Volume VIIII | November 19 2020
Since 1989 SACC-DC has offered a platform for developing U.S. – Swedish lucrative commercial ventures and professional opportunities through our network and business and social events. The SACC-DC Newsletter will help you stay on top of what’s happening in the Swedish-American business community and find the perfect opportunity to create new business connections in the greater Washington D.C. area and Mid-Atlantic region.
From the Executive Director
Dear Friends,  

Transfers of power and decisions made during a crisis shape economies and societies for years to come.  

Beyond the news on advancements of a vaccine, the outlook for markets is clearing up. After a prolonged period of elevated risks such as a global trade war, the pandemic and U.S. election uncertainty, markets now turn their attention to whether at least a smaller fiscal stimulus bill can be passed in the ‘lame duck’ congressional session which would provide an additional boost to growth.  

The implications for businesses of a (likely) divided government with a Republican Senate majority should ensure that pro-business policies instituted under the current Administration stay largely intact, particularly the tax code. Executive Orders can nevertheless be used to cover a range of issues, including taxation, trade, and the environment. We have explored these potential pathways in a series of webinars which you can view in this Newsletter and on our homepage.  

To shed some light on what’s in the pipeline, the Swedish American Chamber of Commerce of Washington D.C. welcomes trade delegations, currently virtual. However, ‘painful’ transitions entail opportunities including for business. We are currently hosting a group of pharma and device companies which you are welcome to join (information below) and otherwise tailor export- and investment programs in a wide array of sectors and themes.  

Finally, be sure not to miss the Swedish American Holiday event on December 3, at 3pm (9pm in Sweden), sustainably hosted online and with drawings for high-end and coveted Swedish product prizes!  

 

With that, I leave you with well wishes for a safe Thanksgiving.  

 

Karin  
Join SACC-DC for a virtual holiday celebration including various fun activities and competitions!

- Gift baskets, season decorations and organizing tips, sponsored by IKEA

- Short live musical performance

- Silent auction of various items including an exclusive gift basket with Swedish food and liquor and other donated prizes. The chat function on Zoom will be used for the auction, so attendees can place their bids in the chat as we go along

- Broadcast from our trainees located in Sweden, to show how Swedes celebrate Christmas

- Prize drawing of fine items donated by our wonderful sponsors

- Relaxed setting with networking possibilities and Zoom's breakout room feature available upon request

Register here!
Sweden's top politicians react to the U.S. elections
The presidential election sparked reactions all over the world, including various comments from some of Sweden’s top political leaders on election day. Annie Lööf, leader of the Centre Party, expressed a concern for Trump disrespecting the democratic values while also requesting democrats to focus on the specific fields of politics rather than just uniting in opposing Trump. Leader of conservative party Sverigedemokraterna, Jimmie Åkesson, thought it a shame that Swedes lack the clairvoyance to see beyond Trump's very "American" personality and thereby neglect that he has done a lot of what he set out to do. According to Ulf Kristersson, leader of Moderaterna which is one of the largest parties in Sweden, U.S. politics has become less inspiring in the last couple of years and is now something he considers vulgar and preferably incompatible with Swedish politics. Later in the week when a definitive result had emerged, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven congratulated president elect Joe Biden and expressed optimism in strengthening the ties between Sweden and the U.S. in the future.

Our executive director Karin Hammar did also get to comment on the presidential election in Swedish media. In an interview with Dagens Industri, Karin answered questions ranging from different topics such as stimulus packages, taxation and regulations, as well as how the D.C. area labour market has been affected by the pandemic and how people are feeling gearing up the election.
PREVIOUS WEBINARS
U.S. Election Analysis & Panel Discussion
In collaboration with Hallvarsson & Hallvarsson and the American Chamber of Commerce in Sweden, SACC-DC hosted a webinar discussing the outcome of the presidential election and the entailing implications on U.S.-Sweden trade and business relations.

Political analysis
On November 5, our panel of political experts discussed their key takeaways from the election. They provided analyzes of the strategic decisions of the Trump and Biden campaigns and covered the likely political dynamics that the next administration will face, as well as the politics that they will try to enact.

