News

Since 2009, the Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance (BICG) has set the agenda for corporate governance development in the Baltics and is recognised as the driving force for transparency, accountability and value-creation in the region.

We are now looking for Country Manager Estonia to further strengthen our team.

The role is to actively promote good corporate governance in Estonia by initiating public policy changes, developing member network, engaging directors, shareholders and top managers into BICG education programs, etc.

For more information, please refer below and visit >> here.

Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance (BICG) invites to attend the Board Member Education program in spring 2020.

Background of the Education

The program is designed to introduce Board and Supervisory Council members, shareholders and top executives to the best principles of corporate governance, providing a strong basis for their implementation in practice.

“It offers an opportunity to learn about the best practices in separating and fulfilling their particular responsibilities, to ensure long-term success of a company,” says Rytis Ambrazevičius, President of the BICG.

Topics of the education program are compiled based on the principles and recommendations on corporate governance by the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group (IFC) and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Education is held in the English language, it consists of three sessions (two days each, six in total) and final examination.

Dates:
• May 14^th and 15^th – first session in Vilnius, Lithuania;
• May 21^st and 22^nd – second session in Tallinn, Estonia;
• May 28^th and 29^th – third session in Riga, Latvia.

To see the full introduction to the program, please follow the link below >>

INTRODUCTION (EN)

Please note that the number of places in the program is limited and priority is given to participants who are directly involved in planning and implementing good corporate governance practices in a company.

UPDATE: Please be informed that, in light of the ongoing quarantine measures implemented in the Baltics and elsewhere, the spring session of the Board Member Education is now postponed to autumn.

For more information, please contact:

Rytis Ambrazevičius
President
Mob. +370 698 17011
E-mail rytis[at]bicg.eu

Andris Grafs
Vice President Latvia
Mob. +371 297 84407
E-mail andris[at]bicg.eu

This year marks the 10-year anniversary of the Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance (BICG), since it was officialy established in autumn of 2009, kick-starting a movement towards good corporate governance practices in the Baltics.

“Such a milestone is a great opportunity to thank everyone, who have helped to build the BICG from what was an unlikely, optimistic idea of a few good governance enthusiasts during the hard economic times in 2009, and is a strong Baltic organisation with over 200 members and 700 alumni today. An organisation whose voice has made a difference in improving Baltic business practices, advocating for better governmental policies and is valued internationally,” says Rytis Ambrazevičius, President of the BICG.

Such initiatives of the BICG as increased transparency in state-controlled companies, including improved reporting and advocacy for independent Boards, as well as good governance guidelines for private businesses, are now acknowledged for their benefit in creating better Baltic business environment.

“Today I am particularly glad to see that over the years the Institute has grown to become an organisation more than 200 members strong; one that serves as a solid framework promoting sound corporate governance culture both in the private and public sector. I also commend the active and constructive role that the Institute has played during the accession of Latvia and Lithuania to the OECD. And I applaud its ongoing work at improving business legislation and issuing good corporate governance guidelines both for private and state controlled businesses,” notes Mr Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice Chair of the European Commission and former Prime Minister of Latvia, in his congratulatory letter.

Full letter

While a 10-year milestone is a good opportunity to reflect on the previous decade, it is also a good viewpoint to look towards the future.

“Looking back at how far we have come and looking forward at how far we still have to go, is an inspiration to keep going. To get to work with new confidence, and ensure that the positive changes that have been achieved do not stagnate or become undone, but continue to progress and  grow into a permanent new corporate governance culture, which cannot be reversed,” says Daiga Auziņa-Melalksne, one of the founders and Chair of the Board of the BICG.

Photos, Riga

Photos, Vilnius

Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance (BICG) has sent an open letter to the Speaker of the Latvian Parliament and to the Latvian Prime Minister, expressing concern regarding sudden changes in the composition of the Supervisory Board of state controlled company Latvenergo, the largest and most valuable company in Latvia.

Taking into consideration the significant impact Latvenergo has on the Latvian economy and national security as well as the best interests of the general public, BICG emphasised that it is not acceptable when an independent Supervisory Board is dismissed without any reasonable argument, before the end of the term of office. BICG noted that it is also not acceptable when new members of the Supervisory Board are appointed without a transparent selection process, in conflict to the good corporate governance principles and recommendations of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as well as national legislation.

