On behalf of NADIC it is a great pleasure to welcome and introduce our friend, Susan Meyer, as the new Norwegian Honorary Consul for Illinois. On May 7th, Susan featured in the “Gløgg in the drapes” article by The Norwegian American.( https://www.norwegianamerican.com/susan-meyer/ )
We are happy to provide a small excerpt from the article, highlighting our longstanding friendship with Susan Meyer.
“Meyer has assisted established companies and startups manage growth for over 25 years. She was president of the Norwegian American Chamber of Commerce Chicago from 2014 to 2017. Her firm, Greensfelder, is a corporate member of the Norwegian-American Defense and Homeland Security Industry Council (NADIC), an offshoot of NACC Mid-Atlantic (D.C.), an “international trade organization strengthening Norwegian-American defense industry business and research cooperation,” and she is on the board of Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global (WEGG).
“I bring passion, connections, a desire to support Norwegian interests in the area,” she said. “For several years, I’ve had an international practice, primarily focused on Scandinavia, Norwegian companies that have expanded to the United States, or startups trying to get a foothold here. Intellectual property touches every business, whether it’s a small family owned business or a multinational. A lot of Norway’s values and priorities align with what I have been advocating and supporting in my practice for decades now. I’m just eager to serve and happy to help in any way that I can. One of the things that I think is the most fun part of my job is making connections. I’ll meet somebody and hear a project that they’re working on and remember someone else who’s got a similar connection or synergy. I think that skill set is useful and helpful in dealing with the position as consul. I’m happy to bring my network to the table and try to assist people in that way.”
NACC is another place where she found that hyggelig.
“A friend of mine introduced me to the chamber,” said Meyer. “When I went to the first meeting it was such a warm welcome. The Norwegian community in Chicago has a long tradition. They honor those traditions. I appreciated the opportunity to get to know them, to work with them and to serve them as president for four years. At the time, the law firm I worked at had offices in Chicago, in New York and D.C. That gave me the opportunity to attend activities, events and board meetings in these other cities and expand my network.”
That connection led to NADIC.
“They noticed a lot of the defense companies had a very similar agenda, purpose, challenges and opportunities so they created a separate organization,” said Meyer. “A lot of the same people are active and aligned with NAAC Mid-Atlantic and NADIC. They have cooperative programming. NADIC has grown so much over the years. It’s a very dynamic, exciting group. They have a spring conference every year that has grown from being in a very small space to a very large space. It is a premier event.
“They have delegations come over from Norway. Recently, they created a ‘Hacking for Allies’ program, with an incubator in Palo Alto, [Calif.]. I was honored to be invited to participate in that program, where they brought four Norwegian companies with innovative, creative solutions to challenges in the military, as well as the public sector. That has been a very exciting process. I give a lot of credit to NADIC for their innovation. It mirrors what modern Norway is doing in terms of innovation, helping startups, and really trying to be cutting edge in terms of development and innovation.
“Norway is working closely with a lot of companies, municipalities, states, and counties in the United States to try to foster and share that technology and those good ideas. Norway truly does believe in combating climate change and overcoming the world’s dependence on oil. Even though Norway is the beneficiary of the oil fund, they’re not investing in fossil-fuel technology anymore. They are using the offsets to counteract the footprint of the impact that the oil fund is having on the world. Norway is doing what they’re talking about. They’re taking very strong initiatives to make those changes in the world. It’s a value and priority and very easy to support.”
We look forward to our continuous cooperation and wish Susan all the best in her new position!
If you want to read the full article, you can do so by following the link below:
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