On September 26, AbbVie, celebrating its 10th Anniversary in Latvia, hosted an excellent Business After Hours event with an insightful presentation on the sustainability of health care systems by Daiga Behmane, PhD, Riga Stradins University.  Members also had an opportunity to learn more about AbbVie's accomplishments aiming to discover and deliver innovative medicines and solutions that enhance people’s lives.

On September 25, members and guests met Anatolii Kutsevol, Ambassador of Ukraine to Latvia who outlined the current hardships and key challenges of Ukraine's fight for independence, justice and freedom. He also touched upon the modernization of the Ukrainian economy along with the role the private sector can play in supporting Ukraine’s victory and reconstruction.

On September 21, the Talent and Labor Force work group met after the summer break for a brainstorming session to get ready for the upcoming human capital development conference in November. The work group decided to work to update recommendations on employment policy and talent issues.

Focusing on Technology and Education this year's Spotlight Latvia took place on September 21-22 and brought together the Latvian-American business community, including distinguished guests President of Latvia Edgars Rinkevics, U.S. Ambassador to Latvia Christopher Robinson and AmCham Latvia President John Tully, to facilitate networking and foster trade and investment between Latvia and the U.S. The next conference is scheduled for 2025 in Michigan.

On September 20, AmCham Healthcare work group met Boriss Kņigins, Deputy Secretary of State for financing to discuss challenges and opportunities related to healthcare financing. Other healthcare initiatives and projects such as digital health and value-based healthcare were also addressed.

McCann Riga annouced Agency of the Year

For the 6th year in a row, McCann Riga has been named the Agency of the Year at the Latvian Art Directors Club Awards Festival, and this time they have received 3 golds and 7 silvers. Under the guidance of an international jury consisting of 15 jury members from 11 countries, 256 works of different creative disciplines were evaluated, in total 18 orders of the first degree and 32 orders of the second degree were awarded.

5G ecosystem forum – 5G Techritory

Europe’s leading 5G ecosystem forum – 5G Techritory – will take place in Riga from October 18 to October 19 for the sixth year in a row with a focus on the technical issues that need to be sorted out before we can fully make use of 5G across industries ranging from entertainment to mobility and defense. Numerous distinguished speakers have confirmed their participation including Nina Cummins, Head of Connectivity Strategy Policy (Global) of Meta and Silke Holtmanns, Telecommunication Security Expert of PwC Finland.

Forbes names Kerli Vares as one of best female business leaders

We are proud to share that AmCham Board Member and Head of Retail and Luminor Latvia Kerli Vares has been recognized as one of the most successful female business leaders in Latvia by Forbes Latvija.  Every summer, the magazine publishes the list of the most successful businesswomen in Latvia, and this year Kerli Vares is placed as the 4th in the TOP 50.

Baltic Sustainability Awards open for applications

AmCham, as an Ecosystem Partner of the Baltic Sustainability Awards and also as a jury member represented by Liene Dubava, AmCham Vice President, is excited to continue building and elevating the third edition of the Baltic Sustainability Awards in collaboration with our member Helve. Business leaders, green-tech startups, progressive organizations, and forward-thinkers across the Baltics are invited to share their innovative contributions to sustainable practices in 6 categories by October 16. Explore more details and send in your entries HERE

What is the benefit of secondary use of health data?

AmCham Healthcare work group is focusing on numerous projects this year, including fostering implementation and development of the legislation of secondary use of health data in Latvia. Agris Bitāns, Senior Partner of Eversheds Sutherland Bitans, Mg. iur., Lecturer of the University of Latvia and Co-Leader of AmCham secondary use of health data work group explains the advantages of secondary use of data in his article “Secondary use of data – new challenges or new opportunities?”.