Description In this episode of the podcast, we're joined by Magnus Hazell, Product Director at Aira Group, and Jesse Kinnunen from AWS. They delve into Aira Group's bold mission to decarbonize 5 million homes across Europe by disrupting the traditional energy market with heat pumps, an established technology. Magnus highlights their aggressive growth, high ambition, and the utilization of AI and data to innovate and develop better products for customers. The conversation covers the vision for Europe's energy market, emphasizing electrification and smart systems to manage volatile energy access. They also discuss the challenges of scaling a deep tech company across multiple European markets, including their unique vertical integration approach that encompasses installers, manufacturing, and customer care throughout the product lifecycle. The importance of a robust data infrastructure and the role of reinforcement learning AI in Aira's smart energy system, supported by AWS technology for IoT and backend, are also key topics.

On the mic today: Anna Almen, CTO at Infront, and Marcela Cazacu Alotleh from AWS. Infront, a leading European fintech company with over 35 years of history, specializes in wealth management and trading. Anna explains how Infront leverages its deep experience and structured historical data to provide advantages to its customers, focusing on data consolidation and seamless integrations within their toolchain. The conversation delves into the challenges of scaling a platform that supports portfolio management, risk analysis, and trading across diverse user needs, emphasizing a common set of tools sharing a single data universe. Anna shares her data-driven leadership style, balancing strategic vision with day-to-day demands, and fostering innovation through fast iterations and real-world testing in a conservative industry. They also discuss the significant impact of Generative AI on the financial industry, enabling personalized and faster advisory and enhancing quantum analytics. The episode touches on the risks and opportunities of AI in finance, highlighting that AI is a tool to power, not replace, human decision-making, especially in unpredictable "black swan" events.

This time, we sit down with Simon Skoog, Chief AI Officer at Apotea, and AWS’s David Alele. Apotea, Sweden's leading online pharmacy, maintains its reputation through a core strategy of fast deliveries, low prices, and free delivery, achieved largely through high automation. Simon discusses how Apotea builds its tech infrastructure for future scalability and the dynamic partnership with AWS for cloud services and expert consultation. A unique aspect highlighted is Simon's approach to leading AI teams as a non-technical leader, focusing on strategy, people, and removing organizational "noise" by positioning the AI team as an internal startup directly under the CEO. The episode details Apotea's strategy of prioritizing "safe wins" over "quick wins" for AI projects, such as their successful implementation of product recommendations that significantly boosted conversion rates. They also explore the vast opportunities of Generative AI for internal efficiency (developer tools) and customer-facing applications (chatbots), while maintaining caution on AI-generated advice due to the paramount importance of customer trust.

We’re talking with two great guests today: Nina Laaksonen, Chief Product Officer at WithSecure, and Mitchell Contursi from AWS. WithSecure, a European company with over 30 years of history in cybersecurity, holds a strong stance on digital sovereignty and adheres to strict European compliance and ethical standards. Nina explains how in-built AI and machine learning, a core part of their protection capabilities for over two decades, is vital in combating threats like financially motivated actors and advanced persistent threats targeting mid-sized European companies. The discussion highlights WithSecure's co-security model, emphasizing cybersecurity as a collaborative effort and knowledge sharing. They also delve into the strategic partnership with AWS on technology and sovereignty. A significant innovation is Lumin AI, an in-built LLM-based AI assistant (on AWS Bedrock) that provides contextual guidance in natural language, simplifying cybersecurity for users. The episode underscores WithSecure's commitment to data integrity and privacy with GenAI, ensuring data stays within Europe and is not used to train foundational models. The future role of GenAI in transforming the industry from reactive to proactive security is also discussed.

This episode dives into a discussion with Angela Timofte, Global VP of Engineering at Trustpilot, alongside Berkan Hittet from AWS. Trustpilot's core mission is to be the universal symbol of trust, connecting consumers and businesses through reviews and empowering businesses to grow through customer feedback. Angela explains how Trustpilot, as a digital native, cloud-based company, leverages technology like AWS Lambda functions and DynamoDB to scale and innovate while maintaining security and transparency. A key focus is on how data and analytics provide actionable insights for businesses and help consumers make informed decisions. The conversation also addresses the critical role of AI in detecting fraud and combating AI-generated fake reviews. Angela shares her leadership principles of transparency and leading by example, emphasizing a business-driven approach to engineering priorities. The episode also explores how Generative AI is used to enhance products, enabling businesses to reply quicker and foster greater customer engagement.

Today’s conversation features Victor Wennerholm, Product Manager at Voyado, and Fanny Nilsson representing AWS. Voyado is recognized as a pioneer in customer experience and loyalty, focusing exclusively on retail and omnichannel brands. They explore how Voyado's platform leverages cutting-edge AI technology for real-time personalization, dynamically showing products and content based on customer behavior. The discussion highlights Voyado's two main products, Engage (CX features, loyalty programs) and Elevate (AI-powered search, recommendations), which combine to cater to the entire customer journey and foster long-lasting relationships beyond just purchases. The episode also touches on the importance of consent-driven marketing in a tightening regulatory landscape. Furthermore, they discuss how AWS supports Voyado's scalability and innovation journey, and the massive impact of Generative AI on the customer journey, from content creation to personalized product discovery.

In this episode, we dive into the world of cyber security with Paolo Palumbo, Vice President of WithSecure Intelligence, and Joakim Knutar from AWS. Paolo discusses WithSecure’s unique co-security model, emphasizing partnership with customers to extend visibility and protection against complex threats. The episode covers the dual role of AI in cyber security, from enabling rapid response to potentially being exploited by threat actors. Paolo highlights how WithSecure leverages AWS for scalable defense solutions, including participating in the AWS EU sovereign cloud. The conversation also explores leadership in a fast-paced environment, with Paolo emphasizing flexibility, experimentation, and team engagement. Looking to the future, he predicts the rise of agentic AI workflows in security operations, automating routine tasks while maintaining robust human oversight.

In this episode, we are joined by Amy Chen, Chief Innovation Officer at KONE, and Jiska Druey from AWS, to explore how KONE is revolutionizing urban mobility. Amy shares how KONE’s AI-powered Technician Assistant helps 40,000 technicians optimize maintenance by providing real-time insights and troubleshooting suggestions. She discusses how AI and digital twins improve building accessibility and efficiency, with AWS enabling their predictive maintenance and cloud innovation. The conversation also covers KONE’s human-centric approach to innovation, emphasizing employee involvement and customer feedback. Amy offers leadership insights from her journey in the tech-driven transformation of a traditional industry, focusing on psychological safety and building agile, resilient teams. Looking ahead, Amy envisions AI playing a key role in preventive maintenance and enhancing smart building ecosystems through partnerships.