Speakers
Please note, this page is being continuously updated. Listed below are some of our distinguished E-Days speakers.
Patrik Andersson
Maroun Aoun
Matthew Barzun
Lars Björklund
John Boesel
Jeff Borling
Åsa Burman
Britt-Marie Bäcke
Damien Callaghan
Gregory Carson
Charlotte Danielsson
Cynthia de Lorenzi
Doug Domenech
Pierre Elzouki
Annica Fornäs
Anna Graaf
Anna Hallberg
Ulf Hammarberg
Andreas Hazigeorgiou
Malin Höij Norén
Harlan Jacobs
Jan Åke Jonsson
Beata Krakus
Anders Kyrkander
Jakob Lagercrantz
Dr Thomas Lagö
Hans Larsson
Urban Lundberg
Gregg Mast
Lena Malmberg
James E. McDonald
Don McKeny
Mike Miller
Doreen Mogavero
Victor Muller
Stefan K.A. Nilsson
Bradley J. Olson
James F. Pedersen
Peter Peyser
Jeffrey Phillips
Mark Podemski
Anders Rydåker
Michael J. Schewel
Cecilia Skingsley
Raymond Skoglund
Stephen Spoonamore
Urban Smedeby
Bernt Svensén
Runar Sögaard
Hampus Thofte
Beth Topolovsky
Bengt Wallentin
Sara Wallin
Adam Wandel
Steven D. Young
Ola Östlund
Patrik Andersson, CEO, Business Region Göteborg
In 2010, Mr. Andersson was appointed the new CEO at Business Region Göteborg. Mr. Andersson studied at Karlstads University and has worked within banking since beginning of the 1990’s. Most recently held the position as Senior Vice President for five years with Swedbank AB and the offices in Gothenburg, Öckerö, Ale.
Maroun has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration at the LUB Lebanese University of Beirut. In 2003 he became the president of The Foundation IFS (Immigrant entrepreneur in Sweden) but has since 2000 worked on the issue Immigrant entrepreneurship and is now the president of IFS Advices AB a subsidiary of ALMI AB a state owned Company 2007. Maroun have been en entrepreneur both in Sweden and in Lebanon.
Matthew Barzun, U.S. Ambassador to Sweden
Matthew Barzun was sworn in on August 12, 2009 as Ambassador of the United States to the Kingdom of Sweden, and presented his credentials to HM King Carl XVI Gustaf on August 21, 2009.
Prior to becoming Ambassador, Mr. Barzun had a successful career in business. He was the president at BrickPath LLC, where he advised and invested in Internet media companies. Prior to BrickPath, Mr. Barzun served as the Executive Vice President for CNET Networks’ Business Technology group. Mr. Barzun was responsible for helping further cement the leadership position of CNET Networks’ business technology brands, including News.com, ZDNet, TechRepublic, and Builder.com. Prior to that position, Mr. Barzun was chief strategy officer of CNET Networks, where he advised the CEO and the executive committee on business and organizational alignment across the company’s divisions, including leading the efforts to define and communicate the company’s mission, values, and corporate goals.
Lars Björklund, President, Skanska AB Residential Development Nordic
Lars Björklund is managing director for Skanska Residential Development Nordic, responsible for creating homes and communities to about 4000 customers per year in Norway, Sweden and Finland. Lars has a 20 year background within the Skanska group from construction and development business in Sweden and internationally. Skanska is a leading international project development and construction company. We create sustainable solutions and aim to be a leader in quality, green construction, work safety and business ethics. Revenues in 2009 was 137 billion SEK.
John Boesel, President and CEO, CALSTART
In 2001, Mr. Boesel was appointed the President and Chief Executive Officer of CALSTART, before that he has since 1993 worked as VP of Technical programs with CALSTART. CALSTART is the nation’s leading catalyst organization for the development and growth of clean and energy efficient transportation technology companies. Upon graduating from the University of California, Davis, in 1982, John worked in the California legislature as a legislative aide to then Assemblyman (now Congressman) Sam Farr. In that position he managed energy and environmental legislation for nearly four years.
Jeff Borling, Director, Business Development, Area Partnership for Economic Expansion
Jeff Borling serves as Director of Business Development for the Area Partnership for Economic Expansion (APEX), a non-profit business development firm in Duluth, Minnesota. APEX represents 65 of the region’s leading private sector employers, all of whom are dedicated to assisting new and expanding businesses in northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin. With a results-driven approach, APEX specializes in aligning business owners with the talent and resources they need to be successful in domestic and international markets. Since joining the APEX team in July, 2006, Borling has led numerous research projects and business development initiatives, including several related to the biofuels and renewable energy sectors. He acts as the APEX liaison to the Swedish American Chamber of Commerce and served on the steering committee for the International Renewable Energy Days (IBED) Conference in 2008, while working with several European and Scandinavian companies interested in expanding into the U.S. Borling earned a B.A. in English Literature & Linguistics from the University of Wisconsin and completed his Master’s work at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. A graduate of the Blandin Community Leadership Program, Borling serves on the board of directors and executive committees for several regional non-profits, including SOAR Career Solutions, Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce, the Iron Range Economic Alliance, and more.
