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The Board of JSC "Latvia's State Forests" has been Elected; the Company will be Headed by Pēters Putniņš

On 29 July, the Supervisory Board of JSC “Latvia's State Forests” (LVM) approved the new Board of the company. From now on, Pēters Putniņš will be the Chairman of the company's Board, while Members of the Board Toms Reiziņš and Jānis Stankevičs have been re-elected for a five-year term. Jānis Lapiņš continues to work in the Board of LVM; his mandate contract is valid until 1 September 2024. The company's new Board started work on 29 July 2022.

Pēters Putniņš is a Member of the Board of information technology company SIA “Decta”; before that, he was the Chairman of the Board of the Financial and Capital Market Commission, a Member of the Board of European Central Bank Supervision of Commercial Banks, previously a Member of the Board of JSC “Latvijas kuģniecība” and JSC “Ventbunkers”, but before that – Head of the Legal Department of the Bank of Latvia. Pēters Putniņš holds a master's degree in social sciences in law, as well as a bachelor's degree in political science in international relations, both from the University of Latvia.

Toms Reiziņš has worked in the construction industry for 15 years – until March 2022, he performed the duties of the Financial Director of the construction group JSC “MN holding”, at the same time he was a Member of the Board of SIA “Velve”; before that he was the Financial and Administrative Director and a Member of the Board of SIA “Latvijas energoceltnieks”. Toms Reiziņš obtained a master's degree in social sciences in management science at the University of Latvia.

Jānis Stankevičs has been the Head of the Production Department of SIA “Rīgas meži” for many years. Jānis Stankevičs holds a professional engineering bachelor's degree in material science and a qualification as a woodworking engineer from the Agricultural University of Latvia.

When welcoming the new company's Board, Edmunds Belskis, Chairman of LVM's Board, emphasized: “Joint stock company “Latvia’s State Forests” is among the most effective state forest managers in Europe and an unquestionable leader in sustainable forestry in the Baltics. The new Board of the company, upon implementing sustainable, efficient, and socially responsible management of the company's strategic assets such as land, forest, subsoil, and other resources will have challenging goals both in increasing forest productivity and in the field of carbon sequestration. It will also have to work on innovative development based on the latest scientific achievements, increasing the company's value, and promoting Latvia's competitiveness in global value chains. This is a challenging time for JSC “Latvia's State Forests” since the achievement of the company's strategic goals in the current geopolitical situation is important for the economic, material and energy independence of our country. I wish the company's Board strength and endurance to work at a time when energetic, innovative and long-term thinking is of key importance.”

Beļskis, on behalf of the company’s Supervisory Board, expressed his gratitude to the current Chairman of the Board Arnis Melnis and Member of the Board Edvīns Zakovics for their contribution to the long-term growth of the company, making LVM one of the leaders of the Latvian economy in over more than 20 years.

The competition for the positions of four Members of the Board of JSC “Latvia's State Forests” was announced on 24 March 2022. The Nomination Commission finished its work on 8 July, when the final decision was made, a protocol was signed on the results of the competition and a proposal was submitted to the Supervisory Board of JSC “Latvia's State Forests”.

The Nomination Commission consisted of representatives from the Supervisory Board of JSC “Latvia's State Forests”, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Cross-Sectoral Coordination Centre, the association “Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry”, the Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance and the association “Latvian Forest Owners Association”.

LVM manages and administers 1.62 million ha of land of the Republic of Latvia, including 1.60 million hectares of forest land, of which 1.39 million hectares are covered by forest. LVM implements national interests in forest management, ensuring preservation and enhancement of the forest value and generating the maximum possible income to its owner – the State.