Digital MedTech & Pharma trade delegation Webinar #1
Together with Swecare and SACC-USA, SACC-DC initiated a virtual trade delegation to the U.S. on November 10. Webinar #1 covered the U.S. life science market and the opportunities, challenges and effects of the pandemic.



Webinar with e-commerce nicotine distributor HAYPP GROUP
This exciting webinar was produced in collaboration with HAYPP GROUP and also featured Jim Solyst, regulations consultant to Swedish Match and board member at SACC-DC. The topic covered consumer base research and regulations on the nicotine product market.

At the forefront of sustainable packaging
On November 18, SACC-DC happily presented the first episode of Sustainability Series 2020:
Sustainable Packaging Featuring The Absolut Company and BillerudKorsnäs.

SACC-DC Open 2020
The 32nd Annual SACC-DC Open took place on October 15 at Westfields Golf Club! Fantastic weather and happy players made for another successful event.

Congratulations to our top three finishers
  1. Icomera (Magnus Friberg, Dale Weaver, Ross Colvin, Chris Villasenor)
  2. Beyer Volvo Cars of Falls Church (Pete Kesterson, Todd Curling, Doug Bavely, Donna Bavely)
  3. Volvo cars (MJ Kenny, Tim Yehl, David Kelly, Sean McMorrow)

Numerous holes featured competitions, including one requiring all golfers to putt with a hockey stick. Exclusive prizes included a signed hockey stick from the Washington Capitals and signed memorabilia from professional golfers Annika Sörenstam and Henrik Stenson, provided by Securitas.

A big thank you to our many sponsors, especially our Gold Sponsors Haypp Group and Nammo, our participants and Westfields Golf Club staff who made the event into a tremendous success - we hope to see you out on the course again next year!

Spotlight - Gunilla Girardo at YER
Gunilla Girardo is the Sr. Director of the Scandinavian Desk at YER which means that she supports Scandinavian companies in North America, working with the best companies in a variety of different industries. Originally, Gunilla is from Sweden where she grew up on a farm in the small town of Bollebygd, but she has spent most of her career in the U.S. She began her journey in the U.S. more than 25 years ago as an unpaid intern at a PR firm in D.C. There she discovered the importance of networking and quickly understood that mastering this skill would be key to succeed with future goals and challenges. Today, she’s often referred to as the Queen of Business Networking—a title she takes very seriously.

Moving to D.C. in 1995, Gunilla became active in SACC-DC and in 2001 she was recruited to be President for SACC-USA. Taking office one week after 9/11, she inherited an organization that was struggling financially and not very highly regarded by the regional chambers. By re-building trust and developing valuable programs, the organization grew to be the 2nd largest European chamber of commerce in the U.S. “We did this with the help of a lot of volunteer capital, lots of great interns and by creating programs that supported the regional chamber network positioning SACC-USA as a key player in trans-Atlantic trade and commerce,” Gunilla explains. Adding that: “In 1995 we launched the SACC-USA J1 Trainee Program which enabled the Chamber to place recent Swedish graduates with our regional chambers and member companies in the U.S, and now also enables American graduates to go to Sweden for internships.”

She left SACC-USA in 2010, and in 2014 she had the honor to be recruited as President & CEO for Mentor Foundation USA, founded by H.M. Queen Silvia of Sweden. During Gunilla’s leadership, Mentor Foundation USA grew to a national key partner in drug prevention programs for youths by engaging corporate America to invest in the future our nation’s youth.

