Speakers

• Jaan Männik

Photo: Jaan Männik

Jaan Männik is the chairman of the supervisory board at Bank of Estonia and a member of the supervisory board at Estonian Development Fund. Jaan has worked in various exporting companies in Canada, Japan, US, Scandinavia, and been involved with developing the Estonian telecom network for almost 15 years.  Jaan holds a Masters degree from Lund University, Sweden and has passed a senior executive program at London Business School.

Marcus Herold

Photo: Marcus Herold

Marcus Herold is the founder and chairman of the board of MPS Enterprises. He has been actively developing the company for over 35 years, concentrating on Leadership Challenges, Executive Recruitments, Management Audits, Executive Coaching services as well as Board and Management Team Development. He has extensive top management coaching experience and is a popular speaker internationally on current issues regarding leadership and organisational changes. Marcus has the competence-based assessment certificate awarded by the Finnish Psychological Association. Travelling and an interest in foreign cultures both give a good counterbalance for the hectic work tempo. He used to play in the Finnish national basketball team and nowadays enjoys spending time with his family, boating, music, roller skating, skiing and motorcycling.

Wade Stokes

Photo: Wade Stokes

Wade Stokes was appointed as the CFO of Estonian Air this September.  For the last eight years, Wade Stokes has worked for Swedbank in various positions in the Baltics and Sweden, including the CFO role for Swedbank Estonia for two years.
Prior to Swedbank, for close to a decade Wade ran finance teams in a number of mobile telecommunication companies in Denmark, Russia, and Estonia. In Estonia, Wade was the CFO of the cellular network Q GSM starting in 1995 from its development phase through its launch and eventual sale to Tele2 in 1998.
A citizen of the U.S.A., Stokes first moved to Estonia in 1994 on a one-year aid program, and has maintained a residence in Tallinn since that time.  Wade Stokes holds a Master’s degree from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, and a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics from Harvard University.

Jari Lahdenvesi

Photo: Jari Lahdenvesi

Jari Lahdenvesi is the Head of Baltic Cross-border Corporate Banking Division in Swedbank. His division takes care of multinational and Baltic clients that have banking service needs crossing the country borders in the Baltic states. Besides banking his working experience consists of eight years in different treasury and financial administration positions in a global manufacturing company. Jari holds MBA degree from Turku School of Economics and he has as well graduated from the Finnish National Defense University.
On  October 5th   he will discuss about the border crossing bank services that corporate customers need and the latest development trends.

• Helle Fuglevig

Photo: Helle Fuglevig

Helle Fuglevig is an entrepreneur. She’s running her own consulting company Market Select ApS providing professional services to companies seeking sales, market-entry, sourcing opportunities, and/or business partners and customers in Europe and Northern, Central and Southern America.  Helle holds an engeneering degree in mechanical engeneering and international sales.

Helle has considerable export consultancy experience from Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs working for the Royal Danish Consulate General in Toronto in Canada for almost 4 years, and Håndværksrådet International A/S, dealing with a variety of different products and services in many regions. High level of specialisation in Latin American markets, Canada, and Europe -  increasingly in Estonia, Hungary and Scandinavian countries.

In 2009, Helle Fuglevig was appointed EU Ambassador for female entrepreneurship, as part of an initiative of the European Commission to promote and inspire entrepreneurship among women, and Helle Fuglevig is today part of the FEN-network together with 100 other female entrepreneurs from other EU-countries.

Mango Kask

Photo: Mango Kask

Mango Kask, partner at MAQS Law Firm in Sweden. Member of the Swedish Bar Association. Mango’s task is often to help foreign companies that wish to establish a business in Sweden. His speciality areas of law are within employment, franchising and distribution, and Baltic commercial law.

J. Margus Klaar

Photo: J. Margus Klaar

A multi-cultural cosmopolitan, J.Margus Klaar grew up in Sweden, Switzerland and Canada before settling in Estonia in 1992.  Having helped build the Estonian advertising industry since ‘92, he has run several ad agencies, survived the dot com boom and bust, is a founding member of the Art Directors Club of Estonia and member of the board of ADC*Europe. He has been on the jury of various national and international ad festivals and collected a multitude of awards from them as well. Primarily a strategic thinker, Margus has helped to create quite a few (today) household brands and launched numerous multinationals to the Baltic market.

• Elizabeth L. Rose

Photo: Elizabeth L Rose

Beth is a Professor of International Business at Aalto University. Her research focuses on issues associated with internationalization and strategy, and has appeared in top-tier international outlets. A dual citizen of the U.S. and New Zealand, she holds degrees from Princeton University (BSE) and the University of Michigan (MSE. AM, PhD); her previous academic appointments include the University of Southern California, the University of Auckland, and Victoria University of Wellington. Beth is active in the Academy of International Business (AIB) and the International Management Division of the Academy of Management, especially in terms of these international associations’ research-related activities. She is the current (and founding) chair of the Australia and New Zealand chapter of the AIB, and is the immediate past president of the Australia and New Zealand International Business Academy and the Association of Japanese Business Studies. An academic at heart, her work experience includes The Meyers List (advertising) and Ford Motor Company.

