Speakers

 

 

ANDERS KUIKKA, Managing Partner, EIM Scandinavia
Mr. Kuikka has an international education with a B.Sc. in Production Engineering from Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, a M.Sc. in Industrial Engineering from Imperial College of Science & Technology, London and an MBA in Corporate Finance from Columbia University, New York. Anders joined EIM in November 2001, bringing with him a broad business background, including management consulting with McKinsey & Company in Sweden and Swedish Trade Council in Chicago, USA, and private equity and venture capital expertise from ABN Amro. He is today the founder and manager of Executive Interim Management’s Scandinavian office.

 

 

BABAK GOUDARZI-POUR, CEO, Optimum Biometric Labs
Babak has served as the Chairman of the Swedish National Biometric Association, SNBA, since its inception in 2004. He also works as Swedish technical expert in the international standardization work ISO/IEC/JTC 1/SC 37 and its expert groups WG2 and WG5 with specialization on Biometric-technical interface and Biometric-testing and reporting. He has frequently chairing industry panels in Brussels coordinated by the European Commission/Joint Research Center (JRC) and European Biometric Forum (EBF). Babak’s breakthrough started in 2003 when he was invited to guest lecture at the Biometrics Identification seminar held by Dr. James L Wayman at the UCLA. He presented his multiple award-winning work "Facial Recognition Biometrics, applying new concepts in performance improvement and quality assessment" for representatives of FBI, DoD and DHS. Babak holds a M.Sc. and B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering with emphasis on Signal Processing and Telecommunications from Blekinge Institute of Technology

 

 

BARRY BLOMQUIST, President & CEO, VolcanWall
As Chairman and CEO of VolcanWall™ Mr.Blomquist leads a team of over a dozen executives and managers with decades of experience and success in structural engineering and innovative home design, manufacturing, marketing, operations, and strategic planning and implementation to a new paradigm for building and living in the 21st Century.
Mr Blomquist has an integrated perspective on urban environments and their potential positive and negative impacts within local and regional populations. Early life experiences contributed to a green holistic vision of the potential skills we all possess to change what is not working, enhance what is working, and to constantly seek the expression of solutions. Current focus areas and activities are as a founder and CVO of Green Century Solutions Inc., a company dedicated to the idea that we should have a single source location for green solutions to all of the issues facing our planet from a global to local levels.

 

 

BILL HUTCHINSON, Chairman, Waterfront Toronto 
Bill Hutchison was Global Chairman, Telecommunications Industry for Ernst & Young and a senior executive with Honeywell and Arthur Andersen. He has been the turnaround CEO and President of four other public and private companies and has founded four of his own companies, all in the IT, telecommunications and media industries. His focus has been the successful restructuring of companies for growth of 200% to 300% over three year periods in Europe, Asia and North America.
Today, Bill Hutchison has his own consulting practice, chairs Waterfront Toronto’s i-Waterfront Advisory Council, and leads the planning for an ultra broadband communications infrastructure to create one of the world’s leading "intelligent communities" as part of the $17 billion revitalization of Toronto’s central waterfront. He is Chairman of Lavell Systems Inc, a satellite communications firm and he is a member of the board of directors of Balaton Group Inc, a firm of corporate architects, specializing in architecting and investing in special business situations to create new value. He also serves as the Founding Chair of KINSA: The Kids’ Internet Safety Alliance and as Chair of the KINSA Foundation.

 

 

CHRISTIAN JOHANSSON, CEO, Greater Baltimore Business Alliance   
Before joining the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore, Mr. Johansson was a Senior Consultant for the Sag Harbor Group in Boston. He also co-founded two companies: Inka.net, a CRM enterprise software company, and Dola Health Systems, which held operations in Baltimore and Stockholm. Mr. Johansson has represented Booz Allen Hamilton as a Management Consultant in the firm’s London office. He is currently Co-Chairman of the Education Committee and a member of the Executive Committee of the Hippodrome Theatre, and serves on the University of Maryland, Baltimore County President’s Board of Visitors. Johansson is also a member of The Leadership Board, a program of the Greater Baltimore Committee. The recipient of a bachelor’s degree in biology from Brown University and an MBA from Harvard University, Johansson is the author of two books on health care quality improvement.

