SPECIES25 Madrid

Timo Laaksonen
President and CEO, F‑Secure

Timo Laaksonen is President and CEO of F‑Secure and former Vice President of Consumer Security, and various other positions at WithSecure since 2012. He is passionate about sharing best practices in cyber security in terms that everyone can relate to and helping service providers build successful security business that complement their core business.

Mr. Laaksonen joined F‑Secure Corporation in Finland in October 2012 as a member of the Leadership Team and responsible for the Content Cloud business line. In 2015–2019 he lead F‑Secure’s Consumer Business in North and Latin America. After returning to Finland, he lead global commercial operations in Managed Detection & Response Business Unit. Prior to F‑Secure, Timo has lead international business units and venture backed start-up companies in the fields of security, cloud, telecom, predictive analytics, and mobile services.

Mr. Laaksonen holds a Master’s Degree (Econ.) from Turku School of Economics and Business Administration, Finland. Outside of work he is keen on sports, travel and music.

Mikko Hyppönen
Principal Research Advisor for F‑Secure

Mikko Hyppönen is a world­wide authority on cyber security. He has written on his research for the New York Times, Wired and Scientific American and lectured at the universities of Oxford, Stanford and Cambridge. He sits in the advisory boards of EUROPOL and the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Laura Kankaala
Head of Threat Intelligence, F‑Secure

Laura specializes in making cyber security understandable for everyone. Before she was appointedHead of Threat Intelligence at F‑Secure, her background wasin offensive security and ethical hacking.

Due to her passion for simplifying security and removing the technical jargon, Laura has become a prominent figure in helping consumers understand cyber security. Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE featured Laura on Team Whack – a TV series that demonstrates how everything is hackable, including smart home devices, cars and WiFi networks.

Laura's expertise in consumer cyber security has also been sought by multiple national publications including the Daily Mail, The Sun, Cosmopolitan, The Mirror, IltaSanomat and more. Earlier this year, she participated in a UK parliamentary roundtable exploring how deepfake technology impacts women. Most recently, Laura spoke at TedXValencia on how technology is both a tool and a weapon. 

Laura James
VP Research, F‑Secure

Dr. James is an adaptable engineering leader, building practical and innovative internet tech systems and organisations in diverse contexts. She specialises in exploring novel ideas and working with complex technologies and systems, in multidisciplinary teams, and has created and shipped high tech hardware and software products in commercial startups and nonprofits. She has also worked in research, including at the University of Cambridge, around trustworthy technologies and responsible machine learning.

Thimon de Jong
Business Strategist, Future Human Behavior Expert & Founder of Whetston

Thimon de Jong is a globally recognized behavioral expert who helps leaders and organisations to understand what people are going to do next and what that practically means for them today.

Future Human Behaviour - Leading with Optimism & Pragmatism

The future is not what it used to be—or is it? The current state of the world - uncertain, anxious, and volatile - is shaping how people feel and make decisions. It is also changing the way we think about the future. Many - especially younger generations - struggle to remain optimistic. Yet optimism is essential, not only for personal well-being and resilience but also for the innovative power of organizations. Moving forward with purpose requires both hope and action. But how can we cultivate optimism in a practical way? How do we do this together - with colleagues, stakeholders, and partners - while staying grounded in reality and stay aware of the world around us?