Åsa Burman, Project Manager and Managing Director, GoBiGas
Åsa Burman is responsible for the GoBiGas-project, a cooperation between the energy companies Göteborg Energi and E.on. Åsa has 20 years of experience from energy and process industry. This includes positions held at Port of Gothenburg as Oil Harbour Manager, Göteborg Energi as manager for District Heating and in the earlier years as an engineer at Metso Power (when owned by Kvaerner). The GoBiGas-project is in the planning stage of building the first larger scale plant producing high quality biogas through gasification of forest residues. This demonstration plant will be the first phase of the GoBiGas-project and will be followed by a larger plant.
Britt-Marie Bäcke, Founder of Somja´lär AB.
Britt-Marie Bäcke started her business 15 years ago in Sweden, Somja´lär AB, and today she also run her business in the US, within her US company, Wineentertainment LLC.
She is a certified sommelier and has developed a board game about wine and spirits, Bouquet the wine game. She sell the game through different distributors in the US, Canada, Australia, Sweden and Finland. She is also a frequently speaker about entrepreneurships in Sweden.
She is a former hotel and restaurant manager, marketing director from a very famous Inn in Sweden.
Today she is working on two new projects, a community about wine and launching her newest product, flatbread (BäckeKnäcke) that is made of biodynamic products.
Her base business is events, i.e. tasting in wine and spirits, catering, arranging whisky trips to Scotland and of course selling her board game.
Damien Callaghan, Investment Director, Intel Capital
Mr. Callaghan’s position with Intel Capital is focusing on investments in the Western Europe area. Mr. Callaghan joined Intel Capital in 2000. Prior to Intel Capital, he managed Intel’s Intel Inside® program and market development field organization in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Before Intel, Mr. Callaghan worked in telecommunications, notably with Cellnet (now O2) in marketing and sales roles. Mr. Callaghan is a board observer for Adaptive Mobile Security Ltd and Powervation Ltd. He has also invested in and been involved in the exit of Azure (acquired by Subex) and eTel (acquired by Telecom Austria). Mr. Callaghan was a member of the Taoiseach’s Innovation Task Force and is the Chair of the Advisory Board of Innovation Fund Ireland.
Gregory Carson, Principle, OceanBridge Capital LLC / Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship
California born, European based Investor and strategist specializing in innovation companies growing internationally. Former Ernst&Young Entrepreneur of the Year winner, Venture Capitalist, and UBS investment banker, Gregory has been on both sides of the capital deal table for billions of dollars of transactions, in over 20 countries. Ocean Bridge Partners specializes in secondary investment opportunities and later stage acquisitions for companies with international interests. At the Institute, he lectures business students and researches future scenario planning and the investment capital infrastructure. Gregory has an MBA from Wharton in Finance and Strategy, and studied Computer Science at UCSD Supercomputer center, and Entrepreneurial Leadership at Inc/MITs BOG program.
Why are you the program leader for this I&E, your background in context?
I have 20 years in Innovation Strategy and Execution. Beginning as an entrepreneur, moving to global strategy for the world’s largest innovation firms and Venture Capital in NYC. From there I worked at UBS Investment bank doing global transactions in Technology Media and Telecoms and Business Services. Now I sit at GU’s Institute of Entrepreneurship.
Charlotte Danielsson, Founding Attorney, Infiniti Law
Charlotte Danielsson is the founding attorney of Infiniti Law, a transactions-based law practice that provides innovative, superior quality and cost-effective legal solutions to companies in the areas of corporate and general business law, intellectual property law, employment law, and business immigration law.
Ms. Danielsson is a graduate of Stanford Law School. Stanford is ranked as one of the top two law schools in the United States and is the highest ranking law school on the West Coast. Ms. Danielsson also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Political Science from UC Berkeley, where she graduated with Honors in the Major and Distinction in General Scholarship from the University
Cynthia de Lorenzi, Founder, Success in the City
With over 20 years of experience in leadership, politics, sales, writing, technology innovation and new media Cynthia has turned her talent toward speaking and motivating. Over the last 10 years she has addressed audiences across the United States. After relocating to the metro Washington region from Dallas, Texas, Cynthia de Lorenzi discovered that she was missing the personal support system of other successful women that she had enjoyed in Texas. So she decided to throw a one-time networking bash to meet some new friends. Success in the City was born!
Doug Domenech, Secretary of Natural Resources, Commonwealth of Virginia
Prior to his appointment, Mr. Domenech was the Senior Vice President of Artemis Strategies; a Washington, DC based bipartisan government relations and strategic communications firm. He was also a principal at Chrysalis Energy Partners, a green energy consulting firm focused on onshore and offshore renewable sources including biomass, wind and solar.
Domenech served in the George W. Bush Administration at the U.S. Department of Interior from 2001 to 2009. While there he held positions as Deputy Director of External and Intergovernmental Affairs, White House Liaison, and in 2005 he was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff to the Secretary of the Interior, the number two staff position in the Office of the Secretary. In this position he worked with senior managers for all nine Interior Bureaus, had senior oversight of the US/UNESCO World Heritage Program administered by the United Nations, and oversaw the Interior Crisis Action Team.
Mr. Domenech also served as the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Insular Affairs where he managed U.S. relations with seven insular areas including US Territories of the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and US Freely Associated States of Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands. Policy issues addressed in this role included energy, security, economic development and health.
Prior to serving at the U.S. Department of the Interior, Mr. Domenech had a long career in natural resource management. Upon graduating from college in 1978 he served as the Acting Director of the Timber Harvesting Management Program at Alabama A&M University where he conducted field research funded by the USDA Forest Service and Tennessee Valley Authority. In 1981 he went to work for the Forest Resources Association, a national technical trade association which represents produces and consumers of raw wood material. He began as the Southwestern Division Forester in Jackson, MS, and then moved to become the Southeastern Division Forester in Charleston, SC. He later became the Director of Forestry Programs at the FRA’s headquarters in Washington, DC from 1990-1993.
