Columns & Interviews

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. Olli Honkkila, one of our most recent appointees, gives us unique insight into how business opportunities in Arizona and New Mexico might topple those of California and Texas, and how one can go from “shorts to slopes” in Arizona within hours!

In this series, we highlight the important work done by our honorary consuls around the 13 states in the jurisdictional area of the Consulate General of Finland in Los Angeles. Mårten Mickos, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and the Honorary Consul of Finland in San Francisco, has been running startup companies most of his life and is passionate about helping businesses to grow and internationalize. He says that the San Francisco bay area is the NHL of tech business, and a company must truly stand out to succeed.

In this series, we highlight the important work done by our honorary consuls around the 13 states in the jurisdictional area of the Consulate General of Finland in Los Angeles. Immigration lawyer Dr. Kathrin S. Mautino has served as Finland’s Honorary Consul in San Diego for nearly 20 years. She knows that Southern California offers tremendous opportunities for Finnish companies that are willing to take on the challenge.

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.