Complimentary appetizers, beer, wine and soft drinks will be served.

Click here to pre-register for this special event.

Event Description

What is the Impact on Venture Financing and Exit Strategies for Start-up Companies?

Join us for this exciting and timely topic in these days of economic and global upheaval. Our panelists will provide a variety of perspectives from Venture Capitalists to M&A bankers to Entrepreneurs.

Topics to be discussed:

Broad and overarching trends in the venture investing community
Perspectives on economic outlook
How long is the current "uncertain/recessionary" market going to last?
How does the election year impact the venture market?
How are international markets performing and associated impact on European entrepreneurs?
Do we have a Web 2.0 "bubble"?
How should entrepreneurs’ cope?
How is the current economic crisis different from the bust in 2000 from an entrepreneur's standpoint?
Do you see any areas immune to the prevailing turbulence?
When do you see the IPO market opening up?
Will the current pace of M&A increase, decrease, or stay the same in the coming year?

Moderator:

• TBA

Panelists:

• Joerg Lamprecht, Qitera, Co-Founder and CEO.
• Greta Mowry, Verge Innovation Group, Owner, and Member of Keiretsu Forum SanFrancisco
• Richard V. Zolezzi, Partner Catapult Advisors LLC
• Eric Buatois, General Partner, Sofinnova Ventures
• Nels Nelson, Managing Director, Pagemill Partners

Event Description

Today few disagree that globalization is critical for company success. Yet creating and managing a global team remains a challenge for companies large and small alike around the world. Collaborating to achieve project and/or company goals while navigating language barriers and cultural pitfalls requires well-honed communication, teamwork, and management skills. When the global team is virtual as well, with employees, suppliers, and partners spanning multiple time zones from US to Asia to Europe and the Middle East, an even greater level of respect, understanding and skill is needed for success

This program sponsored by SiliconFrench in partnership with GABA, CSPA and HispanicNet, will provide insight into the techniques, tools and processes that US, European and Asian companies and managers have used to successfully manage global teams for success.

Moderator:

• Tom Chaffin, Partner, Pillsbury Winthrop

Panelists:

• Philippe Courtot, Chairman & CEO, Qualys, Inc.
• Farzad Naimi, Founder & Chief Corporate Development Officer, LiteScape
• Pascal Pinck, Idea Director, USA at BrainStore
• Voytek Siewierski, Investment Partner, Mitsui & Co, Venture Partners
• Udo Waibel, Senior Vice President, SAP Labs

Event Description

    Ale Gicqueau     Eric Buatois                Michel Villemain        Renaud Laplanche

Eric Buatois, ex HP executive, General Partner Sofinnova, Michel Villemain, ex Schlumberger & KLA-Tencor executive, Presto Engineering CEO, Renaud Laplanche, serial entrepreneur, LendingClub CEO.

A group of 15 executives from large companies AXA, BIC, ALTRAN, La Redoute is flying from France to join us for this special event !

They are following the Executive MBA of the
Management Institute of Paris

In order to succeed in today's highly competitive business world, leadership skills are imperative whether you work in a small company or a large corporation. In this panel discussion, our world-class panelists will explain to us the keys of leadership by leveraging their long and rich professional experience.
They will entertain their presentation with numerous anecdotes from work situations.

Eric Buatois, former VP & COO at HP, now a VC at Sofinnova, will share with us his ways of evaluating leadership potential in entrepreneurs before he can invest in their start-up.

Michel Villemain, with 20 years at large corporations like Schlumberger and KLA-tencor will describe the role of organizational structures to grow leadership skills in the management team.

Finally, Renaud Laplanche, CEO of LendingClub, the leading lending social network, will focus his speech on company leadership, meaning how a company can be the #1 in their market space.

Moderator:

• Ale Gicqueau, President, TBB Inc, InterFrench founder

Panelists:

• Eric Buatois, ex HP executive, General Partner Sofinnova Chairman and former CEO of 3Com Corporation
• Michel Villemain, ex Schlumberger & KLA-Tencor executive, Presto Engineering CEO
• Renaud Laplanche, serial entrepreneur, LendingClub CEO

Click here to pre-register for this special event.

Event Description

Eric Benhamou, the former CEO of 3Com, Andy Bechtolsheim, Co-Founder of Sun Microsystems, Wu Fu Chen, serial entrepreneur and founder of Cascade Communications, Raj Singh whose Fiberlande Communications was later sold to Cisco and Redback for $12B in 1999, Jean-Louis Gassee, former President of the Apple Products Division and now at Allegis Partners, Arno Penzias, Nobel Prize winner in Physics, Guy Gecht, CEO, Electronics for Imaging, Dina Bitton, an internationally acclaimed scientist in the field of high- performance database systems, Philippe Courtot, serial entrepreneur who sold Signio to VeriSign for over a billion dollars in 2000, Kamran Elahian, Co-Founder and Chairman of NeoMagic, a multimedia semiconductor company which launched a $300 million IPO in its fourth year and more were all interviewed in They Made It!. In the book, they reveal their recipes for success and talk about their career and life choices.

A few representatives from this this long list of Silicon Valley "greats" will join us for a lively, humorous discussion to tell us what influenced them in their lives, how they persevered, and what ways they have chosen to give back to the communities that helped them succeed.

Many of these executives don’t just have one successful start up, they are often "serial entrepreneurs"; this doesn’t mean they haven’t had their ups and downs as well, but they turned their challenges into positive lessons and moved on and upward in spite of them.

L’Executive Club, SiliconFrench, CSPA, GABA, Hispanic Net, NET-IP, SIPA, and SDForum invite you to come hear Silicon Valley’s leading entrepreneurs from around the world speak about the keys to success and fulfillment.

Moderator:

• Angelika Blendstrup, Author
• Tom Chaffin, Partner, Pillsbury

Panelists:

• Eric Benhamou, Chairman and CEO of Benhamou Global Ventures, Chairman and former CEO of 3Com Corporation
• Guy Gecht, CEO, Electronics for Imaging
• Kamran Elahian, Chairman & Co-Founder, Global Catalyst Partners
• Samba Murthy, Entrepreneur at Large
• Henry Wong, Venture Partner of Garage Technology Ventures

Event Description

WHY YOU SHOULD ATTEND

As the cost and challenge of recruitment increases, companies recognize the need to develop their existing employees and managers. Professionalism, skill and behavior development through either internal 'coaches' or outside experts in trained in coaching skills has proven very effective for many companies and people. To meet the growing need for coaches by and within companies but also from individual employees, consultants, business owners and entrepreneurs, the number and types of coaching has grown quickly.

If you are considering hiring a coach for yourself or your employees or if you are interested in developing your own coaching skills, this program will provide you with insight into the types of coaching available, key coaching techniques and results that can be expected from coaching.

Moderator:

• EJ Dieterle, YES Partners, President & CEO

Panelists:

• Dr. Angelika Blendstrup, Blendstrup & Associates, Principal
• Dr. Arlyne Diamond, Diamond Associates, Founder & President
• Claudio Vespucci, SAP Labs LLC, Sen. Director HR
• Lori Kendall, Transera Communications, SVP & Co-Founder

Event Description

Learn the ins and outs of Google Adsense in this 'how-to' workshop so you can increase your ad revenue potential for your website or blog.

We will have three different presentations on Google products--AdSense, AdWords, and Analytics, and there will be a question and answer session for ten to fifteen minutes at the end.

Understand:

• How AdSense for Content and AdSense for search work and how to optimize your content to earn maximum dollars through relevant ads
• Optimization essentials
• Designing successful ads
• Savvy Ad placement
• Ad Strategies for specific sites

Speakers:

7:30-7:55:
Andrea Bouch-Dimondstein and Austin Lau, Account Associates, Google AdWords

Attract customers and drive traffic to your site with Google AdWords.
By advertising with Google AdWords, you will reach millions of users after they’ve indicated interest in a specific topic, whether it’s by searching for it on Google.com, on one of our search partners, or as they read content online. This session will explain how AdWords works and how it can help you achieve your advertising and marketing goals.

7:55-8:20:
Meridith Blascovich, Account Associate, Google AdSense

Earn Revenue for relevant ads on your website.
Google AdSense for Content allows you to choose various sizes of ad formats and places targeted text, image, flash, and video ads on your website. AdSense for Mobile Content matches ads to the content of your mobile site, and AdSense for Search monetizes your search results pages. You'll earn money whenever your visitors click on your ads.

8:20-8:45:
Alex Ortiz-Rosado, Senior Technical Specialist, Google Analytics

Maximizing your online results using Google Analytics.
The next generation web analytics tool from Google, Analytics shows you how people find your site, how they navigate your site, and how they become customers, making it possible for you as an advertiser, publisher, and/or website owner to improve your online results. In this session, you'll learn how Google Analytics works, and how Google Analytics will help you make business decisions that will maximize your return on investment.

8:45-9:00:
Question and Answer Session

Sponsors: Silicon French, Hispanic-Net, Network of Indian Professionals (NetIP) and the Silicon Valley Indian Professionals Association (SIPA)

Event Description

Don't miss our last social mixer of the year!

SiliconFrench, Hispanic-Net, CSPA, GABA and SIPA are coming together to celebrate the holidays and provide Christmas toys for needy children through the Toys for Tots program!
Event attendees are asked to please bring an unwrapped, new toy that we will give to the Toys for Tots Program.

About Toys for Tots:

This year marks the 60th anniversary for the Toys for Tots tradition of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves. In 2006, Toys for Tots delivered more than 19.2 million toys to over 7.6 million children. Unfortunately, with over 13 million children living in poverty, Toys for Tots needs your help more than ever to achieve our goal of delivering a toy to every child in need.

Event Description

Are you using your skills and talents to change the world?
Do you have a plan and know how to put it into action?
If you are still wondering and would like to meet with friends who are looking for solutions too and have some of their own, come to our event on Nov. 8th, 6pm at Menlo College.

Our panel will offer hands on steps each of us can take to mitigate climate change. We will share experiences, answer your questions, provide success stories, build awareness on this critical issue and opportunity, find out how we, as individuals, can contribute to changing the world and instill a new, and sustainable, approach to development.

Let’s work on the future, right now!

• Join us and the French and Francophile community leading the path to a sustainable change!
• Share the experience of people like you and I on the benefits of sustainability!
• Find out how to contribute to this global challenge, locally, at work, in your community, at home
• Calculate your carbon footprint and define your personal ecology
• Realize the opportunities created by this sustainable revolution
• Network with other Francophiles sharing your interest in sustainability!
• Enjoy great company, home cooked food and wine

Panelists (more to be announced later)

• Tim Quigley, Executive Director, Volunteer Center of Silicon Valley, representing The Green Challenge 07-09
  http://www.greenchallenge0709.org

  Tim Quigley works to achieve the overall success of the Volunteer Center. Coordinating with the Board of Directors, Tim is responsible for its overall leadership and management. Tim is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University and former Course President of the NATO Defense College (1991-92). His professional thirty-five year career has encompassed a variety of senior executive positions including Executive Director/CEO, Silicon Valley Global Trading Center, Commanding Officer of Naval Air Station Moffett Field and Director of Strategic Planning and Policy, U.S. Department of Navy.

