Two hundred people gathered on December 1st at House of Sweden for the annual SACC-DC - Ericsson networking holiday event that draws a bigger crowd for every year. Guests, who included members of the Federal Communications Bar Association, were treated to glögg, a traditional Swedish Christmas smorgasbord and beautiful Santa Lucia procession. Guests also enjoyed the exhibition The Networked Society, and heard from keynote speaker Mr. Robert McDowell, Federal Communications Commissioner.
Current SACC-DC President Barbara Baffer is leaving her position as Vice President of Public Affairs and Regulations at Ericsson to take on the position as Head of Corporate Affairs and Communications of Region North America at Ericsson's headquarters in Texas. Ms. Baffer has provided lots of support to SACC-DC throughout the years and will be greatly missed. Ms. Baffer will be succeeded by Mr. Bruce Gustafson who also attended the event. SACC-DC Chairman Brad Olson thanked Ms. Baffer with a gift from the Board of Directors and also welcomed Mr. Gustafson into the SACC-DC network.
Maja Persson, Joel Bollö, Cecilia Browning & Brad Olson
Photo by: Alan Schlaifer
Around 50 guests gathered in gorgeous office suite 507 in House of Sweden to listen to Joel Bollö, CEO of Micro Systemation AB (MSAB), giving an interesting presentation on his company's expansion in the U.S. Mr. Bollö also described the special system invented by MSAB for extracting forensic information from cell phones. After the presentations guests were given tours of office suites avaiable for rent by Cecilia Browning, General Manager of House of Sweden and guests were treated to Swedish treats and drinks. For more information about office space please contact Cecilia at: cecilia.browning@houseofsweden.com
Prince Daniel of Sweden visits SACC Washington DC
Prince Daniel of Sweden recently spent a week in Washington DC, his first official trip abroad. The Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce in Washington DC had the honor to host Prince Daniel for an event focused on lobbying.
"We are proud to introduce the SACC-USA network to Prince Daniel and show him what SACC-USA and SACC-DC are doing to promote and accelerate trade, commerce and investment between Sweden and the U.S.," said Bradley J. Olson, Chairman of SACC-USA and SACC-DC.
Lobbying is one of the core businesses in Washington, and one of the main reasons why so many large Swedish corporations have a presence in Washington DC. Seven of them: Volvo Cars, Ericsson, Volvo Group, Saab, Skanska, IKEA and Kreab Gavin Anderson, all proud members of SACC-DC, generously shared their knowledge and experiences in the lobbying field.
"These great Swedish companies recognize that in order to succeed in the U.S. market, you have to be effective at dealing with government, both at the federal and state levels. They lend a particularly valuable perspective to how foreign companies need to work in Washington, and their business success reflects that." said Tapio Christiansen, Executive Director at Kreab Gavin Anderson, who started the seminar by giving an overview of how lobbying works in Washington DC and identifying the main actors in this arena.
Following Mr. Christiansen's presentation, each company executive talked about their current activities and future visions for the U.S. market. The meeting concluded with a Q&A session and discussion.are doing very well in the U.S. and part of that is due to what they achieve by lobbying here in Washington. That is why we think it is very interesting for the Prince to have this opportunity to learn some about it, said Tapio Christiansen, Director at Kreab Gavin Anderson, who started the seminar by giving an overview of how lobbying works in Washington DC and identifying the main actors on this arena.
Following Mr. Christiansen's presentation each company executive talked about their current activities and future visions for the U.S. market. The meeting concluded with a Q&A session and discussion.
At the conclusion of the event Chairman Olson presented Prince Daniel with a gift, a framed document betowing him with lifelong honorary membership in SACC-USA, assuring that Prince Daniel and his family will always be warmly welcomed into the SACC network.
