BOARD PRACTISE AND DEVELOPMENT IN NORTHERN EUROPE

BOARD PRACTISE AND DEVELOPMENT IN NORTHERN EUROPE

Raul Henriksson, Chairman of the Finnish-Lithuanian Trade Association yesterday (8

November 2011) hosted a seminar at the Finnish Embassy in Vilnius. Speakers included:

Leena Linnainmaa, Deputy Director General, Finland Chamber of Commerce; Rolandas

Valiunas, Managing Partner of the Vilnius Law Firm Lawin; and Kurt Kääriäinen, Partner and

Board Services Practice Group Leader of the Executive Search Group, Friisberg & Partners

International.

Papers on Corporate Governance and Board Practise in Finland / Scandinavia / Nordics /

Baltics were followed by the presentation of the findings of a survey of 200 company

Chairmen by the Hanken School of Economics, undertaken in conjunction with Friisberg &

Partners International.

The survey results revealed a number of noteworthy statistics, such as, that whilst 22% of

Swedish boards already include a foreign national, 45% of Finnish company chairmen wish to

introduce a foreign national to their board. Six key recommendations for Boards emerged

based on the survey, regarding: female representation, length of service, international

representation, evaluation methods, performance improvement, and teamworking.

Drawing on his considerable experience of board level cross-border executive search, Kurt

Kääriäinen of Friisberg & Partners International then moderated a panel discussion of Board

practise and its improvement and development.

The event was a great success and was well attended with more than 60 delegates present,

all of them chairmen and board members of their respective companies.

For more detail on the findings of the survey please contact Kurt Kääriäinen at Friisberg &

Partners International in Helsinki.