Plenary speaker (9 June 2026)
Professor Giovanna Michelon, University of Padova
Giovanna Michelon is Professor of Accounting at the University of Padova, Italy. Her research focuses on corporate governance, accountability, and sustainability accounting, particularly sustainability reporting, stakeholder engagement, ESG disclosure, and corporate social responsibility. Before returning to Padova in 2024, she held academic positions at the University of Bristol and the University of Exeter. Her work examines how governance and accounting shape corporate responsibility practices and how sustainability information is used by investors and other stakeholders. She is an internationally recognised scholar whose work has appeared in leading journals in accounting and related interdisciplinary fields, including business ethics and management studies.
Discussion Panellists (10 June 2026)
Heidi Kivekäs, Executive Director at Animalia and Board Member at Eurogroup for Animals
Heidi Kivekäs has served as the Executive Director of the Finnish animal rights NGO Animalia since 2019. She is also a member of the Eurogroup for Animals Board of Directors. Animalia advocates for a fur farming ban, for phasing out animal experiments and for ending animal exploitation in food production. Animalia’s work is always evidence-based and data and statistics form an important basis for Animalia’s awareness raising and political advocacy work. Heidi holds a Master’s degree in Social Sciences (University of Jyväskylä, 2002) and a specialized professional degree in management (Rastor 2021). (Photo credit: Linda Lehtovirta)
Sirpa Pietikäinen, Member of European Parliament
Sirpa Pietikäinen is a former Member of the Finnish Parliament (1983-2003) and a former Minister of Environment of Finland (1991-1995). She has served as a member of the European Parliament since 2008 as a member of the European People’s Party (EPP). She is a member of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON), and the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) as well as a substitute member in the Committee on Environment, Climate and Food Safety (ENVI) and in the Committee on Public Health (SANT). Within her work, she seeks to combine her two specialities, that of environment and economics in line with the One Health approach and the planetary boundaries.
Professor Eija Vinnari, Research Group on Sustainability and Critical Accounting, Tampere University
Eija Vinnari works as professor at Tampere University, Finland. In broad terms, her research examines how accounting and performance management systems shape what and who counts in organizational decision making. Her current research interests include sustainability and the inclusion of nonhuman animals as legitimate subjects of accountability. She has published on topics such as academic activism; accounting for animal rights; counter accounts; critical dialogic accountability; and the roles of theory in research. Eija is Associate Editor for Critical Perspectives on Accounting and serves on the Editorial Boards of various other journals.