Club of France Events

On Wednesday, April 14, a group of alumni of GU as well as other US alumni clubs in France gathered in both the office of Dentons, hosted by Board member Pascal Chadenet, and on Zoom to listen to a discussion about the future of sustainable finance. The speakers included Élie Hériard-Dubreuil, CEO, EthiFinance, Thomas Pellerin, IFC, World Bank Group, & former club officer and Thomas Roulland, Director, Head of Sustainability Methodologies & Analytics at Allianz Global Investors. Moderated by William Holmberg, for more than an hour we first defined and presented ways to measure sustainability in finance, affecting both portfolios and the ‘real world’, and covered a range of applications, from the disparity of sustainability ratings by the agencies and what that means for the industry and companies, the role of ratings agencies, development banks and asset managers in sustainable investing and finally some examples of how to consider sustainability as both an investor and from a societal perspective with examples ranging from how to reconcile increasing coal extraction while trying to mitigate climate change to the ‘case study’ of Amazon. Overall, a great event with physical and virtual participation on a broadly appealing topic not just for finance and investment professionals.

The club officers, including Sam Sanders, Intl club rep for the Alumni Association and other members joined a Zoom call to discuss a range of topics related to preparing for the next academic year and programming for the club in France. The president and officers reviewed the presentation covering last years activities, plans and options for the next 12 months as well as reviewing the club’s financial resources and a few specific topics, notable events by AUC, the umbrella organisation for US clubs in France.

Click here for the replay of the Zoom meeting (apx 30mins) and here for the meeting minutes

Taking place on a private terrace in the Bastille neighborhood, 17 alumni from various Georgetown programs/ schools gathered together for the first in-person social event of the year. Over mediterranean food and drinks, we exchanged memories, plans, reasons for being in France, ideas for future events and more.

The event was led by three panel speakers:

• Erica Berencsi C’04, Labor and Employment Attorney at Valiant Integrated Services
• Alexandre Roumieu, Partner, Factorhy Avocats
• Pauline Pierce, Partner, Squire Patton Boggs

The panel aims to address the following topics:

• Comparing and contrasting the employment cycle in France versus the United States & some other neighboring countries.
• Remote work possibilities
• Some case studies and best practice examples of ‘what to do’ and ‘what not to do’ on certain subjects
• Some practical advice for ex-pats looking to work, changing jobs, moving countries & related considerations

View the event slides.

Bruno Stagno Ugarte (SFS’91) led a talk on human rights from the point of view of recent  policies and responses by both the Biden & Macron administrations He evaluated both countries policies citing many examples  and shared his perspectives on current and evolving policies and their impacts.The event was promoted to all European GU clubs as well as Princeton Club as the speaker is an alumnus from there as well. It was an interactive call as many attendees had relevant perspectives and personal experiences to share and discuss

Click here for the replay (apx  hour)

Hosted at Shearman & Sterling by Board member Sami Toutounji with other Board members and officers participating both in person and virtually, as well as Sam Sanders from GUAA, the group reviewed the last year’s events/ activities and reviewed initial plans for the fall, noting virtual format is the new norm. We are planning to do more with other clubs in Europe (co-developing as well as sharing content via Zoom) as well as other US university clubs in France.

Click here to listen to the 30-minute meeting and watch the slide show presentation via Zoom

The leaders of Democrats Abroad France And Republicans Overseas France debated over Zoom on 3 primary issues influencing the 2020 US Presidential Election.

Jonathon Holler defended the Democratic party’s platform and candidacy of Joe Biden related to the economy, healthcare as well as law and order/ Black lives matter. Randy Yaloz shared the Republican’s perspectives and defended the track record to date of the incumbent and his close supporters. The moderation was provided by Catherine Viette, who is a reporter at France 24. Near the end of this 1 hour debate, Catherine asked each speaker for comments on potential change in legislation affecting expats and finally 1 minute summary to support each Presidential candidate. Overall, this virtual event provided stimulating content from compelling speakers and professionally moderated with an orientation towards the US expat community. The Club would like to thank Institute Montagne as well as Sciences Po for their support in hosting the filming and promotion respectively.

The link to the video

Club officers Alexandra Richard and Robert Alaimo presented the club to the audience, highlighting the topics covered during the annual meeting and fielding questions from new members. To make it more fun and interactive, they then demonstrated how to create a fruity and refreshing long drink and finished with some messages of hope for future in person gatherings.

