Managing Director, Public Eye

Based in Antwerp, Belgium, Josie Van Alsenoy, a journalist and copywriter, created “Public Eye” in 1990, a communication management company. She has developed a track record with a variety of clients including SGS Group, Degussa, Ecu-Line, Bofort, Atenco, Opel Belgium.

‘Public Eye’ has a partnership with the Geneva based ‘Corporate Identity Group’ as well as ‘Antilope Art Forum’, a contemporary art company.

Josie has worked in a variety of industries including shipping, engineering, construction, chemicals, maritime, and the automobile industry, which has resulted in a broad range of consulting expertise.

In addition, she is an editor of scientific television programs and a producer of corporate audio-visual and multimedia projects.

Josie is married to Jacques Van Alsenoy and has three grown up children. She is well-traveled and speaks multiple languages.

Criminal Law & Women's Rights Lawyer

Born in Istanbul, Seyran Ates has lived in Berlin since 1969. She studied law at Freie University in Berlin. As an independent lawyer, Ms. Ates has had a joint practice with two associates since 1997, which focuses on Criminal Law and Women's Rights. She is the co-author of the 1983 book, "Where Do We Belong? Two Turkish Girls Explain," in which she recounts her story up until she was separated from her family when she was just under 18-years-old. In March 2003, Ms. Ates completed her second autobiography published by Rowohlt Berlin Verlag. She recounts the exemplary lives of many Turkish immigrants in Germany, beginning with the generation of her grandparents to present day. On March 8, 2004 Ms. Ates received this year's Berliner Frauenpreis (Berlin Women's Prize), which is awarded by the Senator for Economics, Labor, and Women, for her commitment to women immigrants.

Senior Project Manager, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants

Doris Beckmann is Senior Project Manager with Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, the leading strategy consulting firm of European origin. She has managed several projects in various industries focussing on corporate strategy, organizational transformation and business process reengineering. Her work experience covers projects in several European countries. She supervised a cross-industry study on strategic planning in German companies and directed scientific research on growth drivers of Top 1000 companies worldwide, recently published by Roland Berger Strategy Consultants.

She regularly trains consultants in strategy and is internal co-mentor of corporate strategy consultants. Furthermore she co-founded Roland Berger's FORWARD initiative, a programme designed to promote the professional and personal development of female consultants and foster their careers.

Previously, Doris Beckmann worked in the Aerospace industry as Project Manager for US - German engine programmes, Executive Assistant to the CFO and Head of Commercial Business for Maintenance & Overhaul in the aircraft engine business.

She has a Master in Business from the Vocational University of Stuttgart and a Master in Political Science from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich. In New York, she supported United Nations UNDP/UNIFEM in preparation of the World Conference on Women in Beijing.

President of Encoda Systems Europe, Middle East Africa, and Director on the Board of the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany

Angelika Bergmann's Presentation (Microsot Powerpoint required)

Encoda Systems is the world's leading supplier of end-to-end software solutions for the broadcast, satellite and cable industries, specializing in the areas of automation, sales, traffic, programming and financial systems.

As President of Europe, Middle East and Africa, Angelika Bergmann, a former broadcaster herself, is responsible for all aspects of the company's growth in this region. Since her appointment to the top job in Jan 2003, she has been driving internal changes to meet and exceed customer expectations while responding to the fast and ever-changing world of technology. As a result, Encoda has recently won some of the most prestigious new business deals in the industry, most notably ITV, UK (which represents over 50% of the entire UK advertising sales volume), RTE (Irish State Broadcaster), SVT (Swedish State Broadcaster), and Dubai TV, amongst others.

Bergmann, a German national, has extensive experience in senior management of the broadcast sector. Prior to joining Encoda Systems, she was 'VP and Director of Distribution EMEA' for CNBC, the pan-European financial news broadcaster, based in London, managing the channel growth for all of Europe, Middle East and Africa. She has also held other senior positions including 'Managing Director of Turner Broadcasting' for all German-speaking territories, based in Berlin, where she built and grew the business and the brands for CNN and other Turner TV channels in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Having lived and worked in the US, Bergmann has always had a keen interest in strengthening transatlantic relations. To this end, she has been closely involved with the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany (AmCham), representing the interests of the US business community in Germany and vice-versa lobbying for Germany as an investment site. She has been a Member of the Board of AmCham for the past four years and was recently appointed for another term. She graduated with honors from the legal faculty of the University of Bonn, Germany and holds a Masters degree in Marketing and Economics from European Business School in Oestrich-Winkel, Germany. In addition, for the past 2 years she has been participating in a part-time Executive MBA program, which is run as a transatlantic joint venture between Kellogg / Northwestern University (Chicago, USA) and Germany's leading private business school, WHU (Vallendar, Germany), from which she will graduate in October 2004.