 

 

Dr. CHRISTINA LAMPE-ONNERUD, CEO, Boston Power
Dr. Lampe-Onnerud has pioneered the use of lithium-ion and other materials to deliver more powerful, longer lasting, safer and cost-effective batteries for laptops, PDAs, cell phones and other electronic devices. Prior to founding Boston-Power, Dr. Lampe-Onnerud was one of the youngest partners ever appointed at Arthur D. Little/TIAX, where she ran the company’s globally- renowned battery labs, defined strategies for the world’s top chemical and battery organizations, and directed high-profile market evaluations. Earlier in her career, she served as a director and senior scientist at Bell Communications Research. Awarded 15 patents in portable power solutions, with 6 patents pending, Dr. Lampe-Onnerud has been recognized among the 100 Top Young Innovators by Technology Review, MIT’s Magazine of Innovation. She has also served as keynote speaker on power issues at industry and government initiatives for more than 15 years. Dr. Lampe-Onnerud earned a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry and a B.Sc. in Chemistry and Calculus from Uppsala University in Sweden.

 

 

DOUG PENNINGTON, Executive Director, Private Capital Network
In 2006 Mr. Pennington founded Private Capital Network, an angel investor group that specializes in early stage and start-up companies. PCN unlike many angel groups in the market place will accept companies from all industries – criteria being that a good business model is in place. PCN is also the first angel group to educate its’ members on foreign market investment strategies and opportunities. During PCN’s first year of operation it has grown from one to three chapters ( Los Angeles Orange County, and San Diego.In 2007, PCN viewed 25 company presentations. Of this number, 3 companies received financing totaling $9.6 million. Doug has been an active angel investor for over 5 years.

 

 

DONALD G. McKENY, Founder & President, Mardon International Healthcare Services
Since 1967 Don has been deeply involved in Computer Technology in the Healthcare Industry in the USA andInternationally. In 1981 Mardon EDPConsultants, Inc started to Design and Copyright Register its Intellectual Property Products for the Healthcare Industry. To date over 128 applicationsand functions have been registered. Recently he has filed Patent Pending claims for three products. Don alsohas 15 years experience as a member and jurist with the American ArbitrationAssociation specializing in Intellectual Property Contracts.
In 1992 his company was invited to License,Install and Maintain products in Indonesia and Singapore. This was expanded to Malaysia, Hong Kong andChina. Currently the company is committing to License to countries within the EU and Scandinavia and has formed Strategic Partners in Sweden to merge products.
Since 1997 Mardon has been importing Swedish IT Technology and Healthcare Products. Don is currently serving as Board Vice Chairman of the SACC-AZ and scheduled to be inducted into the international Board in September. In April Don was honored with a position as a member of the Swedish Trade Delegation to China, Yunnan Province to open aformal trade relation office in Kunming.

 

 

EDUARDO IBACACHE RODRIGUEZ, Entrepreneur, Visionary and Human, Futureprovider
Eduardo is an Entrepreneur Angel and Visionary. He is an expert in building up innovative companies with minimum resources by creating a vision and value driven organization, using human effort and Guerilla Marketing as the key instead of Capital. Eduardo believes that everybody is born an Entrepreneur but is civilized by society to become bricks on the wall. His mission is to bring down so many bricks as possible from the wall, by waking up the sleeping Entrepreneur in them. He regularly gives speeches on the topic “The Way Of The Entrepreneur”, which is a presentation about visionary driven entrepreneurship.

