The History

Milestones in the history of Globe Forum

2003: Globe Forum, then a part of Springfellow, organizes the conference "Eastern European Business Forum 2003" (EEBF 2003), the biggest business conference focusing on politics and business in Eastern Europe. Prominent politicians, diplomats and business leaders attend. Workshop formats covering the markets and led by business leaders and politicians are introduced.

Among the speakers 2003: Mart Laar, Former Prime Minister of Estonia; Andrzej Olechowski, Viktor Yushchenko, former Minister of Foreign Affairs in Poland and former Prime Minister of Ukraine.

Partners 2003: Nutek, Affärsvärlden, Tallink, Transitions Online and Invest in Estonia.

2004: Eastern European Business Forum 2004 is carried out with great success. The aim of this forum is to increase understanding of markets like Poland, Baltic countries and Russia.

Among the speakers 2004: Jacob Wallenberg, Chairman of the Board of SEB, W Capital Management AB, Vice-Chairman of Investor AB and Vice-Chairman of the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation; Lennart Meri, former President of Estonia; Sven Hegelund, Executive Director of EBRD; Jegor Gaidar, former Vice Prime Minister of Russia, Jonas Af Jochnick, Founder and Board member of Oriflame Cosmetics.

Partners 2004: Invest in Estonia, Affärsvärlden, Tallink, European Commission's Representation in Sweden, MTG, Viasat, Swedfund, Lattelecom, SITE, Nutek and Spring Mobil.

2005: For the third consecutive year, the forum attracts a large number of participants and first class speakers. This year Globe Forum introduces the trade-show in parallel with the conference to help participant companies to landscape their offering and promote networking.

Among the speakers 2005: Markus Wallenberg, Chairman of the Board of SEB, Deputy Chairman of Ericsson and Saab, Director AstraZeneca, Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation and Stora Enso; Yegor Gaidar, Former Prime Minister of Russia; Jean Lemierre, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; Carl Bildt, Former Prime Minister of Sweden; Fredrik Svinhufvud, Managing Director of Tetra Pak Ukraine; Janusz Grabowski, Area Director Central / Eastern Europe and Middle East for V&S Absolut Spirits; Oleg Deripaska, Majority shareholder in RusAl.

Partners 2005: Öhrlings PricewaterhouseCoopers, Austrian Airlines, Eurocard, Enterprise Estonia, Lattelecom, EF Education, SITE, Swedfund, Tallink, IFC International Finance Corporation, MAQS Law Firm and European Bank.

2006: Globe Forum sets as a goal to progressively expand its scope to the most dynamic emerging markets. 2006 is the year when China is incorporated to the focus markets. China Business Forum 2006 is organized to discuss and analyze the latest developments and new possibilities in outsourcing, finance and consumer markets. Our interactive workshops help participants to identify drivers, barriers and benefits of doing business in China.

The Globe Award jury is formed by leading experts on corporate social responsibility (CSR). Three categories are announced: Best integration of CSR in business operations, Best CSR entrepreneur and Best CSR research.

Among the speakers 2006: Thomas Östros, Minister for Industry and Trade, Sweden; Lorraine Hahn, Talk Asia Anchor, CNN International; Jorgen Lindegaard, President and CEO, Scandinavian Airlines; Louise Julian, CEO and President, EF Education; Johan Adler, President, Ericsson Hong Kong; Lance Diaresco, Regional Manager of Corporate Brand Management Asia Pacific, The Walt Disney Company.

Partners 2006: IFC International Finance Corporation, Handelsbanken, Vinge, Öhrlings PricewaterhouseCoopers, Invest HK, SEB, Dagens Industri and SAS - Scandinavian Airlines.

2007: Our focus markets are presented in a single event called: Globe Forum 2007. With the introduction of India as a focus market, the forum welcomes hundreds of corporate and government decision makers from companies operating in various industries and diverse geographies: Northern and Eastern Europe, China and India. The event features panel discussions, fifty workshops, more than a hundred roundtable discussions and one-to-one meetings. The Globe Award is presented during a gala dinner. Globe Forum starts operations with the opening of a new office in Shanghai. The Globe Forum Online Community is launched during Globe Forum 2007.