Bergmann speaks several European languages fluently and enjoys traveling, music, scuba diving, golf and spending time with family and friends.

Conference Chair, GAIN Co-Founder & Executive Committee Member, Strategy Consultant

Starting her career as an art educator, Susan moved into project management while working in Mongolia for three years, first as a Peace Corps Volunteer with the Soros Foundation (Open Society Institute) as manager of the Women's Network Program, which continues to provide grants to local women NGOs. In this capacity, she was selected by the US Embassy to direct Former Secretary Albright's meeting with women leaders for the US Secretary of State Goodwill Visit to Mongolia.

As an independent consultant, Susan later worked with the US State Department as an advisor to the International 7-Nation Northeast-Asian Women's Forum held in Mongolia, a follow-up to the 1994 UN Beijing Conference on Women. As project director with the United Nations in Mongolia, Susan managed a series of national conferences focused on social, women, and youth issues.

In the United States, Susan has worked as a marketing manager with a large NGO in San Francisco and in corporate marketing at Intel Corporation in Santa Clara, California, later managing her own consulting firm focusing on public diplomacy and strategic services. Most recently, Susan has worked in Germany as an internal marketing consultant for the German Ministry of Economics and Labor as well as a corporate strategy consultant with Roland Berger Strategy Consultants through her professional fellowship with the Robert Bosch Foundation. She recently completed a research paper comparing German and American women in business, which will be published in late 2004.

Susan is Co-Founder and Executive Committee Member of GAIN, Graduate Alumnae International Network, Founder of the Thunderbird Graduate Women in Business Organization, and Co-Founder of Peace Corps Mongolia's Women in Development Council. She has her BA in Art Education from Drake University and a MBA in International Management from Thunderbird, the Garvin School of International Management.

Corporate Vice President of Diversity, Russell Corporation

In January 2003, Kevin was named Corporate Vice President of Diversity at Russell Corporation in Atlanta, Georgia after serving three years as the Company’s head diversity and change management consultant. He will spearhead diversity initiatives worldwide in support of the Company’s objectives.

Kevin founded Axxis Consulting (formerly K.L. Clayton & Associates) in 1991. He has over 22 years of corporate and entrepreneurial skills and experiences in the sales, marketing, diversity management, consulting and training functions in various industries including entertainment, banking, and politics.

Kevin’s professional career began at Procter & Gamble in sales. He quickly rose through the ranks with assignments in sales, advertising, training, recruiting, and diversity management. He was promoted to manage a high profile, high volume $225 million region which served as the test market for the first corporate multi-function organizational restructure, subsequently leading to an industry evolution of customer-supplier approaches to managing the retail business categories. Kevin also assisted the sales function with its initial diversity management strategies.

Kevin has built a reputation as an innovative strategic thinker in the area of diversity and change management. His unique approach combines vision, logic, and fundamental business principles to find solutions to organizational challenges. He has consulted and trained senior managers at some of the world’s most successful Fortune 500 companies and notable communities.

Kevin has worked closely with some of the most respected and notable thinkers in the fields of organizational development and diversity management. These leaders include: Dr. Vanessa J. Weaver, author of Smart Women Smart Moves; Dr. Roosevelt R. Thomas, Jr. author of Beyond Race and Gender and Redefining Diversity; Floyd and Dr. Jackie B. Dickens, authors of The Black Manager; Linda Stokes, author of Multi-Cultural Customer Service; and Dr. Ron Brown, a diversity consultant that has done significant work with Procter & Gamble and The McDonalds Corporation.

Kevin is a native of Cleveland, Ohio. He received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Administration and Psychology from Wilmington College (Ohio).

Director, Lisa Curtis Associates

Currently Director of Lisa Curtis Associates and a former director of enterprise reform in a leading economics consultancy firm, Lisa has worked in more than twenty countries having more than seventeen years experience in strategy consulting for a wide range of public and private sector clients. She combines financial, microeconomics and organisational skills, which have been applied in business restructuring, corporate strategy, organisational and institutional reform, corporate governance and mergers & acquisitions. She has extensive experience in institutional restructuring and development for public enterprise and government institutions, particularly in the context of public sector reform and privatisation programmes. Most recently, she has focused on policy design and implementation to promote private sector participation in infrastructure. She has also advised on corporate social responsibility policy and implementation for public and private sector clients.

