Dear Members of the FACC-PNW Community,
Let me start by wishing you a Happy New Year. We hope you are staying healthy and safe during these uncertain times. We believe it is more important than ever to stay strong as a community as we all look forward to better times on the horizon.
Many changes have recently taken place in our organization. Eric Beaulieu, formerly our Executive Director, relocated to Switzerland in October. Board Vice-President Jean-Michel Hillion has also returned to Europe, where he has taken up the position of Safran Group Strategy Director in France. We wish both Eric and Jean-Michel the best in their new roles and we thank them for their major contributions to FACC PNW's success.
Our Board worked diligently these past last few months, under the leadership of Louis Scott de Martinville (head of the Search Committee) to identify a new Vice-President and a new Executive Director. I 'd like to thank all the candidates who applied for these openings; we look forward to enjoying the benefit of their experience to aid the Chamber in the very near future.
Today I am honored to announce that François Guerzeder has accepted the position as Vice-President of the board of directors. François is with Safran and holds the position of Senior VP, Boeing Programs. Francois has been dealing with Boeing for years he actually lived in Seattle, 20 years ago, developing the business for the aerospace wiring segment of Safran. Welcome back.
I am also pleased to confirm our new Executive Director of the FACC-PNW, Ariane Ogier. Ariane has served on the FACC board as a member of Le Networking committee and is the founder of Ici Seattle, a bilingual Lifestyle e-magazine. We will rely heavily on Ariane's 20 years of marketing communications experience in Paris, Dubai and Seattle to guide the imminent relaunch of FACC programs.
Ariane is already coordinating the next major event, which will be a first-ever online version of Seattle's largest French festival, the French Fest. Plan to join us virtually on March 21 to celebrate the 9th edition of this city-wide tradition--a joyous celebration of Francophonie.
We would like to thank our members and our partners for their support in this pandemic period, during which FACCs across the US are offering a robust selection of high-quality webinars on contemporary topics. We encourage you to keep up with the latest opportunities though our newsletter, website and social media.
Sincerely,
Julien Hervet, Board President
