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Arnis Melnis to Take over the Management of JSC “Latvia's State Forests"

On 27 December, the Supervisory Board of JSC “Latvia's State Forests” (LVM) in an extraordinary meeting appointed Arnis Melnis, a former Member of the Board of LVM, who has been working in the management of the company since its establishment in 1999, as the new Chairman of the Board. The Supervisory Board of LVM decided to appoint a new Chairman of the Board after the decision of the long-term manager of the company Roberts Strīpnieks to resign on 31 December 2021.

Arnis Melnis is an experienced forest industry professional. Until now, Arnis Melnis has held the post of a Member of the Board of LVM and, while working in the management of the company, has also been the Deputy Chairman and Vice President of the Board of LVM. Melnis started his career in the forestry sector in the early 1980s, first working at Ogre MRS (forest industry farm) and later at Saldus MRS. From 1991 to 1997, Melnis held the post of the Executive Director of SIA “Silva”, later he worked for two years as the Chief Forest Officer of the State Forest Service; in 1999, he started his professional career at LVM.

Arnis Melnis has an education as an engineer-technologist, but over the years he has supplemented his professional knowledge in forest sector management and business management in various training seminars, programmes, conferences and experience exchange projects both in Latvia and abroad.

“The goal of the LVM Supervisory Board in electing the new Chairman of the Board is to ensure stability based on professional competence, knowledge of LVM's operations and the forest industry. Mr. Melnis is a manager of LVM with almost forty years of experience in the field of forestry and together with the existing management team will be able to continue the convincing growth of the company, ensuring both day-to-day operations and implementation of strategic initiatives,” says Edmunds Beļskis, Chairman of the LVM Supervisory Board.

In the Top101.lv list of the most valuable companies in Latvia, made by the investment company Prudentia and the stock exchange NASDAQ Riga, LVM has been ranked as the second most valuable company in Latvia (after Latvenergo) with a total value of 1.46 billion euros, which is 26% more than in 2020.

With a Cabinet order, Joint Stock Company “Latvia’s State Forests” (LVM) was established back in October 1999.  LVM's core business is forestry, which is the company's main source of revenue. In addition to forestry, LVM provides hunting and recreation services, produces selected seeds and seedlings, and offers subterranean resources such as sand, gravel, peat on the market.

LVM manages 1.62 million hectares of land of the Republic of Latvia, including 1.60 million hectares of forest land, of which 1.39 million hectares are covered with forest. LVM implements national interests in forest management, ensuring preservation and enhancement of the value of forest, generating the maximum possible income to its owner – the State. LVM is a founder and an active member of the European State Forest Association (EUSTAFOR).

For more information:

Tomass Kotovičs

JSC “Latvia’s State Forests”

Head of Communication Unit