BICG noted that such a decision by the Latvian Minister of Economics and the State Secretary of the Ministry of Economics, which is the sole shareholder of Latvenergo, indicates an undue political intervention by selecting appointees for the new Supervisory Board; and that such a practice is contrary to both the OECD standards and the overall goals of the reform on governance of state owned companies in Latvia.

The open letter invites the Speaker of the Latvian Parliament and the Latvian Prime Minister to request an explanation from the Minister of Economics and to clarify the real interests behind such a decision. BICG has also called for appointing a new professional and independent Supervisory Board in a reasonable, transparent process as soon as possible.

The open letter was co-signed by 14 Latvian business leaders from EY, Swedbank, Latvijas Finieris, KPMG, Sorainen, Citadele, SEB, Fontes, Digital Mind, Amrop, BaltCap, OP, Schwenk Latvija and Conexus Baltic Grid.

OPEN LETTER (LV)

More information:

Andris Grafs
Vice President Latvia
Mob. +371 297 84407
E-mail andris[at]bicg.eu

Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance (BICG) invites to attend the Board Member Education program in autumn 2019.

Background of the Education

The program is designed to introduce Board and Supervisory Council members, shareholders and top executives to the best principles of corporate governance, providing a strong basis for their implementation in practice.

“It offers an opportunity to learn about the best practices in separating and fulfilling their particular responsibilities, to ensure a long-term success of a company,” says Rytis Ambrazevičius, President of the BICG.

Topics of the education program are compiled based on the principles and recommendations on corporate governance by the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group (IFC) and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Education is held in the English language, it consists of three sessions (two days each, six in total) and final examination.

Autumn dates:
• October 3^rd and 4^th – first session in Vilnius, Lithuania;
• October 10^th and 11^th – second session in Tallinn, Estonia;
• October 17^th and 18^th – third session in Riga, Latvia.

To see the full introduction to the program, please follow the link below:

INTRODUCTION (EN)

Please note that the number of places in the program is limited and priority is given to participants who are directly involved in planning and implementing good corporate governance practices in a company.

For more information, please contact:

Rytis Ambrazevičius
President
Mob. +370 698 17011
E-mail rytis[at]bicg.eu

Andris Grafs
Vice President Latvia
Mob. +371 297 84407
E-mail andris[at]bicg.eu

Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance (BICG) is happy to announce registration for the Chair education course to be held in Stockholm on the 19^th-22^nd of November.

The program of the course will focus on an effective Board leadership, with the topics ranging from the Chair’s involvement in strategy and risk management processes to their key relationships and role in the organisational Board work.

We are very glad to say Mr Raoul Hasselgren, a long-time friend of the BICG, will be returning as one of the lecturers to continue in the Chair course where the Board member program leaves off.

We are also looking forward to welcoming Mr Sören Mellstig, independent Chair of CellaVision and Ellevio; Mr Jens Spendrup, former Chair of Spendrups; Mr Lars O Grönstedt, former CEO and Chair of Handelsbanken; Mr Michael Wolf, Senior Advisor at Blackstone and former CEO of Swedbank, as well as others among our experienced speakers.

Our hosts during the session will be Nasdaq, East Capital and SEB.

To find more information about the program, please follow the link below:

INTRODUCTION (EN)

BICG Chair education is held in Stockholm every two years.

Please keep in mind that this course is open only to those who have already completed the BICG Board member education program.

A flashback to the first BICG Chair education held in 2013 can be found by visiting: goo.gl/3kh6Qo.

For more information, please contact:

Rytis Ambrazevičius
President
Mob. +370 698 17011
E-mail rytis[at]bicg.eu

Andris Grafs
Vice President Latvia
Mob. +371 297 84407
E-mail andris[at]bicg.eu

On May 28^th, the Board of the Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance (BICG) was unanimous in re-electing Daiga Auziņa-Melalksne as the Chair of the Board for the fourth year.

Ms Auziņa-Melalksne is the Head of Nasdaq Baltic Exchanges and the CEO of Nasdaq Riga. She is a member of the Management Board at Nasdaq Tallinn.