Close to 100 players defied the pooring rain and bravely participated in the 23rd Annual Swedish Embassy Open at beautiful Raspberry Falls Golf and Hunt Club in Leesburg, VA. Players enjoyed a Swedish-American breakfast as well as a cookout barbeque lunch and they all did their best to win the hole-in-one prize - a brand new Volvo car - although no one succeeded. A big thank you goes out to all sponsors for their contributions and to Raspberry Falls Golf & Hunt Club for their fantastic service and expertise, making this tournament reach its high standard.
In the evening, the award cermony was held at H.E. Jonas Hafström's residence where guests were treated to an amazing buffet and refreshments. We greatly appreciate the generosity and hospitality of Ambassador Hafström and his wife Mrs. Eva Hafström and thank them for opening their home to us. Next year's Swedish Embassy Open will be held on Thursday, October 25th, 2012. Be sure to mark the date in your calendar already now to not miss out on this important and fun networking event!
Corporate Luncheon with Minister of Trade
Ewa Björling
Dr. Ewa Björling, Sweden's Minister for Trade, flanked by H.E. Jonas Hafström, Ambassador of Sweden to the U.S. and SACC-DC Chairman Bradley J. Olson
On September 22nd SACC Washington DC hosted Sweden's Minister for Trade, Dr. Ewa Björling, for an exclusive event with the Chamber's corporate membership. The attending corporate members enjoyed a roundtable luncheon with the Minister and had the opportunity to learn more about the Minister's efforts to double the Swedish export by 2015. "Sweden has to increase its export by 15% on average each year in order to reach the target 2015. Last year we reached 14% and the first six months of 2011 looks promising," stated Minster Björling. Due to a fragile global economy it will take time and patience from both Sweden and the U.S. to reach their export goals. Minister Björling also talked about the importance of the regional free trade agreements and believe the recently entered agreement between EU and South Korea will help boost the trade significantly between those two markets in the coming five years. The event was concluded with a Q&A session and open discussion.
Swedish American Green Alliance (S.A.G.A.) was re-launched on September 22nd at House of Sweden in the presence of Dr. Ewa Björling, Swedish Minister for Trade as well as Ms. Deborah McCarthy, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Economic, Energy and Business Affairs, U.S. Department of State , and other government agency representatives. S.A.G.A. is a Swedish-U.S. government partnership striving to increase knowledge exchange, promote trade, and support research and investments related to environmental technology between the two countries. S.A.G.A. members include Swedish and U.S. companies, universities and other organizations. "We value this cooperation very much and would like to strengthen it further," Minister Björling said, "I'm proud to say that our research in green technology is world-class," she continued. Mr. Stefan Bergström, Regional Manager of the Americas for the Swedish Trade Council and Ms. Deborah McCarthy, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Economic, Energy and Business Affairs of the U.S. State Department also provided remarks where they outlined their organizations' participation in S.A.G.A. expressing enthusiasm about the future of the alliance.
Deborah McCarthy, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Economic, Energy and Business Affairs, U.S. Department of State
On September 14th SACC Washington DC held its annual Crayfish event. The night started off with cocktails on the rooftop terrace and was followed by the traditional crayfish dinner in beautiful Anna Lindh Hall in House of Sweden. Remarks were made by Volvo Group's Vice President of Government Relations; Mr. Jonathan Miller as well as by H.E. Jonas Hafström who concluded his speech with a traditional song and toast.
Green Technologies - The Defining Opportunity for Transatlantic Cooperation
Juan Verde with the Executive Directors of the Swedish, French and British bilateral trade associations of Washington, DC. From the left: Maja Persson (SACC-DC), Juan Verde, Carla deChassy (FACCWDC), Pat Karhuse (BABA)
On June 14th 80 people gathered at the Maison Francaise to enjoy a keynote address by Juan Verde, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Europe and Eurasia (ITA). Mr. Verde's remarks and his powerpoint presentation provided sound evidence of the potential growth in green technologies and the key role of the US-EU relationship in developing clean energy standards, technology and distribution.
The event was presented by the French-American Chamber of Commerce together with SACC Washington DC, the British-American Business Association, the German American Business Council, the Spain-US Chamber of Commerce, La Maison Francaise and the Wharton Club DC.