 

GUNNAR WIESLANDER, State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
Gunnar Wieslander is a Swedish Naval Officier andpolitician for Moderaterna. Since November of 2007 he serves as State Secretaryfor the Minister of Trade, Dr.Ewa Björling. After graduating from the MilitaryAcademy Mr.Wieslander served onboard the Swedish Marines’ u-boats for tenyears, staring in 1984. He has thereafter been chief officer in the ship fleetin 1999-2001and for the u-boat fleet 2006-2007.
From 1996 to 1998 Mr.Wieslander worked at a professor inmilitary strategy and defence policies at the Military Academy,and as special advisor for Military matters at the Ministry of Defence from 2003 to 2006. Mr.Wieslander has also been the head of the ECAP (EuropeanCapabilities Action Plan) delegation.

 

 

JACOB WALLENBERG, Chairman, Investor AB
Jacob Wallenberg is Chairman of the Board of Investor AB and Vice-Chairman of SEB, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB and a Board member of the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation. AB. Mr. Wallenberg serves also on the Boards of Atlas Copco AB (Vice Chairman), SAS AB (Vice Chairman) and ABB. Mr. Wallenberg also serves on a number of non-corporate Boards such as the Nobel Foundation.
Mr. Wallenberg was educated at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics in 1980 and an MBA in 1981. Mr. Wallenberg joined SEB in 1984 and held various posts at the bank in primarily in Sweden but also in Singapore, Hong Kong, London and New York. From 1990 to 1992, Mr. Wallenberg was Deputy Managing Director of Investor AB, an investment company with substantial interests in several major Swedish corporations. After rejoining the SEB Group in 1993, Mr. Wallenberg was appointed CEO in 1997 and was Chairman of the Board between 1998-2005.

 

 

JAMES F. BLOM, Senior Adviser, VeriTainer Corporation
Mr. Blom has over 15 years of management experience in Enterprise Software and Hardware where he has had significant P & L responsibility. From 2000 to 2003, Mr. Blom was the Managing Director for EMEA as well as running Ingrian’s Corporate Development and Business Development departments. Prior to Ingrian, he was a Managing Partner at Emerging Technologies AB, a Swedish Venture Capital firm where he successfully co-led ET’s $70M IPO. From 1990 until 1999, Mr. Blom was a Director of Business Development at Exodus Communications, a Product Marketing Mgr. at Compaq Computer, and a National Sales Mgr. at Sense & StereoGraphics Corp.

 

 

JOHN REISKY de DUBNIC, Managing Partner, The Duffy Agency

John Reisky is Managing Partner at The Duffy Agency (www.theduffyagency.com), a strategic marketing firm with offices in Malmö and Boston. Originally from Virginia, John has 24 years experience in sales and service management. He has held senior management positions in Boston, Prague and London before moving to Sweden in 2001. In Sweden he has worked for Turbec AB where he served as V.P. Global Sales and Marketing. He then joined Schneider Electric as Director of Corporate Marketing and Business Development for TAC AB. John is a certified Sales Coach. He holds a B.S. in Engineering from the University of Virginia, and an MBA from the Darden School of Business Administration.

 

 

JONAS NILSSON, CEO, Signal Processing Devices Sweden AB
Jonas Nilsson is since 2006 CEO of SP Devices. SP Devices’ mission is to develop and market signal processing technology for improved analog-to-digital (A/D) conversion. Mr. Nilsson has previous experience from different high-tech start-ups. Prior to the position at SP Devices he was Product Manager and Site Manager of Nira Dynamics for 5 years. Nira Dynamics developed a sensorless Tire Pressure monitoring System for cars. Between 1996 and 2001 Mr. Nilsson held the position as Research and Development Director of Kreatel Communications, a leading IP set-top box supplier. Kreatel was later acquired by Motorola. Mr. Nilsson has studied Physics and Electrical Engineering at the Linköping University.

