Kimmo Pentikäinen, a globally recognized leader in the telecommunications industry, has dedicated his career to developing a sustainable future through 5G & AI. He has received numerous accolades and honors throughout his career, including being nominated as a top 10 leader driving the industry towards a broadband-enabled future at the Broadband World Forum in 2020. As VP of 5G New Service Development, Pentikäinen has innovated and launched dozens of world-first 5G services, including 12K video streaming, telepathology, gaming, 8K 3D movies, and remote control of heavy machines.

Pentikäinen has also been Vice President of Artificial Intelligence Strategy, Startups, Research, and Technology and Production Strategy at Elisa, the market leader in Finland with the highest mobile data usage per capita in the world. During this time, he fully automated network operations with reduced incidents by 50% in 4 years, negotiated with over 600 startups a year, created a network of 1400+ scientists, and focused on strong AI research to renew the organization's core competences and strategy. Pentikäinen was also responsible for operational excellence, leading to Elisa regularly achieving the best financial results and revenue growth above 5% compared to 0% in the rest of Europe.

Besides his career, Pentikäinen is a past startup entrepreneur, a decorated athlete - holding eight Nordic championships in the Olympic sport of fencing - and an honorary president of the Finnish Fencing and Pentathlon Association. He is also involved in a range of organizations and has experience serving in boards and committees such as the director of Research Collaboration & Environmental Affairs at Elisa, member of the board at DIGILE, and the former president of the Finnish Fencing Association.