Posted on Friday, October 31st, 2008 in News with Comments Off
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GUY BLACK – Director of Corporate Affairs, The Telegraph Group plc

Guy Black has had a long career in British media and politics. Since 2005, he has been Corporate Affairs Director for the Telegraph Media Group, which is at the cutting edge of developments in digital technology in the UK. Previously, he had been Director of Communications for the Conservative Party and, for seven years, Director of the Press Complaints Commission – the self regulatory body charged with upholding standards of accuracy and privacy across the British press. He is a graduate in history from Cambridge University. He serves on the Board of a number of charities, including the Imperial War Museum.

NIKKI KING, OBE– Managing Director, Isuzu Truck (UK) Ltd

Nikki King is the first female Managing Director of a commercial vehicle manufacturer, an industry traditionally dominated by men.  She became Managing Director of Isuzu Truck (UK) Ltd in January 1996 when one of the world’s largest truck manufacturers, Isuzu Motors of Japan, decided to enter the UK market.

She was, for two years until April 2001, the Chairman of the UK Commercial Vehicle Show, one of the largest exhibitions in Europe.  Nikki is also a member of the Lady Taverners’ Charity, which generates funds for disabled children. 

Well versed in the international business arena, Nikki speaks six languages, including Japanese. Nikki was awarded the OBE for services to the road transport industry in the 2002 New Years Honours List. In 2002 Isuzu Truck won the coveted Daily Telegraph Customer Care Award, and in 2008 the company was awarded the European Business Award for Customer Focus.  Isuzu Truck is a DTI benchmark company for customer service and leadership.

Professor Gilbert Lenssen PhD MBA FRSA; European Academy of Business in Society (EABIS)

Professor Lenssen is President of the European Academy of Business in Society (EABIS), an association of over 30 companies and over 50 business schools jointly engaged in research and education in corporate responsibility and sustainability. (www.eabis.org). EABIS leads the intellectual agenda in Europe in this field and works closely with the European Commission, who funds part of its research programmes.

EABIS was founded in 2001 by the initiative of the Deans of INSEAD and London Business School and supported by the business schools of Copenhagen, Cranfield, Ashridge, ESADE, Warwick as well as major firms such as Unilever, Shell, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft.    

Prior to his academic career, Gilbert Lenssen was a business executive with British Petroleum across different functional business disciplines in UK, USA, Germany, and Spain and in global line management roles as general manager and global vice president.

He was professor of International Management at the College of Europe (Bruges/Warsaw) and visiting fellow at Templeton College, Oxford University.

He is currently professor at Leiden University and visiting professor at Henley Business School and Cranfield University School of Management. He also teaches Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability at executive MBA programmes in France, UK and Spain.

He is a member of the Board of the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD), of International Advisory Boards of several Business Schools and a Life Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Among his most important publications are the EABIS special issues of Corporate Governance, the International Journal of Business in Society:

Corporate Sustainability: Responding to societal expectations (2005)

Corporate Responsibility and Competitiveness (2006)

Corporate Responsibility and Strategic Management (2007)

Corporate Responsibility and Global Governance (2008)

Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability: Leadership and Organisational Change (forthcoming 2009)

ROLANDAS BARYSAS – CEO & Editor in chief of Lithuanian daily Verslo Zinios (Business News)                                                                

Rolandas Barysas (born 1961) is CEO and Editor in chief of business daily Verslo Zinios (Business News), one of the Bonnier Business press family newspapers operating in Lithuania.

Mr. Barysas joined media business in 1985 after journalistic studies in Vilnius and Moscow Universities. His professional carrier started as news reporter in Lithuanian news agency ELTA. Soon he was promoted to position of Foreign Editor. In 1989 when Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev “perestroika” policy brought winds of change to political and social life Mr. Barysas launched one of the first at that time independent newspapers in the market – weekly “Forumas”. Its circulation in three years grew from 6.000 to 50.000. When Lithuania proclaimed it’s independence in 1991 he continues his professional carrier as Managing Director of Lithuanian news agency transforming it from Soviet TASS news agency satellite to independent national news provider. Later on he worked with Reuters news agency for three years reporting to international society the crucial historic changes in the country.

Important change happened in 1995 when in the partnership with the Swedish daily Dagens Industri business newspaper Verslo Zinios was launched. Shortly outperforming two competitors now it’s the only newspaper of this kind in the market. This year Verslo Zinios was nominated as the Most transparent Lithuania media.

For 13 years Mr. Barysas is in charge of all the newspaper activities in Lithuania, which includes not only business daily, but also handbooks, magazines and business books publishing, running news, carrier advise and job classified internet portals, organizing conferences and trainings.