 

 

KENT SANDER, Senior Partner & Investment Manager, Brainheart Capital 
Kent Sander, Senior Partner and Investment Manager. Mr. Sander joined the BrainHeart team in April 2006, bringing more than 25 years experience from leading positions in the international telecom/datacom industry, whereof 22 years in the US. His most recent position was as CEO of TruePosition, Inc., the largest wireless location network technology company in the world. Previous posititions include that as Vice President of The Associated Group, an investment firm within the telecom arena, Vice President and General Manager of Ericsson, Inc., as well as managerial positions in Canada, Middle East and Europe.

 

 

LARS BJERDE, Senior Vice President, SAAB Technologies Inc.
Mr. Bjerde has a very broad experience in international Business Development, International Marketing and Trade. He started his career as Technical Director for the Swedish Army Regiments/Technical Academy. He went on to work for the Swedish Defense Material Administration and later as an Assistant Military Attaché for the Embassy of Sweden in Washington DC, before becoming the Vice President of Government programs at FFV Development Inc. in Alexandria,VA. Mr. Bjerde is former president at SWE-DISH Satellite Systems, as well as the founder of the SACC Washington DC chapter, and a co-founder of SACC-USA. He is currently Senior Vice President at SAAB Technologies Inc.

 

 

Dr. LARS GATENBECK, General Partners & CEO, GZ Group
Dr. Gatenbeck is a founding partner of GZ Group. He is also the CEO of the fund advisors and the oversees strategic direction, life science sector focus and external relationships. Dr Gatenbeck devotes a large portion of his time to govern portfolio companies and support their CEOs. Currently he is chairman of the board of Cellavision AB and board member of Aerocrine AB and Profdoc ASA. Dr. Gatenbeck previously held leading positions in the European and US Pharmaceutical industry, a career including being Vice President of Pharmacia and Pharmacia Upjohn with global responsibility for several Therapy and Business Areas. Dr. Gatenbeck has also been CEO and President of the Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm, one of Europe’s leading university hospitals, from which he holds a MD and PhD. He has extensive experience of corporate governance as board member of several public and private companies in Europe. Public companies include Investment AB Öresund, Karo Bio, Pyrosequencing and Perbio Science.

 

 

MICHAEL M. WOOD, Ambassador of the U.S to Sweden
Mr. Wood became U.S. Ambassador to Sweden on June 5, 2006. He is former CEO of Hanley Wood, LLC, a very important media company in the housing and construction industry. Ambassador Wood founded and formed Redwood Investments LLC, an investment company specializing in media and real estate, in October 2005. He is a former member of the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. He has also served on the NAHB Long-Range Planning Committee. On June 16, 2005, Ambassador Wood received the Media Business magazine Top Executive of the Year Award. He is now Honorary Director of SACC-USA.

 

 

NIKOLAUS WEIL, Chairman & Managing Partner of Berlin Atlantic Holding
Nikolaus Weil is one of BAC’s founders and active in multiple management functions. Further, he is Director or several funds in the Life Trust product line.
After completing his legal studies in Freiburg, New York and Munich, Nikolaus Weil held positions at law firms including Krauss Amereller Henkenborg in Munich and Beiten Burkhardt in New York. As lawyer, board member and entrepreneur, Nikolaus Weil has worked in various areas of structured media financing. Additionally, he has been involved in several international M&A and capital market transactions with a focus on US investments.

 

RICHARD SAVAGE, Director of Business Development, Qualcomm Europe
Richard Savage is Director Business Development at Qualcomm Europe, he is responsible for Scandinavia, Baltic States and Holland and joined Qualcomm in April 2004. Prior to joining Qualcomm Richard has held similar positions for the last 9 years at Ericsson Telecom AB and at Appload AB. Richard has lived in Sweden since 1996, prior to moving to Sweden, Richard lived and worked in France with several companies including Microsoft, MicroWarehouse and Azlan.

