About FABG
Do you want to explore business opportunities in Finland, or are you perhaps a Finnish entrepreneur interested expanding your market in the U.S.? Are you getting relocated in Texas or thinking of studying here? Our board members are here to help and get you connected with the resources you need. Get yourself familiar with our Board, and let us know how we can help you.
Our mission is to foster cooperation between Finnish-related businesses, to provide forum for the exchange of information among the Members, and to promote business among Finnish businesses and American companies and others. Please join us in this mission and become a member.
FINNISH AMERICAN BUSINESS GUILD (FABG) is a sub-division of Irving Sister Cities International. Members of the FABG are also members of Irving Sister Cities International. This membership is separate from the Greater Irving Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce. (You do not have to be a Chamber member to join.)
Become a member
Corporate Membership $250
As a Corporate Member you can name three designated representatives. The member corporation will be presented at www.fabg-dallas.com with your logo, company profile, and a link to your company website.
Individual Membership $20
As an individual member, you will have opportunity to network with through our connections to explore new opportunities and utilize the benefits of your membership.
Our corporate members:
FABG Board of Directors
PRESIDENT - CHAIRMAN
Vesa Jaamuru
Consultant Telecommunications, work experience includes Supply Chain Management with Verizon and various R&D Engineering Management positions with Nokia. Vesa has led R&D for Nokia’s Mobile Phones BU in Dallas and product programs for US GSM1900 markets. Nokia experience also includes Multimedia SW development for Symbian Smart Phone platform. Before moving to US in 1995 Vesa pioneered Nokia’s first GSM modem/transceiver implementation and DSP development in Finland.
vjaamuru@verizon.net
Education
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, ARLINGTON
MBA, Business Management, Certification in Asian Business Studies
UNIVERSITY OF OULU, OULU FINLAND
M.Sc.EE, Telecommunications, Digital Signal Processing
VICE PRESIDENT
Mika Hirvilampi
Mika Hirvilampi is leading Innovation Execution at Nokia’s Innovation, Partner and Venture Management organization. He joined Nokia in 1993 and has extensive track record in wireless infrastructure industry with broad international experience. Career has been significantly centered in strategic leadership of product creation, with heavy focus on innovation and total cost of ownership. During the past three years he has held global senior leadership roles in procurement and in Mobile Broadband BU cost management. Previously he held senior program manager positions in several of the Nokia’s largest product creation programs within 2G, 3G and LTE technologies, and being responsible for development of several of the highest selling BTS product platforms of the Company.
Education
HELSINKI UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, HELSINKI FINLAND
M.Sc. EE, Electrical and Communications Engineering
DIRECTOR - TREASURER
Markku Toiviainen
Markku works as Head of Global Sales & Marketing for Nemo Wireless Network Solutions at Keysight Technologies Inc. Prior to this role, he worked as Senior Vice President of Global Sales and Vice President & General Manager of Americas region for Anite Telecoms Inc. Markku has spent over 12 years in the US. Before his US career, he worked at Nokia Mobile Phones and Nokia Multimedia for ten years in various management roles in sales, product management, and business line management.
mtoiviai@hotmail.com
Education
UNIVERSITY OF OULU, FINLAND
MSc. Industrial Engineering and Management
DIRECTOR - HONORARY MEMBER
Kenneth Niesman
Ken Niesman has served as an FABG board member since 2006. He is also the Honorary Consul of Finland for northern Texas and Oklahoma. Mr. Niesman is an attorney and has practiced law in the corporate and business section of Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP since 1976. During his 30 years of law practice, he has represented, and continues to represent, several Finland-based entities in connection with their US operations.
Education
TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY, SCHOOL OF LAW
Juris Doctor with Honors, 1976
TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY
B.B.A., 1972
DIRECTOR - COMMUNICATIONS
Jaana Simula
Jaana is co-founder and owner of Enterprise BlockChain Solutions, a Dallas based startup focusing on disrupting intercompany processes in finance organizations. Before starting her own business in 2017, Jaana worked as a Go-to-Market Product Manager and PMO at local software development company Trintech, as PMO/Project Manager at the world's largest coffee trader ECOM Trading, and a Project Manager at Nokia. Prior to moving to the USA in 2004, Jaana worked as a management consultant in Finland. Jaana is very active in the local blockchain startup community. She is Secretary of IEEE Dallas Blockchain Chapter, Global Blockchain Association Dallas chapter leader, leader of DFW Corda Meetup, and frequently speaks at local blockchain events. Jaana holds Master of Science in Economics from Helsinki School of Economics (Aalto University). In her free time, Jaana enjoys spending time with her two children and two dogs, hiking, and competing in tower running races.
Education
HELSINKI SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS (AALTO UNIVERSITY), HELSINKI FINLAND
M.Sc. Economics, 1996
DIRECTOR
Dr. Jouni Laine
Jouni is a Partner and Consultant of Locore Oy, Finland based small consultancy company in Logistics and Supply Chain Management (SCM). Jouni has worked in managerial positions in Logistics and SCM and Project Management for several international companies like Containerships Ltd. Oy, NesteJacobs, Outotec Oyj - and also as a SAP consultant. In the academia Jouni has worked in Finland (Aalto University, KyAMK) and abroad (National University of Singapore). Jouni moved to Dallas in 2016 from Tokyo, Japan and prior to that he has lived and worked in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Germany and Singapore.
jouni.laine@locore.fi
Education
HELSINKI SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS (AALTO UNIVERSITY), FINLAND
D.Sc. (Econ.), Logistics, 2005
HELSINKI UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY (AALTO UNIVERSITY), FINLAND
M.Sc. (Mech. Eng.), Naval Architecture, 1991
DIRECTOR
Jukka Salonen
Jukka is a Group CEO and Founder of BookIT Oy. Bookit has been pioneering seamless mobile experiences for two decades. Today, Bookit’s Mobile Engagement Platform orchestrates hundreds of thousands of smart messages, helping companies build engagement and mobile customer experience by delivering the right message to the right person at the right time. 1987 Jukka founded MacBite Ltd. which he sold to Microwarehouse in 1994. Before founding Bookit Jukka worked at Sonera as VP of International Operations and New Business Development for the mobile business..
jukka.salonen@bookit.net
Education
HELSINKI UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, HELSINKI FINLAND
Computer Science, 1994
HELSINKI UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, HELSINKI FINLAND
M.Sc. IT, 1999
SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS, UNIVERSITY OF TURKU, TURKU FINLAND
MBA, 1999
DIRECTOR
Simi Chandi
A recent addition to the Finnish-American community of the Dallas-Forth Worth area, Simi has built a career in government and non-profit finance. As a senior Financial Analyst, she has helped organizations like the Embassy of Finland and the International Monetary fund manage their fiscal affairs. Currently Simi is a part of the FP&A team at the American Society of Clinical Oncology.