The Yale School of Management names six Icelandic businesses on its list of companies still doing business in Russia, but RÚV reports that three of them have no presence or operations in Russia at all, and one never did in the first place. Attempts have been made to contact the manager of the Yale list, a professor and dean at the university, to make appropriate corrections, but these attempts have not been successful.
Failing grades
The list, simply dubbed “Yale CELI List of Companies” (CELI stands for Chief Executive Leadership Institute”) was started on February 28, days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Since then, the responses of over 1,200 companies regarding their presence and business activities in Russia have been tracked by Professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and the Yale Research Team. “Originally a simple ‘withdraw’ vs. ‘remain’ list,” reads the preface, “our list of companies now consists of five categories—graded on a school-style letter grade scale of A-F for the completeness of withdrawal.”
The CELI list is said to be “updated continuously.” As of July 8, 2022, its headline read “Over 1,000 Companies Have Curtailed Operations in Russia—But Some Remain.” As of that time, six Icelandic companies were included on the list. Three of these—Hampiðjan, Knarr Maritime, and Sæplast—were given a grade of F, “Digging In: Defying Demands for Exit or Reduction of Activities.” Two other Icelandic companies—Marel and Naust Marine—were graded D, “Buying Time: Holding Off New Investments/Development” and one, Eimskip, was graded C, “Scaling Back: Reducing Current Operations.”
No operations in Russia, but still on the list
RÚV contacted the public relations officer for the shipping company Eimskip, who said the company had ceased sailing to Russia right after the invasion and moreover, had not had any operations in the country since 2019, when it closed its Russian office. The PR officer said that Eimskip has attempted to contact Prof. Sonnenfeld to correct its record without success.
According to the Yale list, Knarr Maritime, has “members still operating in Russia.” RÚV reports, however, that the company closed its office in Russia two years ago and no longer has any operations there.
Sæplast, a company that designs and manufactures insulated tubs and pallets for use in the fishing industry, issued a statement on its website on Thursday, saying that it has no operations in Russia, and never has. “The company has no office in Russia and no employee works there,” reads the statement. “Sæplast sold tubs to Russia for many years, either directly or through agents and/or independent distributors, but since Russia invaded Ukraine, no products have been sold there or delivered from Sæplast to the Russian market. Allegations about Sæplast’s operations and trade with Russia are therefore incorrect.”
According to Sæplast general manager Daði Valdimarsson, the company has attempted to convey this information to the managers of the Yale list but has had no success. Sæplast has also been in touch with the Embassy of Ukraine to Iceland (located in Finland) via the Iceland Chamber of Commerce.
Still have offices in Russia
Naust Marine is one of two Icelandic companies given a D grade, meaning that they’ve paused but not ceased operations in Russia. Four years ago, Naust Marine signed a major deal to sell electric winches to Russia for use on its trawlers. General Manager Bjarni Þór Gunnlaugsson told RÚV the deal is at a complete standstill, but it’s unclear what that means for future operations.
Fellow D recipient Marel, a food processing company, published a statement on its website on March 9, saying that it “strongly condemns the military actions of the Russian government in Ukraine” and that it had “taken the decision to pause all new projects in Russia.” The statement continued by saying that Marel has a sales and service operation in Russia, and employees 70 people. It will “continue to prioritize the safety and wellbeing of our employees” and “maintain our dedicated teams in the Ukraine and Russia and our office in Russia, despite expected lower utilization in the near future.” The statement also added that “Marel’s annual revenues and order book in Russia and Ukraine amount to approximately 4% of total.”
RÚV was unable to speak to management at fishing manufacturer Hampiðjan, as they were apparently all attending a meeting on Friday. The company has an office in Murmansk, Russia. At time of writing, there was no information on Hampiðjan’s website indicating whether the Murmansk office is still operational, or if the its business activities in Russia have changed at all since the invasion of Ukraine.
