Presenting new Honorary Board Members of the Swedish Australian Chamber of Commerce
The Swedish Australian Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce that we in 2022-2023 welcomed 10 new Honorary Members of the SACC Board.
Our Honorary Board Members are also Advisory Board Members with focus to give advice and support within their area of expertise or network. Honorary Board Members don’t have to attend board meetings but they are in the loop with important information and can be invited to board meetings individually.
The SACC is honoured to have such high-caliber members of the Australian and Swedish business and educational network on our board and we are excited about our future collaboration.
Presenting all Honorary Board Members here:
HE Pontus Melander
Ambassador of Sweden to Australia New Zealand and the South Sea Islands
Mr. Pontus Melander is since October 10, 2022, Ambassador of Sweden to Australia. Before coming to Australia, he served as Deputy Head of the Security Department at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Between 2017 and 2019, he served as Sweden’s Ambassador to Iraq. Previously, he was Ambassador at large at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Ambassador at Swedish Armed Forces between 2008 and 2010. Over the years, Mr. Melander has held various positions abroad, including at the Embassy of Sweden to Canada, the Embassy of Sweden to the United States and the Permanent Representation of Sweden to the European Union in Brussels. At the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, he has held positions as Ambassador and Energy Coordinator and Ambassador and Chief Coordinator for Export Support to the Defense Industry. In addition, he has worked at the Office of the European Correspondent, Department for European Affairs and the Trade Department. Mr. Melander received his Master of Science in Politics, Economy and International Law at the University of Lund 1989. He has also received higher management training in the Swedish Armed Forces and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Mr. Melander is married and has four children.
James Letherbarrow
Honorary Consul General of Sweden (NSW)
James is an extensively experienced and goal-oriented CFO and Operations professional with more than 20 years of experience in finance and operational management. He has worked within the Media, Digital, Telecommunications and Banking sectors. James is currently the CFO & Director of Operations at Enigma Communication. Enigma is an Advertising, Media, Public Relations and Branding Agency which is in the business of delivering clients an unfair share by solving business issues creatively and intelligently. With longstanding family ties to Sweden, James resides in Sydney and has been the Honorary Consul General of Sweden (NSW) since January 2018. LinkedIn: James Letherbarrow
Martin Ekberg
Swedish Trade and Invest Commissioner to Australia, New Zeeland and the Pacific Islands
During the last two decades, Martin has been assisting Swedish multinationals achieving organic and inorganic growth. He is an experienced advisor in the field of international business development focusing on growth strategies, M&A, and transformational programs across a wide variety of industries. Before joining Business Sweden Martin was part of Accenture Europe’s Strategy and M&A service line. LinkedIn: Martin Ekberg
Jason Collins
Chief Executive Officer, European Australian Business Council Chair, European Business Organisations Worldwide (EBO)
Jason Collins was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the European Australian Business Council (EABC) in 2007. As CEO, Jason leads a team responsible for the delivery of the Council’s business advocacy and policy programmes, membership and institutional relations with government agencies, chambers, industry groups, and other stakeholders. He is also the Chair of European Business Organisations (EBO Worldwide), a peak association headquartered in Brussels of European chambers of commerce and business councils in over fifty countries across Africa, the Americas, Asia, the Indo-Pacific, and in Europe. He also serves as the Honorary Consul of the Kingdom of Belgium in Sydney. Jason is a non-executive director and chair of the governance, nomination & remuneration committee of Business Events Sydney; a member of Screen Producers Australia’s export advisory council; Chair of the Australia Youth Trust; and a former Chair of the Australasian Sponsorship Marketing Association. He also serves on the advisory boards of various Australian and Europe-based government, research centres and industry bodies, including the UTS Business School Dean’s Industry Advisory Board, and is a regular commentator on trade and investment issues at business events and in the media. Linkedin: Jason Collins
Liv Berg
Honorary Solicitor of the Swedish Australian Chamber of Commerce
Senior Legal Counsel for Baby Bunting
Liv is a Senior Legal Counsel for Baby Bunting where she passionately assists the business with all legal matters. Liv provides critical legal support across the business, including with an increasing number of strategic initiatives as well as on day-to-day issues and ASX and head office related matters. Prior to joining Baby Bunting, Liv was working as a Director in the PwC Deals practice with a focus on the development of the firm’s integrated X-Los offering in the Australian transactions market working especially with PwC’s private equity clients. Liv’s background is in corporate law, having particular expertise in private and public M&A transactions and joint ventures. During her time at PwC Legal and before that Baker McKenzie, she has advised a number of private and public companies and private equity clients on Australian and offshore acquisitions and divestments as well as joint ventures, equity capital markets transactions, restructures and general commercial work. LinkedIn: Liv Berg
Petra Andrén
Head of Innovation Districts, Greater Cities Commission, NSW Government
Petra is a global business executive, innovation leader, experienced board member and tech investor with >25 years experience traversing international markets and advanced technology sectors. Petra has deep expertise in navigating the complexities of taking IP-rich technologies to market, supporting and scaling high growth technology ventures, and building high impact innovation ecosystems. Having held executive roles driving innovation for global corporations, research org, start-ups, VC and government, Petra brings a unique skill set to the innovation space. Currently, Petra leads the Greater Cities Commission’s work on Innovation Districts and clusters across NSW, accelerating the move towards a knowledge based economy. Most recently, Petra managed the Life sciences investments for Minderoo & Tattarang, Australia’s largest private investment group, developing an investment mandate for a new $250m funding vehicle. Prior to this, she was the CEO and creator of Australia’s first deep tech incubator, Cicada Innovations. LinkedIn: Petra Andrén
Rickard Gardell
Pacific Equity Partners – Managing Director – Buyout and Secure Assets, Capital Solutions, Gateway, Founding Partner
Rickard is a founder of Pacific Equity Partners and a member of the firm’s Operating Committee. Prior to founding PEP, Rickard was a Director of Bain & Company and had 14 years of consulting experience in Europe, Asia and Australasia. Rickard received a Bachelor of Science from the Stockholm School of Economics (SSE) (1981-84) where he was awarded Carl Liljevalchs Scholar and IMP Scholar. As IMP scholar, he attended the MBA program at McGill University for half of his last year.
