ZAZA TIMBER group of companies specialize in timber building design and construction, as well as in manufacturing large-format glued laminated timber structures for buildings and bridges. The company works with international projects mostly.Responsibilities:- Marketing and Communications strategy and positioning;- Creation of a new corporate brand, ZAZA TIMBER , common for all three companies (Former names: IKTK, Rodentia, Igate Būve. These companies sought to create a new brand name for international growth)- Creation and maintainance of a website- Implementing the new brand platform across a range of internal and external touchpoints- Introducing and maintaining proactive and segmented approach to media relations and social media- Creating brand awareness and increasing the number of sales leads in target markets with digital marketing- Establish brand visibility and aid sales leads via participation in international construcion fairs (Bygg Reis Deg, Nordbygg, Forum Holzbau International)

Helping the management board with events, media and stakeholder communications, research, publications and other projects.

Responsibilities:• Leading a team of 19 in 3 countries.• Corporate communications and brand management.• B2C and B2B Marketing communications for cards and NFC payment wearables, mobile app, lending, private banking, business banking, and fintech initiatives.• Management of an annual budget of 3.5 M euros. • Directing the creation of strategy, budgeting, planning, execution, and evaluation.• Fields: branding, web and digital developments, social media, advertising, events, issues and crisis, media, internal and client communications, market research, brand ambassadors.Accomplishments:✅ Improved marketing efficiency contributing to 34M euro net profit in 2018 through implementing data data-driven marketing approach and advertising campaigns.✅ Achieved outstanding bank's reputation during the upheaval in the Latvian financial sector in 2018; managed issues and crises successfully.✅ Increased the number of digital applications for payment cards by 311% y-o-y by introducing a data-driven marketing, improving website UX&UI, and the management of behavior-based digital ads.✅ Increased corporate brand equity by introducing a designated brand management function and revitalizing the corporate brand: developing (jointly with Danish branding agency CO/PLUS) and implementing a new brand platform across multiple digital and physical touchpoints.✅ Distinguished card products by creating an X-card brand platform and implementing it on the web, in social media, in communications, advertising, sales. ✅ Achieved the NPS growth by 16 index points by designating client communications as a new function, creating a standard, and attaining consistent, coherent, client-centric and brand-aligned communications across all digital touchpoints.✅ Championed client-centricity by initiating and organizing qualitative and quantitative brand, reputation, NPS, and product research.✅ Brought to the market a flagship product X Smart; from product development to communication.

Responsibilities:• External corporate and product communications, and employee communications.• Leading a team of 5 in two countries.• Directing creation of strategy, budgeting, planning, execution, evaluation.• Investment and control of an annual budget of 450,000 euros.• Fields: media relationships, issues and crisis management, internal communications, brand ambassadors, corporate and sales events, CSR.Major accomplishments:✅ In employee communications, increased employee identification with the company and emotional commitment to the company by (a) extensively employing multimedia, using videos, VR, music, and storytelling, (b) creating a highly energized pan-Baltic town-halls to communicate Strategy, Goals, and Change, (c) improving message relevance, trust, and comprehension, (d) organizing social events with high engagement and positive emotions.✅ Externally, achieved a major improvement in Citadele’s reputation by accelerating messages of reliability, growth. Citadele’s ranking in Latvia ascended from #6 in 2015 to #3 in 2018 in two key metrics: Perception of Bank Stability & Reliability, and Service Convenience & Favorability. ✅ Boosted preference to the bank among SME segment customers: elevated Citadele’s ranking from #3 in 2015 to #2 in 2019 in two major metrics: Understanding the needs of SMEs, and Being forthcoming in lending, by resolutely doubling Citadele’s share of earned voice in the “Financing to Businesses” topic, and by setting up a visible, visually appealing, and engaging presence of the bank in numerous national and regional business events.✅ Differentiated the bank by signing-up world-class brand ambassadors: the NBA star Kristaps Porziņģis and the French Open 2017 winner Elena Ostapenko; organized joint CSR events & digital initiatives to augment these brand associations.

Responsibilities:• Strategy, planning, and execution.• Leading a team of two in one country.• Managing pan-Baltic communication projects.• Investment of an annual budget of 120 000 euros.• Media communications, web and digital, client relations, event management, B2B marketing, lobbying, CSR, education and community initiatives.• Areas: Reputation management, brand recognition, B2B, and B2C business development.Major accomplishments:✅ Increased the visibility and reputation of the company and management board members, and enhanced the companies’ relations with a wide stakeholder base. Although a small company by headcount, in 2011 NASDAQ OMX Riga entered the annual Nords Porter Novelli Reputation Ranking of 150 companies with the best reputation in Latvia. ✅ Created high awareness of the stock exchange listing opportunities among companies and corporate finance intermediaries. ✅ Increased retail investors’ awareness of investment opportunities in the Baltic market through corporate website development, creation of the community website, other digital content creation, digital storytelling, investor events, and creating joint campaigns with distribution channel members – banks.✅ Following NASDAQ’s takeover of OMX, achieved high recognition and appeal for the Nasdaq brand in Latvia.

Serviced clients from the pharmaceutical sector, real estate, capital markets, life insurance (unit-linked), insurance, utilities, and retail chains (Novartis, Dalkia Latvia, Balta, Latio, Tango Projekts, Juraslicis, Riga Stock Exchange, Balta Dziviba (now SEB Life Insurance)).Areas of service: crisis communications, media relations, communications strategy, communications audit, media training, issues management, lobbying, cutsomer advocacy, event management, brand building, client events, communication audit.

Major accomplishments:- As producer of the 5th, 6th and 7th International Ice Sculpture Festival and traveling ice sculpture exhibition Āris turned Jelgava Ice Sculpture Festival into an international event by ensuring participation of top-tier sculptors from around the world, the creation of larger size sculptures from multiple ice blocks, and by elevating festival’s profile in the media. This lead to a higher number of visitors and an increase in regional tourism during the winter in Jelgava. - In the Milk, Bread, and Honey Festival Āris initiated and established the annual parade and race of extraordinary boats built exclusively from empty milk cartoons that pull in large audiences from all over the country and are extensively covered by the mass media. The event has now become a hallmark of the festival and puts the town on the regional tourism map in the summer.

Produced a feature film and a documentary.