Greetings from the President Claudio Riedi |
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A Word From The President
Spring has sprung.
And the GABC springs along.
Welcome to our newest issue of the newsletter. In this issue, you will find a first article in a new series of postings we intend to make, where we will feature former members of the GABC or of the Board of Directors the GABC, and see where they are today.
In the 35 years of the GABC’s continued existence, our paths have crossed so many interesting friends that some of us have lost contact with. We will try to track some down for you, and show them in their current surroundings. If you are a former member, and would like to be featured, or if you know of a former member that has drifted from our sight, please let us know so that we can reconnect with them. We are also grateful if any of our readers submit their own feature on long-lost members. Most important: photos photos photos. And: if possible, contact information for those former members/directors.
In the same vein: if you are a member and would like your company to be featured in our newsletter, send us the details, art and photos, and we will be none to pleased to showcase your company in our newsletter.
Also make sure co check our events calendar, so that you can participate and make the most of your membership. We can’t wait to see you there.
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Where are our former Board Directors now? |
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Svenja Hammerstein
Greetings from Bella Italia!
Dear Board, members and friends!
I am writing to you from my beloved Italy where I am spending much of my time since my daughter Giulia decided to move back last summer in order to start the next chapter of her life here after high school.
Our Italian 'base' is Padua, a beautiful little town in the vicinity of Venice, known among other things for Saint Anthony, it's university (one of the oldest in the world 1222) and , maybe most importantly, for being the birthplace of the 'Aperol Spritz'. And of course the good food, wine, nice people and the vast cultural offer in the region make it a pleasant place to sojourn.
In the last two years I have been traveling within the 'old' and the 'new' world, exploring new places and cultures. I also take advantage of the proximity to Germany to visit family and friends frequently. My elderly mother who lives in Hamburg is happy to know her daughter close. After 35 years of absence I was finally able to to participate in this year's 'Rheinische Karneval' in Bonn, city I have spent important years of my youth in. I had a blast!
Recently I have started a collaboration with a local real estate agency and am currently preparing for the Italian broker license.
In summer I will volunteer at the Special Olympics in Berlin to which I am greatly looking forward to. Later this year I am planing to come to Miami where my husband Tommaso continues to look after our restaurant business.
Until then I wish you all the best, arrivederci ed a presto!
Svenja
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Madhu Mehta
Greetings from India!
Apart from my silk business travels to Germany Dubai and India, in addition I have started assisting my daughter Shalini who in addition to her business has started organizing small personal group tours to India and Morocco - this is some thing new for both of us and we are loving it!
Here are pictures of our recent tour in Morocco- 3 generations!
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The GABC and OCS Law invite you to a Presentation and Happy Hour
Where? Office of OCS Law
When? Tuesday, April 18th, 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Christian F. Schoepp, Attorney and Shareholder at OCS Law will talk about protecting businesses against negligence claims including:
- Balancing the Allocation of Risk
- Insurance
- Warnings & Preventative Maintenance
The presentation will be followed by a networking happy hour.
Appetizers and a wine selection are sponsored by Christian F. Schoepp.
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Webinar on: "Opportunities for German companies in Florida"
Where: Zoom
When? May 3rd, 10:30am EST
Alexander Bothmann from Enterprise Florida will give a presentation on Florida's key industries as well as an overview of their services for German companies. In addition to that, Timo Becker from Becker International Law will talk about the legal perspectives in how to establish a business in Florida.
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Webinar on "Financing International Investors in the US and Miami Market"
When? Thursday, February 9th, 12pm
Where? Zoom
Kirsten Paul and Marion Ott had a discussion on financing non-resident clients. They talked about important recent changes, available programs and do's and dont's.
If you missed the webinar, or want to re-watch, click on the link below:
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Webinar on "The negative impact of single-use plastics on our earth"
When? Thursday, February 16th, 12pm
Where? Zoom
Sophie Ringel from Clean Miami Beach educated the attendees about the negative impact of single-use plastics on the earth’s ecology and how everyone can reuse, re-purpose, and reduce the consumption of plastic.
If you missed the webinar, or want to re-watch, click on the link below:
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Engel & Voelkers Networking Get Together
Where? Engel & Voelkers Coconut Grove
When? Thursday, February 23th, 6-8pm
In order to welcome Engel & Voelkers as our members, we all came together at their Coconut Grove office and enjoyed some business networking over delicious Appetizer and drinks, sponsored by Engel & Voelkers.
