Ashkan Eghtesadi-Azar is originally from Gothenburg, Sweden and holds a master degree in Public Administration from the University of Gothenburg. He came to the U.S. for a six month internship at the Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce, Georgia in August last year. After he successfully completed the internship, he took on new challenges at ProcessMiner, a business member of the chamber.

Read the article here.

The International Summer Networking was a success! Many thanks to everyone who joined us and made this evening wonderful!

Also a big thanks to our organizing partners British American Business Council, Belgian American Chamber of the South, French American Chamber of Commerce - Atlanta (FACC-Atlanta), Netherlands American Chamber of Commerce SouthEastern United States and Metro Atlanta Chamber!

Stay up to date for the next event by the European chambers!

SACC Georgia had the opportunity to tour the International Terminal for interesting insights to the history and behind-the-scenes operations of the International Terminal. Thanks to everyone who joined us and many thanks to corporate member Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport for having us!

Find more pictures from the tour on our Facebook page here.

Pricer, business member of SACC-Georgia, is the global leading provider of in-store shelf-edge digital solutions for international tier one retailers. The Swedish company has its headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden. The U.S. operations are based in Atlanta.

Read the article here.

Monica Swahn moved to the U.S from Stockholm, Sweden in 1989. She is a professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Georgia State University and recently started the social business Tugende Design with her husband Charles as a way to extend her work in the communities of Uganda.

SACC-GA hosted Sweden Day 2018 on June 6 in collaboration with the Swedish Consulate of Atlanta and SWEA. The celebration of the Swedish National Day took place in beautiful Magnolia Hall in Piedmont Park.

Thank you to all guests, sponsors and volunteers who made this evening wonderful!

A special thanks to photographer Randy McDow at Randmc Photography and videographers Georgie Lu and Jonathan Gabriel at Arrhythmia Films!

Diamond Sponsor: Skanska

Platinum Sponsor: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

Gold Sponsors: Embassy of Sweden, Washington D.C., Thomas Concrete
& Elekta

Silver Sponsors: Arnall Golden Gregory LLP, SWEA, Autoglo Inc & Scandinavian Festival

Kevin Coy, Partner in the Privacy Practice at Arnall Golden Gregory gave us valuable insights about the new General Data Protection Regulation.

We want to thank  Arnall Golden Gregory for having us and Kevin Coy for making us prepared for GDPR.

You can find the presentation here.

Ebba Endoff

Digital Marketer

gatc LP

Ebba is a Swedish trainee at gatc LP, a corporate member at SACC-GA. She has been with the company since September 2017. The original plan was to stay in Atlanta for a year, but that plan quickly changed into 1.5 years. Ebba is mainly working with gatc’s online marketing and digital presence and is in charge of their social media activities, but also assists with business development and market research.

Why did you choose to do a traineeship in the U.S?
I grew up in the state of Washington and lived there for 7 years so I’ve always felt at home here in the U.S. After attending college in South Carolina as an exchange student for almost a year, I wanted to come back to the South and found this opportunity through SACC and felt like it was meant to be.

What interested you in doing your traineeship with gatc?
My position is oriented towards marketing and business development, and since I have my academic background within marketing management, I wanted to get hands-on experience. It felt like the perfect fit and I also really liked gatc’s business model.

Can you tell us about gatc’s business?
gatc helps foreign companies (mainly from Europe) to establish and expand their business on the U.S market. We have been around in the U.S. for 35 years and have successfully established over 200 companies here.

What are the major challenges for businesses that are entering the U.S. market?
That’s a big question, but off the top of my head I would say that we have seen that people think it’s easier to establish business here than it actually is. The culture differences shouldn’t be underestimated. Perhaps you are familiar with some aspects of American culture through personal experience, but the business culture, banking systems, bureaucracy and business mentality can be quite different. We also see that foreign companies are sometimes not aware of the many state differences.

Have you noticed any cultural differences between doing business in Europe and the U.S?
Yes, I have. Americans don’t have the same distinction between work and free time. Also, the vacation and maternity leave regulations are more generous in Europe. Another thing I have noticed is that the American saying, “good is good enough” is something that many people live by here, making them very efficient. Europeans are often more detail oriented which can be time-consuming. People here are better at small talk and often start their meetings taking some time to talk about something else than business, which is usually not the case in Europe.

