More speakers joining IIW

Steindór Oddur Ellertsson

↪ CEO, Careflux

Steindór is a primary care physician and CEO of Careflux, where he works on reducing administrative burden in healthcare through AI. He holds a PhD in clinical AI in primary care, focusing on diagnostics, triage, and automated documentation. Alongside his clinical work, he builds practical solutions aimed at improving everyday workflows for healthcare professionals.

Maria Smith

↪ Secretary-General,  Axfoundation

Maria is Secretary-General of Axfoundation and has the overall responsibility for the business and the organization. Based on business as a positive force for change, she has about 25 years of experience form management positions within sustainability in companies within food retail, industry and service sector. She has been responsible for both strategic and operative development of solutions within areas as climate, resource inefficiency, plastic, health, human rights, antibiotic resistance etc.

Maria has a MSc in chemistry and an Executive MBA degree. Besides her role at Axfoundation, she is engaged in the boards of the Network for sustainable business and the company Ekoligens.

Nina Hajikhanian

↪ EMEA, Patagonia

Nina Hajikhanian is general manager for Patagonia in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). Iranian-born Hajikhanian grew up in Austria and is passionate about exploring wild places, all over the world, through silent sports such as skiing, surfing, and climbing. She is a licensed ski instructor and member of the Austrian Alpine Club. With an MBA from the University of Western Australia, Hajikhanian has worked and studied in a variety of countries across Europe, Asia and Australia. Prior to joining Patagonia, she worked as head of ecommerce for Australia and New Zealand at Adidas Group and has held senior marketing roles at brands including Red Bull.

Jón Kaldal

↪ Operation Manager and spokesperson, The Icelandic Wildlife Fund's (IWF)

Jón Kaldal is The Icelandic Wildlife Fund's (IWF) operation manager and spokesperson. His background is in journalism. For 24 years he was the editor of various Icelandic magazines and newspapers and is a frequent commentator on news and politics in Iceland's media.

IWF is a non-profit grass-roots organisation focusing on environmental protection and conservation, including the protection of the wild salmon and other freshwater fish in Icelandic rivers and lakes.

Bart Cameron

↪ Editor-in-chief, The Reykjavík Grapevine

Bart Cameron moved to Iceland from New York City on a Fulbright Fellowship. He began editing The Reykjavík Grapevine in the 2000s, also publishing the book Inside Reykjavík: The Grapevine Guide. He has been working with the paper for over two decades and returned to his role as editor-in-chief in 2025.

Lennart Velten

↪ Associate, NATO Innovation Fund

Lennart joined the NIF investment team as an associate, looking at a range of topics with a passion for energy & supply chain security, novel materials and manufacturing. Based in the Netherlands, he also works on partner engagement. On top of countries in Western Europe, he is more closely involved with the ecosystems in Iceland, Italy, and Slovakia. Lennart started his career in public policy consultancy where he worked on adoption of novel technologies and life science innovation. From there he moved to climate tech VC, focussing on asset-heavy approaches in clean energy and circular economy. Just prior to joining the NIF, he took a year to help startups with fundraising and structure growth planning. Lennart holds a MS in Science, Business and Innovation and BSs in Biology and Business Psychology.

Elín Magnúsdóttir

↪ CRM Director, 1939 Games

Elín Magnúsdóttir is CRM Director at Reykjavík-based game studio 1939 Games, the developers of KARDS – The WWII Card Game. She works at the intersection of players, community, and product development, helping shape how the studio engages with its global audience.

Her work focuses on building sustainable online communities around live digital products and creating meaningful dialogue between players and developers. With a background in Business Administration, Elín focuses on the role community plays in shaping successful digital products.

Andy Mann

↪ Co-Founder, SeaLegacy USA

 Andy Mann is an Emmy-nominated Director, 12 time Telly-Award Winner, National Geographic Photographer & marine conservationist whose imagery is helping tell the story of our rapidly changing planet. Andy’s career as a photographer and film director has humble roots: a decade documenting the world best climbers in most remote mountain ranges of the world'. His love for adventure and storytelling led him to National Geographic Magazine and into his true passion of protecting the oceans. In 2013 his work alongside National Geographic Pristine Seas was awarded the Crystal Compass Award from the Royal Geographic Society for the storytelling that led to the designation of the world largest Arctic National Park in Franz Josef Land, Russia. In 2015, Andy directed the first Oceano Azul Foundation expedition to Azores leading to the declaration of 150,000 square kilometers of new Marine Protected Areas in the Azorean Sea. In 2016, Andy helped to launch the non-profit, SeaLegacy, with Paul Nicklen and Cristina Mittermeier. In 2017 he co-directed the award-winning National Geographic / SeaLegacy expedition to Antarctica, presenting the final work at the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting in Buenos Aires, Chile. His work in the eastern tropical pacific ocean between 2018-2021 helped to create the world’s very first international marine protected area, resulting in official presidential invitations from Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador and Colombia during their signing ceremonies. Andy currently leads global impact media teams, creating storytelling assets to help campaign and lobby for marine protections around the world.

