Speakers
We are very proud to present our top-level speakers and workshop leaders from academia, government, large cap organisations, big tech and the startup world. Learn from the best how to to become happier and more productive as individuals, organizations and societies!
Micael Dahlen
Micael is a Professor of Wellbeing, Welfare, and Happiness and Director of the Center for Wellbeing, Welfare, and Happiness at the Stockholm School of Economics, this year's organizers of Nordic Happiness Summit. He studies happiness from individual, organizational, and societal perspectives and is a celebrated author and public speaker. He has an extraordinary ability to explain complex concepts in an understandable way. At NHS, Micael will set the stage, welcome our speakers, and moderate to keep the conversations flowing.
Paul Dolan
Paul is a Professor of Behavioural Science at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He is a celebrated author and public speaker and was instrumental in designing David Cameron’s UK wellbeing strategy, in 2010, aimed to measure national success beyond GDP by focusing on quality of life, happiness, and mental health. Paul has worked alongside Daniel Kahnemann and in one of his latest projects he is working with the DJ Fatboy Slim to explore wellbeing and oneness with concertgoers. At NHS, Paul will give his insights on “Happy Progress” and more.
Lord Richard Layard
Professor Lord Layard is the Co-Director of the Wellbeing Programme at the Centre for Economic Performance at London School of Economics. He is a legend in the field of wellbeing and is one of the first economists to work on happiness. His main current interest is how evidence of subjective wellbeing can lead to better public policies. At NHS, Richard will talk about “Happy Progress” and give his insights on how and why wellbeing goes hand in hand with economic growth.
Liv Sandberg
Liv is the CEO of TikTok in the Nordics and Central Europe. At NHS, Liv will talk about “Happy Tech” and help us understand both the positive and negative possibilities and outcomes of the rapid tech development we are experiencing.
Elisabeth Svantesson
Elisabeth Svantesson is the Minister of Finance in Sweden. Elisabeth is taking time out from her busy pre-election schedule to be part of the important discussion around how politics and politicians can explore and drive wellbeing among individuals, organisations and the overall society.
Chewang Rinzin
Chewang Rinzin, Vice Chancellor of the Royal University of Bhutan and Founding Director of Royal Institute for Governance and Strategic Studies in Bhutan. Bhutan is world famous for its work with measuring Gross National Happiness (GNH) instead of GDP as the main societal metric of progress. Chewang has extensive experience with this work and he was instrumental in forming the collaboration around Happy Progress between Bhutan and the Center for Wellbeing, Welfare and Happiness at the Stockholm School of Economics in 2023.
Karin Wanngård
Karin is the Mayor of Stockholm. As a representative of Stockholm she will participate in the ”Happy Progress” track at NHS, talking about the efforts of driving Wellbeing Growth in the capital of Sweden and how this needs to go hand in hand with economic growth.
Michelle Kadir
Head of YouTube Northern Europe and Sweden. Michelle is a super talent that has been part of the digital revolution for more than 20 years. She has experience from organisations such as Spotify and Sony Music and is now leading YouTube in Northern Europe and Sweden. At NHS Michelle will talk about “Happy Tech” and share insights on how the rapid tech development is affecting our wellbeing.
Managing editor, World Happiness Report. Barry is an experienced communicator that is currently heading the production of the World Happiness Report that includes the international happiness ranking where the nordics usually score very high. At NHS Barry will present this year's report and discuss particularly important developments that he can see.
Barry Grimes
Head of Policy, Meta Sweden and Finland. Jannes career has been devoted to understanding and promoting the digital transformation of our society and is now heading the work around tech-policy at Meta in Sweden and Finland. As such he is in a great position to discuss the implications of digitalization on our wellbeing, something he will do at NHS.
Janne Elvelid
Chief Impact Officer, EY. Anna has experience from high-level executive and board roles across business and the non-profit sector, and has worked to mobilize finance and business as forces for long-term societal impact. Today, she leads EY’s impact agenda, integrating impact thinking into strategy, investment and transformation. At NHS, Anna will share perspectives on how wellbeing can drive measurable progress in business and finance and what this means for future leaders.
Anna Ryott
Head of Communications, IKEA Sverige. Linda has extensive experience in strategic communication within one of the world’s most influential retail brands. She has worked at the heart of a values-driven organization known for combining commercial success with a strong social and sustainability agenda. At NHS, Linda will share insights on how large consumer brands can communicate and contribute to wellbeing in people’s everyday lives.
