Dear EuroCham Members,

2017 has been a great year for EuroCham and I am proud to have presided over this great organisation over these past 7 months.

It is with a heavy heart that I announce that I have stepped down as EuroCham Chairman, effective today, 24th October 2017. This is due to personal and professional circumstances that will lead to my relocation from Vietnam very soon, in the pursuit of a new career challenge.

My departure will not affect the continuous delivery of the vision and mission of the Executive Committee (ExCo) which I have chaired so far. To this end, the ExCo has appointed Vice Chairmen Mr. Nicolas Audier and Dr. Gellért Horváth to serve as Co-Chairmen until March 2018, when our next Annual General Meeting (AGM) and new elections shall take place. 

I stand with the overwhelming approval of this appointment, confirmed by the ExCo in our last monthly meeting on 12th October. Nicolas Audier and Gellért Horváth are both senior professionals with successful careers in Vietnam – based in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi respectively – having been involved in EuroCham for a long time. I have no doubts that they will lead this ExCo successfully until the end of its term

Vice Chairmen Gellert Horvath and Nicolas Audier are the new two Co-Chairmen of EuroCham

On my end, I would like to thank everyone for having entrusted me with leading this great chamber. Over the past year, I have witnessed firsthand the extraordinary and professional work of the Chamber’s secretariat and the impact that the organisation has: as a brand in itself, as a platform for the European business community, and as a dialogue partner to the Vietnamese government. I am also proud to have worked together with my colleagues to elevate the Chamber’s profile in Europe. This had its greatest expression in our successful mission to Brussels and the EU institutions, the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement  (EVFTA) Report conclusion, and the publishing of the first EuroCham Greenbook. 

EuroCham Chairman Mr. Jens Ruebbert with the EuroCham delegation and European Commissioner Guenther Oettinger

This ExCo has built on a great past, while laying new foundations towards the future, as manifested in the mission statement we penned in May 2017: EuroCham that is the voice of European business striving for an open and fair market environment in Vietnam. We promote European sustainable investment and trade through good corporate citizenship, collaboration and engagement with Vietnamese society.
I am certain that EuroCham will continue to grow and thrive as one of the largest and most important European Chambers of Commerce in the world, and as the “herald” of a new era for Europe-Vietnam relations under the EVFTA. 

I wish all of those involved in this amazing Chamber luck, health and happiness.

Always your friend.

Best Regards,

Jens Ruebbert
jens.ruebbert@icloud.com