Aivar Rehe Elected EBS Business Manager of the Year 2007

The Advisory Board of Estonian Business School (EBS) elected Mr. Aivar Rehe the Business Manager of the Year 2007. Aivar Rehe is Chairman of the Board of the Sampo Pank AS and Chairman of the Board of the Estonian Banking Association. The title will be awarded on 13th June, at 12 pm, during the EBS Graduation Ceremony in the Estonia Concert Hall.

Aivar Rehe, born in 1963, graduated from Tallinn Polytechnic Institute Faculty of Economics and has worked as Member of Board of Hoiupank and Hansapank. From 2004 to 2006 Mr. Rehe was Director General in the Estonian Tax and Customs Board and was decorated with the Order of the White Star 3rd class. Since 2006 he has been a Chairman of the Board of Sampo Pank and in May 2008 was named as a Chairman of the Board of the Estonian Banking Association.

Since February 2007 Sampo Pank has been part of the Danske Bank Group, the largest banking group in Denmark and one of the biggest in the Nordic countries. Danske Bank is represented in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ireland, United Kingdom, Poland, Luxembourg and Germany. According to the Estonian Customer Service Index Sampo Pank was recognized as the best financial institution in Estonia for the second year in a row. Dive ServiceTop research in March 2008 declared Sampo Pank to have the best customer service.

“In making one choice, the Advisory Board of EBS considered relevant Aivar Rehe’s contribution to the development of Sampo Pank and his previous work in the process of putting together and developing a modern organization for the Estonian Tax and Customs Board” said EBS Rector Peeter Kross. “Aivar Rehe is an exceptionally professional and dedicated top manager. Because of the achieved goals and working style make him an outstanding role model for everyone working as a top manager or who would like to become one,” added Peeter Kross.

„Of course it is good feeling to be elected to the circle of such strong business leaders. All managers who have received this award have one thing in common – they have had the courage to change organizations and people. They have foreseen the outcome of their decisions and have been ready to take the consequences. In my work as a manager I have been involved with the private as well as the public sector, but mainly with developments of Estonian banking. I wouldn’t like to emphasize any sector, but we can say that all those managers have actively stood for “Estonian things”,” said Aivar Rehe.

EBS has been making the Business Manager of the Year award since 1991. The title is awarded to people who have created a strong company or group of companies with excellent economic results over the previous two years. Previously the award has been presented to Toomas Annus, Enn Pant, Indrek Neivelt, Allan Martinson, Olari Taal, Meelis Milder, Hannes Tamjärv and others. The title of Business Manager of the Year may be awarded only once.

About EBS
Established in 1988, EBS is the oldest private university in the Baltic States to provide business education. The objective of the school is to provide active and enterprising people with academic knowledge and to develop their skills to successfully implement the knowledge in real life. Over the 20 years of practice, EBS has turned into one of the largest private universities in the Baltic States to provide degrees in business, management and information technology. About 1700 students currently study in EBS. The fact that the business school has partnership contracts with over 60 universities in Europe, America, Australia and Asia enables extensive student and lecturer exchange. For further information please go to www.ebs.ee.

Additional information:
Katrin Heinla
Marketing manager
Estonian Business School
Tel: (+372) 665 1366
Mob: (+372) 529 0710
katrin.heinla@ebs.ee
www.ebs.ee