 

ROSS HARDING, Senior Advisor, Herty Advanced Materials Development Center
Mr. Harding focuses on global resource intensive industries. In his higher education and career, he specialized in industrial technology development and applications. He holds a BS in Chemistry from Queensland University of Technology in Australia, an MBA from the Katz school of business at the University of Pittsburgh and studies in Finance at INSEAD in France. During a 12 year career at Calgon Corporation a subsidiary of Merck, based from Asia, North America and Europe he built world wide water treatment businesses. Mr. Harding is a founding Partner of Energy Launch Partners LLC and Verdant Resources LLC, companies engaged in renewable energy commercialization. He was Vice President of Business Development at the Herty Advanced Materials development Center, a world leader in forest based materials developments and founded the Georgia Biofuels Commercialization Center Mr. Harding will Chair the SACC E-Day Renewable Energy Cluster in Savannah April 2009.

 

 

 

SANDY K. BARUAH, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, U.S. Department of Commerce  
Sandy K. Baruah was nominated by President Bush in September, 2005 to serve as the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in December the same year. Mr. Baruah has served the Bush Administration since 2001. Prior to that, he served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Program Operations and Chief of Staff at the Economic Development Administration (EDA). The mission of EDA is to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting innovation and competitiveness, preparing American regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy. Prior to joining President Bush’s team at the Commerce Department, Mr. Baruah spent seven years with Portland, Oregon-based corporate management consulting firm Performance Consulting Group. As a business consultant, he worked on engagements with clients such as Walt Disney World, Intel, Key Bank, Citizens Bank and others. In July 2008, President Bush announced his intention to nominate Assistant Secretary of Commerce Sandy K. Baruah to serve as the Administrator of the Small Business Administration. 

 

  

SVANTE FORSBERG, Chairman of the Board, Deloitte
Mr. Svante Forsberg is Chairman of the Board of Deloitte Sweden. Deloitte Sweden is a member of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (DTT), a Swiss Verein. DTT is the brand under which tens of thousands of dedicated professionals in independent firms throughout the world collaborate to provide audit, consulting, financial advisory, risk management, and tax services to selected clients. Mr. Svante Forsberg also serves as auditor for Skandia AB, ACSC AB, Anticimex AB, Connecta AB and Fabege AB, among others.

 

 

 

THOMAS L. SIEBERT, Former Ambassador of the U.S. to Sweden, Shareholder Greenberg Traurig
Mr. Siebert served as the United States Ambassador to Sweden from 1994-1998. On September 3, 1998, he was appointed Chairman of the 1998 International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Conference. He has served as a Washington, D.C. telecommunications attorney specializing in practice before the Federal Communications Commission principally in the area of new technologies. Mr. Siebert graduated from Georgetown University in 1968 and is a 1972 graduate of Georgetown University Law School. He is a member of the Board of Visitors of Georgetown University Law School and a member of the Board of Visitors and Governors of Washington College. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of the American-Scandinavian Foundation. Mr. Siebert’s professional associations include: the District of Columbia Bar, Bar Association of the District of Columbia, American Bar Association and the Federal Communications Bar Association. 

 

 

VIVEKA WAHLSTEDT, Chairman, SACC-USA
Ms. Wahlstedt possesses over 25 years experience with internationally focused, high-growth corporations throughout Europe, North America, and Asia. She has also worked as a business change management consultant and led several large corporate turnarounds and consolidation/expansions through mergers and acquisitions, as well as organic growth through startups of subsidiaries and expansion of already existing businesses. Carnegie Worldwide, Inc., which she co-founded, is a highly specialized, multinational, strategic management consulting and retained executive search firm. Ms. Wahlstedt obtained a Master of Science degree in Industrial Psychology and an additional Masters Degree in Business Administration at UCLA.

  

International Main Sponsor
Deloitte
Platinum Sponsors
Salesgen
Rockford

 

Gold Sponsors

 
Salesgen

Nordea

 

Connect Sweden

 

 
Silver sponsors
logotype Embassy of Sweden
logotype Swedish Consulate New York
logo Swecare
Mimmin
Organizers