Mr. Domenech was appointed by Governor George Allen to the Goose Creek Scenic River Advisory Board and the Commonwealth Competition Council. Under Governor Jim Gilmore he was appointed to the Virginia Board of Forestry. He also formerly served on the Advisory Council of the Conservation Trust of Puerto Rico. He received his Bachelors of Science in Forestry and Wildlife Management from Virginia Tech in 1978.
Pierre Elzouki, Founder, President and CEO, Raviteq AB
Pierre Elzouki is a well-known Entrepreneur and one of the architects of the mobile industry in the South of Sweden. He recognized early on the opportunities of wireless multi-media communication and acted on it. As founder he laid the foundation and helped bringing Scalado from scratch (year 2000) to world recognition in mobile imaging industry, in just a few years. From there, Pierre became the restless driving force behind even more start-ups and different initiatives. Currently Pierre is crafting the next wave of mobile applications exploiting inherent opportunities there, through Raviteq where Mobile Multimedia tell the story. In addition to this he is also New-Builder-Ambassador for IFS and Co-Funder and Advisory BOD for Congress for Environmental Advancement.
Annica Fornäs, Vice President Human Resources, SAAB AB, Electonic Defence Systems
Annica Fornäs began her working career with Volvo Car Corporation, as Project Manager.By the time she left, she had moved to an HR role within the company, and has remained in senior positions within this area since. Before joining Saab AB, Electronic Defence Systems, she worked for Ericsson Microwave Systems AB and FMV (Swedish Defence Material Administration). Annica Fornäs lives in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Anna Graaf, MSc, Partner & Director,R&D Sustainability within White
Anna Graaf, MSc, Partner and Director of R&D Sustainability within White. She has for over ten years been working with environmental management and sustainable urban planning, with focus on low energy design and passive houses. At present she is involved in two high profile sustainable urban planning projects in the UK.
White is Scandinavia´s leading architecture practice and among the ten largest in Europe, with over 500 employees. The company was established in 1951 and is recognised as pioneers in high quality sustainable architecture and urban design. The company has during the years been involved in many prestigeous and award winning projects within all sectors, such as residential houses, hospitals, offices, sport- and leisure facilities, schools and urban development.
Anna Hallberg, Vice President & CFO, Almi Företagspartner
Anna Hallberg is Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of ALMI Företagspartner since 2007. Anna has a broad experience from the financial industry, mainly from the bank SEB, where she held senior and professional positions within Debt Capital Markets, Investment Banking and most recently as head of SEB Private Banking in Stockholm. She is a board member of one of Sweden´s largest real estate companies Atrium Ljungberg, listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. She also is a board member of the University of Western Sweden as well as a couple of smaller companies related to the Almi Group. Anna has a university degree in corporate law and business administration from the University of Gothenburg.
Ulf Hammarberg, Director Environmental Affairs, DHL Freight Sweden AB
Ulf Hammarberg works with new fuels and alternative technologies at DHL’s Environmental Affairs department. DHL is at the forefront of efforts to test and evaluate new and innovative fuel and this is one of the reasons why DHL Freight in Sweden has been engaged in the development of alternative motor fuel technology for many years.
Andreas Hazigeorgiou, International Trade Economist, Special Advisor, Sweden Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Andreas Hatzigeorgiou is an International Trade Economist at the Office for Minister of Trade at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and project manager for KOSMOPOLIT – a campaign project for foreign-born as a trade and investment promotion resource. He has previously worked at the World Bank’s Development Economics Research Group, Trade Team for analysis, and the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Malin Höij Norén, Head of Automotive Sweden
Automotive Sweden is an independent non-profit organization, assigned to spread knowledge of the Swedish automotive industry to national and international players to encourage co-operation and stimulate growth in the automotive industry. Automotive Sweden is one of nine business areas with Business Region Göteborg. Ms. Norén has worked with the organization for six years and was appointed Head of Automotive Sweden cluster in 2008. Before that she held positions with Invest in Sweden Agency, and Hill and Knowlton as a PR consultant. Ms. Norén has an American degree from Brussels where she read International Economics for four years. She was then a trainee at the Swedish Trade Council in Brussels for one and a half years, and also worked for seven years in Switzerland and Belgium.
Harlan Jacobs, Founder & President, Genesis Business Center, Ltd.
Mr. Jacobs is a seasoned CFO with over 20 years experience as a corporate controller and treasurer prior to becoming involved in the fields of incubation and early stage venture (seed) capital. He was the CFO for FilmTec Corporation, a successful Minnesota high tech start-up company with a unique reverse osmosis membrane technology. Formed in 1977 with only $100,000 of founders capital, the company went public in 1979. In recognition of his efforts and success in helping small businesses raise capital and get off the ground, Mr. Jacobs was appointed by Senator Rod Grams to serve as his delegate to the White House Conference on Small Business in 1995, and again as his delegate to the Congressional Small Business Conference, held in Washington, D.C., in June 2000. Genesis Business Center, Ltd is a diversified high tech, for-profit incubator program.
Jan Åke Jonsson, President & CEO, SAAB Automobile AB
Mr. Jonsson has been employed by Saab Automobile since 1973 in various positions within Business Development, Sales and as Director of several business units. He was appointed President and CEO of Saab Automobile in April 2005.
