Europe has no shortage of transport and mobility pilots, ITS projects, and research activities, yet too few solutions scale into real-world deployment and viable business cases.
This 30-minute session presents how Nordic+ works as a cross-border collaboration platform that connects public authorities, industry, and research to move from pilots to deployment. Through concrete examples from Nordic+ and ITS projects, as well as real use cases, the session demonstrates how collaboration, trust, and digital maturity enable implementation beyond Nordic borders and how regions can learn from one another.
Karol Kovanen is a mobility and intelligent transport systems (ITS) executive with over two decades of experience in scaling parking, traffic management, and smart mobility solutions across the Baltics and Northern Europe.
Since 2006, he has served as CEO and sole board member of EuroPark Estonia, transforming the company from the ground up into Estonia’s leading private parking operator with over 800 projects and 65% private market share. Under his leadership, EuroPark has maintained strong profitability while driving digitalisation and operational efficiency in a highly competitive environment. He has also led landmark legal initiatives that established regulatory clarity and industry standards for private parking operations in Estonia.
Karol is a co-owner and Business Development Manager at Spinnistart, an IT company developing innovative digital platforms for parking and property access management. Through Spinnistart, he has been closely involved in delivering scalable smart mobility and ITS solutions across Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Finland, Norway and Denmark.
Since 2019, he has also been a co-owner and Board Member of AS Signaal, Estonia’s largest provider of traffic management and traffic safety solutions, contributing to the deployment of intelligent traffic systems and safer urban infrastructure.
As a member of the ITS Estonia Smart Mobility Initiative group, Karol actively contributes to the development of Estonia’s intelligent transport ecosystem, promoting practical deployment models that enable Nordic ITS innovations to scale from pilot projects into sustainable, Europe-wide implementation.
Bjørn Laksforsmo is Director of Operations and Maintenance and Director of Emergency Preparedness at the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA), with responsibility for the operation, maintenance, and preparedness of the national road network and related infrastructure. He has extensive leadership experience across the public and private sectors, including transport, defence, maritime, and power industries. Bjørn is strongly engaged in the interface between people, technology, and organisation, with a focus on change management and the practical use of technology to achieve sustainable outcomes.
Sanni Remonen is the Export Manager at ITS Finland, where she helps Finnish mobility and transport technology companies expand internationally and connect with global partners. She leads international collaboration, export support, and event initiatives that showcase Finland’s expertise in smart and sustainable mobility.
With vast experience across the ICT and mobility sectors, Sanni brings together a strong background in communications, marketing, and international business development. Sanni is passionate about helping Finnish companies succeed overseas and advancing the global transition toward sustainable and intelligent transport. She thrives in building connections across borders and is a proud advocate for Finland’s world-class mobility ecosystem.
Gunn Drogset has been the CTO of Applied Autonomy since the start in 2018 and has the product responsibility for xFlow, the vehicle-agnostic remote assistance tool for autonomous transportation. Applied Autonomy has piloted and operated autonomous vehicles in mixed traffic in Norway and Europe together with transport operators and ADS providers since 2018.
She has an MSc in Cybernetics engineering and has previously worked with autonomous solutions in the defence industry, both technically and as a leader, for over 25 years.
Founder and shareholder of dots. (WeAreDots Ltd.), where he helps organisations turn complex technology into practical, future-ready solutions. With over 25 years of experience in the IT and technology sector, he has deep expertise in cloud consulting, digital transformation, and business growth - long before these became industry buzzwords.
He is particularly passionate about intelligent mobility and how technology can reshape the way cities move. Under his leadership, dots. created FitsTraffic, an advanced traffic and mobility management platform designed to help cities and organisations optimise traffic flow, reduce congestion, and build truly smarter transportation systems.
Head of the Traffic Data Service Cluster at Fintraffic, where he works with Finnish data-driven companies to develop and scale export opportunities within digital transport systems. He has more than 25 years of experience in intelligent transport, innovation, and commercialisation, with a strong focus on turning ideas into practical solutions and building effective ecosystems. Kimmo holds an MSc in Transport and Logistics and has held key roles in industry, consultancy, and national transport networks, including serving as CEO of Infotripla and ITS Finland.