“It is a great honour to continue as the Chair of the BICG, I am very proud to support the management team in their efforts and enthusiasm to further corporate governance agenda in the Baltic region, enhancing transparency and economic growth,” says Ms Auziņa-Melalksne. “I remain keenly committed to being a strong advocate for transparency and best practices in corporate governance and investor relations in both private and public sectors, as drivers of development and competitiveness.”

Board of the BICG is appointed by the members of the BICG at the Annual General Meeting (AGM), and establishes the strategies, goals and business procedures for the association.

Members of the Board elect the Chair in their first meeting held after the AGM.

More information about all of the BICG Board members can be found online here.

BICG is a non-profit and non-governmental organization missioned to deliver value to its stakeholders by promoting global competitiveness of Baltic companies through adoption of leading corporate governance practices.

Contacts:

Rytis Ambrazevičius
President
Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance
Phone: +370 698 17011
Email: rytis[at]bicg.eu

On April 11^th, Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance (BICG) held the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Governance Conference 2019 in Vilnius, where we were joined by over 120 guests from across the Baltics and expert speakers from across the world.

The day started with the AGM and discussing the highlights of BICG activities during the previous year, while the afternoon session was dedicated to the Governance Conference 2019, focusing on such themes as being able to learn from the mistakes of others and having own vision for the future.

AGM

Members of the BICG approved the annual activity and audited financial reports during the AGM, and the overall Annual Report 2018 can now be found online here.

Board elections were held as well, with Lina Minderienė and Kęstutis Šliužas stepping down, while Lina Kapčinckienė, Managing Partner at Konekesko Lietuva, and Daiva Rakauskaitė, Manager at LLP Business angels fund I, were elected as the new members of the Board.

Guntars Baļčūns, CFO at Latvenergo, and Riina Käi, CFO at Tallinna Vesi, were re-elected for their second tenure of 3 years.

„We are thankful to Kęstutis Šliužas and Lina Minderienė for their valued contribution to the achievements of the BICG and I would like to use this opportunity to wish them every success with their new professional commitments. At the same time, there could be no better new additions to our team as Daiva Rakauskaitė and Lina Kapčinskienė, whose perspective will add to the diversity of backgrounds and competencies in the BICG Board,” says Rytis Ambrazevičius, President of the BICG.

The AGM has also re-elected the Nomination Committee, for a tenure of 1 year.

More information about the BICG leadership can be found online here.

Governance Conference 2019

The annual governance conference welcomed speakers from New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Germany and Lithuania.

Dr Peter Crow, board effectiveness expert from New Zealand, opened the event, sharing his insights into how boards can move towards being not only good, but truly great.

“If the board is not purposely taking the company into the future, who is?” noted Dr Crow, reflecting on a quote by an English business leader John Harvey-Jones.

Hagen Schweinitz, Senior Client Partner at Korn Ferry International from Germany, explored why successful companies experience governance failures and what can be learned from these failures, while Renata Damanskytė-Rekašienė, Director for Legal and Corporate Governance at the Lithuanian state owned group of energy companies EPSO-G, shared experience in creating an award-winning governance model.

The closing speech was delivered by Mark Goyder, Founder and Trustee of Tomorrow’s Company in the United Kingdom, who discussed how the needs of tomorrow’s companies can be met in the Baltics, encouraging “a more engaged, long-term view” in business and governance considerations.

Program of the AGM & Conference

Dr Peter Crow opened the event.

The conference was joined by over 120 participants.

Renata Damanskytė-Rekašienė discussed creating an award-winning governance model at EPSO-G.

Mark Goyder explored how the needs of tomorrow’s companies can be met in the Baltics.

Ms Damanskytė-Rekašienė, Mr Goyder, Dr Crow and Mr Schweinitz at the panel discussion, tackling questions from the audience.

During the conference.

Photos: Lukas Žentalis.

We thank our member Swedbank for hosting us for the day.

Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance (BICG) invites all members to the Annual General Meeting and Corporate Governance Conference 2019, to be held on the 11^th of April in Vilnius.

Following the article 5.6 of the Statutes of the association Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance (legal entity code 302441498; registered address Jogailos St. 4, Vilnius, Lithuania), the President of the association hereby convenes the annual general meeting (AGM) of members of the association, the main details of which can be found below:

AGM & Conference (EN)

Agenda of the AGM (EN)

Agenda of the AGM (LT)

At the AGM, we will discuss the activities and development of the BICG, hold Board elections and more.