Stefan Jacoby
This Safety and Electrification Seminar with Volvo Cars CEO and President Stefan Jacoby gathered 130+ guests at House of Sweden to hear from experts in the area. Among the speakers were former Senator Byron Dorgan, former NHTSA Administrator Jeffrey Runge and others. Click here to read more about the event.
Please click below to see video clips from the event.
Seminar on Corporate Responsibility and Energy as Design
Photo by: Linda Tocchini-Valentini
On May 17 the Embassy of Sweden, SACC Washington DC and Deloitte arranged a seminar with focus on corporate responsibility and energy as design. The seminar was part of the Embassy program “Fabric of Life,” and attracted 60+ participants to House of Sweden in Washington, DC.
Mr. Gunnar Oom, State Secretary to Sweden’s Minister for Trade, Ministry for Foreign Affairs was the keynote speaker. He discussed how Swedish companies work efficiently with Corporate Responsibility and stated that businesses, not government, should be the driving force and take the initiatives in these issues.
A panel consisting of Ms. Rebecca Ranich, Director, Deloitte Consulting LLP, Ms. Tracey Kelly, Corporate Communication Manager, IKEA US and Ms. Elizabeth J. Heider, Senior Vice President, Skanska USA Building and Chair-Elect of U.S. Green Building Council, participated in the event and was moderated by the Honorable Michael M. Wood, Former Ambassador of the United States to Sweden. The panel discussed the future of energy and how their companies work with Corporate Responsibility and energy as design. The group pointed out the importance of developing solutions and products that encourage consumers to make environmentally friendly choices. IKEA for instance, has switched to only selling low energy light bulbs. Several of IKEA’s stores are also switching to solar energy, among them IKEA California – which is the largest building in California.
Breakfast Meeting with Karl Reichelt,
Executive Vice President of Skanska Infrastructure Development - The Americas
Photos by: Alan Schlaifer
On Thursday March 17th, 60+ people gathered in House of Sweden for breakfast and presentation by Skanska ID's Executive VP Karl Reichelt who provided an interesting and engaging discussion about Skanska and their current and upcoming public-private partnership projects around the world, such as the construction of the world's largest PPP hospital New Karolinska and the 61-kilometer, 6-lane toll highway, Autopista Central outside Santiago, Chile. In the DC region Skanska Infrastructure Development is working with the Virginia Department of Transportation to design, build, construct, finance, operate and maintain the Downtown Tunnel/Midtown Tunnel/MLK Extension project in Norfolk and Portsmouth, Virginia.
These projects are examples of ways Skanska is creatively helping state & local governments leverage funding through Private Public Partnerships. Karl also gave an overview of Skanska's Green Initiative, and their strong commitment to being a leading green project developer and contractor.
Karl ended the presentation with a photo of his winning foursome team from the 2008 SACC-DC Golf Tournament. Chairman Bradley J. Olson thanked Karl and handed over a gift of top-quality golf balls.
Annual Meeting 2011 with guest speaker Adam Sharp of Twitter
Adam Sharp and Bradley J. Olson
This year's Annual Meeting, held on January 20th at House of Sweden, began with the election of board members for SACC-DC members. You can see a complete list of the board members in the left margin of this newsletter. The elections were followed by an enlightening presentation on Diplomacy in the Age of Twitter by SACC-DC member Adam Sharp. Sharp recently began as Twitter's Manager for Government and Political Partnerships in WashingtonDC and shared with us how Twitter can serve as a platform for diplomacy and business. For example, Twitter has facilitated communication in times of crises in countries such as Pakistan, Haiti and Chile. Businesses use tweets to advertise new products, job openings or business-related news. Whether for politics or business, Sharp shared how everyone can leverage Twitter for their professional needs.
The presentation was followed by a networking reception. Guests enjoyed champagne, cheese and crackers while mingling in the atrium. Thank you to all that attended!
