Columns & Interviews

Consul General Mika Koskinen interviewed Michael Hecht, newly-appointed Honorary Consul of Finland in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi. Hecht tells more about the great three states, commercial and cultural opportunities and his aspirations as an Honorary Consul.

In this series, we highlight the important work done by our honorary consuls around the 13 states in the jurisdictional area of Consulate General of Finland in Los Angeles. Hanna Eklund has acted as the honorary consul in Alaska for over 10 years already. How did she end up in this role and in Alaska in the first place? Read more in the interview, where Hanna shares her interesting journey to the northernmost state of the USA.

Honorary Consul Philip Claverie represented and promoted Finland and Finnish interests in Louisiana nearly 20 years. In his farewell interview by Consul General Mika Koskinen, Mr. Claverie recaps some memorable moments from his time in service for Finland. 

Lumene is a natural beauty brand from Finland with a mission to bring sustainable Nordic beauty products to the limelight for American consumers. The company prioritize ingredients developed from wild Nordic plants, as well as ingredients developed from industry side streams that would otherwise go to waste. Johanna Paavilainen, Lumene North America General Manager tells more.

As the year draws to a close, the Consul General of Finland in New York, Mika Koskinen, asked pastor Tiina Talvitie to reflect on the pandemic's effect on the church, and the meaning of spiritual community in exceptional times.

In this series, we highlight the important work done by our honorary consuls around the 13 states in the jurisdictional area of Consulate General of Finland in Los Angeles. Veikko Valli, the newly appointed honorary consul in Oregon, has a solid background in the finance industry having previously worked at investment banks and institutional investors in Helsinki, San Francisco and London. In this interview, he shares his US market entry tips and sheds light on Finland’s long history in the state of Oregon.

The bipartisan proposal to beef up infrastructure across the United States includes considerable investments to protect key services from cyberattacks. Recent news about the Colonial Pipeline and other incidents show that such investments are sorely needed. To make sure the money is well spent, it might be worth looking into what trusted high-tech partner countries like Finland have done.

Easter Holidays in Finland bring out the chef in some of us. Here’s a delicious compilation of the Consul General of Finland’s Chef Anne Siuvatti’s recipes to treat your tastebuds.

How is Finland’s national airline company Finnair holding up during the pandemic which rattled the global travel industry? Ms. Caroline Borawski, Finnair’s new North America General Manager, talked with Ambassador, Consul General Mika Koskinen about their future plans and expectations for the over 50-year-old flagship route between the JFK Airport and Helsinki Vantaa Airport.

Marimekko, one of the trailblazers in timeless Finnish design, has pushed through the multi-pronged uncertainties and volatile markets of this year relatively unscathed with its decade-long experience and continuous ability to innovate. Consul General Mika Koskinen had the opportunity to chat with Anna Hakkarainen, the Head of North America, about the company's strong female leadership, sustainability as the company's DNA, and what's in the bag for the anniversary in 2021.