Co-Honorary President
Philip J. RICHARDS – US Consul (Marseille)
After a military career which spanded 26 years and six countries, Philip Richards joined the U.S. Department of State starting his diplomatic career as Vice-Consul in Bridgetown (Barbados) in 2001. He then went on to be the General Services Officer and Political Officer in Brussels (Belgium), and Consul in Manama (Bahrain), before becoming US Consul in Marseille in August 2009. He considers New York his home having done his studies at City University of New York. During his spare time he likes to read works by Alexandre Dumas. He speaks French and a bit of Spanish and Arabic.
Co-Honorary President
Simon Taylor - British Consul (Marseille)
Unlike his illustrious colleagues on this page, Simon Taylor’s first job was in the mailroom of the British Embassy in Paris. He then, more through luck than diligence, moved on to a number of other jobs including a stint in the Visa section. His last job at the Embassy was Vice-Consul in charge of the large passport issuing operation. He was appointed British Consul in Marseille in 2007. Originally from Liverpool where he was educated, Simon went on to study fine art with very limited success, but he still enjoys dabbling in Sunday afternoon painting. Simon speaks English, French, and Scouse.
President
William Peterson
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, William 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 Master’s 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. William is also a lecturer in international business law at the Institute of Business Administration & Institute of Business Law (Aix en Provence).
Tel : 04 91 53 70 56 – E-mail: w.peterson@avocatline.com
Vice-President, Treasurer
Pascal Agostini
Pascal Agostini graduated from ESSEC in 1973 and is a chartered accountant with a PhD in Econometrics.
Pascal has held senior positions in numerous major groups with subsidiaries in France and around the world, including Bouygues. He has also worked as audit manager in the industrial and financial sectors (Matra, KPMG) and as group controller for Jacques Borel International. Later in his career, he held the post of corporate manager at La Louque Management, specialising in restructuring and turning around small companies.
Although he officially retired in 2009, he currently works as professional and educational adviser in charge of the Real Estate Management and Planning Policies Master’s programme at Euromed Management. He is also a non-executive director of the Puyricard Group.
Pascal is a connoisseur of cigars and whiskies. He loves travelling, golf, and music (classical, jazz and opera).
Vice-President
Pierre Distinguin
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.
Tel : 04 96 11 60 00 – E-mail: p.distinguin@yahoo.fr
Vice-President – British Relations
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 School of 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.
E-mail : richard.bower@ccimp.com
Vice-President, Sponsor Relations & Development
Daniel Eisenberg
Daniel is from California and has a dual American/French nationality. He is married and has two children. He has lived and worked in France for the past ten years. After completing his studies at the University of California, Davis, Daniel began his career on the East Coast of America in logistics and operations. He was involved in the opening and operations of several international warehousing centers. He then moved back to California to work in customer service, quality and logistics before being sent to France in 2000 by an American multi-national (Rain Bird Sprinkler Corp.). As Europe General Manager, Daniel oversaw profitable and strong growth (doubling sales in a five year period) of a $100,000k/year division composed of seven companies located in five different European countries with sales in 43 countries. Based on this experience, in 2009, Daniel founded DP Worldwide. DP Worldwide is specialized in strategic planning and international business development, helping companies of today prepare for the challenges of tomorrow and to develop their potential.
E-mail : danielw.eisenberg@orange.fr
Event Coordinator
Rebecca Penna
Rebecca is the founder of Refervescence (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.
E-mail: Rebecca.penna@refervescence.com
Sponsor Relations
Rebecca White
Rebecca is British and studied at the University of Bristol, UK, started working in Sales & Marketing for Pirelli UK and later got heavily involved in the dot com boom in London creating the initial internet & mobile phone offerings for some of the UK’s largest High Street Chains before leaving the UK to start her MBA at CSU, Fresno where she studied Entrepreneurship & Innovation and later worked on campus for the CSU,Fresno Business School creating a Program that connected Graduate Students with the local business community. She is an avid follower of new technology, and reader of business books. Her professional interest and expertise remains in the online field, having launched http://www.theprettycompany.com as the UK’s distributor for an American line of maternity wear. She loves connecting people and discussing new ideas. She moved to Provence with her husband and 2 young sons after 5 years in California, USA in 2007.
E-mail: becks.white@orange.fr
François Coulomb
In charge of Quality Management and support to the Communication Department and the team of project managers at Provence Promotion, François graduated in Applied Marketing from the Institut d’Administration des Entreprises of Aix-en-Provence. Previously Marketing Manager, he has 20 years of experience in economic development with 3 different economic development agencies. He has worked notably with foreign companies coming mostly from North-America and travelled to Northern Europe and North-America in order to promote the Provence Region at major international trade shows. Over the years, he has developed a strong interest in cross-cultural issues
Communications
Pascale Gauthier-Keogh
Pascale is currently Regional political and public affairs officer at the British Consulate in Marseille. A specialist in “public diplomacy” she has been promoting the image of the UK and has also worked on bilateral collaboration projects for the past 10 years. She has been organising official visits and events for British officials and has facilitated contacts with local high-profile players and the media locally. Among her wide network of contacts, she has also worked with the Franco-British Chamber of Commerce in France.
In her capacity as Pro Consul, Pascale has also been assisting numerous British nationals in difficulty – tourists and residents alike. Before then, after obtaining a B.A. Hons in French & English at the University of London, she taught French at the French Institute as well as in well established companies in the City of London. When she returned to Provence, she worked as a Clinical Research Assistant for a big US pharmaceutical company, organised medical congresses, and also worked as an English teacher and translator in the some of the largest companies in the region. She has a French/Irish daughter.
MAABN represents
