Erkki Keldo serves as the Minister of Economy and Industry, focusing on entrepreneurship, export growth, and economic innovation. Previously, he was a Member of Estonian Parliament (2019-2024) and Secretary General of the Estonian Reform Party (2018-2022). A Tallinn University Political Science graduate (2013), Keldo was recently recognized as a Young Global Leader 2025 by the World Economic Forum - an elite community that includes heads of state, Nobel Prize winners, and Fortune 500 CEOs. Outside of politics, he enjoys football and participating in quizzes.
Kadri Tammai is the Regional Director at NATO DIANA (Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic) and the lead for acceleration operations across 32 nations. Kadri has been a driving force behind innovation and deep-tech startup ecosystems in the New Nordics with over 15 years of experience in startup, security and dual-use fields. She has supported hundreds of startups founders and deep tech ventures across sectors such as AI, robotics, cyber defence, health tech, and space tech. Kadri's expertise extends to fostering dual-use technologies and working with NATO's cutting-edge innovation programs. She’s also an active mentor for startups and lecturer at the university.
Lieutenant General (Ret.) Dr. Dennis Gyllensporre chairs NATO's Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA). He serves as an Associate Professor at the Swedish Defence University and Vice President of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences. During his 38-year military career, he served as Chief of Defence Staff (2014-2018) and held key international positions within the EU, UN, and NATO, including commanding UN forces in Mali (2018-2021). Dr. Gyllensporre holds advanced degrees from four countries and has received numerous distinctions for leadership excellence, including the Swedish Royal Order of the Sword and the French Légion d'honneur. He was named 'Leader of Change 2022' in Sweden and inducted into Halls of Fame at prestigious U.S. military institutions.
Sandra Särav is the Deputy Secretary General for Economy and Innovation in the Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications. She is a seasoned digital policy expert with a robust background in government and private sector roles. Leveraging experience from the Estonian Government and EU-level decision-making, she has served in public policy at Meta (Facebook) and led regulatory and sustainability efforts at Bolt, an Estonian tech unicorn. What brought her back to government was the sense of mission of building solutions for your own country. She’s also a lecturer at TalTech, teaching the legal framework of digital government and EU law.
Raul Rikk is the Capability Development Director at Milrem Robotics, overseeing strategic planning, military robotics concepts, and long-term EU/NATO development projects. Previously, as Estonian Director of National Cyber Security, he coordinated cyber security initiatives domestically and internationally, founded the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, and created the National Cyber Security Index. Raul holds master's degrees from the Finnish National Defense University and Tallinn University, and is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College.
James Acuña is a former CIA senior operations officer who, after more than three decades focused on Eurasia, shifted to the drone industry. In 2022 he founded Frontier Vectors in Tallinn, advising investors and governments on unmanned‑ and counter‑unmanned‑air‑system technologies; he later established the Baltic Ghost Wing Center of Excellence in Jõhvi, Estonia, a proving ground and training hub for tactical‑drone pilots. An engineering graduate of the University of Michigan, Acuña now speaks internationally on drone warfare and UAS innovation.
Aimar is a UAV enthusiast and the Chief Test Engineer at Threod Systems. He is leading the EOS C VTOL UAV test team and oversees UAV compliance to ensure the systems and flight operations meet standards. His passion for UAVs began during the pandemic, when he had the time to explore building and flying RC planes and multirotors. What started as a hobby quickly evolved into a career. When Threod Systems experienced rapid growth, he seized the opportunity to merge his 15+ years of experience in industrial automation with his newfound passion for unmanned systems.
