Breakfast seminar: The Cold Winds of Geopolitics Reach the Boardroom

Corporate boards face a complex and politicized operating environment that challenges established premises for the management of corporate affairs. Geopolitical developments have come to affect corporate decision-making and have redefined the business environment and introduced new demands on corporate strategy. As the strategic importance of corporations has increased with rapid technological developments and increased economic interdependence, boards are faced with new demands from interest groups, corporate stakeholders and state-level actors. 

In many cases, corporate risks are relevant for strategic state interests – and states no longer support laissez-faire approaches with respect to corporate enterprise, as reflected in new corporate regulation, for example (including EU ”strategic autonomy initiatives”). Corporations are emerging as independent political actors both domestically and internationally, requiring the focus of boards and affecting the role of corporations overall.

You can register for the seminar here.

For questions, contact events@hanken.fi
 

About the speaker

Klaus Ilmonen, LL.D., is an attorney and partner with Hannes Snellman Attorneys Ltd. He advises on corporate transactions involving public corporations. His practice includes public takeovers, equity capital markets, and corporate governance of publicly traded corporations. He is recognised for his expertise in complex takeover situations and in international capital markets transactions. 

Klaus has participated in drafting Finnish takeover regulation, including the first Helsinki Takeover Code. He has previously practised U.S. securities law in the London office of the U.S. law firm Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton, where he represented European issuers and underwriters in international securities offerings. 

Klaus has been appointed professor of practice at Hanken School of Economics, and he teaches corporate and securities law. His research interest is focused on political approaches to corporate law. Klaus has also been deployed with Finnish forces in Afghanistan, Kosovo, and Lebanon, and he serves as the managing director of the Mannerheim-Foundation in Finland.