June 6th, Oulu Finland
Way Forward Forum 2025
Are you ready to discover the Way Forward? Join the most inspiring game industry event in Northern Finland!
Way Forward Forum 2025 is here!
This year we're turning our attention to The Future, focusing especially on the next steps in product & monetization as well as AI.
Join us in for inspirational keynotes, choose your own adventure with two different programme tracks and stay for the riveting conversations!
See you in Oulu June 6th!
Get your ticket
Are you passionate about the game industry and can't wait to hear the leading experts in monetization, AI and beyond?
The tickets are free but limited in numbers!
Did you get an e-mail with a very special invite to Way Forward Forum 2025? Great!
Just sign up with the button below and insert the passcode in your invite e-mail.
Programme
Here's what we have in store for you. And this is not even everything yet! The programme will be updated as the event approaches. Stay tuned!
09.30 - 10.00
Registration & Networking Coffee | Get settled in and grab yourself a nice cup of morning coffee.
10.00 - 10.15
Welcome & Opening Remarks | Daniel Rantala, Chief Growth Officer, Fingersoft
10.15 - 11.00
Keynote: Retention Is the New Acquisition | John Wright, CEO, Turborilla
11.00 - 11.45
Panel Discussion: The Future of Organic Giants
Panelists: Daniel Rantala (Fingersoft), Marina Bondarenko (Miniclip), Katharina Schmidt (Rovio)
Moderator: Joakim Achrén
11.45 - 12.00
Wrap up morning sessions, info about afternoon
12.00 - 13.00
Networking Lunch
13:00 - 13:45
TRACK 1: Product & Monetization | Keynote: Bringing them (players) back to browsers! | Gustáv Pastucha, Pixel Federation
TRACK 2: AI & Future | Keynote: AI in Gaming - Use Cases | Markku Manner, Google Cloud
13:45 - 14:30
TRACK 1: Product & Monetization | Keynote: Decoding the Future: Navigating the Mobile Monetization Maze | Vladimir Todev, Google AdMob
TRACK 2: AI & Future | Keynote: AI: Leaps, Lessons, and Looming Risks | Amin Bakht, Head of UA, Phoenix Games
14:30 - 15:15
TRACK 1: Product & Monetization | Keynote: What the Data Says: Trending Live Ops Strategies in F2P Mobile | Tomek Chudziński, GameRefinery
TRACK 2: AI & Future | Keynote: Google's Game-Changers: The Future of Google Ads in Gaming | Julianna Alanne, Industry Manager - Gaming, Google Ads & Van Hoang, Senior Growth Manager, Google Ads
15.15 - 15.45
Afternoon Coffee Break
A bit of networking and a bit of reflecting on what we've discovered so far.
15.45 - 16.45
Roundtable discussions for both tracks
Interactive discussions among industry executives - that means you!
16.45 - 17.00
Closing Remarks - thank you for coming!
19:00 onward
The Official Way Forward Forum Afterparty at the legendary 45 Special, Saaristonkatu 12
Speakers
Here's an intro to some of our stellar speakers - with still more to come!
Joakim Achrén
Founding Partner, F4 Fund
Joakim Achrén is an entrepreneur and investor with 20 years of experience, co-founding Next Games (acquired by Netflix). He is an active Substack writer, where he shares investing and startup knowledge. Joakim is also a venture capital investor in F4 Fund, with investments including Benjamin, Series Entertainment and Noice.
Marina Bondarenko
Business Development Manager, Miniclip
Marina Bondarenko is a Business Developer in the gaming industry, with six years of expertise in hyper-casual, casual, and mid-core mobile games. Currently part of Miniclip, one of the world's leading mobile game publishers, where she contributes to game development, publishing, and company acquisitions.
Katharina Schmidt
Senior Business Development Manager, Rovio
Katharina Schmidt is a Senior Business Development Manager at Rovio, part of Sega. Driving strategic growth across Transmedia partnerships is her key responsibility and she has extensive experience in negotiating and managing high-value collaborations with major digital platforms and gaming companies.