• Nancy Goebner. Nancy is currently in the process of a “green” home remodel. She assists homeowners with creation of environmentally friendly lawn replacements and she demonstrates the benefits of solar cooking. While an advocate for a strong public education system, she considers lessons she has learned outside of the traditional classroom environment equally important. Her mentors include a North Dakota homesteader, as well as Shoshone, Cherokee, and Muskogee elders who have taught her to appreciate the gifts and balance of nature, and to live lightly on the land.

• Marguerite Manteau-Rao. Currently, Marguerite is a marketing consultant, a mother, a wife, and an aspiring green do gooder. In the past, she has been active as an artist, a social worker, an engineer, and an advertising woman. She spent the first half of her life in France and is now an American citizen, residing in Palo Alto, California. You can met her online in one of her blogs (http://lamarguerite.wordpress.com).

• Dr. Bob MacDonald, high tech entrepreneur and solar energy advocate. Bob most recently led product marketing at SolFocus, a venture backed company developing high concentration photovoltaic products. Prior to SolFocus, he consulted for venture firms and private companies in both telecommunications and renewable energy markets. He co-founded and led Onetta, the leading optical amplifier company funded by Sequoia Capital and Matrix Partners. Bob also started the telecom components division of New Focus, Inc. leading to a successful IPO and secondary offerings with proceeds totaling $539 million. Bob is leveraging solar energy at home and will share tips on his way of living sustainably.

Moderators

• Jean Pommier, VP Methodology, ILOG
  A Vice President with ILOG, Jean has joined the software company a couple of months after its creation, 20 years ago, and has led all its customer services (consulting, training, customer support). Living in California since 1998, he aims at implementing a “personal ecology”, by balancing his professional, family and community involvements with a career in ultra trail running. Jean is member of the Program Committee of SiliconFrench.

Thursday, July 12th, 2007
Business Ethics - A Cultural Perspective	From 6:00PM to 09:00PM
Location: Pillsbury Winthrop 2475 Hanover Street Palo Alto, CA 94304
6:00 - 7:00 PM Registration / Networking 7:00 - 8:30 PM Panel Discussion 8:30 - 9:30 PM Networking Reception Complimentary appetizers, beer, wine and soft drinks will be served. Click here to pre-register for this special event.
Moderator
David J. Blumberg, Managing Partner, Blumberg Capital
Panelists
John Vigouroux, former CEO of Valicert, president at Tumbleweed and now CEO at Cranite Software Vigouroux draws on over twenty years of management experience in large and small technology companies to set the strategic agenda and direct all aspects of company management. Over the past several years, Vigouroux has dramatically grown two public software security companies to profitability. Vigouroux was president and COO at Tumbleweed Communications, a public software security company, where he was responsible for sales, marketing, engineering, customer support and professional services. Prior to this, Vigouroux was president and CEO at Valicert, which was acquired by Tumbleweed. At Valicert, he engineered the acquisition by Tumbleweed Communications while leading the company to profitability. Vigouroux has also held leadership positions in both large multi-national enterprises such as Cisco, Adobe Systems, and GE Information Services, as well as several Silicon Valley startups. Tom Chaffin, Partner, Pillsbury, Winthrop, Shaw, Pittman, LLP Mr. Chaffin is a partner in the Corporate & Securities group at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman's Palo Alto office. His experience in representing clients in the Silicon Valley spans more than twenty years. He focuses on the representation of technology companies and venture capital firms in financings, mergers and acquisitions, strategic alliances and commercial transactions. Mr. Chaffin also assists companies in their intellectual property protection and licensing programs, tax planning, and strategic corporate planning. He has represented both mature as well as early stage companies in the areas of semiconductors, software, communications equipment, contract manufacturing, information technology, life sciences, consumer and health products and real estate development and syndication. Mr. Chaffin is a past chairperson of the Tax Section of the Santa Clara County Bar Association and is a member of the Executive Committee of the Business Law Section. He is a member of the Adjunct Faculty at Golden Gate University where he teaches in the Graduate School of Taxation. Mr. Chaffin is also a prominent member of the firm's India & South Asia practice group. Education LL.M., Taxation, New York University School of Law, 1984 J.D., University of San Francisco School of Law, 1983 with honors Jim Balassone, Executive-in-Residence, Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, Santa Clara University Jim Balassone directs the business ethics programs of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. He helped to develop and manages the Center's cornerstone offering in this area, the Business and Organizational Ethics Partnership, which brings scholars and businesspeople together to address key ethical challenges and develop best practices for building ethical organizational cultures. He also leads the Center's development efforts and works closely with its Advisory Board members on fundraising. Balassone has worked with boards of directors, executive teams, and non-profit advisory boards on the topics of business ethics, organizational obstacles to effective ethical behavior, and implementing campaigns for improving ethical culture. He is actively engaged with several clients supporting their efforts to implement values-based leadership, codes of conduct, training, management assessment, and risk assessment. Prior to joining the Ethics Center in 2002, Balassone had an extensive background in sales, marketing, and business development. He was a founding member of several start-up companies in Silicon Valley, was executive vice president for marketing and then sales at Hitachi Data Systems, and held a broad range of line and staff positions at IBM. Balassone serves in various volunteer alumni roles for his alma mater, Princeton University. He holds an MBA in finance from New York University. Venky Ganesan, Managing Director, Globespan Capital Partners
Event Description
Globalization has increased demands for business transparency, the rule of law and universal standards and norms. In addition, some advocate expansion of managerial goals beyond shareholder profits to include social responsibility to multiple stakeholders including employees, environment, local economy and neighbors. Moreover, governments and NGOs press for more regulation, including financial securities, privacy and information protection, homeland security and export restrictions, money laundering and corrupt practices, IP protection, quotas and tariffs, environmental and human rights, wage and union rules, and occupational safety. This month's panel will grapple with the following questions: How should a corporation conduct its operations when laws, standards and values of the home country conflict with those abroad? Should corporations work for improvement of civic society in each country, or stick to bottom line concerns? How is Social Responsibility manifesting in the managerial role; what are examples of dealing with “externalities”? Where are laws and norms converging towards universal standards and where are they diverging? Why? How does the increase in governmental regulation affect corporations? How does the increasing role of Non-Governmental Organizations affect corporations? Where can managers find the resources to help work through these complex issues? Co-hosted by Silicon French, Hispanic-Net, CSPA, GABA, and SIPA

Thursday, June 14th, 2007
Driving Change: Alternative Fuels for tomorrows’ Cars.	From 6:00PM to 09:00PM
Location: Russel Center Menlo College 1000 El Camino Atherton, CA 94027 The Russell Center is in El Camino Hall - see map
6:00 PM ­ 7:00 PM   Registration and Car exhibit 7:00 - 7:15 PM   Introduction 7:15 - 8:30 PM   Panel Discussion 8:30 - 9:00 PM   Networking Complimentary appetizers, beer, wine and soft drinks will be served
Moderator
Christian Forthomme, CEO of Realchange Bruno Manh, GM Datamedia USA
Panelists
BioFuel Richard Gillis, President and CEO of Energy Alternative Solutions, Inc Vincent Guerrieri, VP Goldstar Biodiesel Hybrids Ian Wright, CEO of Wrightspeed, Inc - (He will bring his prototype X1) Felix Kramer, CEO of CalCars - (He will bring his Prius plug in) Venture Capital in Cleantech Sanjay Wagle, VantagePoint Venture Partner Andrew Chung, Lightspeed Venture Partner
Event Description
Over more than a century, the automobile has presented itself as a fascinating microcosm of technological evolution at work fuelling our industry and the American way of life. Even as conventional engines have improved, recent years have found a growing interest in fuel alternatives that could potentially power our vehicles either more efficiently or with fewer emission byproducts – or both. Alternative fuels are attractive because they could potentially lessen our dependence on imported oil and, in some cases, because existing vehicles can be converted to run on these fuels with minimal modifications. These new alternative fuels, hybrid, diesel and hydrogen are the emerging technologies in the current automotive marketplace. There is a promising transition already taking place, people are realizing that these new technologies can succeed not because they are forced on us, but simply because they are better. And, given that venture capital in clean tech has grown from $623 million in 2005 to $1.5 billion this past year, it is likely that the number of alternative energy/automotive companies to test the public markets will continue to increase this year. A panel of experts from the area of hybrid, electrical cars and bio diesel fuels as well as VCs will discuss this topic focusing on timing, availability and affordability of these solutions, as well as the market opportunities created.

Thursday, May 10th, 2007
Trends in Digital Media / Digital Entertainment: What`s Next?	From 6:00PM to 09:00PM
Location: Russel Center Menlo College 1000 El Camino Atherton, CA 94027
6:00 PM ­ 7:00 PM   Registration and Networking 7:00 - 8:30 PM   Program 8:30 - 9:30 PM   Networking Reception Complimentary appetizers, beer, wine and soft drinks will be served
Moderator
Raphael Hitzke: Mobile Digital Home Marketing at Intel Corp. (http://www.intel.com) and Marketing Coordinator of the Sacramento French Film Festival (www.sacramentofrenchfilmfestival.org)
Panelists
Frederic Descamps: Senior Director of Business Development & Marketing, at Xfire (www.xfire.com), part of MTV Networks. Khai Minh Pham: CEO of Easyplanet (www.easyplanet.com) Stephane Savard: Chief Scientist, at Current TV (www.currentmedia.com) Frédéric Sitterlé: New Media General Manager, at Socpresse/Le Figaro (www.lefigaro.fr) and CEO of Sport24 (http://www.sport24.com)
Event Description
What is the impact of Youtube? What is the impact of gaming culture becoming mainstream? Are newspapers going to disappear? What kind of business models are emerging from the digital revolution in the media and entertainment industries? What is the ripple effect on the other businesses? If you want to find out please join our experts on May 10th, 2007: The new digital technologies are changing how people and companies create entertainment and how people consume their entertainment. It also has a major impact on companies beyond these industries: advertizers are trying to reach these moving audiences. With our panel of experts you will learn more about: The gaming industry and about Xfire The media industry and the new TV channel Current TV The transformation of the press and how newspapers are adapting to the digital age User Generated Content and its impact on all industries The Digital Home The new business models that are emerging How companies can embrace the new opportunities created by these changes

Thursday, April 12th, 2007
Climate Change: Large Companies and NGOs on a mission!	From 6:00PM to 09:00PM
Location: Russel Center Menlo College 1000 El Camino Atherton, CA 94027
6:00 PM ­ 7:00 PM   Registration and Networking 7:00 - 8:30 PM   Program 8:30 - 9:30 PM   Networking Reception Complimentary appetizers, beer, wine and soft drinks will be served
Panelists
- Judy Glazer is Director for Global Social and Environmental Responsibility (SER) Operations at Hewlett-Packard www.hp.com - Ted Smith is SVTC's founder and former Executive Director. He is currently SVTC's Senior Strategist www.svtc.org - Jonathan Bauer is manager, Real Estate Workplace Solutions at Hewlett-Packard www.hp.com - Bill Barclay is Global Finance Campaigner with Rain Forest Action Network www.ran.org - Jean-Paul Moiroux is R & D Director, Evolutionary Product, Consumer PC at Hewlett-Packard www.hp.com - Christian Forthomme is President of RealChange www.realchange.com
Event Description
Learn, be inspired and discover new opportunities for yourself and for your company from a world-class panel of senior executives from HP, Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition and Rain Forest Action Network. Leading global companies and NGO's today have a unique perspective on the implications of climate change and of other serious sustainability challenges on business, society and all of us. Some are consciously working together to come up with concrete solutions to issues of vital importance for customers, citizens and shareholders. In this panel you will learn: What sustainability means to HP How climate change is factored in HP's environmental thinking How sustainability is integrated in HP’s operations The unique role and exemplary work of Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition to promote human health and environmental justice in response to the rapid growth of the high-tech industry. The ground-breaking results obtained on climate change and on protection of natural systems by Rain Forest Action Network, dubbed “the most savvy environmental agitators in the business” by the Wall Street Journal How large companies like HP are partnering with SVTC and RAN today for maximum impact.

