Board Meeting, October 15th
The American-Danish Business Council held its first Board Meeting with Ambassador Lars Gert Lose at the helm on October 15th with breakfast in the Residence. Present were: Ambassador Lars Lose, Chair; Steve Williams, co-chair, Lockheed-Martin; Joseph McAndrew, Boeing; Nils Grier, Terma; Jay Bonnit, Maersk; Leslie McLaren, Roxul; Lauren Semeniuk, Novo Nordisk; Jeffery Telep, King & Spalding; Thomas Faerch Brøstrom, DONG Energy US. Officers: Mary Paul Smith Jespersen, Executive Secretary; Ben Walker, Treasurer, Lina Gandløse Hansen, Head of TC USA and Lars Bo Møller, Deputy Chief of Mission were also in attendance.
After the Secretary’s report, Treasurer’s report and the status of the Young Professional’s Network, the Ambassador outlined the strategic changes within the Embassy and the Trade Council that will also impact and benefit the American-Danish Business Council.
ADBC will be a large part of the new emphasis on Economic Diplomacy which highlights the importance of commerce and the economy within foreign affairs/diplomacy. The Council will also be part of the Danish Government’s Growth Council. Members of the Growth Council will be Danish authorities, Danish companies, Confederation of Danish Industries and a couple of Danish Honorary Consuls. The “Growth Council” will be utilized to consider and discuss priorities, the Embassy’s efforts, engaging US authorities on collaboration within specific sectors. The Council will also work on preparation for high-level visits etc.
Events and outreach to new members was also part of the agenda. The meeting ended with the following action items:
1) Meeting with Ambassador Fulton and active engagement with Honorary Advisory Board
2) Develop sponsorship model & establish event committee
3) Plan event for Young Professionals Network
4) Engagement with Growth Council/sector basis
5) Ask members for suggestions for Congressional Friends of Denmark Caucus
6) Hold reception (with or without speaker?) for potential new members invited by existing members
7) Letter from the Ambassador as Chair and Steve Williams as co-chair to potential new members
8) Develop Social Media Campaign for ADBC
The minutes of the Board Meeting are available on the members only portion of the website. If you have difficulty accessing this part of the site, please contact Anika Donaldson at anidon@um.dk