Swedish Holiday Reception: Technology for Good
Photo credit: Alan Schlaifer
This year's holiday reception, held on Tuesday November 30th at the House of Sweden, provided members with a taste of the Swedish holiday experience. The evening began with traditional glögg drinks in the Anna Lindh room at the House of Sweden, where guests could mingle and admire Ericsson's documentary style photo exhibit,"Technology for Good." The exhibit was brought from New York and highlighted how Ericsson's technology and cooperation with the UN has positively benefited refugees globally. Following drinks, guests went downstairs for the buffet that included a holiday smorgasbord. An exciting raffle ensued, in which a kindle, Redskin tickets and other gifts were given away. Yet, the most spectacular feature of the evening was the beautiful Santa Lucia Procession. We would like to extend a warm thank you to our sponsor, Ericsson, for its generous contribution that made for a delightful evening.
The Recent Swedish and U.S. Elections - Comparison and Analyzes of Trends
SACC-DC and SNS Panel Discussion
Photo credit: Swedish Scene
From left to right: Jonas Ivarsson, Barbara Heineback, Ginna Lindberg,
Sören Holmberg, Martin Gelin, Pontus Melander
On November 9th 2010, SACC-DC and SNS hosted an engaging panel discussion regarding the recent Swedish and American election results. The panel featured a host of accredited professionals, including: Professor of Political Science at the University of Gothenberg, Sören Holmberg, Swedish Public Radio Correspondant, Ginna Lindberg, President of Mercuri Urval, Jonas Ivarsson, Journalist, Martin Gelin, and Minister Counselor of Political Affairs at Embassy of Sweden in Washington, DC, Pontus Melander. The panel was eloquently moderated by Barbara Heineback, a reknowned professional in communications, who was once a presidentially-appointed press officer to the First Lady during the Carter administration. The evening was widely attended and had an active audience that asked many intelligent questions concerning Swedish and American voting, political party shifts and campaign financing. Thank you to all who took part in the panel discussion!
More photos coming soon...
Breakfast Meeting with President of Saab North America, Mr. Dan-Åke Enstedt
On November 3rd, 2010, the chamber proudly hosted a breakfast meeting for our new board member, Mr. Dan-Åke Enstedt, President of Saab North America, Inc. Mr. Enstedt gave an exceptional presentation complemented by visuals of Saab's innovative security and defense product line. Mr. Enstedt also addressed Saab's strategies for expanding the U.S. market, as well as challenges that it might face. After the presentation, Mr. Enstedt answered questions from the audience that included topics on Swedish management, new strategies for green innovation, and key points critical to Saab's success in the U.S. market. With over 40 attendees, the event was a success.
Photos coming soon...
Happy Hour at The Front Page
On Thursday October 7th 2010, SACC-DC kicked off the fall with its happy hour at The Front Page in Dupont Circle. The Front Page was as populated as ever but we secured a nook with our Swedish flag. We had a fantastic turnout and an excellent mix of young professional and individual members. To those of you that attended, we hope you enjoyed the friendly atmosphere, incredible happy hour prices and each others company. To view more photos of the event, please visit our Facebook profile, SACC Washington DC.
Swedish Crayfish 2010
Ambassador Hafström addresses the guests at House of Sweden.
On September 15th, SACC-DC held its annual crayfish event, sponsored by Volvo Group North America, in the Anna Lindh Hall of House of Sweden. The evening was filled with delicious food, excellent speakers and plenty of conversation. The event began with a welcome drink on the rooftop and was followed by a buffet of crayfish, Swedish meatballs, potatoes and more. Shortly thereafter, our guests listened to our three speakers, Mr. Bradley J. Olson, Chairman of SACC-DC; Mr. Jonathan Miller, VP of Government Relations and Government Affairs, Volvo Group NA; and H.E. Ambassador Jonas Hafström. Thank you to our speakers, our main sponsor Volvo Group and all of our guests for contributing to the success of the event!
