News

We are proud to announce a change to the leadership team at the Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance. Paulius Martinkus is joining as the President of the Institute as of September 1^st, 2014.

Paulius will be responsible for driving the Institute to the next level, building on the solid foundation and momentum achieved by the Institute under Kristian Kaas Mortensen’s leadership since 2009.

Paulius Martinkus has substantial experience in promoting corporate governance practices. Previously he was heading the Governance Coordination Centre, which was responsible for implementation of corporate governance reform in Lithuanian state-owned enterprises; also, he served on several boards as non-executive member in private, listed as well as state-owned companies.

“I would like to welcome Paulius Martinkus as he takes the helm as the president of the Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance. He will be responsible for continuation of the Institute as the premier corporate governance competence centre,” said Sonata Matulevičienė, the chair of the Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance.

“I would like to thank Kristian for the significant contribution he has made in setting the right tone, energy and structure at the Institute, and for being a key driver in the Institute’s establishment and development over the last 5 years,” she added.

“The last five years heading the Institute has been the most interesting period of my working life, I truly appreciate the support from the BICG Board, members and stakeholders. I only leave this dream job due to another dream offer I could not refuse,” said Kristian Kaas Mortensen.

About Paulius Martinkus

Paulius Martinkus has graduated from the Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance in 2012 and has been a lecturer in the same board member education on corporate governance in state-owned enterprises. He has Bachelor degree in economics and business administration from Stockholm School of Economics in Riga. Paulius has strong financial background and good management skills. He worked as associate in a private equity fund and as financial controller in a group of companies. Paulius acted as secretary to the council in number of companies in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland; later he served on several boards as non-executive board member and chairman

About the Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance

The Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance is an internationally recognized driver of best practice corporate governance development in the Baltic region. The Institute delivers value to our stakeholders by promoting global competitiveness of Baltic companies through adoption of leading corporate governance practices. The Institute is a regional affiliate of the IFC Global Corporate Governance Forum.

Press release

Contacts:

Paulius Martinkus
Association “Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance”
Jogailos st. 4,
LT-01116 Vilnius, Lithuania
Phone: +370 674 67 354
Email: paulius[at]corporategovernance.lt

“State companies can either provide proper basis for economic and social development of the country or be its financial burden, thus it is highly important for Ukrainian economics to reform state enterprises which at present amount to 4000 and make up 40% of Ukrainian GDP,” stated Kristian Kaas Mortensen, President of the Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance, during his media briefing in Ukraine Crisis Media Center.

Please join us in celebrating Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance’s 5th Anniversary.

Place: Radisson Blu Lietuva;
Date: August 29th, 2014;
Time: 09.00 to 10.30.

Registration: km@corporategovernance.lt.

Kiev, Ukraine, April 25, 2014–Today the Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance paid a working visit to Kiev to share best practices on reform of State-Owned Enterprises with key Ukrainian stakeholders.

The focus of the visit was to highlight the importance of transparency and accountability in State-Owned Enterprises; they comprise a significant and important part of the Ukrainian economy.

During the visit the President of the Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance, Kristian Kaas Mortensen met with government, public and private sector leaders as well as with important civil society organizations.

Discussions on combating corruption and implementing best practice corporate governance in the State-Owned Enterprises were held with representatives of EY, KPMG, Deloitte, PWC, AMCHAM, US Embassy, Swedish Embassy, State Property Fund, National Securities and Stock Market Commission and Kyiv School of Economics.

“We hope to be able to share our extensive experience on reforming State-Owned Enterprises with our friends in Ukraine. The links between Ukraine and the Baltic States are strong, we share a common goal of prosperity and economic growth” said Kristian Kaas Mortensen.

About the Institute:
Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance is an internationally recognized driver of best practice corporate governance development in the Baltic region. 
We deliver value to our stakeholders by promoting global competitiveness of Baltic companies through adoption of leading corporate governance practices. The Institute is a regional affiliate of the IFC Global Corporate Governance Forum.

Contacts:
President, Kristian Kaas Mortensen
Association “Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance”
km@corporategovernance.lt
Mobile +370 6111 33 44

It is with a heavy and sad heart that we announce the passing of a co-founder and honorary member of the Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance, Mr. Carl Berneheim.

Carl was a long-term resident of Lithuania and a true business entrepreneur.

In 2009, he was a driving force behind establishing the Institute and he has also served on its board in the years from 2009 to 2013.

Prague, Czech Republic, April 11, 2014 – This week the Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance (BICG) actively participated in the 3rd World Forum on Governance in Prague, which is an anti-corruption event organized by the Brookings Institution.

