Zinta Jansons of Ellex Klavins was re-elected as the Chair of the Board and President of AmCham Latvia for 2020-2021 at the Board meeting on March 18. She has served as Vice President of AmCham since in 2018 and as a Board Member since 2016.

Zinta Jansons is Co-head of the Finance & Tax practice at the law firm Ellex Klavins. She has been with the firm since 2004. Prior to joining Ellex Klavins she worked at PwC and its associated law firm Landwell (Baltmane & Bitāns). Prior to moving to Latvia she worked at the American Bar Association’s Central and East European Law Initiative (CEELI). She has been advising foreign investors including many U.S. companies entering the Baltic market and local companies operating in Latvia.

Zinta is a licensed attorney in NY and NJ and is a certified Latvian tax advisor. She has contributed to many publications and articles on tax and business issues including BNA Bloomberg, the World Bank, Thompson Reuters and the American Chamber of Commerce in Latvia. She is a guest lecturer at the Riga Graduate School of Law and a council member of the International Bar Association’s European Regional Forum for the Northern Region. Zinta was born and educated in the U.S. and has lived in Latvia since 1998.

On the occasion of her re-election as Chair of the AmCham Board, Zinta said: “The COVID-19 crisis has brought about many unexpected challenges for individuals and businesses in Latvia and across the globe. During this difficult time AmCham has continued to provide leadership and support for our members addressing the challenges facing our businesses to recover from the crisis and move forward. The health of our society, the skills and education of our workforce, focused investment and innovation are needed to support the regeneration of the economy. The crisis has only exemplified the importance of upholding our vision of a sustainable and transparent business environment and long-term cooperation with trusted partners, our core values which we need to continue to support and grow." 

She went on to say: “I am honored to continue to lead the AmCham board. During these turbulent times we must all work together and take responsibility for the health and safety of our community. We must also look towards the future. AmCham intends to advocate for the international business community in Latvia to support the economic recovery.”

Liene Dubava, Member of the Management Board, Nasdaq Riga and Head of Issuer Services, Nasdaq Baltic, Roberts Melbardis, Country Manager Operations Director, Encompass Digital Media, Pauls Miklasevics, Individual member and Ieva Racenaja, Director, Riga Graduate School of Law were elected as Vice Presidents of AmCham for the next year.

On March 11th AmCham held its 28th Annual General Meeting (AGM) to review the past year’s activities and elect the Board of Directors.

John L. Carwile, U.S. Ambassador to Latvia opened the AGM with remarks, emphasizing the importance of AmCham’s advocacy activities and the close cooperation between the U.S. Embassy and AmCham.

During the AGM the Board outlined the Chamber’s accomplishments over the past year, addressed the goals for the next year and introduced the following policy priorities AmCham will be focusing on going forward: a) Enhancing trade and investment and continuously raising awareness of economic opportunities between Latvia and the U.S., b) improving the investment and business climate in Latvia, c) getting prepared for the future of work and d) improving health outcomes of Latvia’s society.

The full Board of AmCham for 2021-2022 consists of:

• Liene Dubava, Member of the Management Board, Nasdaq Riga and Head of Issuer Services, Nasdaq Baltic
• Zinta Jansons, Foreign Counsel at Ellex Klavins
• Roberts Melbardis, Country Manager Operations Director, Encompass Digital Media
• Pauls Miklasevics, Individual member
• Ieva Racenaja, Director, Riga Graduate School of Law
• Dita Erna Sile, Baltic Head of Public Affairs and Patient Access, Novartis Baltics
• Renate Strazdina, Country Manager, Microsoft Baltics
• John Martin Tully, Chairman of the Board, Mikrotikls
• Liga Smildzina-Bertulsone, Executive Director of AmCham Latvia

Congratulations to the re-elected officers of the AmCham Board!