On Wednesday September 22nd, the French-American Chamber of Commerce of Washington, DC hosted an erergized speed networking night led by SACC-DC member Alan Gregerman. Mr. Gregerman is a consultant, speaker, writer and teacher and you can read more about his work here: www.venture-works.com. The event was attended by 40 persons and took place at Neyla Restaurant in Georgetown. Attendees were greeted with wine and hors d'oeuvres before getting to know each other in what would seem like a game of musical chairs. Alan Gregorman facilitated the evening while also promoting his book, "Surrounded by Geniuses." Guests later enjoyed a lovely mediterranean dinner.
Beyond the Line - Turn the Risks of Climate and Environmental Change into Compelling Business Opportunities
Bill Meiswinkel, Kathleen Matthews, David Michaelson
On June 22nd SACC-DC and the Wharton Club of DC jointly organized a green business roundtable luncheon generously hosted by architectural firm Leo A. Daly in downtown Washington. The event started with a screening of material from the Swedish-American movie Beyond the Line - Turn the Risks of Climate and Environmental Change into Compelling Business Opportunities. The screening was followed by a panel discussion led by David Driscoll, Project Coordinator for Beyond the Line. The three panelists represented companies featured in the movie and included Kathleen Matthews of Marriott International, Bill Meiswinkel of IKEA and David Michaelson of Marion Construction.
The panelists discussed how 'going green' will drive profit for a company in many ways as via energy savings and tax incentives. Other issues included the importance of being proactive as a company and finding good partner organizations to work with such as WWF. All panelists provided great examples of how seemingly small changes have resulted in dramatic reduction of environmental impact and at the same time produced large economic savings for the company.
On Sunday June 6th, 2010, the National Day of Sweden, the Swedish-American community of Washington gathered for a picnic in the beautiful garden of Ambassador Jonas Hafström. The guests enjoyed welcome remarks by the Ambassador, singing of the National Anthem and a concert by the Lund University Academic Orchestra, a 60-piece symphonic orchestra currently on tour in the U.S.
Valborgsmässoafton
On Friday April 30th over 100 guests gathered in the residence of Minister Claes Hammar of the Embassy of Sweden to celebrate the arrival of spring with a traditional Swedish 'Valborgsmässoafton' festivity. This included a performance by a Swedish song group, a bonfire and a delicious summer buffet. The bar was sponsored by Karlsson's Gold Vodka. Please click here to view photos from the event.
Tom Adams - CEO of Rosetta Stone
On Wednesday March 17th, SACC Washington DC hosted an event together with the French-American Chamber of Commerce of Washington DC proudly presenting Tom Adams, CEO of Rosetta Stone. Mr. Adams gave a captivating presentation, describing the remarkable rise of Rosetta Stone from a small, family-owned company in 2003 to a publicly-listed, global business today.
2010 Annual Meeting and Wilhelm Wachtmeister Award Ceremony
Amb. Jonas Hafström, Sven-Olof Hökborg, Bradley J. Olson
SACC Washington DC held its Annual Meeting on January 21st, 2010 at House of Sweden. At the meeting incoming Chairman Bradley J. Olson made a presentation where he commented on the positive financial result for 2009 and highlighted some of the successful events of the past year. He also presented the calendar of events for 2010 and thanked the Board of Directors as well as the office staff for their work and dedication to the Chamber.
Following the annual meeting, Major General Sven-Olof Hökborg, Swedish Air Force (ret.), was awarded the SACC Washington DC Wilhelm Wachtmeister Award. Approximately 90 guests were present to see Gen. Hökborg receive the award – an engraved crystal dish designed by renowned artist Ingegerd Råman. General Hökborg was recognized for his lifelong commitment and extraordinary contributions to strengthening Swedish–American relations, with a focus on the sector of defense industry cooperation. H.E. Jonas Hafström, Ambassador of Sweden to the U.S., expressed his congratulations and conveyed a personal greeting from Ambassador Wilhelm Wachtmeister.