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Private Beach Clean Up
When? Friday, March 3rd
Where? Miami Beach
Together with the Consulate General of Gemany and Clean Miami Beach we collected a total of 93 pounds (43kg) of trash in only hour. It was a great opportunity to meet potential business partners while making Miami a cleaner place!
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European Business Networking Cocktail
When? Thursday, March 16th
Where? Udon Asian Food in Wynwood
The European Chambers (Spanish, Italian, French, British, Irish, and German) hosted a great networking event at the Udon Restaurant in Wynwood. Around 250 guests attended and had the opportunity to meet many interesting new people while enjoying good music and a great catering, sponsored by the Udon Restaurant itself. We thank everyone for coming! Also thank you to our sponsor AirCanada for raffling two flight tickets.
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After Work Networking Cocktail by the water @The Wharf
When? Thursday, March 30th, 6pm
Where? At The Wharf
Networking by the water is always a pleasure and we had the opportunity to meet many great new people at the Wharf in Downtown Miami.
Despite a stormy day, around 60 people came together and networked to the fullest.
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"The Turkish American Chamber of Commerce of the South (TACCS), is the only active Turkish American Chamber operating in Southern region in the United States.
In May 2022, Turkish-American companies met in Miami to seed the establishment of TACCS, and it officially opened its doors on October 29th. Our goal is to be the gateway platform for Turkish-American enterprises to thrive in the U.S. markets.
Since day one, we have been establishing relationships with local and state level chambers to foster trade among member businesses and professionals.
It is a well-known fact that bilateral trade volume of 198 billion Euro makes Türkiye the 7th largest trade partner of the European Union. Moreover, Germany and Türkiye are one of the most important trade partners for each other with record high bilateral trade volume of 51.6 billion euro in 2022 TACCS Board of Directors along with member organizations would like to continue in this tradition to seek business opportunities together with European American chamber organizations to help member businesses collaborate to achieve high level business collaborate to achieve high level business performance in the U.S. markets."
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Here are some words from the TACCS president:
"On February 6, 2023, we were saddened by multiple devastating earthquakes that occurred at the south-eastern region of Türkiye. We will never forget the swift response from the International community that included almost 10,000 professionals from 88 countries assisting in search and rescue operations. We appreciate all the countries who delivered aid and sent search and rescue as well as medical teams to Türkiye.
Türkiye will never forget the friendship and assistance it received from the International community following the February 6 earthquakes. The international community have demonstrated an unprecedented solidarity and significant level of support in collaboration, providing humanitarian aid to the victims.It is a great honor to be in a position to state a heartfelt thank you from all of us."
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Welcome Our New Corporate Member! |
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The Aicomp Group is an expert in ERP solutions for the packaging industry, specializing in complex SAP variant configuration and SAP cloud solutions. With offices in Germany, the UK, Austria, Switzerland, Spain and North America, our group of over 80 professionals brings more than 20 years of project experience to packaging manufacturers. Aicomp provides expert-level consulting and development services that enhance their customers' software systems by installing, setting up, and streamlining their business processes, enabling them to respond quickly to their customers' needs. Aicomp continuously develops upgrades for its software solutions with the goal of long-term customer satisfaction.
Aicomp was founded as Aicomp Consulting GmbH in 2000 by 5 SAP specialists in the Swabian Alb region of Germany. From the start, we have maintained a primary focus: variant configuration for the packaging industry. Our first few years yielded a ready-to-work industry solution with pre-configured system modules. In 2003, the foundation of our American operation was laid with the opening of Aicomp Consulting, Inc. in Memphis, TN. We subsequently established a second location in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. With these two locations in the U.S., we have engaged in numerous successful projects with some of the largest packaging manufacturers in the Americas. By 2006, years of project work resulted in what is today Aicomp's most important innovation - VCPowerPack. At its core, VCPowerPack is a product configurator, seamlessly integrated into SAP ERP systems. Building on this, important improvements for the packaging industry have been introduced in recent years. These include process, data and integration optimizations for improved quotation generation and master data management. Over the decades, Aicomp has constantly worked on new technical advances, which has expanded our focus to areas such as cloud technologies and machine learning.
Aicomp's success lies in its employees. Many of our employees come from the packaging industry and bring their expertise and passion to customer projects. Our seasoned project staff are consultants and developers whose broad industry and product knowledge has enabled us to offer customers a comprehensive range of solutions. We treat every customer equally and meet them at eye level, regardless of whether they are a large corporation or a medium-sized company.
"We want to build on our success since 2000 and continuously strengthen our footprint in the packaging industry, as well as be a full-service and solutions provider for the packaging industry."
