The team :
Honorary President
Kathleen A. RILEY, Honorary President
US Consul General (Marseille)
Kathleen A. Riley started her career as Vice-Consul in Tangiers (Morocco) in 1984. She then went on and occupied the following postings: Vice-Consul and Political Affairs Attaché (Haïti), Consul in Cairo (Egypt), Head of Washington DC State Algerian Affairs’ Department (USA), Head of Consular Section in Jerusalem (Israel), Head of Observers within the Multinational Observers Force in the Sinaï (Egypt), Consul in Paris and Consul General in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia); before becoming US Consul General in Marseille in September 2008. She has a teaching certificate and read at Reno University (Nevada, USA) where she obtained a double degree in History and Political Science. Kathleen A. Riley speaks French and Egyptian Arabic.
President
William Peterson ( Tel : 04 91 53 70 56)
Attorney (Partner) at Ringlé Roy et Associés (Marseille) and a member of both the Marseille and California Bars - William is French and American. Within the practice, Williams deals particularly in advice and litigation in matters concerning International business, Arbitrage, Installation of foreign companies in France and Corporate Law. William is 49 years old and has a Juris Doctorate in American Law, a diploma in house French Legal Practice and a Masters in French Business & Tax Law. Originally from San Francisco, he started his career as an Attorney in 1987 working in one of the city’s oldest law firms, Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro, before joining Arthur Andersen International in Paris. Mr Peterson is also a lecturer in International Business Law at the Institute of Business Administration & Institute of Business Law (Aix en Provence).
Vice-presidents
Pierre Distinguin (Tel : 04 96 11 60 00)
International Director at Provence Promotion and author of the programme « Home Sweet Home » which was set up to help French expatriates on their return to Provence in creating their business in the High-Tech industry. Pierre is 42 years old and graduated with a Masters in Business Administration from the University of California (San Francisco). He worked as a Foreign Investment Specialist for 2 years at the Trade and Commerce Agency of California and spent 2 years at Ernst & Young working in Audit. On returning to France, Pierre joined Picardie’s Economic Development Agency, before joining Provence Promotion in 1998.
Treasurer
Sabine Oslar-Meynadier (Tel : 04 42 54 67 17 )
Founding director of HiConnect. Sabine is Franco-British and 42 years old. She has been living in France for 25 years and is married with 2 children. Sabine’s educational background is in both finance and in business law. She has a Masters in Business Law from the University of Law of Aix-en-Provence and professional qualifications in finance and accounting. Sabine worked for 12 years at PTC, an American technology company in executive roles in finance, human resources and general management for both France and Europe. In 2006 she founded HiConnect, a company specialised in assisting overseas corporations doing business in France.
Language Apero and Events
Rebecca Penna
Rebecca
is the founder of the company www.refervescence.com where she has combined her skills in training, communication, events design and organisation offering a wide range of services to professionals, working in the English speaking business world.
Rebecca was born in Britain where she lived during her formative years and then settled in Marseille in the early 1990’s after graduating from Sussex University with a degree in Linguistics and French.
She began her career by using her linguistic experience and love of languages to train professionals in business English and then worked for ten years in the field of diplomacy at the British Consulate-General, Marseille, occupying a number of positions including Consular Assistant, IT Systems Administrator, Commercial Assistant and rising to become Commercial Attaché in the position of Vice-Consul (Commercial). She spent a highly rewarding seven years working for the UK’s international trade department “UK Trade & Investment” advising and accompanying British companies develop their activity overseas.
She also works a consultant for Performance Consultants and IBTC delivering training programmes on subjects such as cross-culture communication, the impact of verbal communication and animating successful workshops.
She lives in Marseille with her French husband and young son.
Director
Nancy Walden-Lemaire
Nancy is British and married to a Frenchman, they have two children. She has been in France since 1995 and after graduating started out at the British Embassy in Paris, working as Assistant Presidency Liaison Officer during the French Presidency of the EU. On arriving in Provence in 2003, she decided to turn to the private sector and re-trained in Incoming Tourism before joining the company Découvertes, an incoming travel agency who design and produce luxury tailor-made trips for an American clientele. Nancy also has experience in International Communications having worked in both the Fashion (Lacoste) and Shipping (CMA CGM) industries. She read Modern European Studies at Nottingham Trent University and obtained her TEFL certificate at International House (ILC Paris) in 1997.
Marie-Laure Cohen
Born in Paris, Marie-Laure grew up and studied in a Parisian atmosphere until the age of 35. She moved to Marseille with her family in 2003 for professional reasons and really appreciates the quality of the Provencal way of life.
A Graduate of French Business School, she started work as a consultant in organization and information systems. She was then involved for many years in communication, marketing and advertising, in the field of tourism – specializing in events and incentives.
Marie-Laure is currently training IT students in these areas at the Technopole de Château Gombert (IT School 4im), in Marseille.
Marie-Laure is co-managing director with Nancy Walden for MAABN. She is particularly in charge of the organisation of Marseille events, coordination, logistics and grant requests with CG and CR des Bouches du Rhône.
Nigel Donnelly is an Irish and American citizen. He has spent the past 14 years in San Francisco working in technology and finance industries. As an IT project manager and technical resource, he has installed, configured and supported systems for organisations including the Federal Reserve, Intermedia Partners and JP Morgan Chase. Due to his spouse's posting to Marseille, he left his position at First Republic and is currently improving his French, while seeking business opportunities in the South of France. He is a certified Project Management Professional and a member of the Project Management Institute.
Richard Mackay BOWER
A graduate of London University in Economics and a teacher for several years in a London school, Richard found himself in the late '70s bound for the South of France where he settled permanently.
His career took him through several different aspects of education and management. Running his own business for 10 years (a language and management training consultancy employing 20 people, with a client base throughout the south east of France) provided him with experience in management and the commercial development of a business. This came after several years as a teacher of English language and cross-cultural communication in the Marseille management school and at the Aix-Marseille university.
He was then involved for many years in international higher education with the Euromed Ecole de Management where he ran an international business programme, working with universities throughout North America, Asia and Europe, and developed new international partnerships and alliances. He is currently involved in tourism development with the Marseille Provence Chamber of Commerce.
His special field is the development of interaction between the film industry and tourism, with a particular focus on the promotion of Provence as a film-making region. He is also active in the development of business involvement in the Marseille Provence European Capital of Culture 2013 project.
Pamela Naaman Chaine
Logistics and Finance Manager for Les Rencontres d'Arles, Pamela recently married a Frenchman and moved to the Marseille Region. While she is an American, born in New York City, she was raised in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia where she attended both the French and the American International Schools for nine years. She completed her high school diploma in Princeton, NJ and attended Boston University’s School of Management majoring in International Business and minoring in International Relations. She speaks 4 languages fluently and has lived in 4 different countries between the US, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Her experiences range from product development, transportation and market supply logistics, to project and event planning, communications and global marketing in both the Pharmaceutical and Cosmetic industries.
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