Episode notes
Why You Can't Miss This Episode
Berner’s AI transformation is more than a case study; it’s a blueprint. In this episode, Joona Honka, Head of AI & Analytics at Berner, shares how the company turned AI into an organisational superpower. From training 89% of their knowledge workers to saving over 6,300 hours every month, Berner shows what it takes to scale AI sustainably, responsibly, and with measurable business impact.
Whether you're starting your own AI journey or already mid-transformation, Joona’s real-world insights and practical advice will inspire and inform. This episode reveals how culture, leadership, and custom solutions come together to create real value with AI.
About the Guest
Joona Honka is the Head of AI & Analytics at Berner, a Finnish company with over 140 years of history. Since joining in 2019 as the company’s first-ever data analyst, Joona has led Berner’s transformation into an AI-empowered organisation. He has built a cross-functional AI team, launched company-wide training, and helped embed AI into daily operations, all while driving forward a culture of learning, experimentation, and ethical AI use.
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Episode Summary
How does a legacy company with no analytics background become one of Finland’s most AI-forward organisations? In this episode, Joona Honka walks us through Berner’s incredible shift toward becoming AI-native.
Joona explains how Berner started its journey in 2020 with limited resources and a one-person AI team. He outlines the evolution from piloting machine learning to training over 300 employees in generative AI tools, and why custom projects like sales forecasting and LLM-powered customer service automation became the key to unlocking measurable ROI.
We talk about the challenges Berner faced: outdated mindsets, siloed data, lack of training. But also into the powerful solutions: creating internal training courses, launching weekly “AI Morning Coffees,” embedding ethical guidelines, and building a cross-functional AI team to govern tools and innovation.
AI at Berner isn’t just about productivity. It’s part of how people work, learn, and grow. It’s embedded in onboarding. It’s used in everything from packaging design to public tenders. And it's backed by a strategy that puts people first, builds competence, and drives continuous innovation.
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