Minister of Transport and Communications, Finland

Timo Harakka is Finland’s Minister of Transport and Communications. He was previously Minister of Employment. He has served as Member of Parliament since 2015. He is well known in Finland as an active debater, social influencer and cultural figure. Prior to his political career, he worked for over 30 years as a journalist, writer and TV producer. He has published several books and articles on European Union, economics, taxation and societal issues.

Timo Harakka was born in Helsinki on 31 December in 1962. He graduated from the Helsinki

University of the Arts with a Master of Arts (MA) degree in 2005.

He is married with three children.

DIT Chief Scientific Adviser, UK

Dr Mike Short CBE, after 30 years in telecommunications with Telefonica, joined the Department for International Trade as the department’s first Chief Scientific Adviser in December 2017.

Mike leads the science and engineering profession in the department and ensures its policy is informed by the best science, engineering and technical advice. He advises on the technical aspects of future trade deals as DIT looks to create new arrangements following Brexit, and works with the UK’s research, development and academic communities to boost scientific and engineering exports.

Mike has over 40 years’ experience in electronics and telecommunications and served as Vice President of Telefonica, the parent company of the O2 mobile phone network, for 17 years to December 2016. In this post, he managed the launch of 2G (GSM) and 3G mobile technologies in the UK and led Digital and 4G/5G research and development for Telefonica Europe. In recent years he has led the development on collaborations in areas such as smart cities, digital healthcare, cybersecurity and driverless vehicles. His career also includes the promotion of international technical standards in mobile technology, has chaired the Global GSM Association, the UK Mobile Data Association, and been President of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET).

Mike also represents DIT as a Board member of Innovate UK (part of UKRI), Healthcare UK and sits on the Space Sector Council. He is on the Examining Board for UCL postgraduate Telecoms courses and is a visiting Professor at the universities of Surrey, Coventry, Leeds, Lancaster and Salford.

He was honoured with a CBE in 2012 for his services to the mobile industry.

Group Executive, Networks & IT – Telstra

Relocating from Toronto, Nikos Katinakis joined Telstra as Group Executive Networks & IT. In this critical role Nikos is responsible for ensuring Telstra delivers next generation network technologies to create the largest, smartest, safest and most reliable networks in the world. This includes rolling out new technology developments, such as those related to 5G and Edge Compute, as well as maintaining and enhancing Telstra’s IT platforms.

Nikos was previously Executive Vice President Networks for Reliance Jio in India, where he was responsible for rolling out the first pan-India 4G LTE Network, with a focus on data management, and enhancing and stabilising the various operating platforms. Nikos has held multiple board, advisory and industry positions, such as ATIS, CATA, Masters of Electrical Engineering program at the University of Toronto, UXP Systems (a digital life company which was acquired by Amdocs), and others.

Vice President – Mobility & IoT, AT&T Business

Robert Boyanovsky is Vice President of Mobility & IoT. He oversees all aspects of product management supporting AT&T’s Mobility & IoT business customers. In a highly competitive market, Robert looks for new strategies to improve products, reach new customers and differentiate offers while driving revenue and operating income.

He has over 25 years of telecommunication experience. In his previous role at AT&T, he led a successful, revenue-boosting mobility bundle. Under his direction, there was also an increase in operating income on a billion-dollar product line.

Robert holds a Master of Business Administration from University of Dallas and a Bachelor’s in Marketing from the University of Wisconsin in Whitewater. Robert and his wife, Jennifer, have two children and currently reside in Dallas.