| 9.15 | |
9.15 Keynote, Auditorium Cultivating the explorer's mindset to succeed in holistic teams Alex Schladebeck, Bredex Alex Schladebeck is one of the managing directors at Bredex GmbH in Braunschweig, Germany with 7 years of managing experience, and 4 years of managing managers. An effervescent addition to any situation, Alex uses her unique style to her advantage in the corporate world of negotiating contracts and keeping a medium-sized company afloat amidst bigger players. Next to her leadership and strategic activities, Alex still works with customers in workshops about quality, agile and communication topics. She has won the award for “Most Influential Agile Testing Professional”, is a member of the ASQF Steering Committee and has been an active speaker since 2009 and international keynote speaker since 2016. Alex's current career grew from her years of expertise as an exploratory tester. Her presentations on the topic, with her contribution to the field through microheuristics, brought her to the realisation that the same skills of systematically exploring and categorising give her the best tools she could have to both succeed as a manager of managers, and teach others to do the same. |  |
| 10.30 | |
| 10.30 Auditorium Building Quality Through Wise Technology Hanna Saari, Northcode Hanna Saari is a refreshing breeze in the stereotypical tech industry. She is also a career changer who, after a 10-year career in banking, decided she wanted to be involved in developing better business and smoother daily life through technology. Hanna has successfully built a career in intelligent automation and software robotics as a consultant, trainer, and project manager. Additionally, she has been involved in growing two different startups in various roles, all the way up to CEO. Hanna has seen how new technological solutions are developed, how software developers and development projects are managed, what is the meaning of quality and testing and most importantly, how to talk about technology in a way that everyone understands. The strength in Hanna's work and also in her speeches is undoubtedly her background in business, which gives her a different perspective on the benefits and requirements of technology compared to the traditional engineering approach. |  |
| 10.30 Kaarle Collaborative Cyber & Quality Assurance Learning: Meeting Compliance Through Integrated Paths Mikko Paloheimo and Taru Hermunen-Kuusela, OP Mikko & Taru both are experienced specialists in their respective areas in QA & Cyber Security at OP Financial Group and share a common interest in training, coaching and continuous improvement. |   |
| 10.30 Carl Gustaf Could you love your job? (FIN) Eeva Pursula, Finbiosoft I’ve worked in the software industry since 2009. During these years, I’ve worn many hats, but I’ve mostly been busy testing browser-based solutions from the user's point of view. For me, the magic that keeps up the love for testing is in the diverse range of skills and viewpoints that help me test better and make a real difference in the products we create. |  |
| 11.15 | |
| 11.15 Auditorium How to Use AI with Playwright for UI & API Testing Michal Slezak, Sii Poland Michal Slezak has over 9 years of experience in test automation. He has led projects for large banks and has worked on aviation projects as well as for other major companies. Additionally, he has experience with startups such as ArtistGrowth and WhatClinic.com. At Sii, he serves as a test architect, participating in various projects and initiatives. He also runs a blog, testingplus.me, which is dedicated to test automation in Polish. Besides these activities, Michał provides training and speaks at various conferences such as StarEast, TestCon, QA Global Summit, 4Developers, TestWarez, TestFest, ConSelenium, and TestCamp. |  |
| 11.15 Kaarle 5 Success Factors in Test Automation of Mepco Portal Valtteri Heiskanen, Accountor Valtteri is a seasoned professional in test automation, testing, robotics assisted test automation, project management and various test and measurement systems. He has been a key player in customer interface in challenging projects where end customer locations have varied from North America through Asia to Europe. He has a strong ambition towards test automation development, therefore minimizing the need of manual testing, enhancing overall quality and speeding up R&D processes of customers. During his time out of office, he goes to gym and sings among others. |  |
| 11.15 Carl Gustaf Kuinka testausta johdetaan organisaatiotasoisesti S-Pankilla (FIN) Henri Tehilä and Marko Rytkönen, S-Pankki / Hidden Trail Henri has extensive experience in the FinTech industry, beginning on the business side and later transitioning into testing and quality assurance. Over the past 15 years, he has worked with major financial institutions both as an in-house expert and a consultant. His roles have included Test Engineer, Test Manager, and QA Lead. Currently, Henri works as QA Manager at S-Bank, where he leads the QA team and drives initiatives to strengthen testing capabilities and foster a quality-focused culture across the organization. He believes in leading testing collaboratively - engaging people in change and building a shared sense of ownership. Henri is passionate about how people work together, emphasizing that quality is fundamentally about human interaction and collaboration. Network with Henri at LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/henritehila/ Marko works as a QA Coach at Hidden Trail and serves as an advisor and trainer through his own company, Marko Rytkönen Oy. He specializes in helping organizations lead testing efforts and enhance testing capabilities at both departmental and company-wide levels. With over 30 years of hands-on experience in testing and test leadership, Marko brings deep expertise and insight to his work. He has made significant contributions to the Finnish testing community. Marko is the author of ‘ACT 2 LEAD: Software Testing Leadership Handbook’ and a co-founder of the Testing Assembly, which he has organized for over a decade. He has also served on the board of the Finnish Software Testing Board, FiSTB. As an active thought leader, Marko regularly shares his insights on LinkedIn and through speaking engagements at conferences, community events, and universities—helping to educate and inspire the next generation of testers. Network with Marko at LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markorytkonen/ |   |