During the auto industry’s past few turbulent years, Mr. Jonsson has been recognized for his leadership on several occasions, and in 2010 he was honored with Västsvenska Industri-och Handelskammaren’s award of first magnitude for his essential contributions to the business environment in Western Sweden. Jan Åke Jonsson was awarded Stora Chefspriset in 2010, distinguished himself for his unwavering faith in the employees and the company in times of crisis.
Beata Krakus. Associate, Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale P.C.
Beata Krakus is an Associate in the Franchising & Distribution & Corporate Practice Groups. She works with clients in domestic & international franchise transactional matters, as well as related areas such as distribution and sales representative arrangements and other commercial contracts. Prior to joining Greenfelder, Ms. Krakus was associated with Sonnenscher Nath & Rosenthal LLP. She practied in Warsaw, Poland with the Swedish law firm of Magnusson Wahlin. Her experience in Warsaw gives her a unique perspective in her international work. Ms. Krakus has prepared domestic and international franchise disclosure documents, franchise, area development, master franchise, distribution, supply agreements and so on. She assists clients with state franchise registrations and counsels clients on federal and state franchise law compliance. She has also assisted clients with mergers and acquisitions, both involving franchise concepts and other business models and assisted clients in general corporate matters.
Andres Kyrkander, Project Manager, Passivhuscentrum
Anders Kyrkander is the project manager for Passivhuscentrum, a knowledge hub for energy efficient buildings in Sweden. As an architect he has focused on environmental issues and with a special interest in energy efficiency. In recent years focus has been on bringing the passivehouse to the market. As an energy expert Anders is a frequent speaker at conferences and in advanced education all over Europe and regularly write for trade publications.
Jakob Lagercrantz, Chairman, Green Motorists
Mr. Lagercrantz has worked with environmental issues since 1984, long before green issues were the topic of the day. He worked for Greenpeace Sweden, starting as a volunteer, leaving as Executive Director in 1995. Ever since, he has worked as an environmental consultant with a variety of projects; often projects belonging in the joint area between municipalities and corporations. Since 2004, Mr. Lagerkrantz is Chairman of the Swedish Association of Green Motorists (Gröna Bilister).
Dr. Thomas Lagö, International Scientific & Business Liaison, Green Valley Development
Dr. Thomas Lagö is a professor at University of Arkansas and International Scientific and Business Liaison to Green Valley Development. Green Valley Development is a concept designed to create a business and technology cluster focused on Sustainability. Green Valley Development works with connecting the world’s best sustainability innovators, grow local companies and to recruit new companies and technologies. Dr. Thomas Lagö is also Chairman and Chief Scientist at Acticut. Acticut represents world-leading research and know-how for producing a new generation of tools and systems for the wood and metal cutting industry. Acticut’s products use active, real-time methods to remove disturbing vibrations and noise in the cutting industry.
Hans Larsson, Project Manager, Biogas Väst
Hans Larsson is Project Manager at Biogas Väst, the world´s first regional project for biogas as vehicle fuel. The overall aim is to stimulate the market development within biogas production, distribution and development of the gas-powered vehicle market. Some 30 participants from privately and publicly owned companies, organizations, public authorities and municipal authorities make up the core of this unique Public-Private Partnership. The concept has been a source of inspiration and has been copied not only in Sweden but also internationally.
Urban Lundberg, Chairman, SACC-USA
During 1975–1979 Urban Lundberg received a Master of Science Mechanical Engineering at the Royal Engineering University in Stockholm. Promoted to Army Director in 1979 Urban Lundberg worked as Executive Program Manager at FMV (DOD) for the largest Swedish Army R&D program ever, the Bv 206 program. That work continued until April 1983 when Urban Lundberg and his family, upon request from Hägglunds Inc. moved to the USA to manage the US Army Bv 206 start up program.
Between 1983 and 1998 Urban Lundberg continued to work for Hägglunds Inc. He was the US Program Manager & VP for international marketing of Hägglunds product line. During this period the Bv 206 program was growing from initial 264 to current 1,200 units.
In 1998 Hägglunds Inc. closed the Hägglunds field office in the USA, however, upon request from the US Government, Urban Lundberg started a private operation called US Defense Services Inc, (USDS) and today USDS represent Hägglunds Inc. Bv 206 in North America.
Mr. Lundberg is also holding the title “Ambassador of Lidköping” and was during 2000 holding a world record in bird watching on Galapagos Iceland in Ecuador. Urban is Chairman and Vice President of SACC-USA.
Gregg Mast, Senior Program Manager, BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota
Mr. Gregg Mast is a Senior Program Manager with The BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota, an industry-led, action-based 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of bioscience-related industries to create jobs for the citizens of Minnesota. Mr. Mast is responsible for convening and leading diverse stakeholder groups to develop long-term strategic direction for Minnesota in the areas of renewable energy and renewable materials. He is also the founder of Earthtech Energy, an agricultural biomass company specializing in formulation and densification strategies for crop residues and other dedicated energy crops for the production of thermal energy. He received a B.A. from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, and an MBA from the Opus College of Business at the University of St. Thomas.