During this period Mr. Barysas also upgraded his business and management skills by completing different programs in USA, Scandinavia, Switzerland, United Kingdom, etc.

Rolandas Barysas was awarded by President of Lithuania with The Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas for outstanding performance in civil and public offices. He was nominated to Lithuanian Business Hall of Fame and got a prize for outstanding achievements in professional field and personal contribution to society.

PRESIDENT ARNOLD RÜÜTEL – Former President of the Republic of Estonia (08.10.2001-09.10.2006)

Arnold Rüütel was born on 10 May 1928 in Saaremaa, Estonia. After graduating from Jäneda Agricultural College (1949) he worked as a senior agronomist at the department of agriculture of Saaremaa’s then administration.  2 years of service in the Soviet army followed.  In 1957 he became head livestock expert and later on director of an experimental farm of the Estonian Institute for Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Science. From 1963 to 1969 he worked as director of the Tartu Model State Farm and, besides working, graduated from the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences of the Estonian Agricultural Academy in 1964. In 1969 Arnold Rüütel was elected rector of the Estonian Agricultural Academy, in which post (until 1977) he, in addition to fulfilling the everyday responsibilities of the leader of the academy, was actively engaged in scientific research.

Since 1977 Arnold Rüütel has held several high state positions in the political sphere, in the executive and legislative organs of power. In 1983 he was elected Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR.  Mr. Rüütel played an important role in the preparation of the Estonian sovereignty declaration and its adoption on 16 November 1988, which laid the basis for the disintegration of the USSR. Arnold Rüütel gained in the world a reputation as a defender of Estonia’s sovereignty in conflict with the central authorities in Moscow. In March 1990, the people of Estonia elected Arnold Rüütel to the Supreme Council of the Republic of Estonia and thereafter, in the council’s first session, he was elected Chairman of the Supreme Council. Rüütel supported actively the adoption of the resolution “About Estonia’s National Status” by the then highest legitimate power in Estonia. In this resolution, it was declared that the state power of the USSR in Estonia was illegal from the very first moment of its enforcement, and a transitional period for the restoration of the Republic of Estonia was declared. Arnold Rüütel was the Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Estonia until October 1992.

On 12 May 1990, initiated by Arnold Rüütel, the Council of the Baltic States was established in Tallinn, which, from the point of view of the struggle for independence, played an important role in the formation of a united front of the Baltic States. On 20 August 1991 the Supreme Council of the Republic of Estonia adopted a resolution on Estonia’s national independence and, on 17 September 1991, the Republic of Estonia became a full member of the United Nations Organization. During these years Arnold Rüütel was the Head of State of Estonia and played an important role in uniting the people and political forces in the struggle for a common cause. Between 1991 and 1992 Mr. Rüütel was a member of the Constitutional Assembly drafting the new Constitution of the Republic of Estonia; in 1992 he was a candidate for the presidency of the Republic of Estonia and received 43 % of the people’s votes. In 1995, receiving a record number of votes, he was elected to the Riigikogu (the Parliament of Estonia) and, thereafter, Vice-Chairman of the Riigikogu. From 1994 to 2000 Arnold Rüütel was Chairman of the centre-right Estonian Rural People’s Party, one of the largest among Estonian political parties. Since 1999 the Party’s name has been Estonian People’s Union. In 1995 Mr. Rüütel was elected Head of the delegation of Riigikogu to the Baltic Assembly and then, alternately up to 1999, Chairman of the Presidium of the Baltic Assembly. Elected by an electoral college on 21 September 2001, Arnold Rüütel was inaugurated as the President of the Republic of Estonia on 8 October 2001. He had an active role in Estonia`s becoming a full member state of the European Union and NATO. 

In parallel to leading the state, Arnold Rüütel continued his scientific research and, in 1991, took his doctorate in agriculture. He is Honorary Doctor of Bentley College, USA, Emeritus Professor at the Estonian Agricultural University, Honorary Doctor of the University of Helsinki, Foreign Member of the Ukrainian Academy of Agrarian Sciences, Honorary Doctor of the Ukrainian National Agricultural University, Honorary Doctor of the II University of Naples, Honorary Doctor of the Szent Istvan University of Hungary, Honorary Doctor of the L. N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University of Kazakhstan, Honorary Doctor of the Latvian Agricultural University, Honorary Doctor of the Yerevan State University, Armenia,  owner of the Diploma of Excellence of the University of Agricyltural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest, Romania, and owner of the title of International Engineering Educator of IGIP (International Society for Engineering Education). He has published more than one hundred scientific works both in Estonia and abroad. In 1991 Arnold Rüütel delivered a speech in the UN General Assembly as the Head of State of Estonia. In 1992 he gave a speech at the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, where the basis for a new stage in global nature conservation was laid.

