Power Networking Group

The Power Networking Group assists members in reaching out to external businesses, organizations, professional associations, and individuals to foster contacts and improve business leads in an efficient, effective and dynamic setting.

The core committee consists of approximately six to twelve members from diverse professions and industries who meet with other local and regional business associations to leverage contacts, resources, and develop professional relationships.

• Mission Statement         • Calendar & Format           • Members
 

Mission Statement

We believe this program will offer our members an opportunity to introduce themselves to each other, promoting collaboration, business opportunities and the exchange of expertise, information and leads.

The core committee will work to engage a wide variety of individuals from an array of disciplines and host a convivial and fruitful meeting. Other organizations, such as the local European Chambers of Commerce and professional associations, are contacted and invited for an evening of one-on-one discussions. We hope this Power Networking Event will be a worthwhile and quality experience for our members.

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Calendar & Format


The format of each Power Networking Session is to allow the participants to engage in an intense session of networking, while maintaining an intimate and convivial atmosphere. The members of the Chambers pair up and engage in rapid one-on-one 5-minute sessions with the every representative of the other Chamber.

The session is accompanied by refreshments - typically a light appetizer and wine from France.

If your organization would like to partake in a Power Networking Session, please contact  events@faccsf.com. In 2010, the French-American Chamber of Commerce has already organized 3 successful evenings, of which one with the San Francisco Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

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Members

• Theresa Gibbons    Vice-President, Union Bank
Co-Chair

Theresa Gibbons currently works in Global & Wealth Markets, Vendor Risk Management & Information Security with Union Bank (fka Union Bank of California [UBOC]); a privately held investment, commercial, and retail, group of companies under the umbrella of Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi-UFJ of Japan.Formerly with UBOC, she worked as a Contracts Manager negotiating enterprise-wide licensing, software, hardware, consulting and other service contracts. This included advising the bank on sourcing, RFPs, RFIs, due diligence, regulatory compliance, negotiating and executing contracts, as well as ongoing vendor performance monitoring.
 
Previously Ms. Gibbons held compliance management positions with a national mortgage lending company and a local retail bank. Prior to this she negotiated global treasury service product-contracts for Bank of America and UCC Article 9 security/collateral agreements for asset securitizations, and indentures for the capital markets group.

After graduating from Seattle University School of Law, Ms. Gibbons clerked for a judge, was an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Washington, and was in private practice before joining Bank of America in the commercial loan group in Seattle. During her university studies, she attended her junior year abroad at l'Université Aix-Marseille III in Aix-en-Provence and before attending law school she studied for the year at l'Institute Catholique in Paris.

 
Patrick Patterson      FACCSF President

Alain Megias    Attorney, Baker & McKenzie

Alain J. Megias is an associate in the San Francisco office of Baker & McKenzie.  Alain implements and manages the legal aspects of international projects involving restructuring, tax reorganization and internal and external financing. Alain has significant experience working with multinational companies, in particular in the Internet, software, semiconductor, and telecommunication sectors.

Jean-Bernard Duler    Duler & Company

John-Bernard Duler is the founder of Duler & Co., a boutique insurance broker based in the San Francisco Bay area, serving mid-size companies and non-profits throughout the US, with a specific expertise on the US exposures of foreign multinationals and foreign risks of US companies.
Most recently Duler founded Esurance, a direct automobile insurance company. Duler raised $40 million of equity with Silicon Valley venture capital firms and structured a reinsurance transaction / warrants with Berkshire Hathaway. Duler served as Chairman & CEO until he sold Esurance to a large insurance group, and remained a director until January 2002. In 2008 Esurance had revenues of $1.2B and is still growing at 40% per year.
From 1988 to 1998 Duler was an executive with CIGNA Worldwide (now ACE Ltd.). In 1994 Duler was promoted to Vice President and General Manager, West Coast operations, overseeing offices in 11 Western states. Prior to arriving on the West coast, Duler led worldwide marketing, sales, and business development for CIGNA’s Global Risk Management, from the company’s headquarters in Philadelphia, PA.
Before joining CIGNA, Duler served as an engineer and senior underwriter for FM Global, an insurance and risk management firm in the Charlotte, NC office and subsequently in the Continental Europe Headquarters He also served as an executive with AXA, one of the world’s largest financial services company, in a variety of underwriting and actuarial roles.
Duler received a Master of Science in engineering from the Ecole des Mines in France and an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School.
Duler received his Associate in Risk Management designation from the Insurance Institute of America. He is an advisor to the French Ministry of Economy and Finance ("Conseiller du Commerce Exterieur").