Corporate Governance Conference 2019 will focus on excellence in corporate governance – value creation for companies and societies.

Among our speakers, we will welcome Dr Peter Crow, board effectiveness expert from New Zealand, who will analyse what is needed to achieve not simply a good, but a great standard in the board work.

We will also be joined by Mr Hagen Schweinitz, Senior Client Partner at Korn Ferry International, Germany, who will discuss why successful companies experience governance failures.

Ms Renata Damanskytė-Rekašienė, Director for Legal and Corporate Governance at EPSO-G in Lithuania, will speak about creating an award-winning governance model in a company group; and Mr Mark Goyder, Founder and Trustee at Tomorrow’s Company in the UK, is set to discuss how do we meet the needs of tomorrow’s companies in the Baltics.

We are very much looking forward to seeing you.

For more information, please contact:

Rytis Ambrazevičius
President
Mob. +370 698 17011
Email: rytis[at]bicg.eu

Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance (BICG) is delighted to announce the High Performing Board Member Masterclass with an internationally renowned expert of board effectiveness Dr Peter Crow.

Dr Crow will be coming to Vilnius from New Zealand, on April 10^th.

He is an experienced director, strategist, advisor and educator with an extensive record of service to boards internationally. For over twenty years, he has worked with boards and directors in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Singapore, China and other countries, where his guidance benefited both emergent and established companies.

Dr Crow’s highly-practical, one-day course is designed to explore advanced aspects of an effective non-executive board membership, including dimensions of high performance, decision-making and value creation, effective oversight and control as well as board processes and operational considerations.

It is offered as an opportunity for our graduates and others with an already working knowledge of corporate governance and board work to improve it further.

For full information about the program of the masterclass and about Dr Crow, please see:

INVITATION (EN)

Applications are now open until February 28^th, and you can find the respective form here. Please note that registration is dependent on the approval of the BICG. The cost of participation is 485 EUR (and VAT).

Contacts:

Rytis Ambrazevičius
President
Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance
Phone: +370 698 17011
Email: rytis[at]bicg.eu

Corporate governance practices are given up to 25 percent of weight in company credit ratings assigned by the largest banks operating in Latvia, shows an analysis carried out by the Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance (BICG).

Results of this analysis were presented in a discussion How does corporate governance impact on attracting funding?, organised together with the association Finance Latvia in Riga last week, aiming to raise awareness of governance pre-conditions for companies that want to attract funding for further development.

Based on the data shared by Swedbank, SEB, Citadele, Luminor and Baltic International Bank, impact of corporate governance practices on the company credit rating is 10 to 25 percent.

„Thereby poorly governed companies will be subject to higher interest rates or will have to ensure higher own contribution, with a more intensive monitoring and control regime by the banks, such as being required to submit more regular reports, discuss financial plans more frequently, receive consent for certain investments,” says Andris Grafs, Vice President Latvia of the BICG.

In assessing the allocation of funding for company development, banks are evaluating not only company’s finances and business plan, but also focusing on such corporate governance related aspects as who owns the company, what is its ownership structure, operational experience and reputation, and how professional is the management team.

„By assessing company governance, integrity in the broader sense of it becomes an essential criteria. This includes attitude towards the state and the payment of taxes, attitude to laws and regulatory norms, relations with the company’s creditors, clients and suppliers, potential corruption risks, shareholder relations and other aspects,” notes Karlis Danēvičs, member of the Management Board of SEB in Latvia, co-chair of the Credit Committee of Finance Latvia and member of the Board of the BICG.

Banks also assess how a company makes operational and strategic decisions, how transparent it is, what is the quality of information it provides, how risks are governed and what relationship approach is applied to business partners.

“One of the significant conclusions is also that if a company’s development plans fail, if crisis and corporate disputes accelerate, very often the root of the problem comes directly from the company governance model. For example, in such cases when it is not possible to track down who and how take strategic and operational decisions in a company,” says Andris Grafs.

The criteria applied vary from bank to bank.

VIDEO (LV)

MORE INFORMATION (EN)