Click here for the video link (18 mins)

A virtual live presentation and discussion on the above topic was led by Fleur Cowan (masters in National Security Studies) and is currently posted to the Political Section of the U.S. Embassy in Paris as the head of the External Team. She gave her perspectives on how US embassies abroad recognize, celebrate and invite their counterparts to events in host countries. She spoke of the Exec and Diplomatic mission team transitions that took place when she was in Pakistan, London, Darfur and Holy Sea. While there was a question on the current Trump-Biden transition,  most of the discussion during Q/A was on past transitions and how they were acknowledged and recognized by host countries. The call ended after some questions and appreciation shared to her for this original and timely talk.

The video of the Zoom call can be found here (44 mins)

20 Georgetown alumns came together 9 days after celebrating the new year to do it again with other Hoyas at O Chateau, a leading wine and champagne bar in the heart of the 1st arrondissement. Despite the protests and metro disruptions, we all came together to learn about 4 unique champagnes picked by the master sommelier who brought the story of each of bottle to life. They were complemented with 2 magnificent ‘Gallette de Rois’ cakes which are frequently enjoyed this time of year following Epiphany. Finally, the ‘golden bulldogs’ provided by the University to the club leaders and Board members were bestowed to those present (most, but not all). A truly festive and joyous occasion!

A dozen Hoya’s connecting with their recently acquired virtual conference calling skills on Zoom to toast to the near end of the confinement period mandated by the French (and many neighboring countries) government in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Joined by Alumni from Switzerland as well, we learn how best to mix and enjoy whiskey-based cocktails, which was led Ashley Donahey (GU SFS 2011), Founder & President of Two Worlds Whiskey, a luxury American whiskey crafted exclusively for France. While not everyone was able to exactly replicate the with the exact ingredients and instructions the Old Fashioned and Vieux Carré drinks, many used the occasion to ask questions and grow their knowledge on cocktail culture topics related to France and the US (old and new habits/ preferences) and much more.

Organised around the world in more than 50 cities by the University, Paris hosted this event welcoming a dozen Hoyas, both new arrivals and familiar faces to Playoff, the American themed bar and restaurant where we’ve held this event in recent years.

To an audience of over 30 Georgetown graduates as well as ‘friends’ and guests from Duke Club of France, our 2 guest speakers (Marco Ferrazzani, Legal Counsel, European Space Agency and Timothy Tawney, Europe Representative, NASA (GU ’00) presented and animated Q/A on the topics of space exploration planning, including its impacts to life on Earth, international cooperation, and the legal implications and impediments. Pascal Chadenet from Denton’s kindly sponsored the evening.

To see the presentations, click here:

NASA presentation

ESA presentation

Organized by the university and managed by local clubs, the Paris club welcomed more than a dozen alumni in a privatized bar close to Chatelet les Halles. An enjoyable social event allowing new joiners to meet other community members.

Dean Kelly Otter & Professor Tim Frazier from the GU School of Continuing Studies invited GU club of France alumni to attend a cocktail and listen to some remarks from the director of the program which just spent a week in Paris, Brussels and Lyon (at Interpol) meeting and learning from leaders managing emergency / disaster responses on local, national & international levels. There was lively debate, notably criticism and ‘lessons learned’ from the ‘Batteclan’ terrorist attack. Overall, a good first co- event with the School of Continuing Studies on a topic that sadly is very relevant to Paris and France these days given civil unrest (Gillet Jaunes) and perpetual risks from Jihadists returning to France from warzones, and more.

This special event involved 4 clubs working together ( GU Club of France, in cooperation with the alumni clubs of George Washington, American and Johns Hopkins) on a topic dear to the capital city’s heart- politics! It was scheduled in early April to commemorate one of the most memorable periods to be in Washington DC, the blossoming of the cherry trees. We had 3 great speakers

– Fleur Cowen, First Secretary, Political Section, American Embassy of France (Georgetown: MA ’02)

– Sheherazade Semsar de Boisseson, CEO, Politico, Europe ( Georgetown : BSFS/MSFS’90)

– Anne Macey Baverel, CEO, Confrontations Europe (Johns Hopkins SAIS: MA ’05)

We hosted the event at Cercle de L’union Interalliée, right next to the US embassy and with a garden view. Weather was perfect and the cocktail hour was packed until the event- we had great feedback and plan to do it again!

On a sunny spring day, a more than a dozen Georgetown Alumni enjoyed a guided tour with a professional English-speaking guide who brought to life the story of this painter and his mastery of sculpting as well as painting.

Over 3 dozen graduates attended this University- organized event held at ‘Playoff’, as close to the Tombs as we could find in the City of Lights. Recent arrivals had a chance to network and learn from the long term expats as well as French graduates who moved back after their studies on the hilltop. More than a third of attendees were earned LLM or JD degrees, highlighting the importance of this constituency. The picture below is of those who stayed late / up to closing time.