 

John-Erick Forge    President, Europacifica

Twenty five years of international experience in the creation, management and reengineering of high technology organizations, ranging from small start-up to large public multinational, companies or divisions of such. Founder and first CEO of three successful companies, and CEO or COO of four other companies operating in various fields ranging from artificial intelligence development to online advertising marketing, communications, and advanced healthcare IT systems.
Dr. Forge is currently Senior Fellow at IG Partners, Vice President Strategy and International at Boma Systems, and President of Euro-Pacifica, an international consulting organization specializing on business development and project management between Europe and the US.

Dr. Forge was previously the first president of MGN Inc., the company that develops and supports the prime commercial websites of the LVMH group, including eluxury.com, sephora.com and DeBeers.com.
In 1993 Dr. Forge founded Kensoft, Inc. Among the customers Dr. Forge was involved with were very large organizations like SITA-Equant (Paris, France), Thomson-CSF (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia). Smaller customers include Broadvision (Mexico City, Mexico),  3Net (Sacramento, California), HSDC (Oakland, California).
From 1981 to 1986, Dr. Forge was COO of ExperTelligence Inc., based in Santa Barbara, CA. The company was the first one to develop artificial intelligence products for the Apple Macintosh: a Lisp compiler and a series of expert systems which were used by companies and agencies like US West, Lockheed, NASA, CIA etc.

 

Ronald Kravitz    Liner Yankelevitz sunshine & Regenstreif LLP

Ronald S. Kravitz is a partner in the San Francisco office of Liner Yankelevitz Sunshine & Regenstreif LLP. He is a co-chair of the Civil Procedure sub-committee of the ABA Employee Benefits Committee and a chapter editor for the ABA publication Employee Benefits Law. Mr. Kravitz received his J.D. from Temple University School of Law in 1986 and began his legal career as an Attorney Advisor for the U.S. Department of Justice. With more than 20 years of experience as legal counsel in complex business litigation matters, his practice has been focused primarily on ERISA, employment, intellectual property, and securities-related matters since 1992. He has represented numerous fiduciaries, third-party plan administrators, broker-dealers, and registered representatives in connection with plan administration and investment matters. Mr. Kravitz has served as lead or co-lead class counsel in numerous ERISA class actions throughout the country.

Francine Kuipers    CEO, Accent on Languages

Francine Kuipers  is the founder and principal of Accent on Languages in Berkeley  and Berkeley Language Institute. She is accredited  by the French Consulate.
Accent on Languages provides translation and interpreting services in 120 languages
Berkeley Language institute offers language and cultural training as well as workshops for students who wish to become translators and/or interpreters

 

Mary Paige Koch    Interior Design and Décoration

Principal at Paige Koch Interior Design and Decoration  (fka European Décor) since 1988, Paige  established and built a residential design business in both France and California.  Her clients come from many countries including Milano, London, Hong Kong, Senegal, and especially Paris.  This International base gives Paige a unique perspective and sensitivity to design and to her clients’ desires.   Her capability and responsibility for the formulation, planning, and execution of budget, design, and scheduled timelines have gained Paige a solid and loyal following both here in California and in the international community.  She has also created and/or participated in sharing networks between artisans, craftsmen, architects, manufactures, antique dealers, and showrooms in North America, Peru, Indonesia, Ireland, Great Britain, Central Europe, Greece, and Africa.  Paige’s projects have included Pied-a-Terres, Weekend Homes, Estates, and City Dwellings.  Her work has been published nationally and locally.  As her business grew, Paige could also pursue her love of the French culture as well as language. 
Prior to establishing her design practice, Paige worked for the Wiseman Group which is considered one of the leading design firms in the Unites States.  Here she was charged with one other colleague on the design of four residences for a private client.

