Awkward Candor in Helsinki (Seattle Forward)

May 21, 2008

Awkward Candor in Helsinki

Last night at dinner, Jukka Hienonen, CEO of Finnair, gave a speech to our delegation from Seattle about the future of Finland's national airline (55.6% owned by the Finnish government) and their expansion plans for Asia. The dinner and Hienonen's talk were sponsored by Boeing.

The awkward moment came when Hienonen described Finnair's recent purchase of Airbus planes and then went on to explain why they didn't chose Boeing aircraft (primarily price and fuel efficiency issues). The room became very silent; at least 12 Boeing executives were in the room. But, Hienonen's candor was appreciated and Boeing representatives made it clear they would never give up their sales efforts. Congratulations to Boeing for inviting Hienonen to be the keynote speaker despite losing the latest sales round.

This photo shows Bryce Seidl, president and CEO of Pacific Science Center, along with his counterpart at the Finnish Science Center (left), and Mayor Juhani Paajanen of Vantaa, the Helsinki suburb where last night's dinner was held.

Posted by Tim Burgess on May 21, 2008 at 09:19 PM in Current Affairs, Environment, Public Safety, Transportation | Permalink

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Burgess Bookshelf

Snyder, Timothy: Our Malady: Lessons in Liberty from a Hospital Diary
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Putnam, Robert D.: The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again
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Sacks, Jonathan: Morality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times
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Epstein, David: Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World
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McCaulley, Esau: Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope
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