Lena Malmberg, co-Founder, LM Broking AB, LMBgreen Cleantech Consulting
Lena Malmberg, co-founder of LM Broking AB, LMBgreen Cleantech Consulting, specializes in the commercialization process of cleantech development in Europe, North America and the Middle East. Ms. Malmberg acts as an advisor and consultant to clean tech entrepreneurs as well as governments and NGO’s. Her interest in alternative energies was initiated as a private investor in the sector in the late 90’s and then further cemented in the 2000’s, while working for a venture backed fuel cell company in the UK, where she was the director of Investor Relations & Marketing. Ms. Malmberg has a longstanding experience working with entrepreneurial start-ups already in the late 80’s and 90’s in the IT-sector, servicing the financial industry. Ms. Malmberg is also a regularly invited lecturer in “Entrepreneurship” at the department of business studies at Uppsala University.
James E. McDonald, of McLuskey & McDonald, P.A and Stratford Energy Group
James E. McDonald is CEO of Stratford Energy Group, a Florida based consulting firm specializing in renewable energy/biofuels. He is also an attorney and is general counsel to the International Biofuels Commission (formerly the InterAmerican Ethanol Commission founded by the former governor of Florida) and of counsel to the Miami Law Firm of McLuskey & McDonald, P.A. He is also an adjunct professor at St. Thomas University School of Law, Miami. In September 2010, he was a speaker at a Stockholm seminar on “Biofuels-Latest Developments” sponsored by the American Chamber of Commerce in Sweden at the International Chamber of Commerce. At E-days 2007 he gave presentation on “Opportunity of Production of Biofuels in America”. Prior to entering the private sector, James was counsel to several committees of the U.S. House of Representatives, special counsel to the governor of Florida, assistant United States attorney and a special agent with the FBI.
Don McKeny, Founder & President Mardon International Healthcare Systems
Don McKeny is the Founder and President at Mardon International Healthcare Systems. Mr. McKeny founded Mardon Healthcare Systems in August, 1981. Mardon International Healtcare Systems provides a wide range of healthcare program solutions, for example EHR (Electronical Health Records), security systems, clinical modules, and employee training to name a few. Mr. McKeny has also served on the SACC Board of Directors for many years.
Mike Miller, Director, CFO 911 Solutions
As Director, Operations, Mike oversees the day to day functions of CFO 911 Solutions which include planning and managing marketing/sales programs, business development, assigning consultants to appropriate engagements and managing projects. Mike also helps executives evaluate their organization’s design, accounting, financial and human capital strong / weak points. He provides leader and manager development support, while helping executives plan and implement strategic initiatives. Previously, he spent fourteen years in corporate America with FORTUNE 500 firms, including the Bendix and Allied Signal corporations, and has been an owner or partner in two firms. Positions held included acquisition manager, divisional marketing manager, new product development manager, distribution manager, national sales manager and marketing communications manager. Mike holds a B.S., Industrial Engineering from Lehigh University (Bethlehem, PA), and a M.B.A. from Loyola Marymount University, (Los Angeles, CA). Mike has also been certified by the Center for Creative Leadership (Greensboro, North Carolina) to conduct 360º leader, manager and team assessment and development processes.
Doreen Mogavero, Founder & President, Mogavero, Lee & Co
Doreen Mogavero has been a pioneer in the securities industry since she began her career on Wall Street in 1975. In 1980, at age 25, Doreen became a member of the New York Stock. In 1989, Doreen founded Mogavero, Lee & Co, Inc., the first and only floor based direct access firm to be wholly owned and operated by women. She bought her NYSE seat in 1994 and was the only woman working on the floor that owned her own seat when the NYSE Group went public.
Doreen’s extensive trading background includes corporate stock buybacks, block trading and risk arbitrage. Her Series registrations include the 7, 12, 24, 55 and 63. Doreen is a frequent market commentator on CNBC and Fox Business News as well as Bloomberg radio and TV.
Doreen attended Centenary College. She resides in Staten Island, New York with her husband and son.
Victor Muller, CEO and Founder, Spyker Car
After completing his study of law at the University of Leiden in 1984, Mr. Muller started his career as a lawyer at Baker & McKenzie, Amsterdam. In 1989, he became Managing Director with the offshore construction company Heerema in Leiden and was involved in several acquisitions. He became partial owner of Wijsmuller Salvage and Towage, IJmuiden, as a member of a consortium through a management buy-out. From 1992, he has managed and restructured numerous companies including Emergo Fashions Group B.V. that went public as McGregor Fashion Group N.V. in April 1999. Mr. Muller is one of the two founders of Spyker Cars N.V. in 2000. As Chief Executive Officer of the Company, he is responsible for implementing the overall strategy of Spyker. On February 23, 2010 Spyker Cars N.V. acquired Saab Automobile from General Motors. Since this date, Mr Muller also acts as Chairman of Saab Automobile. Mr Muller is married, father of five and is an avid collector of classic cars.
Stefan K.A. Nilsson, Marketing Director, OptiBag Systems AB
Mr. Nilsson is the marketing director of OptiBag Systems AB. Prior to his position at OptiBag Mr. Nilsson was marketing and sales manager at Innovativ Vision AB where he brought the optical sorting system WoodEye to the worldwide market. Mr. Nilsson has 20 years experience in image analyzing optical reading systems.
OptiBag Systems AB is the world leading supplier of optical sorting systems for source separated household waste in colored bags. The system has been implemented in numerous cities and communities thru out Europe. Our latest project is the city of Oslo, the capital of Norway. OptiBag Systems AB is subsidiary of Envac AB which belongs to the Stena group.
