By Invitation only, European Business Services Association and CCIFP Paris is organizing an afternoon 3-hour Executive Briefing, followed by WineTasting reception, for CFOs and CIOs of France-based corporates who are keen to expand their IT, tech or F&A human resources, via sourcing with partners in Poland, or setting up their own captive Shared-services organization.

Global demand is growing for highly-qualified tech, engineering, and other white-collar (finance and accounting) talent. For French mid-sized and large corporates searching for additional, high-quality of ITO or BPO/Shared Services, or simply would like to hear from top French executives running operations in Poland, join us as we review case studies of the sourcing and offshoring model.

This seminar will explore the nitty-gritty, unvarnished ins-and-outs of French companies operating in Poland and opportunities with building your own captive shared services center (or ITO) in Poland, versus starting with an offshoring partner.

Details here.

The 1st annual Vilnius Business Services Charity Beach Volleyball Tournament took place 20 June 2024 at Delfi Sports Center in Vilnius. 8 teams competed in this first year.

1st place went to NASDAQ, 2nd place Telia Global Services Lithuania, and 3rd place to Citco. Justina Kasiuleviciute from Cencora won the “Top Female Player” Trophy; Cognizant (with nearly an all-female team) won “Best Attitude Team” Trophy; Invest Lithuania won the “Best of the Rest” Trophy and Dexcom won Trophy for “Top Cheerleading Support”. NASDAQ's chosen charity „Lietuvos Junior Achievement“ gets a cash donation as the Winning-Team's charity.

The Vilnius tournament was the 2nd of 6 Tournaments during this summer, with Gdansk next week on 27 June, then closing the summer days with Krakow 28 August, Warsaw 29 August, and Bucharest 12 September.


Hundreds of photos from Vilnius here on Facebook

Amazon Games today announced it has opened a new game development studio in Europe, based in Bucharest, Romania. The studio expands our commitment to developing and publishing games as it joins the ranks of existing development teams in Orange County, Montreal, San Diego, and Seattle. The new studio will focus on supporting Amazon Games’ diverse portfolio of games now and in the future.
“Amazon Games is focused on developing and publishing great games, and we have an ambitious long-term roadmap in front of us,” said Christoph Hartmann, VP of Amazon Games. “Expanding our internal development teams into Europe was a natural next step for us as we tackle our broad portfolio. Bucharest is known as one of the top emerging European cities for game development and we look forward to tapping into the rich talent pool.”

Amazon Games has hired industry veteran Cristian Pana to lead the new studio in Bucharest. Cristian brings more than 20 years of experience building video games, most recently serving as the Managing Director at Ubisoft Bucharest. His experience spans some of the industry’s biggest games and franchises - including Tom Clancy’s The Division, The Crew, Far Cry, and Avatar - and diverse genres including driving games, action adventure open world games, and other role-playing games (RPGs).

“I’m thrilled to join Amazon Games at a time when the team is actively building across an exciting roadmap,” said Cristian. “I’ve built and led outstanding teams in the past and I know this area of Europe is a hot spot for some of the very best talent in gaming.”
The new studio supports Amazon Games’ vision of developing and publishing games that foster community in and around its games. The expanding portfolio from Amazon Games includes two launched live-service games, New World and Lost Ark, announced projects including Tomb Raider, The Lord of the Rings, and Throne and Liberty, as well as unannounced projects from our San Diego and Montreal studios, and the independent studio Glowmade in the UK.

Amazon Games is hiring across a variety of disciplines, and key open positions at the new Bucharest studio include Software Developers, Artists, Designers, and Animators.

Hapag-Lloyd, one of the global leaders in maritime logistics, will hire 100 specialists by the end of the year. This team expansion is related to the development of processes handled at the Gdańsk branch and the pioneering tool for tracking container locations.

During the event held on May 23 at Hapag-Lloyd’s Gdańsk office, the company summarized four years of operation and announced future development plans. The latest technological solution, Live Position, was also presented, created by an international team of experts with significant contributions from the Gdańsk Knowledge Center team.

Developing and implementing modern technologies by Hapag-Lloyd is crucial to maintaining competitiveness and staying at the forefront of the industry. Part of this strategy was the establishment of the Knowledge Center in Gdańsk – the company’s first investment of such kind. Specialists employed at the Gdańsk branch focus on developing and testing new ideas and cutting-edge solutions.

– It is worth noting that the solutions developed in Gdańsk by Hapag-Lloyd require high competencies. I am pleased that our local labor market offers specialists with such skills, and that the region provides infrastructure that meets the needs of a global company – said Mieczysław Struk, Marshal of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. – The presence of such companies in the region is also the result of investor support through local government initiatives like Invest in Pomerania coordinated by the Pomeranian Development Agency – added the Marshal.

Hapag-Lloyd has been operating in the region for many years. Programmers employed here can draw on the practical knowledge of the logistics and maritime staff when developing internal processes and innovative functionalities for external customers.
– The combination of experienced logisticians, ship crews, and technology experts enables us to continuously strengthen our position among global transport leaders. We create solutions dedicated both to our customers—with over 20 proprietary external products in our portfolio—and for over 15,000 of our employees worldwide. The strength of our Tricity crew lies in its diversity—we have varied teams where people with different experiences, educational backgrounds, and cultural perspectives form a strong team that shapes the reality and future of global business – said Adam Sikorski, Site Lead at Hapag-Lloyd Knowledge Center.

A Revolution in Maritime Logistics
At the event, Donya-Florence Amer, a member of the Executive Board of Hapag-Lloyd AG, presented the company’s latest project, Live Position. This is the world’s first tracking application designed for cargo scale, setting new standards for container management and cargo tracking. It meets the needs of both corporate and individual customers. Its operation can be compared to tracking parcels by popular courier companies, but it is built on smart IoT devices:
– Our smart container fleet takes tracking to a new level: Live Position allows our customers to track the container in real-time throughout the journey. Data is refreshed every fifteen minutes. From ship to rail to truck – they benefit from full visibility regardless of the mode of transport used. This provides a unique opportunity to coordinate cargo precisely and plan the logistics process to increase its efficiency, saving our customers time and money. Moreover, it is a significant step forward in cargo security – commented Donya-Florence Amer.

The Gdańsk team had a significant role in the Live Position project, being responsible for creating the interface and functionalities for the web application users and conducting a six-month testing phase.

The 3rd annual Budapest BSC Charity Beach Volleyball Tournament took place 6 June 2024 at Lupa Beach in Budapest. This year, we were lucky with wonderful weather: sunny and hot.

1st place went to Process Solutions, 2nd place Grundfos Shared Services, and 3rd place to Albemarle Magyarorszag. Wiktoria Bela from Eaton took the “Top Female Player” Trophy; Tesco Business Solutions won “Best Attitude Team” Trophy; IFF won the “Best of the Rest” Trophy and Eaton Business Services won Trophy for “Top Cheerleading Support”!

The Budapest tournament was the 1st of 6 Tournaments during this summer, with next cities coming soon:

• Vilnius 20 June
  
• Gdansk 27 June
  
• Krakow 28 August
  
• Warsaw 29 August
  
• Bucharest 12 September
  

Registration for next cities can be done here.

Hundreds of photos from Budapest here.