Thursday, March 15th, 2007
2007-2012 Silicon Valley Entrepreneurship Outlook	From 6:00PM to 09:00PM
Location: Cooley Godward Kronish LLP 3175 Hanover Street Palo Alto, CA 94304-1130
6:00 PM ­ 7:00 PM   Registration and Networking 7:00 - 8:30 PM   Program 8:30 - 9:30 PM   Networking Reception Complimentary appetizers, beer, wine and soft drinks will be served
Moderator
Daniel Zimmermann - Cooley Godward Kronish
Panelists
Jean-Louis Gassee, Partner, Allegis Capital Charly Kleissner, PhD, Partner Acumen Fund Tony Seba , Author of "Winners Take All - The 9 Fundamental Rules of High Tech Strategy".
Event Description
New Spaces, New Opportunities, New Money, Same M.O.? Silicon French and The German American Business Association of California (GABA), Inc. invite you to this joint event to discuss Silicon Valley Entrepreneurship. Focus: What are the key trends with regard to technology spaces/industries and business models, as well as venture capital funding strategies five years out? Wireless, Cleantech/Renewables, Nanotech, Lifesciences/Healthcare, Venture Philanthropy? Are Silicon Valley style entrepreneurship and VC modus operandi well suited to exploiting them? What lessons have we learned from the dot.com and telecom bubbles that will help us build more sustainable value in these spaces/industries? Will social and environmental sustainability play an increasingly stronger role in value creation in these areas? Can European and American approaches to entrepreneurship and venture funding learn anything from each other in the context of these new spaces/industries? Audience: Accomplished transatlantic business and social entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. High-profile professionals who have successfully led innovation in the past and are helping shape the entrepreneurial direction of tomorrow. American and European entrepreneurs seeking expert advice. Entrepreneurs "in spe" wanting to launch their own venture Academic, financial, legal, product, strategy advisory professionals seeking to exchange best practices and forward-looking thinking on tomorrow's entrepreneurial trends.

Thursday, February 8th, 2007
Are you ready for the Sustainability and Greentech Revolutions?	From 6:00PM to 09:00PM
Location: Russel Center Menlo College 1000 El Camino Atherton, CA 94027 Please print map for directions and PARKING The Russell Center is the building located on the right as you enter Menlo College – parking is available in that lot or in a lot to the left of the entrance – Additional parking is available behind the Russel Center, in the back of the lot to the right of the entrance. There will be a gate open for further parking, you may drive there even though there is a sign which says you can’t enter.
6:00 PM ­ 7:00 PM   Registration and Networking 7:00 PM ­ 7:15 PM   Introduction 7:15 PM ­ 8:30 PM   Panel Discussion 8:30 PM ­ 9:00 PM   Networking
Event Description
The World is Changing rapidly... Are you ready for the Sustainability and Greentech Revolutions? Due to climate change, the melting of the arctic ice cap, the rising cost of energy and an increased awareness of global economic disparities, sustainable development has become an important subject for world business and political leaders as well as for ordinary citizens. Extraordinary new opportunities are emerging for green entrepreneurs, managers and for individuals to do good for the world while making money. A panel of French-speaking executives, as part of the InterFrench community, is committed to sharing with you: the seriousness of the sustainability challenges we face their economical, political and social impact the growing need for sustainable development technologies and innovation a very inspiring series of InterFrench events in 2007 that will help you understand, connect with others and benefit from the opportunities presented to you by Sustainable Development.

Thursday, December 14th, 2006
Help a French entrepreneur to create the next Google life!	From 6:00PM to 09:00PM
Location: Fireside Lounge Student Union Menlo College 1000 El Camino Atherton, CA 94027 Please print map for directions and PARKING The Russell Center is the building located on the right as you enter Menlo College – parking is available in that lot or in a lot to the left of the entrance – Additional parking is available behind the Russel Center, in the back of the lot to the right of the entrance. There will be a gate open for further parking, you may drive there even though there is a sign which says you can’t enter.
6:00 PM ­ 7:00 PM   Registration and Networking 7:00 PM ­ 7:15 PM   Introduction 7:15 PM ­ 8:30 PM   Panel Discussion 8:30 PM ­ 9:00 PM   Networking
Event Description
Fabien Degaugue is brillant young French entrepreneur that has created a new Internet concept and market. Ketady strives to become the world reference for providing Human Answers to any question, as easily and effectively as searching on the Web, just asking the right person. All of us that spend countless time in searching the web for the right answer know that Fabien touched on something big. This connection between questionnees and answerees is made possible through a leading-edge patented innovative search engine - http://www.ketady.fr Fabien just moved his company from Lille to the Silicon Valley and is asking for your HELP! After describing his concept, he will sollicit you to bring your expertise whether it in marketing, sales or engineering. Come learn about Ketady and join the adventure on a full-time or part-time basis and create the next Google!

Thursday, November 9th, 2006
The Bay Area is really unique: let's get outdoors for a balanced life!	From 6:00PM to 09:00PM
Location: Russel Center   Menlo College Address: 1000 El Camino   Atherton, CA 94027   Please print map for directions and PARKING   The Russell Center is the building located on the right as you enter Menlo College – parking is available in that lot or in a lot to the left of the entrance – Additional parking is available behind the Russel Center, in the back of the lot to the right of the entrance. There will be a gate open for further parking, you may drive there even though there is a sign which says you can’t enter.
6:00 PM ­ 7:00 PM   Registration and Networking 7:00 PM ­ 7:15 PM   Introduction 7:15 PM ­ 8:30 PM   Panel Discussion 8:30 PM ­ 9:00 PM   Networking
Moderator Jean Pommier will moderate the discussion. Jean is member of the Program Committee of SiliconFrench. A Vice President with ILOG, he has joined the company a couple of months after its creation, almost 20 years ago. As a hobby, he started running seriously upon moving to the Bay Area 8 years ago and became an avid runner, quickly placing in many races including top 10 Masters at the 2005 internationally renowned Boston Marathon. Jean is leveraging his love for the Peninsula hilly trails in his new achievements in ultra marathons.
Panelist Scott Dunlap Chuck Wilson Scott Dunlap Scott Dunlap - Scott has several lives ! On the business side he is an accomplished executive and entrepreneur in the eBusiness space (E.piphany, Loudcloud, 4charity.com, and recently founded NearbyNow.   Scott also excels in sports. After many years of mountain biking, he switched to trail running and was the 2004 Overall Champion for the Trail Runner Magazine Trophy Series (marathon-and-shorter division), the largest trail running series in the world. Scott also writes music and his blog (runtrails.blogspot.com) is getting a lot of traction in the running community, providing motivation to its many readers. Scott is also writing screen plays and, major milestone, has added parenting in his busy schedule with a new born girl this summer. Chuck Wilson Chuck Wilson - Chuck has worked in software engineering since 1966, exercising his technical talents and experience in many fields including intelligence, space & communication, system integration, chip design, financial engineering, business to business applications and today, natural language search. He moved from Maryland to the California in 1970 and to Silicon Valley in 1979. Since then he has seen the transformation of it but also the preservation of the unique "green belt" around it. Chuck knows how challenging it is to preserve such an open space in a metropolitan area such as the Bay Area: he has traveled to more than 50 countries throughout the world, visited all continents but Antarctica, hiking, running trails, climbing, white water rafting to name a few of his outdoors activities. Chuck is involved in several preservation groups and projects, is an active volunteer at the service of the mid-Peninsula parks and a Director on the Board of the Bay Area Ridge Trail Council.
Event Description
For the ones knowing the French or Parisian expression, there is no metro-boulotdodo here. The Silicon Valley is unique by the richness of its history in high tech, in venture capital, and its unmatched gathering and leveraging of so many cultures. But never heard about the fear of its model being replicated in other regions of the world? There is definitely something you would never take away from our Valley though, this is the environment. The climate, the nearby hills, the hundreds of miles of trails, the redwoods, etc. Money will never buy or build that elsewhere! Your Silicon Valley is unique: go outdoors! From walkers to runners, bird watchers to bikers, photographers to horse riders, we are surrounded of opportunities to enjoy this invaluable environment which our visitors either envy or don't even know and appreciate. Come to listen to great stories and information about the area and discover new ideas and tips to enjoy it even more. From busy professionals who find the time to hit the trails as well as volunteering to preserve this unique environment provided by Mother Nature. For one evening let's get "off the trail" of the usual business topics (Internet, computers, software, venture capital, ...) and gather for a cool, friendly and open round table.

