On 1 November 2016 Marta Jaksona, the former Project Director of the Foreign Investors’ Council in Latvia (FICIL), assumed the position of FICIL’s Executive Director. Girts Greiskalns, who led FICIL for more than a decade, will take the position of the Board’s Adviser. The priorities of FICIL’s new Executive Director will be to continue the dialogue with the government on issues relevant for the foreign investors, including availability and quality of the labour force as well as improvement of the tax system and the legal environment in the country.

While fulfilling the duties of FICIL’s Project Director, Marta Jaksona has proved herself to be a talented leader and highly motivated professional in both finance and communication. She gained her professional experience working for many years at the British Embassy in Riga, the United Nations Development Program in New York, and heading the Latvian Translation and Terminology Centre. Marta Jaksona has received a degree in political science from the University of Latvia, continuing her studies at the International Institute of Public Administration in Paris; she also has an MBA degree.

“Marta Jaksona has been working closely with Girts Greiskalns for a long time. Therefore, we are certain that the continuity of work and quality will be ensured in the cooperation with the members and all our partners when Marta takes over the position of the Executive Director. Girts’ achievements during these 10 years while serving as FICIL’s Executive Director cannot be overestimated and I would like to thank him especially for his devotion and energy which helped the Council to successfully further issues of importance for the society and the business,” said Zlata Elksnina-Zascirinska, Chairperson of the FICIL Board.

Girts Greiskalns assumed the post of FICIL’s Executive Director 10 years ago. During his leadership FICIL has become a highly respected opinion leader on business issues and has led a number of initiatives relevant for the society and the business, for example, the long-awaited reforms of the insolvency administration system. In addition, more than 50 position papers on different issues concerning the national economy have been developed and submitted to the Government of the Republic of Latvia, thus encouraging broader discussion and work on the necessary amendments to the legislation to improve the business environment in Latvia. After handing over the duties to the new Executive Director, Girts Greiskalns will continue to support the work of the Council in the position of the Board’s Adviser.

“After years of serving as FICIL’s Executive Director I have decided to look for new challenges in my career. Ten years in one organisation is a long time; the experience I have gained is invaluable professionally as well as personally. There is a great satisfaction in seeing that during these years FICIL has established its position among other business organisations and has become an organisation whose opinion the government seeks and listens to. I believe FICIL’s new Executive Director Marta Jaksona will continue to successfully implement FICIL’s goals,” says Girts Greiskalns.