Jack Shandle    eContentworks

Jack Shandle's 25-year writing career has spanned newspapers, magazines and corporate publications. As journalist, he has been an award-winning feature writer for the largest suburban daily in the Philadelphia metro region; the chief editor of the industry-leading trade publication for electronics engineers; and, the chief editor of a pioneering web site for engineers.
Since starting his freelance business in 2002, Jack has written hundreds of case studies, white papers, conference papers, contributed articles, web pages, and marketing copy for dozens of companies including Cisco Systems, Texas Instruments, Philips, Micron, Applied Materials, and PriceWaterhouse Coopers.
A Philadelphia native, Jack holds a Master's Degree in Journalism from Temple University and a Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. He lives in San Francisco and enjoys hiking, snowshoeing and European travel.

Chloé Soroquère  SVP Marketing, Vera Vista Solutions, LLC

Vera Vista Solutions, LLC provides management consulting services to entities operating in a wide range of sectors, and has particular expertise with financial services institutions, service and retail companies, philanthropic and community organizations, and colleges and universities. We lead projects of all sizes, from working with an entire company, division, department or site, to projects with a single focus such as, for example, expense reduction, marketing strategy, branding, customer service, or corporate culture.
Prior to Vera Vista Solutions, Chloe was a Fortune 500 executive with over 25 years of marketing and business development expertise and experience in consumer banking, financial services and student loan industries. Chloe’s management career includes key senior positions with firms such as wells Fargo Bank and Fleet Bank. Chloe also has entrepreneurial, start-up and change management experience, using her expertise to build small and mid sized businesses.
Chloe has a proven track record of increasing sales, reducing costs, enhancing corporate image while supporting sustainable business practices, and streamlining operations in a wide range of situations.
Last but not least, Chloe is skilled in all areas of executive management, including developing new teams, managing change, creating innovative marketing and advertising campaigns, and expanding into new markets. She possesses strong P&L experience and has consistently exceeded company objectives, achieving double digit gains in revenues and profits.

Greg Lartilleux   Avenir Mortgage Planners

He has been a Mortgage Consultant since August 2002 and has enjoyed every single minute of it. The relationships he has formed with clients, business partners, and associates are the most important part of his daily business. He has a deep commitment to consistently living up to his word, and giving those relationships the attention and dedication they deserve.

Greg ranks amongst the most highly qualified and ethical professionals in the lending industry as he achieved the elite CMPS (Certified Mortgage Planning Specialist) certification in April 2007.

Patrick Giacomini Director of Product Marketing, TheGreenBow

According to partners such as solution makers, integrators and end-users, computer security requires strong, efficient technology... but fine state-of-the-art technology is not enough. User-friendliness of the programs is at least as important : we all know that complex or heavy solutions are rejected by the user, and worse : can be improperly configured, which would jeopardise the user's data.
 

Eric Hoechstetter  VP, Legal Affairs, SciClone Pharmaceuticals

Eric J. Hoechstetter Eric J. Hoechstetter has served as Vice President, Legal Affairs since October 2007. Mr. Hoechstetter has 16 years of legal experience, principally international. Prior to joining SciClone, from 2003 to 2006 he was Senior Corporate Counsel at Chiron Corporation's UK headquarters and oversaw all legal affairs of the Biopharmaceutical Division's European activities and the company's corporate governance activities ex-United States. From 1995 to 2003, he worked in Europe for three communications companies, Wanadoo S.A., Level (3) Communications Ltd., and Global One Communications S.A. He began his legal career at White and Case in New York, where he worked from 1990 to 1994. Mr. Hoechstetter received his J.D. degree from Columbia University School of Law and his B.A. degree in Business Administration from University of Michigan. He is a member of the New York bar. A native English speaker, Mr. Hoechstetter also speaks German, French and basic Spanish.
 

Eva Voisin    President & CEO, Law Offices of Eva Voisin & Associates

Eva E. Voisin Esq Attorney at Law, has been providing legal advice to the international business community since 1978. Her law firm has two international offices: one in the San Francisco Bay Area USA, and one in the heart of Paris, France.

Mrs. Voisin works within the corporation to ensure that your employees are able to work legally in the United States, and has many clients in the import, export, trade, science and high-technology fields.

 



The French-American Chamber of Commerce of San Francisco thanks its Benefactor Member: Barclais USA
 

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