July 5th, 2023
Agenda
08:00 - 09:00
Registration and Coffee
09:00 - 09:08
Ziedonis Hall
Welcoming Remarks

Daunis Auers
Forum moderator

Pēteris Blumbergs
President, World Federation of Free Latvians
09:08 - 09:40
Ziedonis Hall
Opening Remarks

Egils Levits
The President of Republic of Latvia

Krišjānis Kariņš
Prime Minister of Latvia

Edgars Rinkēvičs
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia

Mārtiņš Staķis
Mayor of Riga
09:40 - 09:45
Ziedonis Hall
Conference Orientation
09:45 - 09:55
Ziedonis Hall
Latvia’s Economic Growth Success of the Previous 10 Years

Morten Hansen
Head of Economics Department at Stockholm School of Economics in Riga
09:55 - 10:40
Ziedonis Hall
Big Picture Latvia: Opportunities for Economic Growth

Morten Hansen (moderator)
Head of Economics Department at Stockholm School of Economics in Riga

Arvils Ašeradens
Minister for Finance

Nils Melngailis
Chairman, Luminor Bank

Zlata Elksniņa-Zaščirinska
Chairperson of the Board at FICIL, Country Managing Partner at PwC Latvia
10:40 - 11:10
Coffee break
11:10 - 12:00
Ziedonis Hall
Invest for Growth

Mārtiņš Andersons (moderator)
President of the American Latvian Association

Fredis Bikovs
Director of Riga Investment and Tourism Agency

Kaspars Rožkalns
Director General of the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA)

Roberts Grava
CEO of Crown Agents Investment Management and Executive Director at parent Momentum Global Investment Management

Dāvis Siksnāns
Draugiem Capital Investment Director
12:00 - 13:15
Lunch Break
13:15 - 15:00
Conference Center
Panel Discussions
Conference Center
Panel Discussion #1: Services
13:15 - 14:05Business Looks at Latvia: A Country’s Image as a Key Differentiator for Landing Businesses and Tourists

Tomass Pildegovičs (moderator)
Senior Expert at the NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence

Vitnija Saldava
Public Policy Lead for Baltics at Meta

Ieva Lasmane
Head of Tourism Department at Riga Investment and Tourism Agency

Aleksandra Malinovska
UX Program Manager, Google
14:05 - 14:10Break
14:10 - 15:00Latvia Moving Forward: Building 21st Century Transportation and Communications

Ilga Anita Bērzkalna (moderator)
Board member, development director, LPKS LATRAPS

Martin Gauss
CEO of airBaltic

Anrī Leimanis
Chief ESG Officer and Vice-Chairperson of the Management Board at RB Rail AS

Kārlis Ķirsis
Chief Legal Officer, GXO Logistics, Inc.
Conference Center
Panel Discussion #2: People (This discussion will be held in Latvian)
13:15 - 14:05Eyes Wide Open: How Latvia’s Municipalities Win Foreign Business, and in the Process Remigration to Latvia

Kristīne Bērziņa (moderator)
Managing Director at GMF North

Dr. Inta Mieriņa
Director of the Centre for Diaspora and Migration Research, University of Latvia

Gunārs Ansiņš
Mayor of Liepāja

Jānis Rozenbergs
Mayor of Cēsis

Raivis Bremšmits
Director of the State Sustainable Development Planning Department at Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development of Latvia
14:05 - 14:10Break
14:10 - 15:00Latvia’s Got Talent: Retention and Upskilling of the Labor Force as Competitive Global Advantage

Laura I. Ramanis (moderator)
Honorary Consul for the Republic of Latvia in Northern California

Evita Simsone
Director of State Employment Agency

Aļesja Kirčenko
Chairperson at ABSL Latvia and Deputy Head at SEB Global Services in Riga

Liza Belozerova
Senior Manager at Google.org EMEA
Conference Center
Panel Discussion #3: Innovation
13:15 - 14:05Bio Frontier: The Future of Latvia's Healthcare and Biotech Sectors

Lauris S. Lambergs (moderator)
Co-President, Latvian American Chamber of Commerce

John Tully
Chairman of the Board at AmCham and Mikrotik

Janis P. Tupesis, MD
Faculty, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health BerbeeWalsh Department of Emergency Medicine; Associate Director, University of Wisconsin-Madison Global Health Institute

Aiga Balode
Deputy State Secretary on Digitalisation and Change Management at the Ministry of Health

Kristaps Zariņš
Professor of Surgery, Emeritus, at Stanford University and Founder of the cardio-diagnostics company, HeartFlow, Inc.
14:05 - 14:10Break
14:10 - 15:00Latvia's Power: The Needs and Policies for the Next 10 Years

Pauls Miklaševičs (moderator)
Chief Investment Officer at BluOr Bank

Reinis Āzis
Business Development Manager at VTTI B.V.

Viestarts Rutenbergs
New Business Lead Negotiator at TotalEnergies

Dmitrijs Juskovecs
Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) and Member of Executive Board at Latvenergo
15:00 - 16:30
Events premises on Level 11 and Level 12
Conference Conclusion: Wine, Valmiermuiža Beer and Networking
Pre-conference reception • July 4th, 2023