SWEDEN
JANNE BJÖRGE
Founder & CEO,
Nord Core, NORD DDB
Janne Björge built and ran a major European communications business, and then walked away to honestly ask: “what actually makes people care?” Today he works with leadership teams at companies like Audi, Spotify and Vattenfall - not on events, but on the thinking that happens before them. His focus is on clarity, direction and what it takes to get people genuinely aligned around a shared idea. At PULSE, he brings that lens to the future of belonging - what it means to create environments where people do not just attend, but actually connect.
DENMARK
JON ANGELO GJETTING
Creative Director, Digital Media strategist, Alchemist
Jon Angelo Gjetting has spent more than twenty years working across design, advertising and brand identity in over ten countries. He is best known for shaping the immersive experience universe of Alchemist - the Copenhagen restaurant that has redefined what a meal can be and repeatedly captured global attention in doing so. His work sits at the intersection of storytelling, technology and sensory design, building concepts that outlast the moment they happen in. At PULSE, he brings that perspective to the future of gastronomy & what happens when food becomes the medium, not just the subject.
LATVIA
GERMANS ERMIČS
Designer
Germans Ermičs is a Latvian-born designer based in Amsterdam and a graduate of the Design Academy Eindhoven. Renowned for his refined glass furniture and immersive installations, his work explores the relationship between light, colour, space, and material to transform the way people experience objects and environments. His designs have been showcased at leading international design fairs, including Salone del Mobile, PAD, and Design Miami/Basel, and have received multiple Wallpaper Design Awards.
LATVIA
ANDA OZOLIŅA
Architect and Interior Designer
Anda Ozoliņa is an architect and interior designer whose work centres on creating spaces that evoke emotion through simplicity, natural materials, and thoughtful design. Guided by the belief that great design should feel authentic rather than complicated, she creates warm, human-centred environments where aesthetics and functionality come together to shape meaningful experiences.
LATVIA
AGNESE CIMUŠKA - REKKE
Executive Director of the Latvian Music Export Association
As Executive Director of the Latvian Music Export Association, she works to strengthen the international presence of Latvia's music industry by supporting artists, fostering international partnerships, and promoting the export of Latvian music. Her work connects the local creative sector with global opportunities, helping showcase Latvian talent on the international stage.
LATVIA
GUNDEGA SKUDRIŅA
Founder & Creative Director,
Skudras Metropole
Gundega Skudriņa founded Skudras Metropole with a clear idea of what events should be able to do - surprise people, shift perspective, leave something behind. The agency has earned international recognition including awards at Heavent in Cannes and BEA World, building a body of work that spans brand activations, immersive installations and large-scale experiences. Her approach is experience-first: concept, emotion and unexpected angle before anything else. At PULSE, she brings that practice to the future of business.
LATVIA
KRISTAPS CĪRULIS
Creative Director, Entrepreneur & AI Innovation Expert,
Helve, Shift, The Crowd
Kristaps Cīrulis works at the point where technology stops being abstract and starts being useful. As Creative Director at Helve and co-founder of startups Shift and The Crowd, he has spent years helping organisations move from curiosity about AI to actual integration - building tools and workflows that change how teams operate day to day. His interest is not in what AI can theoretically do, but in what it already does and what that means for the people working alongside it. At PULSE, he will address the future of AI - and not only in theory, but with very practical, live examples.
LATVIA
LAURA DZELZKALĒJA
Board Member, Project Manager & Lecturer, Zero Waste Latvija
Laura Dzelzkalēja holds a PhD in environmental science and has built her career around a single, practical question: how do you make sustainability something people actually engage with, rather than agree with in principle? Through Zero Waste Latvija, she designs workshops and experience-based initiatives that move people from awareness to action. Her approach is grounded in evidence and shaped by years of working with real audiences in real contexts. At PULSE, she brings a practitioner's perspective to the conversation about what responsible creative industry looks like.
LATVIA
VIESTURS CELMIŅŠ
Urban Planner and Executive Director at VEFRESH, Riga's Open Innovation Movement
Viesturs Celmiņš is an urban planner and Executive Director of VEFRESH, Riga's open innovation movement. He leads initiatives that help startups, corporations, and public sector partners develop and implement sustainable mobility solutions, driving innovation at the intersection of cities, technology, and entrepreneurship.
LATVIA
PATRIKS KIRKILS
BOURZMA Co-founder and CEO
Patriks is the Co-founder and CEO of BOURZMA, leading the company's strategic direction and overseeing the seamless execution of its immersive projects. Specialising in 3D visualisations and experiential production, he bridges technology and creativity to deliver innovative experiences for brands, events, and audiences.