Thursday, October 26th, 2006
How to Maximize Your Chance of Success in the Valley thanks to Joint Ventures.	From 6:00PM to 09:00PM
Location: Russel Center   Menlo College Address: 1000 El Camino   Atherton, CA 94027   Please print map for directions and PARKING   The Russell Center is the building located on the right as you enter Menlo College – parking is available in that lot or in a lot to the left of the entrance – Additional parking is available behind the Russel Center, in the back of the lot to the right of the entrance. There will be a gate open for further parking, you may drive there even though there is a sign which says you can’t enter.
6:00 PM ­ 7:00 PM   Registration and Networking 7:00 PM ­ 7:15 PM   Introduction 7:15 PM ­ 8:30 PM   Panel Discussion 8:30 PM ­ 9:00 PM   Networking Click here to pre-register for this special event.
Moderator Valerie Vauthey Founder MyPrivateCoach
Panelist     Philippe Bouissou Mitchell Levy     Philippe Bouissou   Philippe has been involved in the IT industry for 17 years. He is the co-founder and Managing Director of Astra Venture Partners, a firm dedicated to help driven entrepreneurs realize their goal to build companies that matter.   Philippe has been an early-stage Venture Capitalist since 1998 at Allegis Capital and Ventech. He previously founded and ran the Internet Commerce Group at Apple and built it from zero to a $350 million profitable business.   Prior to Apple, Philippe was with Matra Hachette and was the CEO of a Unix software company.     Mitchell Levy Mitchell Levy, CEO, Happy About® is a strategist, educator & prognosticator helping companies succeed by putting tools in the hands of corporations and individuals to allow them to create their own success. Books are his latest and most powerful toolset. He is a frequent media guest and a popular speaker, lecturing on business and management issues throughout the U.S. and around the world. He has started 11 companies/joint ventures since 1997 and has provided strategic consulting to over 100 companies.     Mr. Levy is also on the Board of Directors of Rainmaker Systems.
Event Description
This presentation will go over the 8 critical factors of success an entrepreneurs should be aware of before jumping (with no parachute) in the joint-venturing world. Joint ventures can be very rewarding whether you have a small or a large company. They allow to reach far-away protected markets, markets with high barriers to entry, and to easily integrate skill sets that would otherwise take years to develop. Together, we will review the potential pitfalls, the traps and problems a joint venturer will have to address to become successful. To your success!
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Venture Capital Globalization – Where is it going, and why should we care?	From 6:00PM to 09:00PM
Location: Cooley Godward, LLP Address: 3175 Hanover St.   Palo Alto, CA 94304 Phone: 650-843-5000
6:00 PM ­ 7:00 PM   Registration and Networking 7:00 PM ­ 7:15 PM   Introduction 7:15 PM ­ 8:30 PM   Panel Discussion 8:30 PM ­ 9:00 PM   Networking Click here to pre-register for this special event.
Venture Capital Globalization – Where is it going, and why should we care?
Moderator
Daniel Zimmerman, Cooley Godward LLP
Speakers
Marc Onetto - Director - Microvision
Dr. Claas Heise, Managing Director T-Ventures
Pyramyth Liu, Venture Partner, id Ventures America
Vish Mishra, Senior Venture Partner, Clearstone Venture Partners
Aymerik YC Renard, General Partner Innovacom Venture
About the Event
WHY YOU NEED TO ATTEND: Some of the biggest VC-backed winners last year were not based in the Silicon Valley. In fact, they’re not even based in the U.S. China-based Baidu saw its stock rise from $27 to $122.54 on the first day of rading after their IPO. Luxembourg-based Skype, a firm with no profit and only $60 million in revenues, was sold to eBay for $4 billion. Many VC investments today are born outside the US and more US VC's are hopping on long-distance flights, and looking at offshore technology start-ups. • What are VCs looking at overseas? • What drives VC investment? • What are the “hot” geographical sectors? • How are deals different? • What does this mean for Silicon Valley startups? • Why should we care? In this event jointly hosted by SiliconFrench, GABA, HispanicNet, NetIP, CSPA and SIPA, Silicon Valley's leading VCs and entrepreneurs will share their insights and experiences. Join us for an informative and insightful evening, and some high-spirited international networking with members of all six organizations.
Biographies
Daniel Zimmerman, Cooley Godward LLP
Daniel Zimmermann is an associate in the Cooley Godward Business department and a member of the Firm's Global Law and German practice groups. He joined the Firm in 2000 and is a resident of the Palo Alto office.
Mr. Zimmermann has a general business and corporate practice with an emphasis on international business and in- and outbound venture capital transactions. Mr. Zimmermann has extensive experience with global expansions and off-shore acquisitions by U.S. companies, and regularly advises non-U.S. investors with their investments in the U.S.
Mr. Zimmermann studied law at the Freie Universität Berlin and at Albert-Ludwig Universität, Freiburg, Germany. He completed his studies with the First State Examination in 1995. In the United States, Mr. Zimmermann received an LL.M. degree from University of California, Los Angeles School of Law in 1996.
He is fluent in English, German and French.
Mr. Zimmermann served as Vice President and Board Member of the German-American International School of Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area from Fall of 2000 to Spring of 2002. He was appointed a member of the Executive Committee of the International Law Section of the State Bar of California and is also a member of the International Law Sections of the American and New York Bar Associations and a member of the German American Lawyers Association.
Mr. Zimmermann is admitted to practice in California and New York.
Marc Onetto - Director - Microvision Marc Onetto, Director, Microvision, former Senior Vice President, Solectron. Marc Onetto joined Microvision as a director in March 2006. Mr. Onetto was Executive Vice President of Worldwide Operations for Solectron, a $10 billion global provider of electronics manufacturing and integrated supply-chain services to OEMs, from June 2003 to May 2006. He joined Solectron after a 15 year career with GE where he most recently was Vice President of GE Corporate’s European operations. From 1992-2002 Mr. Onetto held several senior leadership positions at GE Medical Systems as head of its global supply chain and operations, global quality, and global process engineering. He was one of GE’s Six Sigma pioneers and spearheaded the quality culture transformation across GE Medical Systems. Prior to GE, Mr. Onetto served 12 years with Exxon Corporation in supply operations, information systems and finance. Marc is a graduate of the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie-Mellon University and of the Ecole Centrale de Lyon in France. Marc was born in Paris, has married Sally an English lady and has brought up two kids in America. He is a true global citizen.
Dr. Claas Heise - Managing Director - T-Ventures Claas joined Deutsche Telekom in 1995 and held a variety of management positions. He joined T-Venture in Bonn, Germany in 2001 after serving as an outside advisor since 1997. Claas moved to the US and became Managing Director at T-Venture of America in 2002. T-Venture is the corporate venture capital arm of Deutsche Telekom group, which also includes T-Mobile. Claas is a member of the VC-Angel Roundtable, a member of the German-American Business Association of California, and member of the steering committee of the Service Provider Investment Forum. He was on the advisory board of Cal-IT and is on the advisory board of Golden Capital Network as well. Claas is a graduate of NVCA's Venture Capital Institute.
Pyramyth Liu, Venture Partner, id Ventures America Mr. Pyramyth Liu is a Venture Partner at iD Ventures America. In addition to his executive management background in operating roles, he helps develop startups in the e-commerce, internet security, enterprise software, and the wireless industry market place. He currently serves as the Board of Director at MobileID, Zeus Communications Inc., and PointRed Technology, Inc. At IVA, Mr. Liu's focus is on investments in the software and wireless market. In 1993, Mr. Liu joined Acer Computer International (ACI) as the Director of Sales for its Japanese subsidiary, Acer Japan Corporation. At ACI, he established and managed major distribution, retail, and corporate sales channels for PC and PC component businesses in Japan. Mr. Liu also coordinated the Acer Group strategic alliance with Japanese firms. Between 1997 and 2000, Mr. Liu was the head of ShopAcer at Acer America Corporation (AAC). He established and managed all aspects of the B2C e-commerce operations for direct PC sales to consumers. In addition, he oversaw the call center, logistics, and warehouse operations to fulfill and support end-user demand. Prior to joining the Acer Group, Mr. Liu worked at the Fujisankei Group, a Japanese media conglomerate. Between 1987-1993 he was the White House Correspondent for a Japanese daily newspaper, the Sankei Shimbun, a division of Fujisankei Communications International, Inc. He reported on businesses and economic issues related to U.S.-Japan, U.S.-China, and U.S.-Asian affairs. Mr. Liu graduated from the Paul H. Nitze School for Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at the Johns Hopkins University with an MA degree in International Relations and International Economics. He holds a BA in Statistics from the National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan.
Vish Mishra, Senior Venture Partner, Clearstone Venture Partners Vish joined Clearstone in March 2002 with over 30 years of leadership and management experience in the high tech industry including software, Internet, networking and telecommunications. He is a founder and served as a board member of Telera, a cutting edge voice web infrastructure company funded by Accel and Sequoia, which was sold to Alcatel for $140 million in 2002. Vish was also co-founder of Excelan (1983), which was funded with $7.3 million in venture capital, went public in 1987, sold for $225 million in 1989 and went on to contribute $1 billion to Novell's revenue in subsequent years. Vish prides himself in being a mentor capitalist who sits or has sat on boards of many venture-backed companies such as Abeama, Cofix, Onjibe, PostMedia Group, Quantros, Ramp Networks (sold to Nokia), SloMedia, Verano, and Xalted IP Networks. His prior experience includes founding VP of Operations of Excelan and VP Novell and EVP of iPlanet (a unit of Sun Microsystems and AOL), and CEO of four start-ups: Info-Objects, Mindworks, IntelliMatch and Ace Software. Vish holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from the Institute of Technology at Benares Hindu University, an MS in Electrical Engineering from North Dakota State University and MBA work from the University of Minnesota. He is a very active Director and Charter Member of TiE who has dedicated himself to the growth of the organization since its inception. Vish's focus at Clearstone is deal flow, syndicate networking, portfolio company support and executive coaching. His vast network in Silicon Valley, extended globally through TiE, is an invaluable asset to entrepreneurs and to us. Vish serves on the board of Novariant (formerly IntegriNautics).
Aymerik YC Renard, General Partner Innovacom Venture Aymerik Renard joined Innovacom in 1996 to launch its investment program in the United States. Since opening Innovacom's office in San Francisco, California, Mr. Renard has invested in over twenty early-stage start-ups, resulting in five IPOs and seven M&A transactions. Mr. Renard's major investments include Cobalt Networks (Nasdaq IPO, then bought by Sun Microsystems), eFusion (bought by ITXC), Epicentric (bought by Vignette), Four11 Corporation (bought by Yahoo), Intershop Communications (Neuer Markt IPO), Preview Systems (Nasdaq IPO), Sandpiper Networks (bought by Digital Island/Cable & Wireless), Tumbleweed Communications (Nasdaq IPO), and Valicert (Nasdaq IPO). Before joining Innovacom, Mr. Renard was in New York City, heading France Telecom North America's Internet and online services business development activities. He conducted technological, market, and strategic analyses as well as partnership and joint venture negotiations in close collaboration with France Telecom's enterprise and consumer Internet business units in Paris, France. In addition, Mr. Renard was responsible for establishing France Telecom's first US web site. Mr. Renard has a Bachelor of Science degree from Carnegie Mellon University in Information and Decision Systems as well as in Policy and Management.
July 27th, 2006
EBAY Executives discuss Designing Businesses.	From 6:00PM to 09:00PM
Location: Fireside Lounge Student Union Menlo College 1000 El Camino Atherton, CA 94027 Please print map for directions and PARKING The Russell Center is the building located on the right as you enter Menlo College – parking is available in that lot or in a lot to the left of the entrance – Additional parking is available behind the Russel Center, in the back of the lot to the right of the entrance. There will be a gate open for further parking, you may drive there even though there is a sign which says you can’t enter. 6:00 PM ­ 7:00 PM   Registration and Networking 7:00 PM ­ 7:15 PM   Introduction 7:15 PM ­ 8:30 PM   Panel Discussion 8:30 PM ­ 9:00 PM   Networking Click here to pre-register for this special event.
EBAY Executives discuss Designing Businesses.
In a business environment marked by increasing, worldwide competition, success is likely to come from products and services that are highly differentiated. Price is important but, is not always the key ingredient required to win. Business investment and emphasis is focusing on design as an important, non-price driver of bottom-line growth. As such, design and design management are becoming increasingly important business functions. In this presentation Nancy Dickenson, Senior Director of User Experience Design at eBay, will present how design can act as a core business driver. She will discuss how strong design management can provide a mechanism by which different business perspectives can successfully integrate to deliver breakthrough products and services.
Moderator
Nancy Dickenson, Senior Director of User Experience Design at eBay André Haddad, Vice President of User Experience & Design at eBay.
July 3rd, 2006
Please click here to view photo gallery
Please click here to read articles about this spectacular event
French Version	English Version
When:	Monday July 3rd, 2006
Where:	The Residence of the General Consul of France
Program:	6:30 PM ­ 7:30 PM Registration and Networking 7:30 PM ­ 7:45 PM Introduction 7:45 PM ­ 9:00 PM Panel Discussion 9:00 PM ­ 9:30 PM Networking
The Ambassador of France to the United States
The French Ambassador in the United States, his Excellency Jean-David Levitte will visit InterFrench at the residence of the French consul Mr. Desagneaux on July 3rd in the evening. Accompanied by 10 general consul of France in USA and representatives of the French-speaking elite in the world of business, art, policy, education and business, his Excellency, will lead a discussion in our company on the evolution of French-American relations and reforms that have been newly set up in France.
At the end, we’ll have painted together a French identity in the United States, as we shall see it in the Silicon Valley.
Quand:	Lundi 3 Juillet, 2006
Ou:	La Résidence du Consulat Général de France
Programmation:	6:30 PM ­ 7:30 PM Enregistrement et Networking 7:30 PM ­ 7:45 PM Introduction 7:45 PM ­ 9:00 PM Discussion 9:00 PM ­ 9:30 PM Networking
L'Ambassadeur de France aux Etats-Unis
"L'ambassadeur de France aux Etats-Unis, son Excellence Jean-David Levitte rend visite à InterFrench a la résidence du Consul général de France, M. Desagneaux le 3 Juillet au soir. En compagnie des 10 consuls généraux de France aux USA et de représentants de l'élite Francophone dans le monde des affaires, de la culture, de la politique et de l'éducation, l'ambassadeur se livrera à un dialogue sans exclusive sur l'évolution des relations franco-américaines, ainsi que sur les grands sujets d'actualité et sur les réformes qui ont déjà été accomplies en France et celles qui restent encore à entreprendre.
Pour finir, nous dresserons ensemble un tableau de l'identité francaise et francophone aux Etats-Unis, telles que nous les voyons dans la région de San Francisco."
Panelist 1. Pierre Haren 2. Julien Nguyen 3. Iwan Streichenberger 4. Henri Monjauze Pierre Haren Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ilog A leading figure in the European technology community, Pierre Haren is chairman and chief executive officer of ILOG. Haren cofounded ILOG in 1987, and after seeing quick growth in Europe, launched fully owned subsidiaries in Singapore, the United States and Japan. He took ILOG public on the NASDAQ in 1997, and on Le Nouveau Marché, now Euronext, in 1998. Haren is a board member of IPSOS, a leading European market research company, and ENPC, the graduate school for civil engineers. He is a founding member of the Académie des Technologies and was awarded the Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur medal, one of France's highest honors. He is also a member of the International Council of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. Haren earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics at L'Ecole Polytechnique, a master's degree in engineering at the Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées and a doctorate in civil engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ~END~ Julien Nguyen Managing Partner Concept Ventures Julien Nguyen is a serial entrepreneur who founded and led four successful startups from inception to market leadership in digital media, semiconductor and software. Prior to co-founding Concept Ventures, Julien Nguyen founded Applied Materials Ventures in 2001, and was a Managing Partner until 2005. He led investments in companies such as Devicescape, Grandis, M-Stream (acquired by Broadcom NASDAQ:BRCM), Takumi, with co-investors such as August Capital, Kleiner Perkins, Mobius, Sevin Rosen, IT Farm, and corporate investors (Broadcom, NEC, Renesas, Rohm, Toshiba). Prior to Applied Materials Ventures, Julien Nguyen was a Venture Partner at Global Catalyst Partners focusing on investments in communications infrastructure. Julien co-founded Ezlogin, a leading developer of personalization infrastructure tools for internet sites and wireless carriers in January 1999, and served as its Chairman until the acquisition of Ezlogin by 724 Solution for $127M in June 2000. Julien earned a Master of Science degree from Ecole Polytechnique in France (X77) and a Post Graduate degree from Telecom Paris. Mr. Nguyen holds 21 patents granted in the US. ~END~ Iwan Streichenberger President Edusoft Iwan Streichenberger is president of Edusoft and a corporate vice president of Houghton Mifflin. Iwan joined Houghton Mifflin in 2001 as vice president of corporate development and technology initiatives. He has also served as corporate vice president of strategy and business development and as president of Houghton Mifflin Learning Technology. Prior to joining Houghton Mifflin, Iwan was COO at Flipside Europe, a division of Vivendi Universal Publishing, where he was responsible for the company’s operations in the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Hungary. Iwan serves on the Education Board for SIIA. ~END~ Henri Monjauze Henri Monjauze, a native San Franciscan, was an elected member of the CSFE(Conseil Supérieur des Français de l'Etranger) now known as the AFE(Assemblée des Français de l'Etranger) for 17 years and is now an honorary member . He is a founding parent and past president and treasurer of the Lycée LaPérouse. He is also a founding director and past president of the French-American Chamber of Commerce, a former president of the Alliance Française de San Francisco and a founding member of the Conseillers du Commerce Exterieur  de San Francisco. ~END~
The buffet is prepared by well-known French Chef: Philippe Bressolier.
May 25th, 2006
What to do and not to do :-)...to raise VC money!	From 6:00PM to 09:00PM
Please click here to go to photo gallery
Location: Russel Center Menlo College 1000 El Camino Atherton, CA 94027 Please print map for directions and PARKING The Russell Center is the building located on the right as you enter Menlo College – parking is available in that lot or in a lot to the left of the entrance – Additional parking is available behind the Russel Center, in the back of the lot to the right of the entrance. There will be a gate open for further parking, you may drive there even though there is a sign which says you can’t enter. 6:00 PM ­ 7:00 PM   Registration and Networking 7:00 PM ­ 7:15 PM   Introduction 7:15 PM ­ 8:30 PM   Panel Discussion 8:30 PM ­ 9:00 PM   Networking Click here to pre-register for this special event.
Moderator
Eric Buatois, Managing Director. Entrepreneurs value their working relationship with Eric because he is a "big picture" strategic thinker who takes the time to provide coaching on the science—and the art—of growing a business. He is a supportive, positive team-player who likes to have fun. Prior to joining Sofinnova Ventures in 2001 to focus on the telecommunications sector, Eric had 18 years of experience in the communications industry. He had a 14-year tenure with Hewlett-Packard, where he had business management, profit and loss, and global strategic responsibilities through leadership roles based in Europe and the United States. He joined H-P's French operations in 1987 to lead product strategy for the company's Telecom Systems business unit, which encompassed global divisions. In 1994, Eric relocated to Sweden, where he served as Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Ericsson Hewlett-Packard Telecommunication AB, a $200 million global joint venture specializing in network management systems and billing systems for service providers. He also served on the Board of EHPT. In 1998, Eric moved to H-P's U.S. headquarters, where he became General Manager of H-P's $340 million Communication Solution business unit. He began his career with Texas Instruments in 1983, rising to European Product Manager for the Digital Signal Processor line. Concentrating on DSP applied to wireless, Eric defined and guided the product line's introduction into the European market, and negotiated key OEM agreements with top European telecom equipment vendors. His efforts led to the successful Europe-wide deployment of TI's DSP line. Eric received his M.S. in Computer Science and Communications Engineering from Ecole Nationale Superieure des Telecommunications (France). Jean-Louis Gassée has been associated with the firm since 1994, first as a Special Limited Partner of AVI III. He joined the firm full-time in October 2002 and was named a General Partner in April 2003. Prior to this, he headed up Be, Inc., which developed the Be operating system (Be OS) to provide multimedia software for appliances to deliver information, entertainment and interactivity over the Web; the company went public in 1999 and was sold to Palm in 2001. For nine months in 2002, Mr. Gassée served as CEO of Computer Access Technology, helping with a founder transition. Mr. Gassée spent nine years at Apple Computer. In February 1981, he started Apple’s French subsidiary and, in 1982, was also named president of the “Apple Education” foundation. Apple France became Apple’s largest business unit outside of the United States. In 1985, Mr. Gassée was transferred to Apple headquarters to lead Apple’s Product Development. He was also president of the Apple Products Division, responsible for managing all of Apple’s global product functions, including product marketing, worldwide manufacturing, and research and development. Before joining Apple, Mr. Gassée was a president and a general manager of the French subsidiary of Exxon Office Systems. He also held several general management positions with Data General—including general manager for France, area manager for Latin and Middle-East countries, and marketing director for Europe. Mr. Gassée also worked six years at Hewlett-Packard where he was responsible for overseeing the launching of the company’s first desktop scientific computer and the development of its sales organization in France, before his promotion to sales manager of Europe. Mr. Gassée has served as a director of publicly traded companies such as Cray Computer Corporation, 3Com and Logitech. He currently sits on the Board of Directors’ of Electronics for Imaging and was until late 2005 Chairman of PalmSource. He is a Board Director of Allegis Capital portfolio companies ActiveGrid and QueueCard. He is a Mathematics and Physics graduate of Paris (Orsay) University in France.
As Silicon Valley VCs, Eric and Jean-Louis have accumulated enough materials for the next show at "La Comedie Francaise". Many books have been written about raising capital however is the reality so straight-forward? Who are the different types of VCs? What are they expecting from entrepreneurs to free their gold? In this role-playing session, 2 French high-tech executives now acting as VCs are revealing the secrets of fund-raisin with humor and wit. Reserve the date in your calendar now as this event is limited to the first 75 registrations.
April 27th, 2006
Emerging Trends in the Life Science Industry	From 6:00PM to 09:00PM
Location: Russel Center Menlo College 1000 El Camino Atherton, CA 94027 Please print map for directions and parking 6:00 PM ­ 7:00 PM   Registration and Networking 7:00 PM ­ 7:15 PM   Introduction 7:15 PM ­ 8:30 PM   Panel Discussion 8:30 PM ­ 9:00 PM   Networking Click here to pre-register for this special event.
The life science industry is still near the bottom of its S curve – the most extraordinary advancements are yet to come.
Moderator
"Catherine Lucas is a seasoned executive with 24 years of experience in the biotechnology/pharmaceutical industry. She has a PhD in Neurochemistry form the University of Sciences in Paris, and a Post-Doc from Stanford University. She started her industrial career at Genentech, where she worked for 8 years as a scientist in immunochemistry. She then worked at Cell Genesys as a Director for 2 years, prior to the formation of Abgenix based on the Xenomouse that makes fully human antibodies. Since 1995, Catherine has been working at ALZA Corporation in drug delivery, first as a Director in Analytical Sciences, then as a Vice President in R&D. ALZA was acquired in 2001 by Johnson & Johnson, and under this new umbrella Catherine heads a large group performing novel research and development projects for the company."
Speakers Our guest speaker, Peter Hallinan, the co-founder and managing partner of Techcelerator and a consulting professor at the Stanford U. School of Medicine, will quickly survey the landscape, describing major trends and highlighting state-of-the-art results in three major life science subsectors – new organisms (e.g. transgenic species), and biological and artificial modifications of single organisms (e.g. pharmaceuticals, replacement organs, EEG-driven computer control). We will then zoom in on a small selection of hot companies and technologies that exemplify key trends in human health. We will conclude with a discussion of key issues facing the industry. The talk will not require any background in biology.