Linda Vikström
Markus Wartiovaara
Professor of Practice at Hanken, Founder of Nordic Happiness Summit, and Director of Hanken Business Lab. Markus wears many hats, but they all have one thing in common: helping people and organizations grow. At NHS, Markus will set the stage, welcome our speakers, and moderate to keep the conversations flowing. He will be the Finnish representative (Happiest country in the world) when discussing Happy Nordics and he will take a leading role in the talks about “Happy Organisations” and “Happy Entrepreneurship”.
Lena Lid Falkman
Lena is a researcher and celebrated teacher at the Stockholm School of Economics and Karlstad University. Her main research interests are communication, rhetoric and leadership and she is leading the research on the effects of the 4-day-work-week (4DWW) in Sweden. At NHS, Lena will talk about “Happy Organisations”.
Helge Thorbjørnsen
Rector and Professor, Department of Strategy and Management, Norwegian School of Economics
Jens Fyhn Lykke Sørensen
Jens is an Associate Professor at the Department of Political Science and Public Management at the University of Southern Denmark. Jens does research on the so-called rural/urban happiness paradox, that is, research on why people living in cities report lower happiness than people living in rural areas. At NHS, Jens will be part of the conversation around “Happy Nordics” and give his perspective on Nordic happiness success.
Timothy Lomas
Timothy is a Psychology Research Scientist in the Department of Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and part of the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University. His research is oriented around happiness, wellbeing and flourishing, usually with some kind of cross-cultural angle, but also incorporating socio-political and systemic dynamics. At NHS, Timothy will be part of “Happy Measurements” and the discussion around pros and cons with different ways of assessing well-being.
Talita Greyling
Talita is the director of the Centre for Wellbeing, AI and Social Impact and Professor at the School of Economics at the University of Johannesburg. Her research lies at the intersection of well-being economics, Big Data, and artificial intelligence creating models to analyze and predict wellbeing across the world using search engine data. At NHS Talita will share her insights in the track “Happy Measurements – How can we measure happiness and wellbeing for better understanding and effect?”
Cassie Mogilner Holmes
Cassie is a chaired professor at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, an award-winning teacher and researcher on time and happiness, and bestselling author. Cassie’s research examines such questions as how focusing on time (rather than money) increases happiness, how the meaning of happiness changes over the course of one’s lifetime, and how much happiness people enjoy from extraordinary versus ordinary experiences. Across these inquiries, her findings highlight the joy that stems from interpersonal connection and paying attention to the present moment. At NHS, Cassie will talk about “Happy You”, and give advice on how to increase happiness based on her research.
Dóra Guðrún Guðmundsdóttir
Dóra is the Director of Public Health at the Directorate of Health in Iceland. She is a trained clinical and organisational psychologist and holds a PhD in Public Health, with a focus on the epidemiology of wellbeing. Dóra is particularly committed to identifying effective strategies that enable individuals, institutions, and societies to thrive. At the Icelandic Directorate of Health, her division is responsible for leading national initiatives in health-promoting communities, workplaces, and schools. At NHS, Dóra will add her insights on “Happy Nordics”.
Kristina Heinonen
Professor, Department of Marketing, Hanken School of Economics, Finland
Daniel Berglind
Daniel is an Associate Professor in Public Health at Karolinska Institutet. He blends urban planning, public health and behavioural science to design greener schoolyards that spark kids’ play, movement and wellbeing. His work shows how built environments affect human flourishing by combining data on movement and mood with design principles, which helps to develop actionable policies that create happier, healthier cities from the ground up. At NHS, Daniel will talk about “Happy You” from a physical perspective.
Tina Sundelin
Tina is a sleep and health researcher at Stockholm University. Her research focuses on the social effects of sleep deprivation and how they relate to motivation, attention, and cognitive ability. Furthermore, she examines how this affects our daily interactions and well-being, for example with new acquaintances, within families, and in the workplace. She also has an interest in the social perception of illness—how other people perceive someone who is ill, and which cues in a person allow others to determine whether they are sick or healthy. At NHS, Tina will talk about “Happy You” and share her insights of how important sleep is to us.
Otto Simonsson
Otto is an Assistant Professor at Karolinska Institutet, where he primarily conducts research on meditation and psychedelics. His research agenda is both broad and focused, united by a central aim: to reduce suffering in the world. At NHS, Otto will talk about “Happy You”.
Ragnhild Bang Nes
Ragnhild is an Associate Professor at University of Oslo (UiO) & Norwegian Institute of Public Health. On top of her research agenda is how we can contribute to good lives and a more even distribution of wellbeing. Ragnhild recently contributed to creating the National Wellbeing Strategy in Norway. At NHS, Ragnhild will of course talk about “Happy Nordics” and discuss what can be learned from us here in the Nordics and what we have to focus on to stay at the top.