Apart from his work, Arnold Rüütel is also known for his active participation in public life. From 1981 to 1988, he was Chairman of the Estonian Society for Nature Conservation advocating preservation of nature and, 1989-2002, Chairman of the Forselius Society promoting educational life. In 1993 Arnold Rüütel became the founder of the non-governmental Institute for National Development and Cooperation, the aim of which is to examine the main development factors in Estonia. In 1993 he became President of the Estonian National Organisation of the Green Cross International. The main concern of this organization has been the purification of the pollution caused by the Soviet army and its consequences on the territory of Estonia, and to keep Estonia tidy and nature-friendly for the coming generations. From 1993 until 2001 Arnold Rüütel held the position of the Chairman of the movement “Protect the Estonian Sea”. This organization takes care of the Estonian coastline of 3,5 thousand kilometres and is committed to the restoration and establishment of small harbours.

Since 1 January 2007 Mr. Rüütel has been working as  an Associated Fellow to UNITAR, UNO.

ANDERS EDLUND – Marketing Director EMEA, Bluetooth Special Interest Group

Anders Edlund is the Marketing Director for the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG). Edlund has devoted the past ten years to Bluetooth wireless technology – first at Swedish telecommunications leader Ericsson and then at the Bluetooth SIG.  Over the years, Edlund has become a distinguished spokesperson appearing in conferences and hundreds of press articles and TV news stories worldwide.

Edlund joined the Bluetooth SIG in August 2002 with the goal to assure that Bluetooth wireless technology becomes a true global consumer technology. He is responsible for developing the marketing activities as well as making sure that Bluetooth wireless technology is effectively and accurately communicated to its members, influencers and end users. Edlund is also responsible for developing the business potential of ultra low power technology to new industries.

Between 1997 and 2002, Edlund worked for Ericsson, where he was heading up the marketing activities of bringing the Bluetooth wireless technology to the market. In doing so, he played a key role in the formation of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group and the development of Bluetooth wireless technology from the very beginning. In addition to managing the world-wide registration of the trademark, he built a marketing strategy with convincing user scenarios.

Over the years, Edlund has acquired solid business, product management and marketing experience. His previous business expertise is in satellite communication and industrial computer science.

GORAN RADMAN – Chairman of Microsoft South-East Europe

Goran joined Microsoft Corp. in 1996 as General Manager for Croatia. In 2000 his responsibilities expanded to encompass the newly formed Adriatic region. In his role as chairman of Microsoft South Eastern Europe, he’s engaging with institutional and political communities to build strategic relationships and business within EU and enterprise and public-sector organizations.

Goran began his professional career in 1985 as an international relations advisor to the president of Croatia, continued as general manager of Croatian Television, a public broadcaster in Croatia, and moved on to manage MicroLAB, a private computer engineering and consultancy company, before joining Microsoft.

KEVIN MEAGHER – CEO, Intamac Systems Ltd

Kevin is one of the pioneers of the Connected Home. Formerly, a Group Captain in the Royal Air Force, he saw how a new generation web based platforms could be used to network and integrate systems and devices so he formed Intamac to deliver his vision. The Company has developed a range of new broadband services and grown to be a world leader in the provision of home monitoring solutions.  Kevin was awarded a Ruban d’Honneur for the Entrepreneur of the Year Award and his company won the Business Innovation of the Year Award in the 2008 European Business Awards.

ISIDORO UNDA – Chairman of the Management Board and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Atradius N.V.

Isidoro Unda was appointed Chairman of the Management Board and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Atradius N.V. in July 2007. In connection with his appointment he stepped down from the positions of Atradius Supervisory Board member (December 2003) and Vice Chairman (2006).
As CEO he is responsible for the units Strategy, Product & Quality Management, Human Resources, Legal & Compliance, Internal Audit, and Corporate Communications & Marketing. Prior to joining Atradius, Isidoro Unda served as CEO of the leading Spanish credit insurer Crédito y Caución, since 2001. He joined Crédito y Caución in 1988.

Mr. Unda has a degree in Law and Economics from Deusto University in Bilbao (Spain), has worked in the financial and insurance sector for more than 20 years and has served on the Supervisory Boards of Inverseguros S.A. and Mutua Madrilena Automovilista.