Bradley J. Olson, Counsel, Dickstein Shapiro
Brad Olson is counsel in the Washington, DC office of Dickstein Shapiro in the Intellectual Property Practice. Mr. Olson has extensive experience in patent litigation, including the handling of discovery, motion, and trial practice, retaining experts and consultants for trial, coordinating jury focus groups, and preparing witnesses for deposition and trial testimony. He advises clients on patentability, infringement, and validity issues, including anti-counterfeiting enforcement and industrial design matters with an emphasis in the biotechnology and biomedical implant and medical device fields. He has prepared and negotiated complex intellectual property rights transfer agreements, including patent litigation settlements, patent licenses, and computer software and hardware agreements. Mr. Olson has been involved in all aspects of patent and trademark litigation in U.S. District Courts, ITC Section 337 hearings, and patent litigations in the United States as well as in several European countries in conjunction with foreign counsel. He has also successfully defended clients involved in patent interference proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences.
James F. Pedersen, Partner, Dorsey & Whitney
Partner in the Corporate group since 1995, Mr. Pedersen is co-Chair of Dorsey’s European practice. Previously, Group Head, International Corporate, 1996-2000. Practice involves a variety of international corporate law matters with emphasis on international transactions, including product distribution, technology transfers, licensing, mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and divestitures, and international benefits law. Mr. Pedersen has acted as lead counsel in a broad array of multi-country, complex mergers and acquisitions for both United States and European clients. He has advised clients in the IT, software, medical device, bio-tech, manufacturing, automotive, logistics, financial services and travel services industries, including representation of both strategic and private equity buyers, sellers and investors. Jeffrey Phillips, International Trade Representative – Europe and Russia Minnesota Trade Office
Peter A. Peyser, Jr. Senior Principal, Blank Rome Government Relations LLC
Mr. Peyser is acknowledged for his extensive experience and substantive knowledge in a variety of subject areas. His experience on Capitol Hill, in city government and as a government affairs professional has involved him in issues ranging from transportation to healthcare to telecommunications to economic development and beyond. He has extensive expertise on and relationships with public and private sector leaders in cities in all regions of the country. He serves clients in areas such as: appropriations, transportation, state and local governments, healthcare, economic development, and telecommunications.
Mr. Peyser’s experience on these matters goes back to his earliest days as a congressional staff member in 1977. He continued his career as a member of the staff of the mayor of New York and entered private practice as a government affairs professional in 1982.
Mr. Peyser has long-standing relationships with top House and Senate leaders and key congressional committees. He has special expertise in developing coalitions including public and private sector members to advance legislative goals. He is the former Assistant Director for the City of New York Washington Office. He is the former Administrative Assistant to Representative Geraldine A. Ferraro (D-NY), who served on the House Committee on Public Works and Transportation. He was former Legislative Assistant to Representatives Peter H. Kostmayer (D-PA), who served on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and for James J. Delaney (D-NY), who served as Chairman of the House Committee on Rules.
Jeffrey Phillips, International Trade Representative – Europe and Russia Minnesota Trade Office
In encouraging and facilitating trade with Europe and Russia, Jeffrey provides export counseling, assists with strategic planning, business partner matching, coordinating trade promotion activities, organizing and presenting at conferences and seminars, and hosting international visitors. Jeffrey previously served as the International Trade Representative for the state’s processed foods industry. Before joining the MTO, Jeffrey was senior food marketing specialist with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. He assisted Minnesota’s processed food companies with business start-up; promotion; and assistance in package design, determining distribution channels, and meeting label and regulatory requirements. Jeffrey received a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh and additional training in food science & technology from the University of Minnesota.
Mark Podemski, Vice President for Development, Rockford Area Economic Development Council
As Vice President for Development for the Rockford Area Economic Development Council (RAEDC), Mark is responsible for assisting clients with business expansion and retention efforts.
Prior to joining the RAEDC staff in February of 2005, Mark held several leadership positions during his 19-year career at Honeywell International in product and engineering management, factory operations, sales, and business development. In 2004, Mark established a management-consulting company focused on assisting clients with performance-improvement approaches.
Mark serves on the Boone and Winnebago Workforce Investment Board and chairs the Planning Committee. Mark is also the current President of the Chicago chapter of the Swedish American Chambers of Commerce (SACC) and he serves on the SACC USA Board and Executive Committee.
Mark holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin and a Master of Business Administration degree from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts.
Anders Rydåker, President & CEO District Energy St. Paul and Ever-Green Energy
Anders Rydåker was named president of District Energy St. Paul and District Cooling St. Paul in September 1993. He is also the president/chief executive officer of the affiliate Ever-Green Energy Company. Rydåker has more than 30 years of experience in the district energy field. A native of Sweden, he spent more than 15 years holding numerous management positions at the Uppsala power and district energy utility. He also introduced district cooling to the Swedish market in 1990 and successfully developed the innovative cooling system for Stockholm using deep lake water cooling. Rydåker’s commitment to renewable energy resulted in the development of a biomass-fired combined heat and power (CHP) plant that became operational in 2003. Using renewable energy in the form of wood residue from the Twin Cities metro area, the CHP plant produces up to 33 MW of electricity and up to 65 MW of thermal energy. The plant burns clean, urban wood residue: a sustainable, renewable, green energy resource. He has authored numerous papers and is an active member and former Chair of the International District Energy Association
Michael J. Schewel, Partner, McGuire Woods
Mr. Schewel joined McGuireWoods in 1979. His practice focuses principally on corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, and the development and financing of energy projects. He has also been involved in economic development work in Virginia, served as Virginia’s Secretary of Commerce and Trade between 2002 and 2006. In the energy area, he has represented owners, investors and lenders in the development, acquisition and/or financing of biomass, wind, solar, landfill gas, coal-fired, gas-fired, nuclear and hydroelectric power generating facilities throughout the United States. Mr. Schewel has many engagements within the energy and clean tech sector and has over the past 10 years given many presentations about clean tech and renewable energy issues.