March 23rd Event
Leadership in Multi-cultural Environments	From 6:00PM to 09:00PM
Location: SAP Labs Inc 3410 Hillview Ave Palo Alto, CA 94304 6:00 PM ­ 7:00 PM   Registration and Networking 7:00 PM ­ 7:15 PM   Introduction 7:15 PM ­ 8:30 PM   Panel Discussion 8:30 PM ­ 9:00 PM   Networking Click here to pre-register for this special event.
Leadership in Multi-cultural Environments With the widespread availability of the internet and the acceleration of business communications through advances such as VOIP, global labor markets are more fluid than ever.  Engineers in Silicon Valley are competing for projects with engineers from India, Romania, or Vietnam.  Just as likely, companies are building teams comprised of talents from around the world, at times collocated and at times working entirely as a distributed team. Whether they are in one place or spread around the world, the diversity in today’s teams and organization from different cultures, countries, religions, and languages can be at once stimulating and daunting, and presents unique challenges to today’s leadership.  What does it take to be a leader in today’s multi-cultural world?  In a unique joint effort, Silicon French is hosting this event together with GABA www.gaba-network.org, Network of Indian Professionals of North America (NetIP)  www.netip.org, Chinese Software Professionals Association (CSPA)  www.cspa.com, SIPA (Silicon Valley Indian Professional Association) www.sipa.org, Hispanic-Net www.hispanic-net.org We will bring together a panel of demonstrated leaders of the technology world to discuss their personal experiences and viewpoints of leadership, and to address issues such as:     * What are the vital leadership skills for today’s multi-cultural teams?     * What are the key success factors for a non-American leader/executive here in Silicon Valley?     * What are the commonalities and what are the differences in leaders from different cultures?     * How does cultural differences play a role in building strong, cohesive teams?  How can teams comprised of different cultural members be similarly motivated?  How does one properly structure compensations, assign responsibilities, and in general bond the team?
Moderator Red Herring
Speakers Dr. Ralf Rieken, CEO Fujitsu Siemens Computers Inc. Keng Lim, Chairman and CEO, Blue Jungle Nicolas de Kouchkovsky, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Business Development Carlos Baradello PhD, Partner, Sienna Ventures Gautam Godhwani – CEO, SimplyHired