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To find out more, watch these two videos: |
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Welcome Our New Individual Members! |
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Reinhard Benditte
Reinhard Benditte has had a long standing (42-year) career within Siemens AG’s Divisions and Subsidiaries around the world. During his time, he and his family lived in Germany, Australia, Canada and the USA.
In 2014, Reinhard retired after 42 years working in various industry and in various countries. During the last 20+ years he was successful in turnaround management of the various companies he was assigned to.
We are very pleased to welcome Mr. Benditte as our member and admire his career which included lifelong challeges of moving every four years, as well as his new beginnings here in Miami!
Welcome Mr. Benditte!
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Ayleen Bulanik
"My name is Ayleen and I moved to Miami because my husband got a job offer here. And now my new chapter starts here.
I am an open, communicative, flexible and determined person.
My friends would say I am funny, loyal and honest.
In my free time I do a lot of sports with road biking, tennis, swimming and endurance sports.
I also spend my free time with friends and family.
During my time at Reischmann in retail, I learned a lot and received more training in these areas: Customer Service and Visual Merchandising.
While working at Reischmann, I visited the Chamber of Industry and Commerce in the evenings to further my education, in 2015 I successfully completed my further education. To apply my newly acquired knowledge in practice, I started a new position as store manager at Esprit. Here I have developed myself further, as I had personnel responsibility and purchasing for the store.
In the summer of 2016, I took a 6 month sabbatical to travel. I was traveling in Asia, Australia and New Zealand. After returning from my trip, I worked as a store manager again for 2 months. In May 2017, I then started a study at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, unfortunately I could not complete my business administration for personal reasons.
I started with the company as a trainee. The trainee program lasted a whole year. This time was very instructive for me, as I was able to develop enormously both personally and professionally. Above all, the rotation between different departments, as a central component of my trainee program, helped me to acquire many skills in a wide range of areas. My responsibilities as a Junior Sales Manager included independent customer support throughout Baden-Württemberg, budget planning, conducting annual meetings with customers, creating sales and limit plans, new customer acquisition, collection feedback, visual merchandising, preparing and following up on monthly orders, and training at the point of sale. As Senior Specialist Reorder Performance, I am the direct connection between sales, the NOS (Never Out of Stock) and B2B-Shop Team. I review and control the NOS bestsellers for the entire wholesale and inform the Sales Managers to push direct sales. Equally, I evaluate reorder figures against budget. Here we create measures to increase sales. Other responsibilities include: briefings for the NOS & Collections articles, creation of forecasts about the sales of NOS articles per half year, monthly exchange, and feedback with the NOS department, support, and visual merchandising of key customers in southern Germany.
I am looking for a position that offers diversity and teamwork. I like to work in sales and marketing because I feel at home in this area.
My biggest dream would be to work in the event sector, I love organizing events, in my job in Germany but also privately I like to take the helm when it came to organizational topics.
Sincerely, Ayleen"
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Welcome Our New Student Members! |
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Antonia Mekiska
"My name is Antonia Mekiska and I’m attending a LL.B in Law and Economics at University of Mannheim in Germany where I expect to graduate with the first state examination in civil law in June 2023. The degree program is a mixture of law and business administration with a focus on business law. During my studies and besides the law part I had the chance to attend to several management, finance and marketing classes.
Furthermore I had the possibility to choose among different areas of focus for my major, where I chose Management and Media Law, in which I also completed my bachelor thesis in 2022. This helped me to develop a great interest for these subjects. In 2017, during my high-school studies I attended a international language school in Washington D.C, where I improved my English skills in speaking and writing.
After graduating from high school and before I started my university studies in September 2019 I spent some time abroad where I had the opportunity to join an international law office in Miami. I was able to assist attorneys with legal matters in the field international law, especially international securities and antitrust matters. Besides the legal part, I did several researches and organizing tasks. In addition to that I did another Internship in a Advertising Agency in Frankfurt, where I assisted in Project Management and Product Research. This has especially enhanced my researching and communication skills, as well as my ability to work in a team.
I have always wanted to experience working in an international environment, due to my great interest in international business practices in the US as well as for the American culture. In terms of availability, I would be able to start the internship from the 1st of October 2023 for a period of three month but I am also open to extend the internship. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely, Antonia Mekiska"
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Benjamin Mock
"My name is Benjamin Mock and I’m a Law and Economics graduate from the University of Mannheim and I am looking for a position as an intern in your company. During my studies, I joined several courses in management and finance to learn more about business practices, the analysis of the global economy, the correlations between different markets as well as their impact on organisations. This helped me to develop a great interest for these subjects and is the reason why, when I had to choose among different areas of focus for my major, I chose management.