The Brookings Institution is a non-profit public policy organization based in Washington, DC which is consistently ranked as the most influential, most quoted and most trusted think-tank.

Topics discussed at this event included “The Struggle for Good Governance in Central and Eastern Europe”, “Promoting Best Practices in the Private Sector”, and “Government Reform and the Fight against Corruption.”

Over 60 international participants attended this high level conference, including U.S. Ambassador to Lithuania Deborah A. McCarthy and Kristian Kaas Mortensen, President of the BICG.

Ambassador McCarthy commented: “As President Obama has said, the fight against corruption ‘is one of the great struggles of our time.’  It is our joint responsibility to fight corruption.  I look forward to working with the BICG to further encourage good governance and transparency in Lithuania.”

“Creating transparency in private companies and the public sector is one of the best methods to fight and avoid corruption, and at this event we further developed our toolbox to take on this task,” said Kristian Kaas Mortensen.

“While the Baltic region has improved in the areas of better governance and fighting corruption over the past 5 years, the Institute is committed to actively taking a continued leadership role in these areas. This is why the Institute actively participates in events such as this,” finishes Mr. Mortensen.

About the Institute:

Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance is an internationally recognized driver of best practice corporate governance development in the Baltic region. We deliver value to our stakeholders by promoting global competitiveness of Baltic companies through adoption of leading corporate governance practices. The Institute is a regional affiliate of the Global Corporate Governance Forum.

Contacts:
President, Kristian Kaas Mortensen
Association “Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance”
Jogailos st. 4, LT-01116 Vilnius, Lithuania
Phone: +370 6111 33 44
Email: km@corporategovernance.lt

The Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance, together with the Swedish Embassy and the IFC Global Corporate Governance Forum, delivered a one-day training workshop on corporate governance reporting for Lithuanian and Latvian business journalists.

The focus of the event was to explain corporate governance and the critical role media plays in reporting on it. By conveying and exposing what constitutes good and bad corporate governance practices, media coverage can encourage companies to improve their performance. This in turn would help them operate more efficiently, improve access to capital, mitigate risk and safeguard against mismanagement. Sound corporate governance practices make companies more accountable and transparent to investors.

Aistė Almanaitė, President of the Lithuanian Business Journalist Association, said: “This program supports the region’s business journalists to become more acute on investigating and writing stories on corporate Governance.  The sharp insights and comments of the speakers will help us in the daily work. Consequently, I hope, the quality of Baltic media will be higher: for readers it will be more interesting to follow the news, and for businesses, there will be more incentive to operate in a transparent manner.”

The outcome of this workshop constitutes a small, but significant step towards improving the corporate governance culture in the Baltics as increased media attention will be given to the inner structure of companies, leading to greater accountability and improved performance.

“Media plays an important role in shaping the public image of companies. Quality reporting by the media and good governance practices by companies is a matter of national interest to the economy, and not just within the media industry and corporate sector,” said Philip Armstrong, Head of the IFC Global Corporate Governance Forum.

A number of high-level local and international speakers participated in the event, including Philip Armstrong, Mads Brandstrup, Political Editor, Borsen (Denmark), Arminta Saladžienė, VP, Head of Baltic Markets, NASDAQ OMX, Kristian Kaas Mortensen, President, Baltic Instititute of Corporate Governance, and Liudas Jurkonis, Leader of Fraud investigation and dispute services for the Baltic region, EY and member of the OECD Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

About the Institute:
Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance is an internationally recognized driver of best practice corporate governance development in the Baltic region. We deliver value to our stakeholders by promoting global competitiveness of Baltic companies through adoption of leading corporate governance practices. The Institute is a regional affiliate of the IFC Global Corporate Governance Forum.

About IFC:
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. Working with private enterprises in more than 100 countries, we use our capital, expertise, and influence to help eliminate extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity. In FY13, our investments climbed to an all-time high of nearly $25 billion, leveraging the power of the private sector to create jobs and tackle the world’s most pressing development challenges. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.

Contacts:
President, Kristian Kaas Mortensen
Association “Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance”
Jogailos st. 4, LT-01116 Vilnius, Lithuania
Phone: +370 6111 33 44
Email: km@corporategovernance.lt

More than 100 members and guests attended the 4th Annual General Meeting and Conference of the Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance, held in Vilnius on March 25th, 2014.

The morning session hosted the 4th Annual General Meeting where the new board of the Institute was elected. The members also elected the Nomination Committee and approved the annual activity report and audited financial statements of 2013.

