On Thursday 25 March, EuroCham held its Extraordinary and Annual General Meeting in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The event, gathering hundreds of members, featured special guest speaker H.E. Giorgio Aliberti, EU Ambassador to Vietnam, who updated business leaders on the progress of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement and the situation of COVID-19.
EuroCham members met to approve changes to the chamber’s statutes, and to vote on the Minutes of the AGM 2020, the Auditor’s Report, the 2021 Auditor, and the 2021 Budget.
Moreover, a new 16-member Executive Committee has now been elected, consisting of nine members elected at the AGM and a further seven appointed from each of EuroCham’s affiliated business associations.
Results of Elections to the EuroCham Executive Committee
The following candidates were elected to the Executive Committee at the AGM (in alphabetical order):
Jean Michel Caldagues (Airbus Vietnam LLC)
Alain Cany (Jardine Matheson Ltd.)
Gianluca Fiume (Piaggio Vietnam Co Ltd.)
Gabor Fluit (De Heus Vietnam)
Horst Joachim Franz Geicke (Deutsches Haus Ho Chi Minh City Stadt Ltd.)
Guru Mallikarjuna (Bosch Vietnam Co Ltd.)
Torben Minko (B. Braun Co Ltd.)
Soren Roed Pedersen (Julie Sandlau Co Ltd.)
Olivier Pierre Rousselet (BNP Paribas)
The following Executive Committee members were appointed from EuroCham’s Business Associations:
Claudia Anselmi (ICHAM)
Jean-Jacques Bouflet (CCIFV)
Erwin Debaere (BeluxCham)
Nguyen Hai Minh (CEEC)
Martin Koerner (GBA)
Thue Quist Thomasen (NordCham)
Ywert Visser (DBAV)
EuroCham Leadership 2021/22
The first meeting of this new Executive Committee was held on Monday 29 March. Alain Cany (Jardine Matheson) was elected as the new EuroCham Chairman. The new board also elected Olivier Rousselet (BNP Paribas) as Treasurer; Jean-Jacques Bouflet (Individual Member), Gabor Fluit (De Heus), Nguyen Hai Minh (Mazars) and Torben Minko (B.Braun) were elected Vice-Chairs; and Erwin Debaere (Perfetti Van Melle Vietnam) was elected General Secretary.
Commenting on his appointment, new EuroCham Chairman Alain Cany said:
“I am delighted to return as Chair of EuroCham at this critical time for European business, with the new government set to be in place soon following the recent Party Congress and the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement now entered into force.
“Ensuring the smooth and successful implementation of this agreement will be one of our key tasks. I intend to build upon the strong foundation created by the previous EuroCham board, and use my energy and experience to ensure that the EVFTA lives up to its potential for our members and for Vietnam.
“I look forward to working with the entire European business community – our Sector Committees, Business Associations, and wider membership – as well as the new government of Vietnam, to help improve the trade and investment environment for the benefit of companies and consumers on both sides.”
Highlights of the EuroCham AGM 2021
EuroCham board members presented highlights of the chamber’s activities since the last AGM. These included an 80 per cent increase in media coverage to raise the profile of our members’ issues; a wide range of successful events including the Gala Dinner & Business Awards, where we celebrated the best of European business; partnership in a new EU-funded project; the launch of the 12th Whitebook to raise our Sector Committees’ issues with the government; and the establishment of the EU-Vietnam Business Council to monitor the implementation of the EVFTA. Despite the challenges of COVID-19, EuroCham’s membership continued to grow, reaching 1,083; and members heard about a rejuvenation of three provincial chapters in Northeast, Central, and Southeast Vietnam. Meanwhile, each business association gave a short presentation on their activities in 2020 and priorities for 2021.
