The Board of Directors

 

Gudrun Giddings, President and Chairman of SACC-LA

Gudrun Giddings is the Honorary Swedish Consul at the Swedish Consulate in Los Angeles. She is also the CEO and producer at G4C Innovation and is a co-founder of Entertainment Capital Network. Gudrun has worked in the entertainment business for over 20+ years. She is also the President and serves on the Board of Directors for Mentor Foundation USA, which was founded by Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden and the World Health Organization. She is a Board Member of SACC-USA and is the President and Chair of The Swedish American Chamber of Commerce-LA.

Chris Bjelkstam, Executive Vice President of SACC-LA

Chris Bjelkstam is General Manager for Tesla in Los Angeles. With over 20 years of experience in the automotive space, Chris have held various leadership roles within sales, service, and marketing, for both OEMs and agencies. He have had the privilege of working with iconic brands like BMW, Fisker, Lucid, and now Tesla, and have successfully launched and scaled new products and services in the US and global markets.

Chris is a graduate of Pepperdine University with concentration in International Business and holds a marketing degree from Berghs School of Communication. He also graduated from the Military Academy in Linköping as a Reserve Officer and serves as Commander 2IC for the Swedish Armed Forces.

Sara Fahlgren, General Manager of Cecconi’s

Sara Fahlgren is the General Manager of CECCONI’S Restaurant in West Hollywood, CA. She is the middle sister of three, born and raised in Gothenburg on the Swedish west coast. She is a consummate luxury hospitality professional who has a passion for the food and beverage industry. Sara has decorated career in restaurant operations & innovative guest experience development.

Her tenure with Soho House & Co., began in London, UK in 2010. Soho House is a global group of private members’ clubs, hotels, restaurants, and venues around the world with highly-selective membership exclusive to the media, arts, creative and fashion industries.

Soho House & Co. has distinguished her as a rising star. Sara has developed a skill set and aptitude to effortlessly engage with guests and impeccably serve her clients. In addition to her charismatic and energetic personality, Sara demonstrates a business acumen that translates into operational growth, profitability and efficiencies.

Sara recently earned a Certificate of Strategic Leadership Training from Cornell University School of Hotel Administration. She is highly active in her community and recently invited to join the West Hollywood Design District as Board Member. Sara enjoys meeting new people as well as re-connecting with industry colleagues from across the globe. She is recognized among her peers as a charismatic leader with initiative, a youthful spirit, and a love for rich conversation.

Sara lives in Los Angeles and enjoys a Southern California lifestyle that embodies wellness, outdoor activity, world-travel, and above all else, being deeply grateful. She is the quintessential Swedish-American ambassador.

 

Jennings Segura, Stratos Wealth Partners

Jennings Segura is a Partner and Wealth Advisor at Stratos Wealth Partners in Beverly Hills, CA. He provides goal-based financial planning and portfolio management for high-net-worth families and individuals. Prior to joining Stratos, Jennings was a Senior Financial Advisor at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management in Beverly Hills, CA for nearly a decade.

Jennings holds a B.S. in International Trade & Finance from Louisiana State University and an M.S. in Finance from Uppsala University.

 
 

Amir Maki, NRG

Amir Maki is regional manager for NRG. A Fortune 250 company, NRG supports clean energy resources and technologies critical to our transition to a sustainable, low carbon society. They built the nation’s first privately-funded electric vehicle charging infrastructure and continue to create new, clean energy solutions for our customers.

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Daniel Wagner, Fortitude International and Bifrost Pictures

Daniel Wagner is a producer, Co-Founder of Fortitude International and the CEO of Bifrost Pictures. Through his Bifrost Pictures banner, a specialty financing and production company established in 2013, Daniel is a producer on the upcoming MILES AHEAD, starring Don Cheadle as jazz legend Miles Davis, currently in post-production. He also produced SHELTER, directed by Paul Bettany and starring Jennifer Connelly and Anthony Mackie which world premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival and will be released by Screen Media in the US in 2015. Additionally, he recently executive produced the festival hit WE’LL NEVER HAVE PARIS, directed by Simon Helberg, REASONABLE DOUBT starring Samuel Jackson and Dominic Cooper and THE WORLD MADE STRAIGHT, directed by David Burris and starring Minka Kelly, Haley Joel Osment, Noah Wyle, and based on the award-winning novel by Ron Rash which was released in January 2015.