ESTONIA
MARIS ALTSOO
Co-Founder, CEO & Creative Producer,
ALL·SET
Maris Altsoo has spent twenty years building things that did not exist before in Estonia at such level - large-scale events, brand experiences, a live music venue, international productions. As co-founder of ALL·SET, she operates at the intersection of strategic thinking and creative risk, with a track record that spans Estonia and well beyond its borders. She is not interested in events as a format. She is interested in what they can actually do to a city, a community, a conversation. At PULSE, she will explore the future of cities - how live experience shapes the places we build and the people who live in them.
GERMANY
JENS OLIVER MAYER
Managing Director,
Jack Morton Worldwide Germany
Jens Oliver Mayer has spent more than two decades helping global brands figure out what they actually want to say, and then building the experience that says it. As Managing Director of Jack Morton Worldwide Germany, he works with clients including Samsung and Novartis, leading teams that operate across live, digital and hybrid formats. His belief is simple - creativity is not a production variable, it is the point. At PULSE, he will address the future of brands - what it takes to build brand relationships that hold when audience attention is fractured and expectations keep shifting.
LATVIA
BAIBA PRINDULE - RENCE
Stylist, Designer & Founder,
SVINAM, Nītaures Dzirnavas
Baiba Prindule-Rence has built one of Latvia's most distinctive creative practices in the space where atmosphere, aesthetics and live experience meet. As founder of SVINAM and owner of Nītaures Dzirnavas, she has shaped large-scale private and corporate events with a visual language that is immediately recognisable and consistently hard to replicate. Her work is not about styling in the conventional sense, it is about the total environment, and what that environment communicates before a single word is spoken. At PULSE, she brings that sensibility to the future of brands - and the argument that aesthetic coherence is a strategic choice, not a finishing touch.
UKRAINE
NATALI SHESTAKOVA
CEO & Co-Owner,
Plombir Event Company
Natali Shestakova produces events and cultural projects under conditions that would stop most people from trying. As CEO of Plombir Event Company and one of the key initiators behind Ukraine. Residence of Freedom (an international charity project and art residency), she has built experiences that carry genuine weight at a time when the stakes of public gathering have rarely been higher. Her work sits at the intersection of events, culture and social responsibility. At PULSE, she will speak to the future of events in an unpredictable world & what it takes to keep creating when certainty is not available.
LATVIA
DĀRTA CERIŅA
Film critic, curator, Head of Artistic Department
Riga International Film Festival (RIGA IFF), Dailes Theatre, Latvian Radio
Dārta Ceriņa thinks critically about culture for a living. As a film critic, curator, researcher, journalist, and the person responsible for the artistic direction of Dailes Theatre, she curates programmes for the Riga International Film Festival and co-hosts the weekly film show “No Place For Critics” on Latvian Radio Channel 1. Ceriņa works beyond the Baltics, she has been a Golden Globe Awards voter since 2022 and serves on the board of the Latvian chapter of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) and as a member of the European Film Academy. That breadth is not incidental: her work consistently moves between making, evaluating and contextualising – asking what culture does, not just what it produces. At PULSE, she brings an outside perspective into a room of practitioners – the kind of critical lens that tends to sharpen the inspirational talks.
LATVIA
FREDIS BIKOVS
Director,
Riga Investment and Tourism Agency (RITA)
Fredis Bikovs came to city leadership from the private sector through roles at Wolt, Evry and ABSL - and that background shapes how he thinks about Riga's future. As Director of the Riga Investment and Tourism Agency, he works on the harder question of what it actually takes to attract investment and build a city's international reputation over time, not just promote it. His interest is in the systems and decisions that make a city genuinely competitive. At PULSE he will address the questions of future of cities - this time from the perspective of those responsible for promoting them.
LATVIA
ĻENA FERSTERE
CEO, Co-Founder & Partner,
SponsorKing
Ļena Ferstere is a Latvian event industry professional and brand activation expert, as well as Co-Founder and Partner at SponsorKing, a member of the international event agency network 27 Names. Through her work, she focuses on creating meaningful connections between brands and audiences, combining strategic thinking with experience-driven marketing. Working across local and international projects, she closely follows how audience expectations and event trends continue to evolve.
LATVIA
MĀRTIŅŠ SPURIS
TV, Radio & Event Host,
TV3 Group, Star FM, Laika Kapsula
Mārtiņš Spuris has been in front of Latvian audiences for more than a decade and across multiple media. TV3, Star FM and some of the country's most watched live shows, including Balss maskā, Dejo ar zvaigzni, Zelta Mikrofons and GAMMA award ceremonies. He knows how to hold a room, read a crowd and keep a conversation moving without flattening it. Since 2023, he has added podcast creator to that list with Laika Kapsula. At PULSE, he takes on a different role, moderating the conversations that matter, making sure the right questions get asked and the right voices get heard.
LATVIA
RAIMONDS STROKŠS
Founder of RA Events and International Motorsport Event Organiser