The General Assembly 2019 took place on Wednesday, April 3rd at Securitas facilities out of Lisbon, at R. Rodrigues Lobo 2, in Linda-a-Velha. Before the GA, the Board of Directors held its trimestral board meeting and 2019 will be a year of changes and updates for the Swedish-Portuguese Chamber of Commerce.
The GA of 2019 included both news upon CLS success 2018, changes in the Board and memberships.
CLS counts with yet one more year of positive results; i.e. financial stability and growth, both in memberships, member activities and revenue. And worth to mention is that CLS counts with the lowest accounts receivable balance ever since the start during 1982.
The resignation of Hans-Erhard Reiter.
Mr. Hans-Erhard Reiter, who has been on his post for over 10 years as President and did not leave anyone unmarked. Hans-Erhard took CLS through financial instability and crises twice, has been given the Polar Star Order from the Swedish King, supported numerous events and seminars as well as been an admirable leader to his team, among others.
During the GA, Hans-Erhard spoke about unforgettable moments and the journey that CLS has been through since 2008 when he assumed the role as President.
“I will never forget these ten years that I had the honour of serving as President of CLS and its many great moments, In times where it seems that exclusion of the ones that are different from us appears to be the norm, organisations, like CLS, that are building bridges are more important than ever before. Personally, I wish my successor, Jennifer, all the best and I am sure CLS will be in very good hands.”
Both the Ambassador of Sweden to Portugal, Mrs. Helena Pilsas-Ahlin, the Vice-President of CLS, Mr. Jorge Cifuentes and the President of the GA, Mr. Bengt Lundborg, shared their gratitude of working and collaborating with Hans-Erhard with the gathered members and Board.
Election of New President
Due to her long experience and profound interest for the Portuguese market and the trade between Sweden and Portugal, namely as;
Jennifer Ekström was elected to succeed Hans-Erhard Reiter and assume the role as President to the CLS. Jennifer began with thanking Hans-Erhard and the Board for their support and followed with the Plan for CLS 2019.
More about the new president - read our latest news.
Thank you to Peter Boström
CLS would like to show our gratitude to our previous Board Member, Peter Boström, for his contributions to the Chamber, the activites and the network given during his years at the Board of Directors. As Peter has moved to new opportunities out of Portugal and in his place, CLS welcomes Caroline Falkhorn, Caroline has the experience of being previous Secretary General of the CLS, as well of working in Portugal, previously for Business Sweden and now leading the Swedish company Aurora Innovation on the Portuguese market. More information will follow in upcoming newsletters. You can sign up for our monthly newsletter below.
Membership for Start-ups
During the last two years, CLS has seen an increased interest from both the Swedish and Portuguese start up communities and acquired several start-ups as members. With backgrounds from the Lisbon Investment Summit, Web summit and the intended focus on being a gateway of trade, as well as facilitate business also for start-ups, the Board of Directors has decided to introduce an Annual Membership fee of EUR 100 for Swedish and Portuguese start-ups.
A start up is a company that shows:
ENGAGE 2019
Besides from mentioned updates and changes, CLS strenghtens the plan for 2019/2020 with their Engage concept, namely referring to:
We look forward to a year of increased engagement with you all in our community, and for you who are not yet part, why don't you join us!
CLS would also like to extend a special thank you to Securitas Portugal for the hospitality and use of their facilites for the General Assembly 2019.