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Emil Abedian, CEO Abedian & Totlian / CFO of SACC-LA

Emil Abedian, CPA is the founder and CEO of Abedian & Totlian, An Accountancy Corporation, specializing in accounting, tax and business-consulting services for small and mid-size businesses in service based industries. With a blend of technology and expertise, Abedian & Totlian liberates their clients from the minutiae of back office management allowing them to focus on what truly matters—applying their creativity and entrepreneurial vision to growing their businesses.

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Camilla Loving, Lead Planner at Joy Proctor Design

Camilla Loving is an adventurous Swede, who loves to experience life through travel, design and food! 

Libra. Perfectionist. Interior Architectural Major.

With a solid background as an interior designer and buyer, Camilla moved from Sweden to the US to pursue her dream to further educate herself in the field of Interior Architectural Design and was awarded the Honorable Mention Award in the Visual Merchandise Category of PAVE’s Nationwide Design Competition 2014.

In 2016, Camilla planned and designed her own wedding and quickly realized that planning a wedding was the perfect combination of her organizational skills and keen designer eye. She now shares her passion by creating dream weddings for other couples as a lead planner at Joy Proctor Design, who is regarded as one of the most highly sought after wedding design houses in the world and have been named one of the top designers in the world by Harpers Bazaar and Brides Magazine.

 

 

Lisa Agerman

Lisa Agerman was one of the founders of & Other Stories (part of H&M group). She has been in the fashion and marketing industry for 15 years in a wide range of leadership roles in & Other Stories and H&M including, Global Head of Expansion and Sales overseeing 60 stores, 2000 employees and 12 markets and Brand CFO. Her most recent role was as US Brand Country Manager for & Other Stories. Other employers include Accenture. 

Lisa is currently the CEO and Co-Founder of Un’sweet wine, a zero-sugar wine, transparently labelled, locally produced in California. For this, Lisa has partnered with PR Pro Malin Eklund and Tracy Tutor, businesswoman, celebrity real estate agent and star of Bravo’s hit series “Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles”. Lisa Agerman and Malin Eklund, have already launched UN’SWEET in Scandinavia and with its rapid success, the female founders are excited to grow the brand into the US market with their PR and fresh approach to the traditional wine industry. 

Lisa is based in Los Angeles where she lives with her husband and her 4-year-old daughter. Her favorite hobby is horses and every summer she goes to Montana to enjoy ranch life.

Nellie Wartoft

Nellie Wartoft, a Swedish technology entrepreneur, founded Tigerhall in 2019, transforming how large enterprises foster organizational engagement to enact widespread change. Leading the company, Nellie expanded Tigerhall’s reach to Fortune 500 firms worldwide, with users in 32 countries and employees across 12 markets. She secured over $10 million in venture capital from investors like Sequoia Capital and Monk’s Hill Ventures, attracting clients from diverse sectors including technology, consumer goods, professional services, and financial services.

Before Tigerhall, Nellie excelled at Michael Page, leading the Sales & Marketing practice. Observing challenges in organizational engagement amid technological advancements, she launched Tigerhall to bridge the gap between traditional information sharing methods and modern interaction preferences. Recognized as one of Tatler Magazine’s 2021 Gen T Leaders of Tomorrow and listed among the Top Entrepreneurs to Watch in 2023 by the International Business Times, Nellie also boasts past achievements as a Swedish National Champion in skeet shooting and air rifle. Additionally, she frequently speaks at major events like TEDx, Global CEO Exchange, and SaaSTech Asia while serving as a non-executive director for prominent industry associations in Singapore and the United States. Nellie has lived and worked in Singapore, London, Seoul, and Los Angeles.