Some noteworthy events took place at the Canada-Finland Chamber of Commerce Annual General Meeting on May 7th, 2018. Not only did they elect the board members for the 2018-2019 term, they also announced the winner of their Entrepreneur of the Year Award!
The CFCC, if you are not familiar, is a Networking Community dedicated to creating an environment to benefit Canadian and Finnish business relationships. Members enjoy fun social events, business building education, and make valuable professional connections.
Click to find out even more benefits of joining the Canada Finland Chamber of Commerce
At the meeting, after a welcome from CFCC President, Lauri Asikainen, Antero Elo chaired a quick meeting discussing the many successful events held this past year. CFCC members then enjoyed socializing and networking over wine and an incredible 3 course dinner, with one of the most mouth-watering lamb-shanks many members say they have ever tasted. Then came the big announcement for the evening.
The CFCC Entrepreneur of the Year is a prestigious honour, awarded to only one worthy individual per annum. This award recognizes an exemplary entrepreneur’s achievements in the business community and contributions to the Finnish-Canadian community. It is granted by Osuuspankki Finnish Credit Union, and traditionally presented each year at the CFCC AGM.
The winner accepts an award statue with a speech at the CFCC Annual General Meeting, and gains significant recognition within the Canadian Finnish Business Community. Their business will be featured in CFCC social media posts, articles, and google advertised content.
And the winner is (drum roll please): Lasse Silegren! Founder and partner at 2by2 Strategies.
2b2 has revolutionized the compensation process for their clients, which includes institutions like RBC and McCain. They offer a comprehensive and completely customized end-to-end compensation process called Comptrack. These solutions are innovative, competitive, and adhere to comply with official regulations.
Silegren, is an accomplished executive with over 30 years of experience in business solutions and organizational efficiency, and holds a MBA from Queens University. He has been described by others as focused, dedicated, and a hardworking leader. His focus is in high performance team-building, and he has earned a reputation for offering lasting solutions and getting impressive results. He is a man with good character who operates with integrity.
Lasse is an accomplished executive with broad experiences in strategy and business development within both the business and information technology sectors. With a focus on building high performing teams through transformational leadership approaches, he has earned a reputation for delivering customized and enduring solutions to large and mid-sized organizations in the automotive, retail, healthcare and financial services industries.
Lasse was very humbled and honoured to receive the award and thanked the Chamber and the Credit Union for recognizing his achievements.
He described his 5-year journey as an entrepreneur very rewarding, yet acknowledging that it requires a lot of hard work, long hours, and the ability to overcome adversity. He noted that the CFCC is a very interesting community that he wants to be even more involved with in the future.
Congratulations to Lasse Silegren! Well done!
Another noteworthy achievement of the evening was in electing eleven board members. Their names are listed below. Congratulations to all of the elected board members as well.
Marika Arovuo – Chief Digital Officer – GRIT Online Inc.
Lauri Asikainen – Strategy and Leadership Development Coach – CCT Consulting
Marco Beretta – Director – Studio Property Consultants Ltd.
Antero Elo – President and CEO – Finnish Credit Union
Tony Falvo – General Manager – Neste Oyj
Larry Innanen – President – Innplay Inc.
Markku Kankaala
Tuula Kivinen – Honorary President – Canada Finland Chamber of Commerce
Eero Laakso – Business Development Consultant – StarTeck Systems Ltd.
Marianne Mannerheim – President and Owner – Marbin Corp. and Wild Wing Belleville
Johanna Tarvainen – Consultant & Bridge Builder – Merenbridge Consulting