Today, 29 July, the Supervisory Board of AS “Latvijas valsts meži” (LVM) approved the company's new management board at an extraordinary meeting. Moving forward, Pēters Putniņš will serve as the chairman of the board, while Toms Reiziņš and Jānis Stankevičs have been newly elected as board members for a five-year term. Jānis Lapiņš will continue his work on the LVM board, with his employment contract remaining in force until 1 September 2024. The company's new board begins its work today, 29 July 2022.
Pēters Putniņš is a board member at the IT company SIA “Decta”. Previously, he served as chairman of the Financial and Capital Market Commission, a member of the Supervisory Board of the European Central Bank’s Banking Supervision, and earlier held board member positions at AS “Latvijas kuģniecība” and AS “Ventbunkers”, having also served as the head of the Legal Department at the Bank of Latvia. P. Putniņš holds a Master’s degree in social sciences in law from the University of Latvia, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in political science in international relations.
Toms Reiziņš has spent 15 years working in the construction sector. Until March 2022, he served as financial director of the construction group AS “MN holding”, while simultaneously acting as a board member of SIA “Velve”, and before that, served as financial and administrative director and board member at SIA “Latvijas energoceltnieks”. T. Reiziņš holds a Master’s degree in social sciences in management science from the University of Latvia.
Jānis Stankevičs has for many years been the head of the production department at SIA “Rīgas meži”. J. Stankevičs holds a professional Bachelor’s degree in engineering in materials science and a qualification in wood processing engineering from the Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies.
The Chairman of the LVM Supervisory Board, Edmunds Beļskis, while welcoming the new board, emphasized: “AS “Latvijas valsts meži” is one of the most efficient state forest managers in Europe and an undisputed leader in sustainable forestry in the Baltics. In managing the strategic assets at the company’s disposal – land, forests, subsoil, and other resources – the new board will have challenging goals for sustainable, efficient, and socially responsible management. These include increasing forest productivity, carbon sequestration, and fostering innovation based on the latest scientific achievements to increase the company’s value and promote Latvia’s competitiveness in global value chains. This is a challenging time for “Latvijas valsts meži”, as achieving the company’s strategic goals in the current geopolitical situation is significant for our country’s economic, material, and energy independence. I wish the board strength and endurance to work during a time that requires energetic, innovative, and long-term thinking.”
On behalf of the Supervisory Board, E. Beļskis expressed gratitude to the outgoing chairman Arnis Melnis and board member Edvīns Zakovics for their contribution to the company’s long-term growth, having developed LVM into one of the leaders of the Latvian economy over more than 20 years.
The competition for the four management board positions at AS “Latvijas valsts meži” was announced on 24 March 2022. The nomination committee concluded its work on 8 July, when the final decision was made, the protocol on the competition results was signed, and the proposal was submitted to the Supervisory Board of AS “Latvijas valsts meži”. The nomination committee consisted of representatives from the Supervisory Board of AS “Latvijas valsts meži”, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Cross-Sectoral Coordination Centre, the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance, and the Latvian Forest Owners’ Association.
LVM manages and administers 1.62 million hectares of land in the Republic of Latvia, including 1.60 million hectares of forest land, of which 1.39 million hectares are forests. LVM implements the state's interests in forest management, ensuring the preservation and increase of forest value while generating maximum possible income for the owner – the state.