The New Digital Consumer (User 2.0TM)
Thursday, February 23rd, 2006	From 6:00PM to 09:00PM
Location: Russel Center Menlo College 1000 El Camino Atherton, CA 94027 Menlo College has graciously allowed us to have our events in their facilities and our light dinners will be served by Sodexho which also cooks for the students at the college. The Russell Center is the building located on the right as you enter Menlo College – parking is available in that lot or in a lot to the left of the entrance. Please print map for directions and parking. Guests may enter the college main entrance at 1000 El Camino Real in Atherton. They should first try parking in the parking lot immediately to the right. If no spaces are available, there will be a student to direct you around the back of the Russell Center to another parking lot. Also guests may enter the campus on from Britton Avenue. Do not drive into the main Menlo College entrance, but drive one block north to Britton Avenue. Turn west on Britton Avenue ( it ends at El Camino so there is only one way to turn). Drive one block and there are parking lots on both sides of the road. 6:00pm - 6:45pm: Networking 6:45pm - 7:00pm: Public Message 7:00pm - 8:00pm: The New Digital Consumer (User 2.0TM), moderated by Khai-Minh Pham, CEO of Easyplanet Corp. 8:00pm - 9:00pm: Networking and desserts
The New Digital Consumer (User 2.0TM) Today, the new digital consumers, we called User 2.0TM, show a completely different online behavior and needs. A panel of specialists and a group of young Users 2.0 will exchange their points of view on this matter…
Speakers Murali Chirala (ex. VP Premium Service of Yahoo!, and now CEO of a game company called Realisism) Gary Sasaki (President of DIGDIA, market research and strategic consultant on the digital entertainment and digital home value chain). Neale May (President of Neale May company, a Marketing company, and is the executive director of the Chief Marketing Officer Council regrouping 1500 marketing executives controlling more than $45 billion in annual marketing spend.) A co-founder of Telltale games (Telltale delivers high caliber episodic entertainment experiences. Telltale released its first major downloadable episodic title Bone: Out from Boneville. Telltale is also bringing characters and storylines from television’s most popular show to life in CSI: 3 Dimensions of Murder). Khai-Minh Pham (ex. Founder of RightPoint, a company pioneer in datamining, and now CEO of Easyplanet, company introducing a new browsing environment for the new digital consumer, 300,000 downloads).

January 2006
Introduction of 2006 Events and of new Executive Committee Members
Thursday, January 26, 2006	From 6:00PM to 09:00PM
Location: Russel Center Menlo College 1000 El Camino Atherton, CA 94027 Menlo College has graciously allowed us to have our events in their facilities and our light dinners will be served by Sodexho which also cooks for the students at the college. The Russell Center is the building located on the right as you enter Menlo College – parking is available in that lot or in a lot to the left of the entrance. Please print map for directions and parking. 6:00pm - 7:00pm: Networking 7:00pm - 8:00pm: Introduction of 2006 Events and of new Executive Committee Members 8:00pm - 9:00pm: Networking and desserts Come and join us for our first SiliconFrench event of the year 2006, a mixer to meet and eat and discuss with old and new friends. We have taken a new direction this year with a committee composed of French executives, all experts in their fields who will each host and moderate an event in our new location - The Russell Center in Menlo College, Atherton. Khai-Minh Pham, the CEO of EasyPlanet will give us an overview of our 2006 schedule.
Ale Gicqueau Co-President US InterFrench/SiliconFrench Andre Haddad VP International Operations eBay Inc. Angelika Blendstrup Co-President US InterFrench/SiliconFrench Catherine Lucas Vice President ALZA Eric Buatois Managing Director Sofinnova Ventures Francois DUBRULLE President & CEO Open Vision Technology Francois Koutchouk President & CEO Atlantic Decisions, Inc. Frederic Dumas Director Genesys Conferencing Ghazi Benothman General Partner Minah Ventures Guy de Meester CIO Roxio Hubert Catanese Vice President Business Objects Jean Pommier Vice President WW P.S Ilog Khai-Minh Pham CEO EasyPlanet Valerie Vauthey Founder MyPrivateCoach

December 2005

Click here to View list of attendees START in Mediterranée / invest in provence Thursday 8 December 2005, 5:30PM Menlo College, Russell Center, www.menlo.edu 1000 El Camino Real Atherton CA 94027 Please print map for directions and parking Pre-register NOW at no cost to this event. This offer is limited to the first 150 registrations.   5:30 pm: Networking 6:30 pm: Opportunities in the Euro Mediterranean market Driving forces, key sectors & business opportunities Pierre Distinguin – directeur prospection & marketing - Provence Promotion 6:45 pm: Success stories and business models in the Mediterranean Countries Paul Tour-Sarkissian – President, Tour-Sarkissian Law Offices (Moderator) Mohamed Elmandjra – CEO, Vioptix Abdeslam Kasseh – CEO, Medin Tech Eric Pouligny –EMEA director, Parametric Technology & Daniel Braun - Manager, Percall Marc Oiknine- partner, Atlas Venture Ghazi Benothman – General Partner, Minah Ventures Yacine Rahmoun – President – AAA NC 7:30 pm: Legal & fiscal framework in Mediterranée Michel Comb - partner, Landwell Price Waterhouse Coopers 7:45 pm: Provence, a hub for your setting up in Euro-Méditerranée Sébastien Dagault- project manager, Start in Provence, Provence Promotion 8:00 pm Buffet & networking Any questions?  Contact provence@interfrench.org or call Jean-Pierre at (408) 426 8263 Over the past few years, Provence Promotion, a French development economic development agency, has put together 3 conferences with InterFrench in the Silicon Valley that have attracted over 500 French entrepreneurs and resulted in the creation of 15 companies in the South of France. If Silicon Valley is still a dream destination for many researchers, executives and entrepreneurs, many investors now require an outsourcing strategy for their companies to lower the costs of operations and research & development. Mediterranean countries offer a qualified workforce at a competitive rate, an easy access to European market, an extraordinary quality of life and an improved economy thanks to local economical reforms and privatization programs. Offering valuable assistance with your company development in the Mediterranean Basin, PROVENCE PROMOTION, and ANIMA International Network provide a unique and efficient platform to help you connect with decision-makers in your field from your native country. Designed for entrepreneurs, this initiative provides you with both useful and practical information and tailored assistance to help you set-up your business, or to create a company subsidiary in the Euro-Mediterranean zone. A special Task Force composed of top field experts from 5 countries and business consultants will inform and guide you to make your move a true success at a professional and personal level.

The mobile device and the wide spread availability of internet access is creating a new paradigm shift in the way we communicate and interact on both a social and business. For instance if you are considering starting a blog, you should visitwww.rabble.com. They challenge the bloggers to go mobile: "You're still blogging from your PC? That's so last year!" Social computing embraces the idea that technology systems and devices are
finally at a point where they can be adapted to enhance the way we live, not the other way around. In so doing, they may in fact influence how our lives may be shaped in relation to our social environment. Join us for an informative and spirited discussion of
this fast growing phenomenon.

This and many other bleeding edge technologies will set the stage for a new era in Social Networking and Personal Publishing which we are referring to as Social Networking 2.0 - and it is going mobile!

https://www.sdforum.org/SDForum/AuthFiles/Login.aspx

Panelists
Jonathan Abrams (bio) - Founder, Friendster

Kevin Efrusy (bio) - Partner, Accel

Anu Nigam (company profile) - Founder, PartySync

Derrick Oien (bio)- co-founder and President, Intercasting Corp.

Hosted by ANZA, CSPA, Silicon Vikings, SDForum and InterFrench.

Speaker Bios

Jonathan Abrams
Jonathan Abrams is an award-winning serial entrepreneur, best known for creating the popular Internet service Friendster. Jonathan created this innovative social networking service and founded Friendster in 2002. In 2003, Jonathan raised over $14 million in capital from investors including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Benchmark Capital, and former Yahoo! CEO Tim Koogle. Previously, Jonathan was the founder & CEO of HotLinks, and worked as an engineer at companies such as Netscape and Nortel. Jonathan holds an Honors B.Sc. in Computer Science from McMaster University.

