CEPA Honors 2026 — Honorees

Photo: Office of the President of Finland

Global Impact Award

H.E. Alexander Stubb

President Republic of Finland

Recognized for Extraordinary contributions to international security and prosperity.

Cai-Göran Alexander Stubb (b. 1 April 1968) is the 13th President of the Republic of Finland. His inauguration took place on 1 March 2024.

During his career, Alexander Stubb has been appointed Member of the European Parliament, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland, Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade of Finland, Prime Minister of Finland, and Finance Minister of Finland, representing the National Coalition Party. He was also Chairman of the National Coalition Party from 2014 to 2016.

Before his election as President of the Republic, Stubb was director and professor of the School of Transnational Governance at the European University Institute. Stubb is an enthusiastic friend of sports and literature.

Photo: Ericsson

Global Impact Award

Börje Ekholm

President & CEO Ericsson Group

Recognized for Driving impact in innovation.

Börje Ekholm is President and CEO of the Ericsson Group, a role he assumed on January 16, 2017. He knows the company and the industry well after being a Board member of Ericsson since 2006.

Most recently, Ekholm was CEO of Patricia Industries, a division within Investor AB (2015–January 15, 2017). Prior to assuming this position in 2015, he was President and CEO of Investor AB between 2005 and 2015. Previous positions also include Head of New Investments and President of Investor Growth Capital Inc. Ekholm has had various positions at Novare Kapital AB and McKinsey & Co Inc.

Börje Ekholm holds a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, as well as a Master of Business Administration, from INSEAD, France.

He is a board member of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson and Trimble Inc. Ekholm is also Member of the Board of the Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce New York. Since 2017, Member of the Steering Committee of the World Economic Forum Digital Communication Governors. Holds Honorary Doctorate at The Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden.

Photo: Associated Press

Freedom Fighter Award

Mstyslav Chernov

Academy Award–winning Documentary Filmmaker “20 Days in Mariupol” & “2,000 Meters to Andriivka”

Recognized for Exceptional commitment to freedom in the face of authoritarianism.

Mstyslav Chernov is an Academy Award, BAFTA, and Pulitzer Prize–winning director, war correspondent, and novelist.

His films, including 20 Days in Mariupol and 2000 Meters to Andriivka, premiered at Sundance and received honors from the Directors Guild of America, the Writers Guild of America, and the American Society of Cinematographers — a rare recognition across directing, writing, and visual storytelling.

PHOTO: LOGISTICS PLUS, INC.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Jim Berlin

Founder & Chairman Logistics Plus, Inc.

Recognized for A lifetime commitment to global peace and security.

Jim Berlin is the Founder and Chairman of Logistics Plus, Inc. A New York City native and University of Buffalo graduate, he spent the first two decades of his career in the less-than-truckload trucking industry as a driver, dockworker, and terminal manager, most of that time at TNT/USF Red Star.

In 1996, Berlin founded Logistics Plus with three employees and a single $120,000 purchase order to manage inbound transportation for GE Transportation. That contract grew into a worldwide supply chain partnership now serving more than 2,000 customers across industries.

Today, Logistics Plus® generates nearly $1 billion in annual global revenue and employs nearly 2,000 people across 55+ countries. The company has been recognized by Inc. magazine as one of the fastest-growing private companies 10 times, certified as a Great Place to Work® for the past 9 years, and named one of the industry's top logistics companies by Global Trade, Multichannel Merchant, and Inbound Logistics, among others.

Berlin has invested heavily in the revitalization of downtown Erie, Pennsylvania, including the restoration of the city's historic Union Station as the company's global headquarters — its flags representing every employee nationality, now an icon of the firm. EY named him Western Pennsylvania's Entrepreneur of the Year in 2004 and inducted him into the EY Entrepreneur of the Year World Hall of Fame in 2005. He also serves on the Business Advisory Council for the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and is a founding member of the G-7 Governments' Business Advisory Council for Ukraine. In 2026, Jim transitioned from CEO to Chairman and remains actively engaged in the company's strategic direction, its longstanding support for Ukraine, and civic initiatives in Erie.