Lisa has worked in many countries at all stages of development including: three years leading a successful regional privatisation consulting business unit in East Africa; working extensively in Mexico in both government and private sectors; as well as on strategy for leading corporate clients in Europe and North America.

Her sectoral experience covers the main infrastructure sectors. Clients include: telecommunications firms; electricity enterprises; transport undertakings; and government agencies responsible for these sectors. She has also worked on multi-sector programmes of restructuring and reform. She has advised on enterprise and sector restructuring, regulation, all stages of privatization and mergers & acquisitions from strategy through to post-deal integration. Other sectors in which she has particular experience include central government, state owned enterprises, social sector (health and population), agribusiness and private manufacturing.

Lisa writes about and makes fine chocolates based on traditional Mexican recipes and ingredients. She is also a mountaineer including high altitude expeditions and ice climbing. Lisa holds her Master's in Philosophy from Wolfson College, Oxford, Her Master's in Social Anthropology and BA in English Language and Literature from Exeter College, Oxford.

Founder & Director, Institute for Cultural Diplomacy

Mark Donfried is Founder and Director of the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy (icd) — an international non-profit organization with the mission of stimulating dialogue, exchange, and analysis to address economic and political issues from a cultural perspective. Today, icd has offices in New York, Berlin, Los Angeles, and Paris. Prior to this, Mark worked as a researcher and analyst of world economics and globalization with the German Council on Foreign Relations and served as the director of New York bureau of Club France-USA. He has also worked as an international analyst in M&A with Credit Suisse First Boston and as a marketing analyst with Marsh & McLennan Securities Corporation in New York.

Mark has his BA in Modern European History and French from Columbia University and is currently finishing his MA in International Affairs at Freie University in Berlin.

Pricing Manager, ETHICON; GAIN Co-Founder & Executive Committee Member

Based in Edinburgh, Scotland, Kate Masschelein is Pricing Manager for ETHICON Products, a Johnson & Johnson company. She was formerly ETHICON's Strategic Management Assistant for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In addition, Kate worked for four years at Procter and Gamble in Belgium in Sales and Marketing.

Kate is also a business mentor for small start up companies in Scotland. Most recently, she was asked to teach students of the Summer Program for Future Global Leaders in the Caribbean at
the University of the Virgin Islands about the history and success of the European Union.

Kate studied International Relations at the Antwerp Business School in Belgium, where she was born and raised. She has her MBA in International Management from Thunderbird, the Garvin School of International Management.
While at Thunderbird, she developed a strong interest in developing and supporting women in business through GWIB, Graduate Women in Business organization. Kate founded and managed the first mentoring program for women
at the school. She is also Co-Founder and Executive Committee Member of GAIN, Graduate Alumnae International Network.

Secretary-General of the International Union of Credit and Investment Insurers, the Berne Union

In 2001, Ms Wiehl was appointed as Secretary-General of the International Union of Credit and Investment Insurers, the Berne Union. In this role, she directs the professional activities of the international association of 52 Members including government export credit agencies, private insurers and multilateral agencies from 43 countries and locations.

Previously Ms Wiehl was a Managing Director in charge of the Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa Structured Debt team at JPMorgan, London. The group specialised in the origination, structuring and placement of trade and project finance related debt including sovereign loans, export credit agency enhanced credits and other trade related instruments.

She worked at JPMorgan and the heritage institutions, Chase Manhattan and Chemical Bank, in both New York and London since 1980, having extensive experience in European Loan Syndications and Global Commodity Finance.

She has an A.B. in French and Political Science from Middlebury College and an MBA in International Management from Thunderbird, the American Graduate School of International Management.

Project Director, Institute for Cultural Diplomacy

Desiree Zwanck's passion for advocating for women's rights began as a mentor for at-risk female youth at a young girls home. Since then, she has travelled the world, working as a Tourism Management Consultant in Egypt and as a Language Instructor at Vientiane College in Laos. Both experiences, working in nations with limited opportunities for women, led her to return to Germany, where she began her university career as a Gender Studies major.

Currently, she is the institute for cultural diplomacy's Project Director. Most recently, Ms. Zwanck was awarded first place in the GTZ's national contest to recruit young talents, which includes an internship with the development organization in her country of choice.

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