Friendster was named as one of Time Magazine's "Coolest Inventions of 2003." Jonathan was named a "Breakout star of 2003" by Entertainment Weekly, and as one of Advertising Age Magazine's 2004 "Entertainment Marketers of the year." Jonathan has also been honored as one of the world's top young innovators in 2004 by the MIT Technology Review, and nominated in the software designer category for the 2004 Wired Rave Awards for his work on Friendster.

Jonathan is a member of the advisory board of the Silicon Valley Association of Startup Entrepreneurs, and has been extensively involved in the silicon valley entrepreneurial community, including past roles such as co-chair of the SDForum Venture Finance SIG, and a judge for the Stanford Entrepreneur's Challenge business plan contest, the UC Berkeley Business Plan Competition, and the Stanford-Berkeley Innovators' Challenge.

Kevin Efrusy
Kevin came to Accel in 2003. His background is primarily as an entrepreneur and operating executive. He served two stints as an Entrepreneur-In-Residence at Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers where he started Corio, an ASP pioneer which went public on Nasdaq and was acquired by IBM in 2005. Later he served as the first CEO of IronPlanet, an online marketplace for heavy equipment which currently sells in excess of $100M/year of equipment and received investment from Caterpillar, Komatsu, and Volvo. Prior to KPCB, Kevin served as a product manager at Zip2 and a consultant at Bain & Company.

Kevin invests broadly in software and internet businesses, but he focuses on application service providers (ASPs), consumer internet companies, and wireless application providers. He led Accel's investment in The Facebook, serves on the board of BBN Technologies, and is actively involved in Azul Systems, Datasweep, Riverbed Technology, Transera, and Xensource.

Kevin has an MSEE, BSEE, and BA in Economics all from Stanford University, and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business where he was an Arjay Miller scholar.

Anu Nigam
We are a small team that has been working on this when we aren't at our normal jobs which we hope to quit soon. You could call it a labor of love, but we call it a labor of want. We want to be away from our computers and enjoy those sunny days. We want to be outside and know our favorite team's scores.

We want a simple way to connect with our friends and not have those chain phone calls telling everyone what the plans are now. All these wants drove us to this point and are driving us to add more.

Derrick Oien
Derrick Oien is co-founder and President of Intercasting Corp. He directs all operational capabilities to deliver the strategic value of the company to the market. He is fast, comprehensive, professional and possesses the rare ability to translate the strategic into the tactical. Derrick was previously President of VUnetUSA, the digital media division of Vivendi Universal. Prior to VU, he was COO of MP3.com up to and through the sale to Vivendi Universal.

An hour with Philippe Courtot, one of the most successful serial entrepreneur of the Silicon Valley.
French and Basque born, Philippe has been the CEO of Thomson CGR Medical, transformed cc:Mail into the dominant e-mail platform provider, grew Signio, an electronic payment start-up, into an industry leader and he sold it to over a billion dollars to Verisign. Now, as the CEO of Qualys, he brings innovative solutions to improve network security.
Come to listen about his extraordinary success stories, his vision of the software industry, the security sector as well as his views on outsourcing and the future of Europe.

Moderated by Ale Gicqueau, Founder of InterFrench, L'Executive Club, Silicon Valley HUB and The Business Bridge

Olivier Delerm, VP Product Marketing, Airframe Business Software (www.myairframe.com)
You've heard various opinions: hype, revolution, evolution, next-generation, niche technology, etc. Join us to discuss how the on-demand model is changing the application software industry, and how it is opening the door to change the software industry, and changing the information technology landscape for businesses of all sizes.

By our Career workshop contributor: Saadia Sabah, Ph.D., Principal at Career Matters Coaching (ssabah@careermatterscoaching.com, (415) 921-1245)
"Join the interative discussion about what coaching is, why it works, and how you can use it to land the job and have the career you want.”

Martine Heyer,from Cunningham Realty, has lived and worked in Menlo Park and Palo Alto for 27 years. She represents sellers an buyers and loves to educate her clients on how the Real Estate market works.
See her website..

Come and ask anything you want to know about web site and search optimization.
Panel: Daniel Laury, co-founder, President and CEO - LSF Network (www.lsfnetwork.com)
Rao Adavikolanu, co-founder - GenesseeTech (www.genesseetech.com)
Kevin Wilk, Director of Strategic Alliances - Overture (www.overture.com), a Yahoo! Company
Moderated by Angelique Blenstrup, Ph. D., Principal – Blendstrup and Associates (www.professional-business-communications.com)

Thierry Gabadou, Financial Advisor - Waddell & Reed (www.waddell.com)

Fabrice Dubois
Your Credit Score: What it means to you as a prospective home buyer

With the continued globalization of the technology industry there is a growing appreciation that many outstanding companies worthy of VC investment are born outside the US. More US VC's are looking at off shore technology start-ups and establishing partnerships with offshore Venture Capital firms. This exciting Passport Group event has attracted a group of some of the Valley's leading VC's who have invested in off shore technology companies. Listen to why they invested in the companies, what model they used, how the deal was done and why the companies off shore roots were not a deterrent for investing.

Panelists
Christopher Chu , Partner, Pacific Venture Partners; George Chen, Sen. VP & Chief Technical Advisor, H&Q Asia Pacific; John Scull, General Partner, DFJ Southern Cross Fund; Alain Azan, Managing Director, Sofinnova Ventures.

Moderator: Tom Cervantez, Partner, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

The Passport Program^TM is a consortium of SDForum, CSPA, Anzatech, Silicon Vikings, and InterFrench

Moderator: François Laugier, Corporate attorney at Ropers, Majeski

Special Semiconductor executive panel
- Michel Villemain, Vice President, FDI
- Jerome Nathan, CFO, Centellax

Set up your company in Provence – A testimonial
Thierry Valet, CEO & Co-founder In Silicio

High Tech clusters in Provence : hub for your development
Provence, a worlwide leader in IC Design
French Research Ministry : Stephane Raud Regional manager
Provence Promotion, Mr Pierre Distinguin, Marseille

Incentives & Supporting measures: why Provence is the right place?
"From the idea …to the execution"
How Provence Promotion really cares about your project
Provence Promotion, Sébastien Dagault, Marseille

Richard Schomberg, VP Research & New Technologies - EDF International(www.edf.fr)
Khai Minh Pham, CEO - Easyplanet (www.easyplanet.com)
Moderated by Ale Gicqueau, CEO - InterFrench

There is no place that incarnates the American dream better than Silicon Valley. Immigrants from all over the world came here to make a significant impact, French immigrants included. Two main paths are offered to the ambitious ones. Climbing the corporate ladder or create your own ladder as an entrepreneur.
Tonight's workshop will contrast both career choices as we welcome Richard Schomberg, VP Research & New Technologies EDF International, one of the world's top electric utilities with 42 million customers and Khai Minh Pham, an entrepreneur who sold his company Rightpoint to e.piphany for 400 million dollars in 1999 and started a new company Easyplanet.

Thierry Gabadou Financial Advisor, Waddell & Reed

Patti Wilson, Career Coach, Career company (www.careercompany.com)

The conference will be based on a cyberbook entitled "Français et Américains - L’autre rive" ("French and Americans - The Other Shore"), published in French by Dr. Baudry, and accessible free of charge at www.pbaudry.com. The book is also available on paper and is a best-seller in France (Village Mondial / Pearson Ed. Paris. Second edition, August, 2004. Available on pbaudry.com). More than 3,500 readers (among 71,000) have sent their comments to the author, who bases his writings of regular updates on their collective wisdom as well as on his own perspectives. It will be available in English in the Spring of 2005. A comic strip, Les Frenchies, has been derived from the book, by Pascal Baudry & Luc Nisset; it is available on the same website.

:: Jean-Marc Levy Dreyfus, Founder of GoTapp

:: Thierry Gabadou, Financial Advisor, Waddell & Reed

This month's workshop will focus on estate planning. It will address ways of transferring assets (and the impact of not doing a will) and explain how to determine an estate and taxes affecting it. The session will then be closed by discussing strategies to overcome tax liabilities.

:: Thomas E. Horn

Thomas Horn has been a lawyer, politician and a public servant for many years. One month after the presidential elections, he will explain to us how American politics work, and more particularly he will share his views how it may impact the future of Franco-American relationships. Myth or reality? How are American politics impacting our lives?

:: Philippe Bressolier, Chef at Le Pot-au-Feu, Menlo Park

The last workshop and buffet is prepared by well-known French Chef: Philippe Bressolier with his assistants Pauline Larmareau and Louis Goguely. Philippe is a true French Gourmet Chef, trained as a Maitre saucier. Philippe’s experience can be traced back to many European five star restaurants, through his latest position as the head chef for the French Ambassador to Cuba.
He was chosen by the Ambassador for his great pedagogical ability and knowledge of culinary arts. The Ambassador thought that Mr. Bressolier was the ideal candidate to achieve a cultural exchange based on culinary arts. At the same time, he also collaborated with the Cuban Culinary Association, which refers to the menu prepared by Mr. Bressolier as "the most upscale, the most important based on the number of dishes, and the most complete". They also refer to Mr. Bressolier as "one of the best chefs in the world".
Philippe lives and breathes his passion for fine cuisine. He is a founder of Taste Week, a cultural and pedagogical event, in partnership with the International School of the Peninsula.
He has a great sense of humour to amuse and create a convivial atmosphere.

:: Yumi Prentice and Lee Kieran, Grey Advertising, Joseph Gutierez, CapGemini, Art Griggs, GRS Networks & Heather Sutherland, Sun Microsystems

A four-star panel discussion featuring experts from Grey Advertising, (consumer an business-to-business) Sun Microsystems, CapGemini and GRS Networks (travel industry).
Speakers will share tips re dos and don'ts for using email in the context of integrated, international marketing programs. They will address use of email marketing to build sales to consumer and business- to- business networks. International issues with localization and privacy laws, as well as cultural contexts will be discussed as will best practices. Discussion will be moderated by Kathleen Nemetz. Questions for the panel can be submitted to knemetz@pacbell.net.

:: Anthony Nassar, Founder & Principal, Venture Momentum, Inc.

Early-stage startup entrepreneur! Is your new business concept financially feasible? Is your financial plan ready for scrutiny by investors? Join us for a live demonstration of how to build an integrated 5-year financial model for a software startup from A to Z using a spreadsheet. We'll develop the financial projections, discuss the startup's capitalization and valuation, and validate the model against publicly available data. Attendees will receive a printout of the financial model.

:: Thierry Gabadou, Financial Advisor, Waddell & Reed

On Wednesday October 20th, 2004, we discussed the importance of financial planning. We talked about the different steps of a plan; starting with comprehensive qualitative and quantitative analysis and goal setting (with a defined time horizon), to detailed "who, what, when" action plans and the need for reassessing. Next, we will cover topics such as protecting from unpredictable events such as death, disabiliy, or job loss.. and discuss wealth preservation for non US citizens. As always, Thierry's goal is to make this an interactive and educational experience, so you are able to invest, with a plan.