| 13.00 | |
| 13.00 Auditorium Two Paths to Quality: Leading with Authority and Influence Sami Söderblom and Mikko Vaha, Qlarify / SOK Sami Söderblom is one of the leading figures in Finnish software testing landscape, with over 20 years of experience across various business areas and recognition as National Tester of the Year in 2022. Specialising in context-driven testing, he has held leadership roles in some of the biggest companies in Finland. Recently, he co-founded Qlarify, a consultancy that helps companies up their quality game and transition to a bright, digital future. |   |
| 13.00 Kaarle Metrics Are Easy, People Are Hard: Why Software Metrics Fail and How You Can Fix It Veli-Matti Ahlroth, CGI Veli-Matti Ahlroth is a Program Test Manager with 8 years of experience in test management and program-level testing roles. Known for a keen eye for numbers and finding patterns in data, Veli-Matti advocates for data-driven decision making and creates custom solutions when existing tools fall short. Recently recognized as Top Talent and Expert of the Year 2025 at CGI for demonstrating deep knowledge, taking leadership in guiding and mentoring team members, and dedication to continuous learning and improvement. Veli-Matti has provided internal training through conferences, podcasts, and training sessions across various testing topics. Outside of work, Veli-Matti enjoys developing indie games and exploring AI possibilities. |  |
| 13.00 Carl Gustaf Teaching AI to Build My Test Automation: A Practical Case Study (FIN) Ari Laitinen, OP I’m a Senior Test Engineer specializing in automation, with a growing focus on bringing AI into the testing world. Most of my time goes into building test automation with Robot Framework and figuring out how to leverage AI in ways that are actually reliable, with a constant focus on avoiding hallucinations. I also mentor the "AI for Testers" track in our company’s internal tech academy, and lately people have started to take notice and invite me to speak at industry events to help others make sense of this fast-moving space. When I get into a topic, I tend to dive deep, sometimes zooming out to map the big picture and other times getting completely absorbed in the details until they make perfect sense. Before tech, I spent time as a DJ, event organizer, and even worked as a security guard. Those experiences taught me a lot about flow, focus, and keeping things running smoothly even when the unexpected happens. |  |
| 13.45 | |
| 13.45 Auditorium Modernizing QA in the Nordic’s Largest Bank: Reducing Payment System Test Cycles from Three Weeks to Three Hour Sami Kaltala and André Mazouch, Nordea Sami has nearly 20 years of hands-on experience in quality assurance, working across both consultancy and large-scale tech environments. Over the years, he has led QA teams, shaped testing strategies, and improved automation and compliance in complex, fast-moving projects. With a strong focus on quality as a key part of delivery, Sami is passionate about building smarter ways of working, supporting QA professionals, and making sure testing brings real value to both the business and the end users. André is an accomplished QA manager with almost two decades of experience driving quality engineering initiatives in complex enterprise environments. He currently leads strategic QA improvements at a major Nordic bank, where he's focused on transforming traditional testing practices to support frequent, high-quality releases. He combines technical expertise with a practical, business-focused mindset, ensuring QA adds measurable value across the software development lifecycle. |   |
| 13.45 Kaarle Breaking Barriers: A Practical Guide to WCAG and Accessibility Testing Arda Müftüoglu, Nortal Germany Results-driven Senior Engineering Lead with a strong background in quality assurance and digital transformation. Experienced in leading teams of Quality Engineers, Test Managers, and Test Automation Experts to drive excellence in software development. Passionate about embedding quality into every stage of the development lifecycle, optimizing testing strategies, and ensuring seamless digital experiences. Bringing hands-on expertise in designing, developing, and testing back-end and web applications, complemented by years of academic experience in research and teaching. Certified Professional Scrum Master and Test Manager. Committed to fostering high-performing teams, implementing industry best practices, and driving innovation in software quality. |  |
| 13.45 Carl Gustaf Quality at Speed: Improving software excellence in agile and DevOps environments (FIN) Teija Pesonen, Ponsse Teija is responsible for Architecture and Portfolio Management at Ponsse Digital services and IT. In this role, Teija leads and optimizes the company's architectural frameworks and portfolio strategies, ensuring high standards of quality and efficiency. Over the decade Teija has led quality assurance strategies as parallel with process development to deliver efficient and high-quality outcomes. |  |
| 15.30 | |
| 15.30 Keynote, Auditorium Title of the presentation added later Katri Saarikivi Katri Saarikivi is a researcher in the field of cognitive neuroscience, with a background spanning several years in work and organizational psychology. Her research focuses on exploring the brain functions involved in learning and human interaction. In addition to her academic work, Katri is an active speaker and educator, addressing topics such as creative work, learning processes, and the dynamics of complex, networked organizations. She is particularly interested in how people think, connect, and collaborate in modern working environments. Katri's goal is to help work organizations apply and make the most of cutting-edge scientific knowledge. By bridging the gap between research and practice, she aims to support organizations in thriving within increasingly complex and constantly changing environments. |  |