Cecilia Skingsley, Head of fixed income & fx research, Swedbank large corporates & institutions
Cecilia Skingsley has held the position of head of FX/fixed income research at Swedbank Large Corporates & Institutions since August 2007. She has a background in media, journalism and government.
Before joining Swedbank, Cecilia Skingsley was a columnist and deputy financial editor at Dagens Industri, the Swedish business daily newspaper. In that position, she was ranked in the top 10 list of the most respected business journalists in Sweden.
From 1991 to 1994 she was the press secretary to Mr Bo Lundgren, cabinet minister for fiscal and financial affairs at the Ministry of Finance, who was responsible for resolving the Swedish banking crisis.
Cecilia Skingsley, born in 1968, has a BA in Economics and political science from the University of Stockholm, together with a CEFA degree issued by IFL/Stockholm school of Economics.
Raymond Skoglund, Managing Director, McNamee, Lawrence & Co
Ray is one of the original members of the McNamee Lawrence Co. team and has been instrumental in growing MLC from its early entrepreneurial beginnings to its present international reach. Ray draws on an extensive background in both investment banking and corporate law, and has a broad range of experience in the technology sector particularly in the software space. Areas of particular focus include enterprise software, including through a hosted or on-premise delivery model and involving SaaS based revenue models. Representative transactions while at MLC have included the divestiture by Oracle of its On Target division to the TAS Group and the sales of Propero and Thinstall to VMWare, Salesnet to RightNow Technologies, iPhrase to IBM, and MarketSoft to Unica, and the private placement funding of LogMeIn. Ray also plays a significant role in MLC’s international investment banking efforts with a focus on Europe and Scandinavia (in particular). Ray currently serves on the Investor Advisory and Organizing Commitees of the annual Boston Cleantech Venture Day and on the Board of Directors for the Swedish American Chamber of Commerce of New England.
Stephen Spoonamore, CEO at ABS Materials Inc, Partner at Global Strategic Partners LLC
Stephen Spoonamore graduated from the University of Pennsylvania – The Wharton School and has since accumulated 20 years experience in most aspects of High Technology facility construction, retrofits, upgrades and equipping. During this time he gained real-time experience, extreme high volume, encrypted and networked communications systems for Banks, TV, Telco, EMS, Military and other uses. Spoonamore has delivered projects in over 50 countries, several earth orbits, one Mars mission.
Served as co-founder/CEO of Creative Production Resources Group for 6 years. 15+years in NYC, currently based in DC.
Urban Smedeby, co-Founder Bridgewater Capital
Over 13 years of corporate finance experience. Mr. Smedeby has managed and completed transactions well over $250 million in various equity and debt structures. With the responsibility of analyzing and evaluating investment opportunities on a daily basis, Mr. Smedeby has a deep knowledge regarding the capital markets. Mr. Smedeby’s primary focus at Bridgewater Capital is M&A, in addition to having an extensive contact base in the European financial community, which has facilitied cross border transactions.
Prior to co-founding Bridgewater Capital in 1995, Mr. Smedeby headed up the M&A and Corporate Finance department of Bentley, Richards & Associates.
Mr. Smedeby was also one of the co-founders of Bently, Richards & Associates and during his tenure at the firm, it grew to one of the more prestigious specialized investment banking companies in Southern California. Mr. Smedeby is frequently invited as a speaker to industry professionals, high net worth investors, and has served on numerous panels dealing with the capital markets.
Bernt Svensén, Project Manager and Business Developer for Sustainable Transport, Business Region Göteborg
Bernt Svensén is the Project Manager and Business Developer for Sustainable Transport at Business Region Göteborg. He is one of the founders of the world’s first regional biogas project vehicles for 2001 – Biogas West.
He has for many years been the project manager for Biogas West and helped to make biogas for vehicles and the reality known to a wider market. He has been with the city of Lille that launched the EU’s largest biogas projects Biogasmax with 28 partners from eight countries. In 2008, Business Region Gothenburg won the Charles R. Imbrech Blue Sky Innovation for catalyzing Sweden’s use of biometric male as a Renewable transportation. He was one out of Seven Nominees for the World Bio Energy Award earlier this year. Today he is chairman of the Biogas West.
Runar Sögaard, Founder, Next Level Consulting
With a passion for people, Mr. Sogaard has been educating, training and developing people in more than 35 countries since 1990. Over the past 10 years his focus has been on managerial development and leadership development and his message has been to how to “turn your mess into a message” as a peak performer, a leader and in your personal life. Next Level was first established 1999 in Sweden by Mr. Sogaard. His clients are CEOs, upper management and other executives as well as managers of publicly listed companies and owners and managers of small and medium-sized businesses, government officials, artists, actors and professional athletes.
In January 2010 he was elected “The Swedish Entrepreneur of the Month” by the Swedish Financial Website and paper “Newzglobe” and the next phase of Next Level has just begun. In 2011 Next Level will move into United Kingdom and Dubai.
