Council of Shopping Centers.

Tarmo Karotam is the Chairman of the Management Board of Northern Horizon Capital AS.
He has been a long-time member of Northern Horizon Capital investment management team and in real estate since 2006. He has been the Fund Manager of BOF (Baltic Opportunity Fund) from its beginning.

Tarmo Karotam graduated from Eçole Hôtelière de Lausanne (B.Sc. in Hospitality Management & Corporate Finance) in 2005 and is a member of RICS (MRICS).

For almost ten years, Igors has been working as a macroeconomist in governmental institutions of Latvia. His everyday work consisted of continuous analysis of the economy of Latvia, forecasting and presentation of the results to various stakeholders.
As of 2017, Igors joined Nordic Investment Bank in pursuing the vision of a prosperous and sustainable Nordic-Baltic region. As a senior economist, his daily routine is related to the assessment of sustainability aspects of various projects and clients (across different sectors in Nordics and Baltics). He’s also involved in various cross-cutting functions of the Bank, participating in Impact Reporting, IT developments and various internal committees/working groups.

As the Managing Director of Gensler Berlin, Lukasz Platkowski provides leadership and strategic direction for multi-disciplinary projects catering to a diverse client base. A Design Principal and registered architect with over 20 years of experience, Lukasz is deeply committed to designing for resilience, enhanced experiences, and optimal performance while prioritizing client value. He has spearheaded transformative projects that have set new industry standards and redefined the concept of 'benchmark' design across the United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. Lukasz's dedication extends to championing award-winning projects in the workplace sector, where he understands the unique challenges and developments of future-forward endeavours, ensuring smooth project implementation and standout design solutions. Additionally, Lukasz serves as a visiting tutor at the Nottingham University School of Built Environment, actively contributes to BCO CTBUH Strategic Guidelines, and participates in various jury panels, including the World Architectural News, Commercial Office Awards and the LEAF Awards.

Ardi is a Founding Partner and Member of the Supervisory Board of Real Estate development and advisory firm RESTATE.He has been International Real Estate and Capital Advisory executive for more than 20 years. Founder and long time moderator of Roundtable inside EKFL (Association of Estonian Real Estate Firms), member of the Board of EKFL. targeted to improve the real estate business environment and quality of property advisory in Estonia.Ardi is Co-Founder of PropTech AI start-up Moowle. As a PropTech and Innovation enthusiast, experienced Moderator and Inspirational speaker, he has been on the stages around the world including MIPIM, EXPOREAL, Nordic Real Estate Forum, BREIF, FIABCI World Congress, GRI etc.He has been part of organising team for annual PropTech events and a firm believer in implementation of Technology and Digitalisation in Broader Real Estate business. Past Member of the Board and Past President of the FIABCI Baltic Chapter.

Aivar is an expert in the field of property valuation. He is one of founders of Kinnisvaraekspert and he has been involved with the same company more than 30 years. Aivar is also one of founders of Estonian Association of Appraisers (1995) having position the chairman at the moment. He has been involved in numerous valuation projects in more than 10 foreign countries and he has worked for different organizations more than 2 years in abroad. Aivar is experienced in both mass and individual valuation. He has been involved in different aspects of valuation including field work, project administration, standardization, preparation of legal acts, initiating of pilot projects and capacity building, training and training of trainers, etc.