Henri Helakari

Henri Helakari has a diverse work experience spanning various companies and roles. Henri began their career at Nokia in 2006 and worked as a Testing Operator in BTS production. Henri then joined Nokia Siemens Networks in 2007 and 2008 as a Testing Operator and Trainee, respectively. In 2009, they moved to Nokia as an SW Engineer and later became a Thesis worker. Henri continued working at Nokia from 2011 to 2012 as a SW Specialist and Continuous Integration Manager.

In 2012, Helakari joined EB, Elektrobit as a Continuous Integration Manager, where they successfully led the renewal of the existing CI-engine and deployment of new practices. Working at Ericsson from 2014 to 2017, they held leadership positions such as Leader of Continuous Integration Operations and Leader of Continuous Product Development, where they established Agile development models and top-notch DevOps teams.

Since 2017, Helakari has been working at the OP Financial Group in various capacities. Henri started as a Product Owner for DevOps and later became the Head of DevOps Transformation, leading the Group-wide DevOps vision and roadmap. Henri also served as a Member of the Renewal Tribe, focusing on the Enterprise Agile Transformation. More recently, they held positions as Director of Head of Engineering and DevOps, Director of Technology Platforms, and currently serves as the Director of Cloud Technologies, leading the Group's enterprise-level Cloud Transformation. In these roles, they have managed large teams and spearheaded digital service development and Agile transformation in the organization.

Henri Helakari obtained a B.Sc in Information Technology and Telecommunications (Embedded systems) from Oulu University of Applied Sciences from the years 2005 to 2009. Henri then pursued a second bachelor's degree in Computer Science at the University of Manitoba from 2007 to 2008. In 2009, Henri earned their M.Sc in Computer Science with a specialization in Software Business from the University of Oulu. Henri also completed a brief course in Radio Communications at Hogeschool Antwerpen in 2009. Additionally, Henri has a certification in ISTQB Foundation Level, obtained in 2014. Prior to their education, they completed a period of military service and obtained the rank of Second Lieutenant in the field of Military and Strategic Leadership from 2004 to 2005.