Hampus Thofte, Lawyer, Mannheimer Swartling Advokatyrå
Mr. Thofte is a lawyer in the New York office of Mannheimer Swartling Advokatyrå. He has received degrees from both Stockholm University Law School and Stockholm School of Business, as well as a Masters of Laws from Pace Law School in New York. Mr. Thofte is admitted to practice in New York and Sweden, and is frequently called on to advise Scandinavian companies on legal issues related to mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and other forms of corporate business development activities in the United States.
Mannheimer Swartling is the leading law firm in Scandinavia and the only firm from the region with a permanent presence in the United States. With over 400 lawyers working out of 12 offices around the world, the firm offers unrivalled expertise in essentially every area of business law, and are regularly recognized as the domestic market leader by independent institutes.
Beth Topolovsky, Founder, Stinson Partners
Beth is the founder and Managing Partner of Stinson Partners AB, which specializes in cultivating high performing companies in a style that bridges Silicon Valley with that of the Nordics. Beth has over 18 years of senior management and technical experience from Silicon Valley working in Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard, and KLA-Tencor. While working for Cisco Systems in 2001, Beth relocated to Sweden to manage an acquisition formerly called Qeyton Systems AB. Thereafter, Beth was co-founder and CEO of Q2 Labs AB, developing an optical networking product. Q2 Labs was later sold to Net Insight AB. Beth has held Chief Operating Officer positions with Transmode and Tilgin both mid-sized companies in Stockholm.
Prior to moving to Sweden, Beth held senior management positions in Engineering and Operations within Cisco Systems. She has been a Product Marketing Manager for KLA-Tencor. Beth’s hands-on technical experience comes from her 5 years as a high-speed chip design engineer with Hewlett-Packard in Palo Alto, California.
Beth serves on the board of The American Chambers of Commerce in Sweden as well as The American Club of Sweden and is an advisor to a few early stage companies in Sweden.
Bengt Wallentin, CEO, eBuilder
As CEO for the eBuilder Group Bengt establishes and oversees the company’s operations and long-term strategic direction, and he brings more than 30 years of experience in building international technology and service businesses. Prior to joining eBuilder Bengt founded and for 18 years served as President and CEO of Frontec, a Swedish based IT Consultancy firm pioneering in the creation of efficient business processes with the use of IT. During his time with Frontec Bengt grew the Company from 20 employees to over 1200 in twelve countries, and took the company public in early 1995. Before Frontec Bengt ran his own company, ElectroNova, pioneering the use of microprocessors across a variety of applications. Bengt earned a Masters degree in Electronic Engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology, and a Bachelors degree in Business Administration from the Swedish Employers Union (SAF). Bengt has also been involved in developing the Swedish IT Industry by serving as Vice-Chairman of The Swedish IT Association and as a board member of the Swedish IT Employers Union.
Sara Wallin is CEO of ALMI Väst since August 2007 and a member of Group Advisory Board of ALMI. She is also a board member of “The Foundation of Stock-exchange companies in Gothenburg” (Börssällskapet), and the “Swedish Jobs and Society Foundation, the national mother organization of Enterprise Agencies” (Nyföretagarcentrum). Sara is part of the investment comitte at “The incubator at Chalmers University of Technology”. Previously she has been partner in growth companies within the IT- and telecom sector. Sara has a degree in economics, marketing and psychology from the IHM Business School and the University of Gothenburg.
Adam Wandel, Export Developer, Ecoex
Adam Wandel has worked for five years as an exports developer for Ecoex – West Swedish Environmental Export. There he has access to an extensive network in the area of energy efficiency in buildings, in which he is careful to include additional technologies and capabilities. This fits well ventilated expertise, such as heat exchange, as timber manufacturers, window manufacturers and consultants. Adam Wandel has worked with exports throughout his career, including the Swedish Trade Council of Swedish exports and the Danish Trade Council of Danish imports to Sweden.
Steven D. Young, Engagement Manager, The Winvale Group
Mr. Young has been with The Winvale Group since 2005, where he has provided industry clients from engineering firms to large vehicle manufacturing companies a contract vehicle vital for their use when selling to the U.S. government. Providing expertise in understanding U.S. government purchasing requirements he has provided Winvale clients with the knowledge and ability to become successful contractor s to the Federal Government. Mr. Young’s expertise includes: development of subcontracting plans for large businesses; providing a methodology for clients to secure an awarded contract at a profitable margin; and provide clients with a strategy for presenting their current commercial practices to the government in a winning proposal. The Winvale Group is a premier consulting firm that specializes in providing commercial firms with entry to government contracting opportunities and Mr. Young has worked on all major schedules which includes Professional Engineering Services, Buildings and Building Materials/Industrial Services and Supplies, Advertising and Integrated Marketing Solutions (AIMS), and more. He is knowledgeable in Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and specific contracting regulations that may be required by Department of Defense and/or General Services Administration. Mr. Young has over 15 years of practical experience working with government contracts and GSA.
Ola Östlund, Owner & CEO, OCIM Inc.
Mr. Östlund, a Swedish native lives in Los Angeles and started OCIM – a full service construction inspection firm – in 1993. He is an entrepreneur with several companies in his portfolio. Mr. Östlund is a true opportunity broker with over 30 years of experience in the corporate world in both Sweden and the US. He is also past chairman for SACC-Greater Los Angeles, and from this year he is also serving as Vice President for Next Level Consulting, a leadership developing firm established in Sweden since many years and now also breaking ground in US.
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