Speaking of mentoring, this has always been very important to Gunilla. One of the main reasons that Gunilla mentors is to honor her own mentors who helped pave the way for her and equally important: to pay it forward to young professionals. “Working with Millennials and Generation Xers is tremendously valuable for me as a more seasoned professional as well as in my work as an executive recruiter,” she says. ”To create a meaningful mentoring experience it’s important that both the mentor and mentee set realistic expectations. My recommendation to mentees is that you come prepared to discuss what your three most important goals are”. And for mentors, Gunilla says that , “it’s important that we put ourselves in our mentee's shoes. By asking lots of questions we can help bring out the best version of their mentees so that they can be on their way to realize their fullest potential!”
Would you like to bolster your organization with the fresh, international perspective of a qualified and bilingual trainee?
SACC DC’s Extended Internship consists of Phase 1 and Phase 2, with both phases being 6 months long. When the trainee starts, they enter phase 1 for 6 months and dedicate their time to SACC DC support, without any financial support. After 6 months the trainee enters phase 2 and spends two days per week at the SACC DC office and three days per week at a host company. The intern receives a stipend of currently $ 1,800 / month.

The host company is a member at SACC DC and the trainee can be allocated to a host company in accordance with his/her knowledge and experience. The member companies at SACC DC include a wide variety of different industries and sectors, wherefore some skills and competences could be valued differently depending on the specific company. Consequently, all member companies are welcome to voice their opinions regarding what qualities they want future trainees to possess. 

You are welcome to contact us at info@sacc-dc.org
Digital MedTech and Pharma trade delegation to the U.S. in collaboration with Swecare and SACC-USA

SACC-DC has partnered up with Swecare and SACC-USA for a virtual trade delegation to the U.S., which started on November 10 and it set to continue throughout the entire winter and conclude in March 2021. The program of the trade delegation includes an exploratory webinar series, export study visits, a mid-program get-together and more.

More information about the program can be found here!
Webinar Opportunities: Sustainability Series 2020
Renewable energy, green financing, bio-based materials, circular economy, sustainable logistics etc - sustainability is a highly popular topic!

We are currently looking for sponsors and hosts to our Sustainability Webinar Series. There is a great interest in sustainability in our Swedish-American network. Are you and/or your organization a sustainability-enthusiast and wants to update us about the latest innovations within this field? Do not hestitate to host, sponsor and/or participate in a webinar, dicussing your topics with other experts and business leaders!

Please contact Business Associate Thea Nguyen at Thea.nguyen@sacc-dc.org for further information!
Mentor Foundation USA presents Young Voices in December
In December, Mentor Foundation USA is introducing a brand new campaign titled "Young Voices in December". It features various fun events and an exclusive VIP reception, all to bring awareness to mental health issues and substance use disorders among youths during Covid-19.

More information here!
Renew your individual membership today!

SACC DC organizes many events throughout the year to give our members access to professional networking. Our annual flagship business events includes SACC Summit, the Young Professionals program and other corporate events, seminars and workshops. We also tailor trade missions for Swedish companies interested in the Greater Washington, D.C. area.

Whether an individual with a keen interest in or connection with Sweden living in D.C. or a company looking to establish new relationships, we can help you reach your next goal
Webinar sponsorship and hosting

Dear Member,

The Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce of Washington D.C. (SACC-DC) is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to the development of business relations between the United States and Sweden. Since 1989, SACC-DC has offered opportunities to explore and develop mutually beneficial U.S. - Swedish professional opportunities through business and social events. SACC-DC is one of 20 regional chambers across the United States, cooperating under the umbrella organization SACC-USA. SACC-USA serves more than 2,300 members, making it the second largest European Chamber of Commerce in the United States.

SACC-DC is excited to offer a number of webinar sponsorship and hosting opportunities for its members. The webinars are marketed throughout our distribution channels (see Table 1 for details). SACC-DC has experience hosting webinars with up to 250 attendees as well as smaller, more intimate and interactive seminars.

Sponsoring a webinar gives your company or organization visibility to the SACC-DC membership and distribution channels. Sponsorship is a great opportunity to support a topic or cause while also contributing to the Chamber's continued financial stability. Please view Table 2 for sponsorship options.

Hosting a webinar gives your company or organization the opportunity to shape and create a webinar in partnership with SACC-DC. The SACC-DC team will work with you to ensure that logistics and marketing are successful. Hosting gives you exclusive rights to market the event. Please view Table 2 for hosting options.

The SACC-DC team is looking forward to hearing from you at info@sacc-dc.org to discuss further!
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