Daniel Rantala
Chief Growth Officer, Fingersoft
Daniel Rantala is a Finnish games business executive currently serving as the Chief Growth Officer at Fingersoft, a mobile game development company renowned for its Hill Climb Racing series. Rantala has been with Fingersoft for eight years, previously holding positions such as Business Development Director and Vice President of Publishing.
Gustáv Pastucha
Strategic Partnerships, Pixel Federation
Transitioning from Fintech, Gustav initially intended to venture into the bookselling business. However, the lack of relevant business opportunities in that field led him to a different path. Three years ago, Gustav embarked on a new chapter as a producer for what was one of the most successful projects at the time, Diggy's Adventure until his curiosity and ambition drove him to the Research & Development department.
Markku Manner
Principal Architect, Google Cloud
Markku Manner is a Principal Architect at Google Cloud and his main responsibility is to create tangible solutions for the gaming industry. As a former CIO and CTO, he has a proven history of helping organizations innovate and optimize their technology. Markku is a former software engineer and avid gamer, who has hands-on experience developing proof of concepts for games, demonstrating his understanding of the gaming sector's unique needs.
Vladimir Todev
Senior Strategic Partner Manager, Google AdMob
Vladimir is a Senior Strategic Partner Manager at Google, leveraging over 7 years of experience in both user acquisition and ads monetization. He currently partners with leading app and game developers in the Nordics, focusing on their holistic growth and revenue strategies.
Amin Bakht
Head of UA, Phoenix Games
Amin Bakht is a creative strategist with over 18 years of experience in media and entertainment. His career began when marketing was mostly a one-way broadcast messages sent without direct user input. Gaming introduced Amin to an interactive dialogue driven by data: player clicks, actions, and behaviors provided direct feedback. This real-time data dialogue ignited his passion for user acquisition, inspiring him to shape player-focused growth strategies that foster engagement and lasting connections.
John Wright
CEO, Turborilla
John Wright brings to Turborilla nearly 15 years of industry knowledge. Most recently as the Vice President of Mobile Games at Kwalee, he was instrumental in scaling the company past one billion lifetime downloads while leading a 180-person global team. Prior to Kwalee, Wright held a founding leadership role at Luna Labs as Vice President of Operations. He played an active role in driving Luna Lab’s acquisition by Unity and led the post-merger integration to align teams and technology.
Julianna Alanne
Industry Manager - Gaming, Google Ads
Julianna Alanne is an Industry Manager at Google, specializing in the gaming sector. With over a decade of experience in ad tech, including her impactful time at Smartly.io, she has a proven track record of growing companies. At Google, she empowers leading gaming businesses, leveraging cutting-edge platforms and data-driven insights for strategic growth.
Van Hoang
Senior Growth Manager, Google Ads
Van Hoang is a Senior Growth Manager for Gaming at Google. With extensive experience in the mobile gaming and app business across APAC and now EMEA, she partners with leading studios to drive strategic growth and maximize their digital advertising efforts. Van brings deep insights into market trends and effective user acquisition strategies, which she'll be sharing at the Way Forward Forum 2025.
Tomek Chudziński
Director of Customer Success, GameRefinery
Tomek Chudziński has over 9 years of experience in intelligence data for mobile gaming. Prior to joining GameRefinery, he worked at App Annie (now data.ai), where he built successful partnerships with developers of all sizes. He has consistently helped mobile game developers make more informed, data-driven decisions throughout the development lifecycle.
Find your way
Date: June 6th 2025
Time: 9:30 am - 5 pm
Place: Shopping Centre Valkea's Conference Space, 4th floor, Isokatu 25, 90100 Oulu
- The event is within the Valkea shopping centre's conference space, you can use elevators or escalators to get to the 4th floor
Feel inspired and nourished throughout the day:
- Expert talks, workshops and round table discussions
- Coffee, small snacks and a free lunch
- The event is free of charge, hosted by Fingersoft and BusinessOulu
What to expect
Want to know what you get to experience? Check out what happened in last time.