Jón Skírnir Ágústsson

↪ VP of Artificial Intelligence and Data Research, Nox Medical

Jón Skírnir Ágústsson is VP of AI and Data Research at Nox Medical, where he leads the development of AI-enabled medical devices for sleep diagnostics. With over a decade at Nox, he has played a key role in building and deploying AI systems from the ground up, bringing clinically validated solutions to market in regulated healthcare environments. His work focuses on translating complex physiological data into reliable, real-world tools that support clinicians and improve patient outcomes. Jón has contributed to peer-reviewed research in sleep medicine and AI and is an inventor on multiple patents related to physiological signal analysis and AI in medical devices. He is also actively involved in mentoring and innovation initiatives in Iceland and serves as a mentor at KLAK – Venture Mentoring Service.

Christoph Zinsser

↪ VP Finance, Paebbl AB

Christoph Zinsser is VP Finance at Paebbl, where he leads the company’s financial strategy and capital formation to support the scale-up of carbon mineralisation technology. He brings extensive experience in project finance, capital markets, and investment across mining, metals, and industrial infrastructure. Prior to Paebbl, Christoph was part of the leadership team at Stegra (H2 Green Steel), contributing to one of Europe’s largest green industrial developments, and held senior roles in investment and banking at firms including Incomet, Société Générale, and UniCredit. Based in Stockholm, he focuses on structuring and financing large-scale industrial projects that enable the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Stefanía Benónísdóttir

↪ Research assistant professor and the director of The University of Iceland Centre for Artificial Intelligence, University of Iceland

Stefanía Benónísdóttir is an Assistant Research Professor at the School of Engineering and Natural Sciences at the University of Iceland. She completed her DPhil in statistical genetics at the University of Oxford in 2023 and has since conducted research focusing on statistical genetics, participation bias, and the development of disease prediction models at the University of Iceland and the University of Oxford. Before beginning her doctoral studies, Stefanía worked as a researcher at deCODE genetics and as a specialist at Statistics Iceland.

Eiður Smári Valsson

↪ Fleet Manager, Arctic Trucks Polar

Eiður Smári Valsson is a polar field specialist and expedition leader enabling vehicle operations in extreme, no-infrastructure environments as Polar Fleet Manager at Arctic Trucks. In 2026, he concluded 3 seasons of support for a U.S. NSF seismic project at the South Pole—made possible by overland vehicle systems where aircraft and traditional vehicles were not an option—and brings over a decade of search and rescue experience to designing resilient, mission-critical mobility solutions.

Kári Helgason

↪ Head of Research & Innovation, Carbfix

Dr. Kári Helgason is Head of Research & Innovation at Carbfix, a company focused on carbon mineral storage. He works on advancing Carbfix’s mineralization technology and supporting the development of scale-up projects. Kári holds a PhD in Astrophysics and, prior to joining Carbfix, worked as a researcher at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics.

Dr. Ingunn Gunnarsdóttir

↪ Leader of Innovation, ON Power

Dr. Ingunn Gunnarsdóttir is the Leader of Innovation at ON Power, where her role is to promote innovation within the company and in collaboration with partners. She leads the development of Glóð, an innovation hub in the company’s Geothermal Park that brings together industry, startups, and researchers to accelerate sustainable solutions.

She has extensive experience in energy and environmental policy and analysis from roles at Landsvirkjun, the National Power Company of Iceland, and the Environment Agency of Iceland. Ingunn holds a PhD in Environment and Natural Resources from the University of Iceland, where her research focused on sustainable energy futures, including sustainability indicators and stakeholder engagement. She also holds a Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University and a BA in Earth and Environmental Sciences from Furman University

Kristinn Hafliðason

↪ General Manager, VAXA

Education. MBA, M.Sc Finance - 20 years in business and investments. Field of responsibility at VAXA: Buying coffee ...and other stuff.

Martin Coulter

↪ News Editor, Sifted

Martin is news editor at Sifted, Europe's leading publication for startups and venture capital. He previously worked as a technology reporter for the Financial Times, Reuters and Business Insider.