Among the speakers 2007: Maud Olofsson, Minister for Enterprise and Energy, Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden; Vaira Vike-Freiberga, President of Republic of Latvia; H. E. Mr. Vladimir Voronin, President of the Republic of Moldova; R. Gopalakrishnan, Executive Director, Tata & Sons; C. S. Kiang, Dean, College of Environmental Sciences, Peking University; Lois Dougan Tretiak, Director, Beijing Corporate Network; Jean Lemierre, President, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; Viktor Gerashchenko, Chairman of the Board, Yukos; Sucheta Dalal, Consulting Editor, Moneylife; Vikram Singh Mehta, Chairman, Shell India.

Partners 2007: SEB, SAS - Scandinavian Airlines, DHL, Lattelecom, Lufthansa, Öhrlings PricewaterhouseCoopers, Tata Consultancy Services, Lotus Travel, Invest HK, Transperfect, IBM, NSIC - Nanjing Scandinavia Industrial Campus, Evalueserve, Swedfund, MAQS Law Firm, LIAA - Latvia Investment and Development Agency, Eurocard, ICICI, Bird & Bird International law firm, Bain & Company, Scandinavian Perspectives, CNN, Oxford Analytica, Dagens Industri, Dragon TV, EER Magazine, The Economic Times and Clarion Hotel Stockholm.

Supporting partners 2007: Stockholm City, Big Image Systems, Indiska, ISA - Invest in Sweden Agency, Process Simulation, Amnesty Business Group, SRBC - Swedish Russian Business Club, Sweden-India Business Council, SNG Trading, Hand in Hand, Reliz, SVIV - Föreningen Svenskar i Världen and PDM.

2008: On May 2008, Globe Forum hosts the Annual International Business Conference Globe Forum 2008. This year’s theme is: Business Innovation for Sustainable Growth. Globe Forum brings together European business leaders, entrepreneurs, academics and political leaders and their counterparts from the most dynamic growing markets, with the goal to discuss new ideas and inspire new business opportunities in the light of global environmental and social challenges.

Among the speakers 2008: Maud Olofsson - Minister for Enterprise and Energy, Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden; Jean Lemierre - President, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD); Lasse Gustavsson - Secretary General, WWF; Anders Nordström - Director-General, SIDA; Dipal Chandra Barua - Managing Director, Grameen Shakti; Anders Wijkman - Member of the EU Parliament; Mohan Munasinghe - Vice Chairman, The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC); Göran Tidström - Chairman of the Board, Öhrlings PricewaterhouseCoopers; Hans Stråberg - President and CEO, Electrolux; Lorie Wigle - General Manager, Eco-Technology Program Office, Intel Corporation;Johnny Åkerholm - President and CEO, Nordic Investment Bank; Lois Dougan Tretiak - Senior Advisor, China Economist Intelligence Unit Beijing; Maria Wetterstrand - Spokesperson, Swedish Green Party; Dennis Pamlin - Global Policy Advisor, WWF; Johan Björkstén - Founder and CEO, Eastwei; Preeta Singh - Director, Madi Design Support; David Tang - Owner and Founder, Shanghai Tang; Rosaline Yin - Director Brand Strategy, Kodak Design Strategy Group.

Partners 2008: SAS - Scandinavian Airlines; Öhrlings PricewaterhouseCoopers, SIDA – Swedish International Cooperation Agency; NIB – Nordic Investment Bank; WWF - World Wide Fund for Nature; HP - Hewlett-Packard; International Herald Tribune; Bird & Bird International Law Firm; First Card; First Light; Fjällräven; Grey Stockholm; The City of Gdansk; HRG; Lammhults; Lotus Travel; MindTree; The Pomorskie Voivodeship; The City of Poznań; Premiere Global Services; Scandic; Sustainia; Tricorona; Veckans Affärer; Volvo Cars; City of Warsaw; Wielkopolska Region.