Sulekha Daar
Sulekha Daar is a PR & Marketing Manager who has become a prominent voice in Sweden’s music industry. With years of experience, she has worked with top artists, helped launch Sweden’s first Hip Hop festival, and founded her own sub-label focused on independent Hip Hop and R&B-artists. She has held roles as a PR Manager at major live music and global music companies. Her curiosity and burning passion for creating a more inclusive and open-minded industry led her to work with international platforms and becoming a spokesperson for unrepresented voices.
Today, she is building her own agency, with a focus on marketing and storytelling as the key components of success for those in music and culture.
Axel Åkerlund
Axel Åkerlund is a music producer and A&R with a diverse background in the music industry. He is the Co-founder of IMRSV, a record label and publisher. Based in Stockholm’s Old EMI studio complex, IMRSV hosts world-renowned artists and offers avant-garde production with multiple Dolby Atmos studios. Axel formerly served as A&R manager for AtNight Management and PRMD Music.
Revin Baban
Revin Baban is a music industry professional with over 15 years of experience in artist management, business development, and education. As an Artist Manager, she is working closely with artists to support their careers while also leading educational lectures on artist development. A TEDxStockholm speaker, she also serves on the boards of TEDxStockholm and the Music Managers Forum Sweden, contributing to industry discussions on artist representation and management.
Committed to shaping the future of the music industry, she is part of the leadership team for the Music Business Developer program, where she helps develop the next generation of music professionals.
Joe Hadley
Joe Hadley is the Global Head of Music Partnerships & Audience at Spotify. He joined Spotify in March 2022, after working as a music touring agent for 10 years at Windish Agency and CAA. At CAA, he served as the Co-Head of Hip Hop / R&B Touring, and was involved in leading the company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
Currently, he oversees Spotify’s Global and North American music partnership functions – defining Spotify’s partnerships with the industry and strategizing towards targeting new audiences. He is working on improving and defining value exchange with artist teams to make Spotify the #1 partner both on and off the platform.
Pär-Jörgen Pärson
Pär-Jörgen Pärson has been a Partner at Northzone since 2004. At Northzone, his primary areas of focus are disruptive businesses in energy transition, health, consumer and AI.
His portfolio includes multi-billion dollar exits in market-defining companies such as Spotify, iZettle and Avito and current companies like Spring Health, Airforestry amongst others. He appeared several times in Forbes’ Midas List.
Before joining Northzone, Pärson ran his own investment firm and was a consultant at McKinsey. He holds an MBA from the Stockholm School of Economics.
Ted Persson
Ted Persson leads the DeepTech & Climate team at EQT Ventures. Having joined EQT as a part of the founding team of EQT Ventures in 2015, Ted has played a pivotal role in leading investments into companies like Einride, Sana Labs, Evroc, The Exploration Company, Frontify, 1X, Varjo, Baffin Bay Networks (exit to Mastercard), Sonantic (exit to Spotify), and many more.
Before joining EQT, Ted worked for 15 years as a founder of startups and digital transformation consultancies in Europe, the US, and Asia. Ted co-founded a number of successful digital agencies, including Speedway Digital Army (1997), Abel & Baker (1999), and Great Works (2002). Great Works has been part of the North Alliance (NOA), Scandinavia’s leading communications and technology network, since 2014.
Siduri Poli
Siduri Poli is an award-winning entrepreneur, investor, and author who work to create a more diverse and innovative future. She is investing in early-stage startups thru her own investment company Mother Ventures (Northe, Melon, AVA Stories, Petli, Freshsound, etc) and in late-stage companies thru Society Uncapped, an angel network she launched earlier this year (X Shore, Estrid etc). She is also a board member of the swedish state’s investment company Saminvest AB managing six billion sek.
Siduri is a co-founder of Changers Hub, a coworking space and Academy with over 1800 entrepreneurs and three locations in Sweden. The aim is to democratize success and enable the young to succeed with their ideas. Been awarded to Future’s Most Powerful by TCO, Digital Inspirer of The Year by IDG and CIO Sweden, Super Talent of the Year by Veckans Affärer, Future Promise of The Year by Marknadsföreningen, Super Communicator of The Year by Resumé and Mom of the Year by Mama Magazine.
Nora Bavey
General Partner at Unconventional Ventures, a Nordic VC that focuses on impact tech companies founded by diverse founders. She is the award-winning brand strategist who became a tech entrepreneur only to become the investor she needed, who focuses on diverse founders and sees ownership and entrepreneurship as the strongest tools for equality. With her understanding and focus on Sustainability, DEI and future trends, she is building ecosystems in the Nordics region as well in Europe to take advantage of the potential she sees being lost today. Nora was named one of the 50 most influential in Tech 2022, Most important Female investor 2021, Role model of the year 2020 and among Sweden’s 101 Sustainability Leaders 2020.
Martin Lorentzon
Martin Lorentzon previously served as Chairman of Spotify’s board of directors from 2008 to 2016. In addition to his role, he served as a member of the board of directors of Telia Company AB (“Telia Company”), Sweden’s main telecom operator, from 2013 to 2018. In 1999, Lorentzon founded Tradedoubler, an internet marketing company based in Stockholm, Sweden, and initially served as a member of its board of directors. Additionally, Lorentzon has held senior roles at Telia Company and Cell Ventures. He holds a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from the Chalmers University of Technology.
Emma Egnell
Emma Egnell is a figure in the Swedish business community, with a dedicated focus on enhancing engagement and promoting development. As the CEO of HejEngagemang!, she has exhibited steadfast leadership over the course of more than ten years, aiming to cultivate a more dynamic and well-being-centered Sweden. Her vision encompasses a future where the workforce is passionately committed and driven by a profound desire to effect substantial change.
In her capacity as an author, Egnell has gained recognition for her insightful analyses of work psychology and organizational commitment. As Head of Content at the Brilliant Minds Foundation, she has generated meaningful content aimed at educating and inspiring positive behavioral change.
Egnell’s commitment to society is further manifested through her role on the Advisory Board for The Social Few, where she contributes to fostering a more inclusive community and business environment, with a special focus on minority groups and sustainably-led companies.
Additionally, she contributes her expertise as a board member at Calle Flygare Teaterskola, linking her interest in performing arts with her professional acumen, and through her role as a co-founder of HejDigitalt, a key platform for dialogue and innovation in Sweden’s digital future.
Her career is a clear testament to her dedication to innovation, inclusion, and communication, the driving forces behind her work to instigate change and create a brighter future for both individuals and society at large.