For me personally, I´ve always held a huge interest for international markets and economies and I have always wanted to experience working in a global and innovative environment, to turn my passion into my profession. Learning directly from the experts at your company would be an unmatched opportunity in which I hope to improve my knowledge and skills in the field of international business relation, international management and the American culture.
I genuinely believe that one of the leading factors for a company’s success are its employees and their diversity which offer new perspectives and ideas. This is one of the reasons why I am a huge supporter of employee development programs because it can help companies to evolve from within and align everybody’s motivation.
In the months between January and April 2023 I am participating in an internship program at Koehler Group in the field of private equity and real estate management and consulting. In this program I will gain experience in the fundamental practices used in the financial industries while improving my skills in business valuation, market research, due diligence and business-related analysis.
For the time between May and August 2023 I am enrolled in another internship program at Accenture in the field of strategy consulting. There I will learn the different approaches of high-quality consulting services for national and global companies and gain a deeper understanding of the organisational structures and how to deal with market related challenges within a company.
This year I finished a course in professional Data Science by IBM, in which I learned the necessary knowledge and programming skills, relevant for the job as a professional Data Analyst. I would love to give my newly developed skills a chance to thrive in practice on real world analysis tasks.
During my studies I was hired as a working student in corporate tax at KPMG Germany where I was able to assist attorneys and accountants with legal and tax related matters. Furthermore, I learned about how to prepare and conduct research, related to specific client issues and I had the chance to work in a professional environment. This program has honed my researching and analytical skills, increasing my theoretical knowledge of markets and clients.
After my high school years, I explored a strong interest in Leadership and Entrepreneurship. I had the opportunity to start several small operations. From January 2021 to September 2022, I managed an e-commerce store which specified in selling high quality apparel and vintage designer goods. To start a business during my studies was a challenge which I addressed deliberately. “Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful”, this is the reason why I’m not afraid of an intense workload and I’ve always strived for excellence.
Due to my trilingual education (German, English, Spanish) I´m at ease with any social interaction and communication. In terms of availability, I would be able to start the position from the 1st of October 2023 for a period of three month and I am generally open to extend the internship.
Thank you for considering my application.
Yours faithfully, Benjamin Mock"
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Nicolas Garcia-Brosa
Here are some words from Nicolas:
"Hello, my name is Nicolas Garcia-Brosa and I am currently a second-year student studying Industrial Engineering at Purdue University in Indiana. I was raised in Miami and had my first experience with the GABC when I was able to work with the organization two summers ago. I am looking for an intern position ideally as an engineering intern with a company in Miami for this summer of 2023. I currently work at the Disability Resource Testing Center at Purdue and have had past internships with Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas, a construction engineering company in Madrid, Spain, as a project engineer intern, working on projects such as the construction of the Santiago Bernabeu stadium and several hospitals throughout the UK and Spain. I also interned with the GABC post-pandemic, helping with the growth of the GABC by reaching out to potential and previous members and planning out networking events for the organization."
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*Click on above names for more information
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Have you heard of Air Europa's Business Class yet? |
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ONE Sotheby’s International Realty is proud to present the only market report focused on Florida’s East Coast. From Miami to Amelia Island, data is presented from a macro perspective down to city level.
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Type of position: part-time/full-time position.
Fatmedia.io is a brand of ad-Shot online marketing with a focus on pretargeting (display advertising on CPA).
Welcome to a young and fun ad company. We like to work hard and play hard!
You will be working for a global company with offices and employees spread out between NYC, Miami and Europe.
About You:
· First and foremost – hustle
· Creative! We will help you understand which are the right approach, but after that it’s up to you to creatively come up with a social media strategy for building your book of business
Ability to work in a team as a strong communicator
Strong office skills (Excel, Powerpoint, Word)
Enthusiasm for e-commerce and web technologies & social media
About Us:
· Fast, friendly and fun working atmosphere
· Flat hierarchies
· Team spirit with great colleagues
· Further training opportunities through conferences and workshops
· Internal training and workshops
· We offer a cross-channel certification program to gain deeper insights into all of our service areas
Requirements:
- US work permit
- ideally located in the Miami area
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Deutschsprachige Teilzeit Assistent/in - 33139
Älterer internationaler Attorney, auf Hibiscus Island, braucht Hilfe um seinen Nachlass zu ordnen. Er sucht jemanden mit Büroerfahrung zur Erstellung eines nachvollziehbaren Aktensystems. D. h., Dokumente, Korrespondenzen, Fotos, und was sonst in einem Lebenslauf anfällt, sollte zur späteren Verwendung sortiert, uebersetzt, gescanned, ansonsten geshredded werden.
