Ursel Velve is currently serving as CEO and management board member at Mainor Ülemiste AS, as well as innovation manager for the Ülemiste City business campus. Her previous experience also includes various positions at Mainor Ülemiste, as well as regional manager for Samsung Electronics Baltic SIA in Estonia. She is likewise a member of the supervisory boards of Dvigatel Energeetika AS and Eesti Loto AS.

Velve holds a bachelor's degree in business management from Estonian Business School (EBS) and a master's degree in global marketing from the University of Liverpool.

Sigrid Harjo and Aare Järvan will continue serving as members of the EIS board.

According to Velve, taking on the position of board chair at EIS is an excellent but also very challenging opportunity to fulfill her desire to support the development of Estonia's economy by assisting companies' innovation and development, as well as attracting foreign investments to Estonia.

"From my prior cooperation with the 400 larger and smaller businesses at Ülemiste City, I will bring with me valuable practices in leading innovation projects, collaborating with universities and the public sector as well as service design based on customer feedback," the next EIS chief highlighted.

"I hope to apply my experience for the benefit of the entire Estonian business community, while also considering the owners' expectation of a responsibly efficient organization," she added.

According to EIS supervisory board chair Erkki Raasuke, EIS' new chief was selected due to her robust experience in the private sector.

"Ursel Velve has worked at length in the private sector, and in recent years has led one of the largest and most innovative business campuses in the Baltics," Raasuke noted. "Our economic environment is constantly changing, and EIS must be ready to respond quickly to these changes. Both business owners' and the government's expectations for EIS are high, and I believe that together with Ursel, we can initiate and implement the necessary changes."

High expectations for change

Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure Erkki Keldo (Reform) stated that EIS must contribute to the government's goal of boosting the competitiveness of the economy and reducing businesses' reporting and administrative burdens.

According to Keldo, EIS' new chief must shape the agency into a flexible and efficient organization that addresses the needs of business owners and can swiftly respond to changing circumstances.

"The services offered must be well-targeted and genuinely contribute to the growth of businesses' competitiveness and the development of innovation, attracting and retaining investments in Estonia and strengthening Estonia's international reputation," he said.

Last December, EIS' supervisory board dismissed previous CEO Kati Kusmin after determining that expected changes to the agency had not been implemented quickly or substantively enough.

This January, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications (MKM) deputy secretary general Sandra Särav said that the search was on for a reformer-type leader who would not continue the institution's activities as usual, but rather move forward with the new expectations set for it.

The goal of the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency is to support entrepreneurship, enhance Estonia's international competitiveness and visibility, and promote its attractiveness as a destination for business, investment, and tourism, as well as a place to live and work.

The agency also aims to invest in the modernization of the country's residential, commercial, and industrial buildings.  

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