Jaana Heikkila is VP of Marketing at Loop AI Group, where she has been instrumental in shaping the company's global brand since 2016—well before the mainstream AI explosion triggered by ChatGPT in 2022. She has driven worldwide visibility through a variety of mediums and worked closely with leading AI industry analyst firms such as IDC, which since 2016 recognized Loop in its first MarketScape Quadrant as one of the top 10 general-purpose AI platform providers alongside AWS, IBM, Microsoft, Google, and Salesforce. She has been a featured speaker at industry events and conferences.

Jaana created and launched the Loop Q Prize, an annual university competition dedicated to accelerating the fields of AI, Cognitive Computing, and Machine Learning. Designed to identify and nurture the next generation of AI talent for Loop AI Labs Research, the global competition challenges university students to develop innovative solutions using AI, Machine Learning, and Deep Learning algorithms to solve globally significant problems—such as climate change, pandemics, and ocean pollution. Participants present their solutions through scientific publications accompanied by short explainer videos, which are evaluated by a distinguished judging panel of academics and industry experts from institutions including Politecnico di Milano, Aalto University, Stockholm Business School, and KTH Royal Institute of Technology. Judges assess entries based on innovation, application feasibility, and execution—with the heaviest weight on the solution's capability to address the global challenge it targets. The Grand Prize winner receives a cash prize plus a three-month residency at Loop AI Labs Research in Silicon Valley, providing direct exposure to the cognitive computing industry.

Jaana brings over 20 years of experience in the global technology sector, having held leadership roles across multinational corporations and innovative startups. Originally from Finland, she has played a pivotal role in marketing, global partnerships, and business development for leading technology companies.

She began her career at Nokia, and later moved at Microsoft, two of the defining technology companies of the 1990s and early 2000s. She later contributed to the build-up and management of three startup ventures in Stockholm, including iBazar later acquired by eBay. After relocating to Rome, she collaborated with the President of Etnoteam, as well as other executives and investors, on M&A target scouting and managing international partnerships. Founded in Milan in 1978, Etnoteam was one of Italy's leading Business Solution Aggregators and ICT companies, with over 1,100 employees across offices in Italy, Finland, Brazil, and China before being acquired by a subsidiary of NTT Data.

In October 2004, Jaana co-founded the marketing platform Mobile Monday Italy which became the third chapter globally after Helsinki and Tokyo, and was instrumental in creating the mobile industry ecosystem in Italy. The Italian chapters grew to over 5,000 corporate members with events organized in Milan, Rome, and Bologna. Originating in Helsinki in September 2000, Mobile Monday became the world's leading mobile innovation community—an open platform of mobile industry visionaries, developers, and influential individuals fostering brand-neutral cooperation and cross-border business opportunities. At its peak, the movement grew to over 100,000 members across 140+ cities worldwide, with 300+ dedicated volunteers organizing approximately 500 global events annually.

For over a decade, Jaana collaborated with executive teams of international corporations, driving marketing strategies, partner management, and business development. She later moved to San Francisco, where she worked with pioneering Internet of Things (IoT) companies during the early growth phase of that industry. In San Francisco, she also co-founded the first IB school of the city, serving on the Board and demonstrating her commitment to education and community building.

Jaana holds an M.Sc. in Social Sciences from the University of Helsinki—Finland's oldest and largest academic institution and a Business Administration degree from Helsinki Business College.