Regina Summer
Director Strategic Partnerships at Swedish Incubators & Science Parks (SISP)
Regina Summer has more than 20 years of experience working in the Swedish innovation eco-system from both an academic, a business and a public agency perspective. Her previous position was Chief Strategy Officer International Collaborations at Vinnova and prior to that she was the head of unit Green growth and innovation at the Swedish Agency for regional and economic growth. She is also the founder of Sweden Innovation Days and the coordinator for Vinnovas participation at COP27. Today she is the Director of Strategic Partnerships at Swedish Incubators & Science Parks (SISP). SISP is the Swedish industry association for Sweden’s incubators and science parks. LinkedIn: Regina Summer
Dr Nicole T Garofano
Head of Circular Economy Development for Planet Ark Environmental Foundation
Dr Nicole Garofano is the Head of Circular Economy Development for Planet Ark. In her role, Nicole is leading the ongoing strategic development of the Australian Circular Economy (ACE) Hub. For more than 15 years, Nicole has worked in environmental education and action with a focus on waste management and more recently, circular economy. She has designed and managed community-based initiatives to increase sorting, collection and processing of a range of packaging materials, including plastic. Nicole has a PhD from research focused on the plastic food and beverage packaging value chain, identifying both local and global innovation to improve chain activities and outcomes. She is an Associate of the Australian Institute of Packaging. LinkedIn: Dr Nicole T Garofano
Kieran Schneemann
Sustainability Lead, Special Counsel to AstraZeneca Australia and New Zealand
Kieran has a unique range of relevant work experience over 30 years, working at senior levels of Government, initially in the Federal Public Service and then as Chief of Staff to senior Cabinet Ministers, in the Federal Government. His experience has been augmented by senior executive positions in strategic consulting, Medicines Australia, Pharmacy Guild and Multinational Pharmaceutical Companies. His most recent position at AstraZeneca is Director of Government Affairs and Sustainability Lead. He was also a member of the Executive Management Team. Kieran’s experience spans across government and corporate affairs, strategy, campaigns, market access, communications, patient advocacy, business development and pharmaceutical manufacturing. Kieran has also direct experience in the Charity and Not for Profit Sectors serving on the Boards of Canteen and the Australian Clinical Trials Alliance. LinkedIn: Kieran Schneemann
Professor Glenn Wightwick
Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Enterprise at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS)
Professor Glenn Wightwick is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Enterprise at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) where he has responsibility for the university’s entrepreneurship, enterprise learning, industry engagement and precinct strategy. Prior to this, he was Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Research for 3.5 years. He spent 27 years working at IBM in Australia, the USA and China in a variety of technical and leadership roles in systems engineering, development and research. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, a Fellow of the Royal Society of NSW and a Senior Fellow of the IEEE. He is Co-Chair of 2SER, a community radio station jointly owned by UTS and Macquarie University and is on the board of the Sydney Quantum Academy and SCECGS Redlands. LinkedIn: Glenn Wightwick
Ajit Singh, FCPA, FIPA, CMA
Vice President – Group Tax, APAC & VP Company Control Asia Oceania at Volvo Group
Ajit was born and educated in Fiji, with an Accounting and Economics degree. Ajit immigrated to Australia in 1989, and has held various senior finance and related positions in a variety of industries. In 2002 Ajit joined Volvo Group in Australia Pty Ltd, managing various corporate functions, including tax, transfer pricing, legal & compliance, statutory compliance and corporate governance. Ajit Singh currently holds the position of Vice President, Accounting & Company Control, Asia Oceania within the Volvo Group. He is also a Director of Volvo Group Australia and Volvo Treasury Australia Pty Ltd. Ajit is married with two children and lives in Brisbane. LinkedIn: Ajit Singh