Dear FBCC members, friends, and extended network,
Along with the autumn leaves changing, there have been some changes here at the Finnish-British Chamber of Commerce. In the beginning of summer, we said goodbye to Christa, our previous General Manager, after two and a half years at the Chamber and last month we introduced Riina, our new Marketing and Events Coordinator who is joining our Senior Marketing and Events Coordinator Milka and myself for six months. Now it is time to introduce myself as the new General Manager of the FBCC. Some of you may have seen me at some of our events already, or you may remember me from autumn 2015 when I was a Marketing and Events Coordinator trainee at the FBCC for 6 months. I have since finished my Master’s studies in Finland and spent some months working at Unilever in Finland and more recently here in London. I returned to the Chamber in mid-September and myself and the FBCC team are so excited to offer you a range of interesting and exciting events, and hope to see many of you in the months to come.
The year 2017 has been a special one, as Finland celebrates 100 years of independence. All around London there have been many events celebrating our beautiful country, but we have most definitely saved the best for last as the 100th Finnish Independence Day approaches. In addition to our popular monthly Nordic Networking Drinks, at the end of October the FBCC together with the Anglo-Finnish Society will organize a conference to celebrate a century of political and trading links between Finland and Britain. Amazing speakers like Mr Erkki Liikanen, Governor of the Bank of Finland, Dr. Risto E. J. Penttilä, CEO of Finland Chamber of Commerce, former Lord Mayors of London and many more will be discussing topics like Finland, UK and the European Union, and Finnish-British Relations in a Post-Brexit Europe, to name a few. Tickets are on sale here. Then, as the main event to wrap up this wonderful year, at the end of November we will organize our Independence Day Ball at the Savoy Hotel. It will surely be a night to remember, with amazing food, drinks, entertainment and dancing to celebrate 100 years of Finnish independence in style.
I’m really excited for all the amazing events that we have planned for this autumn and for 2018 – the fun doesn’t stop here and we have a lot of interesting events to come next year, too. However, more than anything, I’m looking forward to hearing from, meeting, and talking to all of you, our members and friends. Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any issues, wishes, requests or ideas you may have – or just to say hello.
I hope to see you at many of our events, and wish you a wonderful autumn season.
Kind regards,
Emma Jalonen
General Manager