Jørgen Svendgård

Photo: Jørgen Svendgård

Jørgen Svendgård holds a Master degree in Business from Bodø Business School. Has been working in Arthur Andersen and BearingPoint before he started the accounting company Northern Business Partner in 2006 together with Lars Gunnar Lilleklev, a former KPMG auditor. Merisma Tax was a spin-off of Northern Business Partner, and William Vallestad was asked to be managing partner. Jørgens speciality is VAT, tax and business development. Jørgens hobbies are wine, food and running fast. He has been in the Baltic states several times before both for business and pleasure.

Pasi Harttunen

Photo: Pasi Harttunen

Pasi is the director of customer relations at MPS Finland and managing director of MPS operations in the Baltic countries, based in Tallinn. His previous position was also in Tallinn, with If insurance company in Estonia. Pasi already has more than ten years of experience in the Baltic countries. His special fields of expertise are HR consultancy and leadership, pan-Baltic solutions, managing the challenges of multicultural management team work and solutions relating to new markets establishment.

William André Vallestad

Photo: William André Vallestad

William holds a Bachelor degree in Business from Lillehammer Business School. Has been working in Northern Business Partner since 2007, and is now managing partner in Merisma Tax. He is specialized in accounting, VAT, TAX and annual reporting. Williams hobbies are golf, fishing and tennis. This is his first trip to Tallinn!

Karolina Ullman

Photo: Karolina Ullman

Karolina Ullman, partner at MAQS Law Firm in Estonia. Member of the Swedish and Estonian Bar Associations. Vice chairman of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Estonia. Works mostly with foreign companies or companies with foreign owners in Estonia. Born and raised in Sweden but lived in Estonia for the last 7 years.

I will be speaking about the Swedish court system as a part of the work shop by MAQS on the 6   October in the afternoon. My presentation will give you a short overview of the system, how it was created and how your company can make the best of it, in case you find yourself in a legal dispute.

Johan Edward

Photo: Johan Edward

Edward, associate at MAQS Law Firm in Sweden. Johan Edward will be speaking about the legal aspects you should consider when you establish, run and develop a business in Sweden. The presentation will give you practical advice regarding Swedish tax law, company law and employment law.

Leida Kikka

Photo: Leida Kikka

Leida Kikka, is the executive manager at Samelin AS, a company that has cooperation with numerous  countries in Europe including the Nordic countries.  Samelin produces high quality hiking, skiing and army boots with special technology. Since 2007, the company is also licenced to produce boots for NATO troops.

The company has ISO 9001:2008 certificate, Goretex license and is preparing to receive the NATO-AQAP 120 quality license.

Leida holds a law degree from Tartu Univeristy, and has been working for Samelin AS since 1987. She has been nominated with a title Woman of the Year in 2001 by the Estonian Association of Business and Professional Women.

Elin Sundgaard

Photo: Elin Sundgaard

Elin Sundgaard holds a Master of Science degree from Southern Denmark Business School and a PhD degree from University of Southern Denmark. Her research focus is financial accounting as well as accounting in Europe. She has been external lecturer at Copenhagen Business School and University of Lund, Sweden, teaching international accounting. She has recently retired from her position as associate professor at Universty of Southern Denmark, Campus Slagelse where she was teaching financial as well as management accounting and doing research. She is now doing research as a private person.

Jeanette Thomsen

Photo: Jeanette Thomsen

Jeanette Thomsen holds a degree of Master of Science (International Trade) from Copenhagen Business School 1989. After graduation she worked with the Agricultural Council of Denmark. During the following 6 years until 1996, she participated in trade promotions with many Danish firms in the Baltic countries. In 1996 Jeanette became a research fellow at Copenhagen Business School. During the time as research fellow she stayed three months in Tallinn, Estonia where she was attached to Estonian Business School. Later Jeanette took up a position as associate professor at Universty of Southern Denmark, Campus Slagelse. Since August 2010 she is an associate professor at the Entrepreneurial House of Copenhagen Business Academy, Niels Brock (a university college) where she is teaching different subejcts, among them Human Resource.

• Jens Christiansen

Jens is a senior consultant, coach and CEO at Christiansen Consulting OÜ with over 20 years of experience in international business and organizational development projects. Jens has an advanced know-how in merger and acquisition process, service standards, recruitment and personnel policy, internal and external marketing, development and execution of complex company development programs – integrated BSC, LEAN, management development, ISO 9001, 14001 , 18001 and trainers training. Jens is a chairman of the Danish-Estonian Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Foreign Investors’ Council in Estonia.

Hasse Karlsson

Photo: Hasse Karlsson

Hasse Karlsson is a founder and president of ITM Worldwide Foundation, previously employed by the Swedish Trade Council for 30 years holding several positions i.e head of Swedish Trade Council’s Academy. Author of several articles and bookchapters, well-known speaker at conferences.