As a recent student at a Swedish University, what is your contribution to gatc, a U.S. based company?
We are targeting more Scandinavian based companies now, so my understanding of the Swedish community and how Swedish people prefer to be approached is valuable. Coming here as a student, you have updated knowledge and recent insights in new theories that you are able to apply. I really feel that I get to use my knowledge in digital marketing.

What has been your most valuable experience as a Swedish trainee?
I have really valued the opportunity to get hands-on experience of conducting business in the U.S. My supervisor has given me a lot of freedom to participate in various events, and I’ve also gotten the opportunity to take charge of my own projects. On a personal level, it has definitely been a learning experience to adapt to a new culture. Even though I was here as a student 2016/2017, I am now living here long-term and get to connect with different kinds of people with various backgrounds. The South also taught me that it’s possible to eat chicken and waffles together, haha.

SACC-GA member since 2015

Interview with Robert Cormier
Group Director, Strategic Development

Tell us a bit about yourself and Paramount!
I’m the Group Director for Strategic Development at Paramount. I’ve been
with Paramount in the U.S. for just over four years and I’m based in Raleigh, NC.
I’ve been in the relocating and moving industry for 27 years and lived overseas for
19 of those years; in Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. I’ve also
lived in Boston, and in California for five years.

Paramount has its headquarters in San Diego, CA and was established in 1996.
The organization has steadily grown since, from one location in San Diego to
locations all over the key cities in the U.S. and Canada and a newly established
office in Mexico. We also have large operations in Germany and Singapore. The
company is currently moving over 40,000 international moves per year, which
makes Paramount the largest international moving corporation in terms of
moving volume. We’re growing rapidly and have a close relationship with the
largest airline companies in the U.S. For the last six years, the focus has also been
on domestic moving services that doesn’t require moving with airlines on the
request of our corporate clients.

Why did Paramount join the chamber?
Sweden is one of the markets we feel is underserved. There’s no relocation
firm that focuses on Swedish relocations and we therefore felt that we should get
more involved in this market. I met Sara Henriksson (Executive Director at the time)
at an event held by the German Chamber and she introduced me to the
Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce-Georgia.

Which was the latest event you attended held by the chamber?
I attended Sweden Day and the Golf Tournament last year. I also visited Sweden House
in D.C. and SACC Summit 2017.

What trends do you see in the logistics industry?
We see a change in the allowances that companies are offering for their moves, it’s
a combination of cost and the environment. Younger customers that are
relocating don’t move a lot of furniture which means that we have to adapt to the
shipment allowance.

Which opportunities does this create for Paramount?
Our operations aren’t large, with around 200 employees, which make us able to
adapt to this change by changing our structure. We are utilizing our partner network
and it doesn’t affect our cost structure.

We’re investing a lot in technology systems, such as apps and electronical applications.
This makes it easier for the younger generation to communicate. We are also capable
to do video surveys to determine how much weight and volume our customers need to
ship, which means that we don’t actually have to go to our customers’ homes.

WELCOME NEW EVENT & MARKETING COORDINATOR LINN LIND

What do you look forward to the most?
I really look forward to experiencing the southern culture. My previous studies in the US increased my interest for international business, so I am looking forward to arranging networking events to build bridges between Swedish and American business.

What will you bring to your position and SACC-GA?
Previous experience in event planning and marketing from my engagement in a non-profit student organization gave me organizational skills that I hope will be useful in my position as event and marketing coordinator. I will also bring a creative mindset to the chamber with lots of ideas for networking opportunities.

What do you hope to gain from this experience?
During my time at SACC-GA, I am hoping to gain insight in how to conduct business in the US and to learn more about the American culture.

Tell us a little about yourself!
I am originally from Linköping in Sweden and I hold a BSc in Business and Economics from Lund University. I have had an interest in horses for as long as I can remember and during my studies in Lund, I was active in Lund Student Riders’ Association, where I have held the position as riding group responsible as well as managed sponsorships and PR. During last fall, I did an exchange semester at Pepperdine University in California and I am truly looking forward to further my experiences in the US at the chamber.