Je 2 Stunden, vormittags, an drei Arbeitstagen, flexibel nach gegenseitiger Convenienz.
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Why Should You Become a Member?! |
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Did you know your GABC Membership offers you...
- Regular Networking Events (avg. 50 attendees)
- Business connections
- Special promotion in our Newsletter (reaches 6.000+ contacts)
- Visibility through our Social Media channels (average 650 views per post)
- Awareness for your Brand and Product/Service (through newsletter and social media)
- Numerous educational Webinars
- The opportunity to be a speaker at our Webinars/In-Person Events
Make use of our platform that reaches 6.000+ contacts.
As a GABC Member, one of your main benefits is that we promote your business.
As you probably know, more time is spent online these days, this is where we create awareness for yourself and your business!
Why not make use of that?
Just send us the information you would like us to share and we will publish it for you!
Networking Events:
We regularly host in-Person Networking Events which provide you with the perfect opportunity to connect with people within your branche. Whether you are interested in meeting new business partners or simply make new friends, the GABC and its versatile members can't wait to get to know you and have a great time together!
Share Information:
Whether you have any online events planned, great business updates or news, interesting articles to share or simply just want to provide some background information about your business, we got you covered!
Business Connections:
If you are in need of any certain service, just reach out to us and we will introduce you to an according company. Our services and members vary from investment and tax law, over real estate experts, to immigration law.
Webinar Speaker:
As a member, you always have the chance to be a speaker at our webinars! Share your knowledge or expertise with our community, we all want to hear about it!
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Dear GABC members,
We are happy to announce our new and updated GABC Benefits for members!
What GABC Benefits?
All registered GABC members receive special discounts or promotions from our member/partner companies. With discounts for legal consultations to your restaurant bill, make sure you take advantage of these exclusive offers!
Who participates in the program?
How can I participate?
If you would like to promote your product/service and have a benefit you can provide our members, please contact us at miami@gabc.us to be included in the program.
Should you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to reach out back to us.
Kind regards,
The GABC Team
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The GABC offers job postings and internship assistance.
Companies and employers can publish their vacancies on our Facebook page, as well as in our upcoming newsletters.
For more information please contact the GABC by email: miami@gabc.us or telephone 305-371-4282.
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Prices:
Members: free
Job Seekers - $50 per post
Companies and Employers - $100 per post
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Publish Your Advertisement in our Newsletter |
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As a GABC member, advertisement is complimentary for your business.
For non-members, we offer you the opportunity to publish an advertising in the next GABC newsletter.
Please contact us at miami@gabc.us or call us at 305-371-4282.
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Non-Members Price list:
$ 125 for business card size (approx. 5x9 cm / 2x3.5 inch)
$ 150 for third page ad (approx. 10x18 cm / 4x7 inch)
$ 175 for half page ad (approx. 14x21 cm / 5.5x8 inch)
$ 215 for 1 full page ad
Run ad for 2 Newsletters – receive 10% discount on second ad
Run ad for 3 Newsletters – receive 15% discount on second and third ad
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Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau
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German American Chamber of Commerce
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German International Parents Association
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German American Social Club
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Stay Connected with the GABC
Dear GABC members and friends,
We are excited to announce we are increasing our presence on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. We will come back with more stories and events for your joy!
We would love to connect with you and get your feedback.
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Ellen von Geyso
Vice President
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Timo A. Becker, J.D.
Treasurer
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Alexandra C. Peters
Secretary
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Dr. Volker Anding
Director
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Christian Riehl
Director
TV Productions
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Michael Claus
Founding Member of the GABC President Emeritus and Honorary Director of the Board
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Peter Jacobs
Founding Member of the GABC and Honorary Director of the Board
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Christa Green
GABC President Emeritus
and Honorary Director of the Board
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The GABC is a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization founded by local business men and women in Miami. For over 30 years, the organization has promoted business and trade between Germany and the US, particularly in South Florida. The objective of the GABC is to support commercial and personal relations between its members and to promote economic, social and cultural relations between the USA and Germany.
The GABC promotes communication between companies, individuals, organizations and associations that share the same interests.
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Leonie Vallerius
Executive Director
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German American Business Chamber of South Florida
1355 Alton Road | Homeoffs | Miami Beach, FL 33139
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