Arnis Leikarts named International Correspondent for PMForum & PM World Today in Latvia

PMForum has announced that Mr. Arnis Leikarts has been named an International Correspondent for PMForum and PM World Today in Latvia. Mr. Leikarts is also a consultant and trainer at Latvia's leading training company "Komercizglitibas centrs", and a consultant at the global expert network "Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG)".

Mr. Arnis Leikarts, MSc., IPMA-B is also Board member of the Latvian National Project management association (member of IPMA) since 2004. He is founder and director of the Latvian National Project Excellence Awards program and Project Excellence Ambassador for the IPMA Project Excellence Awards in Latvia.

Mr. Leikarts has more than 14 years experience in banking and last nine with Business and IT development on international level both - leading development team at Swedbank's Group Product development in Baltic countries and leading Product development department in DnB NORD Bank Latvia.

Mr. Leikarts is currently a PhD Candidate in Strategy, Project and Program Management at ESC Lille (PMI® GACPM accredited programme), France. He holds a Master of Science degree (MSc) and Bachelors degree (BA) in Management Science, International economical relationships from the University of Latvia.

He has solid consulting and training experience in the project and program management field for organizations. He is currently acting as consultant and trainer at "Komercizglitibas centrs", Latvia's leading training company. He is also performing consulting work through the global expert network "Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG)".

Arnis is Certified Senior Project Manager (IPMA Level B) from International Project Management Association (IPMA) and holds an Information Technology Infrastructure Library Foundation (ITIL) Certification in Service Management from Examination Institute for Information Science, Netherlands.

According to Wikipedia, Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia, to the south by Lithuania, to the east by the Russian Federation , and to the southeast by Belarus . Across the Baltic Sea to the west lies Sweden. The territory of Latvia covers 64,589 km2 (24,938 sq mi) and it has a temperate seasonal climate.

Latvia is a parliamentary republic and is divided into 26 districts. The capital and largest city is Riga. Latvia has been a member of the United Nations since 1991; of the World Trade Organization since 1999; and of the European Union and NATO since 2004. Latvia has an estimated population of 2.3 million, with a total GDP of $38.8 billion and a per capita GDP of $17,071.

The territory of Latvia has been populated since 9000 BC. The region was ruled since the Middle Ages by Germany, Lithuania, Poland and Russia at various times. Latvia gained its independence from Germany and Russia in 1918, was annexed by the Soviet Union (USSR) during World War II, and regained its independence in August 1991. Russia completed its military withdrawal in 1994.

Since 2000 Latvia had one of the highest (GDP) growth rates in Europe. However, the chiefly consumption-driven growth in Latvia resulted in the collapse of the Latvian GDP in late 2008 and early 2009, exacerbated by the global economic crisis and shortage of credit. Latvian economy fell 18% in the first three months of 2009, the biggest fall in the European Union.

Latvia plans to introduce the Euro as the country's currency but, due to the inflation being above guidelines, the government's official target is now 1 January 2012. Privatization in Latvia is almost complete. Virtually all of the previously state-owned small and medium companies have been successfully privatized, leaving only a small number of politically sensitive large state companies. Latvian privatization efforts have led to the development of a dynamic and prosperous private sector, which accounted for nearly 68% of GDP in 2000.

Foreign investment in Latvia is modest compared with countries in north-central Europe. A law expanding the scope for selling land, including to foreigners, was passed in 1997. Latvia and the United States have signed treaties on investment, trade, and intellectual property protection and avoidance of double taxation.

Riga, the capital of Latvia, is situated on the Baltic Se coast on the mouth of the river Daugava. Riga is the largest city in the Baltic states. The Historic Centre of Riga has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the city is particularly notable for its extensive Jugendstil (German Art Nouveau) architecture.


Riga is located on the site of an ancient settlement of the Livonians, an ancient Finnic tribe, at the junction of the Daugava and the Riga River. The modern founding of Riga began with the arrival of German traders, mercenaries and religious crusaders in the second half of the 12th century. German merchants established an outpost near Riga in 1158. In 1282 Riga became a member of the Hanseatic League.

Riga accounts for about half of the total industrial output of Latvia, focusing on the financial sector, public utilities, food and beverages, pharmaceuticals, wood processing, printing and publishing, textiles and furniture, and communications equipment manufacturing. More than 50% of Latvian companies are registered in Riga region. The port of Riga is an important cargo shipping center. It is the main all-weather port in the Baltic and is expected to grow in the next few years due to increased trade with other ex-Soviet states and China. all important Latvian financial institutions are located in Riga, including the Bank of Latvia, Latvia's central bank. Foreign commercial trade through Riga has been on the increase in recent years and received new impetus on May 1, 2004 when Latvia became a member of the European Union. For more information about Riga and Latvia, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riga.

Arnis Leikarts lives in Riga and can be contacted at arnis.leikarts@lnpva.lv. Riga is a sister-city to Dallas, Texas, the home of PMForum. We at PMForum want to welcome Arnis to the Global Correspondents Network, serving the world of project management.

PMForum's global network of International Correspondents in more than 30 countries provides news and information from around the world of project management. More information about this program can be found at http://www.pmforum.org/pm%20forum%20team/index.htm#5.

Established prior to 1995, www.pmforum.org was the world's first website devoted to professional project management. PMForum is an organization formed to operate and grow the pmforum.org website. With advisors and correspondents worldwide, PMForum is now one of the world's most popular sources of project management news and information. PMForum produces the popular monthly PM World Today eJournal where articles, reports and stories about projects and project management around the world can be found; free subscriptions are available at www.pmworldtoday.net.