At the offices of Dentons close to Place de la Madeleine, a dozen Georgetown Alumni and friends attended a passionate presentation on the journey to the US to document the 12 stop tour of the Patrouille de France in the US to commemorate the US/ French cooperation during WWI. Yorick told stories to bring the photos to life.

Speaking of photos for both those who attended and those who missed the event, please look at the photos on this website: http://www.hervesainthelier.com/patrouille-de-france-us-tour-2017

Please note some Framed Pictures are still available for purchase for those you like to collect Aviation and US military history related art.

More than 20 Georgetown alumni attended this event hosted by Dentons in their office close to place de la Madeleine to listed to a presentation led by Professor Jennifer Hillman, Former Member of the WTO Appellate Body and Trade Negotiator on this remarkable topic. We learned many of the current US government positions untenable according to intl trade law, and given many examples (Brexit, China trade wars, evolution of NAFTA into USMCA ) of the breakdown of the post WW2 multi-lateral, rule of law based model for international cooperation which is being challenged like never before.

Special thanks Chris Payne, Georgetown Law’s director of international alumni, for leading the organization of this event.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer invited the Georgetown Paris alumni to a panel discussion on the topic: “What clients, counsel and experts should know about working together but are too embarrassed to ask”. Expert independence, budgets, risk management and effective cross-examination were among the topics discussed during a no-holds-barred debate with Karl Hennessee and Anthony Charlton, moderated by Noah Rubins, graduate of the Fletcher School at Tufts.

Jamie D. McCourt, Ambassador of the United States of America to France and Monaco, and Georgetown graduate (BS) received 45+ alumni and friends of Georgetown in the formal reception rooms of her residence. Follow brief remarks by her and the club President, recognizing a long term relationship between the club and the embassy/ consulate with many GU alumni holding senior positions/ sponsoring previous events, the group enjoyed cocktails together and informal discussions with the Ambassador and fellow alumni.

Highlights from the President’s remarks:

“The Georgetown club has enjoyed a long-standing relationship with senior leadership at the US Embassy in Paris over many years, notably with past Deputy Chief of Mission officers including Mark Talpin and Urza Zeya. And so it is a great honor and privilege to address you tonight at this reception hosted by Ambassador McCourt, who earned her B.S. from Georgetown University.

Since September, the Paris club has organized and hosted 4 events, the Welcome to the Neighborhood social, followed by a moving art exhibition in October about the Patrouille de France’s US tour to honor America’s involvement in World War I and French-US military collaboration. I have invited Yorick DE GUICHEN tonight to be able to speak more on it those who could not attend. The exhibition is supported by the Public affairs office of the Embassy, represented by Caroline Gorse-Combalat who could not attend. We then pivoted in November to serve a large portion of our constituents with JDs and LLM degrees. Professor Jennifer Hillman from the Law School presented the ‘Trump Trade Agenda’ and then a diverse panel of experts animated an International Arbitration Conference hosted by Freshfields. I would like to thank Pascal Chadenet, member of the board, and partner at Dentons once again for hosting Professor Hillman’s talk.”

Pierre Tercier, International Arbitrator, former president of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce, Paris and Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center, spoke to an audience of more than 20 in Paris on the topic of his 40 years working in Arbitration, and his experiences of a Professor. The event was hosted by Dentons with over 30 alumni and friends of GU in attendance!

The event was hosted at August Debouzy by Philippe Durand (L’88) Member, European Law Alumni Advisory Board and featured a conversation by William M. Treanor, J.D., Ph.D., Executive Vice President, Dean, Georgetown University Law Center who discussed the University’s ambition of greater global engagement. There were 50+ alumni and friends of GU in attendance!

10 Alumni attended this guided tour at the Jacquemart-André Museum in the 8th arrondissement, lead by a very knowledgeable guide who brought Mary Cassatt’s life and works alive with her life story, 60 years spent in Paris and influence on the impressionist movement. Attendees included Maya Andraos (1988), Kelly Doherty (1986), Jonathan Lillain (1979), Deborah Lillian, Angelynn Meya (C 1999), Zina Richard (2005), Pierre Sivac (1980), Florence Sivac, Michael Woodrow (1986) and William Holmberg (1997)

More than a dozen GU alumni attended the summer cocktail event hosted Angela Aggeler, US Minister Counselor for Public Affairs in the building in which the Marshal plan was signed. We were pleased that 9 of us were able to gather and be in the same place to take this picture to mark the occasion.

To see more pictures, visit this link.