Sir Suma Chakrabarti, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, opened the afternoon session with a video greeting to the Institute’s members. Sir Suma stated in his speech: “Your work touches on a key element in the development of sound companies and eventually economies in general.”

Watch the video address here

Additional outstanding speakers at the conference included:

• Erik Thedéen, State Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Government of Sweden
• Lasse Bolander, Chair, COOP, Denmark
• Birgit Aagard-Svendsen, Chair, Danish Corporate Governance Committee
• Jeanette Carlsson, CEO, Newmedia 2.0 – Consultant, Gov Advisor, NED, Lecturer, Keynote Speaker, Coach
• Ian Dormer, Chair IOD, UK

The awarding of honorary memberships to H.E. Norwegian Ambassador Leif Arne Ulland, H.E. Swedish Ambassador Cecilia Ruthström-Ruin, and H.E. British Ambassador David Hunt for their outstanding support and cooperation with the Institute throughout the years marked the conclusion of the conference.

The Institute’s President Kristian Kaas Mortensen remarked: “The support and involvement from our members during this past year is what makes the Institute so effective.”

Chair of the Institute Sonata Matulevičienė stated: “We are passionate about what we are doing, as we believe that good corporate governance practices lead to better companies and, in turn, better societies. And that it is a valuable and needed part of the sustainable Baltics development”.

Elected by the members to the Institute’s Board:

• Sonata Matulevičienė (Chair)
• Daiga Auziņa-Melalksne
• Linas Dičpetris
• Erkki Raasuke
• Arminta Saladžienė
• Darius Maikštėnas
• Antanas Zabulis
• Ilona Nurmela
• Uldis Biķis

Elected by the members to the Institute’s Nomination Committee:

• Tiina Sepa
• Lina Morkūnaitė
• Undine Bude

About the Institute:

Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance delivers value to its stakeholders by promoting global competitiveness of Baltic companies through adoption of leading Corporate Governance practices. It is an internationally recognized driver of best practice Corporate Governance in the Baltic region.

Contacts:
President, Kristian Kaas Mortensen
Association “Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance”
Jogailos st. 4, LT-01116 Vilnius, Lithuania
Phone: +370 6111 33 44
Email: km@corporategovernance.lt

Following the Article 5.7 of the Statutes of the Association “BALTIC INSTITUTE OF CORPORATE GOVERNACE”, legal entity code 3024 41498, registered address Jogailos str. 4, Vilnius, Lithuania, (the “Association”) the President of the Association hereby convenes the annual general meeting of members of the Association (the “Meeting”).

The main details of the Meeting can be found in the below documents:

Agenda of the AGM, EN

Agenda of the AGM, LT

Annex to agenda. Draft decisions, EN

Annex to agenda. Draft decisions, LT

Nomination Committee Resolution, EN

Nomination Committee Resolution, LT

Statutes of the BICG, EN

Statutes of the BICG, LT

Voting ballot, EN

Voting ballot, LT

Voting right transfer agreement

Agenda of the Annual General Meeting & Conference

The Baltic countries continue to show impressive growth and development, governance is becoming a measure for sustainability, BICG members are showing leadership and inspire change. On March 25th, 2014, we will meet to hear opinions from BICG members, decide on new BICG board members, approve the BICG annual report and much more.

We will also have an opportunity to listen to international speakers, who can inspire continued Baltic competitiveness.

Agenda:

09.00 Welcome, registration and coffee
09.30 “A UK perspective on Governance” Ian Dormer, Chairman IOD, UK
10.00 BICG Annual General Meeting
11.30 Lunch & networking
12.30 Video address
12.35 Governance Summit 2014, Moderator Sonata Matuleviciene,  Head of Baxter Baltics and BICG Board member

• The Board as a Competitive advantage, Lasse Bolander, Chairman COOP, Denmark
• Corporate Governance in practice, Birgit Aagaard-Svendsen, Chairwoman, Danish Corporate Governance Committee
• Jeanette Carlsson, CEO, Newmedia 2.0 – Consultant, Gov Advisor, NED, Lecturer, Keynote Speaker, Coach
• State-Owned Enterprises as Vehicles for Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability, Erik Thedéen, State Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Government of Sweden

14.40 Q&A to all speakers
15.00 BICG honorary member ceremony
15.15 Reception
16.00 Finish

Date & time: Tuesday, March 25th, 09.30 to 16.00

Attendance: BICG members only, there is no participation fee

Registration: Mandatory by email to km@corporategovernance.lt, no later than March 10th, 2014

Place: Swedbank, Konstitucijos pr. 20A, 03502

Agenda