:: Sara Rauchwerger, Founder and Managing Director, BG Strategy

A booming global economy is under way as companies are driven to be more efficient, productive, and open in an unregulated world market that is increasingly competitive. Companies are evaluating their strategies and considering entry options around the world to capture economies of scale and lower costs to offer a low price in a competitive environment. However, each region around the world is different and in order to succeed companies must be able to adapt to constant change and be able to adjust to new challenges. Learn what you need to do to build a global business and position yourself to strategically succeed.

:: Karina Jensen, Principal Consultant and Founder, Global Minds Network

Living in a global tech world, companies are increasingly facing the challenge of rolling out products and services to a worldwide audience. The ability to deliver timely and localized products and services worldwide differentiates the winners from the losers in a globally competitive marketplace. Imagine the challenges when you`re trying to launch global product marketing campaigns across time zones and cultures. Time to market, efficient processes, and knowledgeable teams become critical factors for launch success. What are some of the cross-cultural marketing challenges and pitfalls? Find out how to strengthen your competitive advantage when launching your product to a global market.

:: Alex Chauvin, CTO Nucleonet and Arié Bahbout, Director at PDN

From small to large businesses, more and more critical information is transported over IP networks. Public networks need strong rules and security but internal networks are also exposed, vulnerable and require full attention. This presentation will explore legal obligations and technical issues we would face inside small and large enterprises in order to achieve "confidential networking" with regards to customers, employees, contractor and public institutions.

:: Thierry Gabadou, Financial Advisor, Waddell & Reed

First Round of Workshops

:: Eliot Norman, ReedSmith, LLP

It's a Brave New World when it comes to recruiting international personnel, dealing with airport security or renewing H-1b, L-1 and E-2 bisas. This workshop features practical solutions to new Homeland Security regulations. Don't miss out if you want to stay and work in the USA, or if your company wants to temporarily transfer high tech employees to US operations. Eliot Norman, with the transatlantic law firm of ReedSmith, LLP, is a former Federal Prosecutor and has over 15 years of experience in dealing with the immigration maze.

:: Claire Grosjean, CFO, IDB Consulting

Learn about new legal strategies to minimize your taxes and grow your business.

:: Patti Wilson, Career Coach, Careercompany

Use the results of the Career Values Checklist to negotiate the best offer to match your job criteria and suit your career needs. You will take the test during the workshop.

:: Greg Lartilleux, Mortgage consultant, Paramount Financial

Second Round of Workshops

:: Philippe Marinier, Director, Strategic Partners, Documentum Inc. (a division of EMC)

Four times the growth of the 90s? How information Lifecycle Management is standardizing as software infrastructure to release an unforeseen wave of growth.

:: PR-Meister Cordell Koland, CEO, SIPR

Positioning is the cornerstone of all communications programs. The position differentiates a company's offer but also guides strategic decision making. It's a PR basic that is often misunderstood.
Come and learn about a methodology for determining strategic position, outlining the components that drive it, and the benefits of a defensible position statement. Next, we'll have the opportunity to apply Cordell's technique in a creative session.

:: Saadia Sabah, Ph. D. (Organizational Anthropology), Career Matters Coaching Inc.

Leadership is a hot topic these days. Everyone agrees it is vital in today’s fast moving, unstable, highly competitive business environment. Chances are you went through one or more of your company’s leadership training programs. Did that make you a leader? This interactive session will provide perspective, discuss fundamentals of adaptive leadership, and help you identify ways you can become an effective leader.

:: Patti Wilson, Career Coach at Career Company

:: Jorden Woods, Silicon Valley serial entrepreneur

How to uncover your customers’ pain, validate your market, develop sustainable market-focused products, and maximize revenue and market potential.

:: Angelika Blendstrup, Ph D., Principal, Blendstrup & Associates and InterFrench Coordinator

How to find our cultural identity when we have one foot in one country and one foot in the other.

:: Max Bouchard, Realtor

:: Jérôme Sierra, Mortgage Broker

:: Christophe Ramstein, Ph.D., Vice-president, Engineering at Immersion

Christophe grew an original concept into a valuable technology used today in all gaming applications, automotive and cellular phones.

:: Angelika Blendstrup, Ph.D., InterFrench Coordinator

We, at InterFrench, are creating a multicultural SIG for the ethno-centric groups in the Silicon Valley and the general Bay Area. We want to create this multicultural SIG at InterFrench because we feel this will enrich our business relationships by developing a deeper understanding of our cultural differences and subtleties and by connecting our various international groups in the Silicon Valley with each other.

:: Thierry Gabadou, VP Sales and Jack Katz, VP Marketing and Sales

You are unemployed like thousands of others. You worked as an information technology professional, an accountant or a biology PhD researcher for years, and discovered like many others that finding a job is a real challenge. Sure, people will help you write your resume, learn how to network or, for a fee, blast your resume to hundreds of headhunters, but is it really helpful? Are those who help you capable of determining what your real strengths and desires in life are? Are you? Assuming that you truly know who you are, and what you want to do, do you think that you know how to market yourself? Become "value" rather than "commodity".

:: Leslie Latham, VP Marketing, Mirra Inc. & Arnaud Guerrand, Technical Support, Mirra Inc.

The hot discussion at the Consumer Electronics Show is expected to be personal content management. For many PC users with growing Gbs of data spread across multiple PCs at home and at work, there is a real need for personal content management centers to aggregate one's data. Still, many users today are not really backing up their files regularly.

:: Judy Curtis , PR Guru and InterFrench coordinator, SIPR

How to prepare a campaign, from media strategy to the difference between paid placements and PR-generated ones, and definition of the basic steps and give an overview of the tools needed to communicate «one-to-many».

:: Mikkel Herman, Chief Dealer, HIFX Inc.

Manage risk in knowing your options in today’s volatile foreign exchange markets. Any business dealing internationally with exposure to foreign currencies has had a wake up call the last 12 months — the US dollar fell roughly 30% against the euro in the 18 months between January 2002 to this past May. As important as the fall in the dollar has been the increase in volatility, which makes it more difficult for companies to hedge their exposure and thereby model expected earnings. Ensuring that your bottom line is not eroded by this volatility requires an understanding of hedging strategies and also a knowledge of what constitutes a fair price in the largely unregulated foreign exchange market.

:: Virginie Glaenzer, CEO, ProximityMail & Eric Glaenzer, Chief Technology Officer, Inventop

Wireless devices are becoming tools to network and increase efficiency when communicating with peers. A hot new messaging product and get a training class on a very controversial wireless technology: Bluetooth.
Download the Bluetooth-compatible PocketPC device application from www.proximitymail.com.

Co-hosted with our partner Montreal International.

:: Georges Bosse, City of Montreal

:: Laurent Le Portz, CEO, Ethypharm

:: Alain Tascan, VP & General Manager, Electronic Arts & Remi Racine, CEO, A2M

:: Dr. Richard Swann, SAP Labs and the Auto-ID Center & Vijay Sarathy, Solutions Marketing Manager at Sun Microsystems

The widespread use of RFID tags will transform the consumer supply chain and fundamentally improve the timeliness and accuracy of information available for business decisions. This workshop put RFID technology in perspective by following a "how-things-work" story line from the beginning of high-volume deployment for a specific application to the all-out adaptation of RFID tags for wider applications.

:: Jérôme Sierra, InterFrench Coordinator, Real Estate.

Credit scores are one of the most important factors to get your loan approved and determine your interest rate. In France, credit scores do not exist. The mystery behind Credit Scores, and how to avoid 5 common pitfalls and mistakes that could impact your borrowing power.

:: Arnaud Hubert, PMP, LUZ, Inc. & InterFrench Coordinator & Jim Sloane, PMP, Project Management Explorations

The Project Management Professional (PMP) certification is rapidly becoming the industry-standard credential for project and program management. More and more employers are requiring their project managers to become certified, and the Project Management Institute (PMI) delivering the PMP and CAPM certifications has now established itself as the leading non profit professional association in the area of project management.
Download the presentation (PowerPoint, 51 Kb)

:: Kevin E. Wood, BSEE, VP Information Systems & Keith Love - Robert Van Securities, Inc.

An affilate model approach to owning a web-based business involving a Residual Income component. The system established by TeamBuilders provides access to makets nationwide for products and services used by everyone, everyday. Low initial capital outlay to establish affiliation with an established debt-free company, that did over $1 billion Internet sales in fiscal 2002-2003 (its 4th year of existence) with zero media advertising.

:: Jean-Pierre Maeder, CEO, Zevcat, Inc.

Compressed air can be used to power your future personal transportation needs. Jean-Pierre explains how compressed air technology works, its applications, and the current time line for bringing the technology to the market. Additionally, Jean-Pierre describes how you can get in on the ground floor of this revolutionary business idea with a small investment that has the potential of making money while helping to clean California's air.

:: Marouchka Liarokapis
:: Mike Spohn, Six Sigma Black Belt, Terravite Corporation

An executive overview of Six Sigma, a process re-engineering methodology and business strategy for maximized profits and satisfied customers. Key six sigma concepts, tools and roles that individuals play.

:: Patti Wilson, Career coach and counselor, Career Company

What are the essential seven keys to successfully navigate your career through global change and economic turbulence? What to do to ensure ongoing career growth, job security, make successful transitions and ongoing prosperity.

:: Jean-Claude Zambelli, Coordinator Mentoring InterFrench

What is mentoring - and what it is not, and a brief description of the current process of mentoring at SiliconFrench and an open for discussion with real "customers".

:: Derinda Gaumond, Founder, WorkIt

Derinda is the founder of WorkIt, a major networking mailing list (more than 5000 subscribers!) which keeps people in the Bay Area (as well as other neighbourhoods in the United States) in touch with the major events that can be beneficial to professionals looking for networking or additional education opportunities.

:: Luc Julia, CEO, BravoBrava!

In addition to playing with new technologies, BravoBrava! also innovates with its structure, its organization and of its business plan.

:: Janet Fitzgerald, Director, FitzCom Inc.

A lively evening practicing body language and "conversational openers," and "safe topics" to "break the ice" and segue securely to a mutually satisfying exchange. Also a multi-lingual analytical inter-personal communication skill learning instruments that give business people an "extra edge."

:: Claire Grosjean, CFO, IDB Consulting

What should be in a Business Plan, from the Executive Summary to the operating strategy, information on the management team and financial statements, to help demistify various financial concepts such as capital requirements, cash-flow statements, income statement forecast, balance sheet forecast and breakeven analysis.

:: Jean-Bernard Rolland, Stanford Graduate School of Business (2004), & Jerome Bertrand, Stanford Graduate School of Business (2004)

Tips & Q&As on admissions at Stanford University – as well as financial aid, career placement and student life - with Stanford students.

:: Karen Habegger, Revel Coaching & Vincent Amiot, Networking Guru

One thing I want to leave with today. Networking role play. Give versus get and the Attraction Principle. Revel’s networking formula. Help others help you. Before, during and after an event.

:: Simon Chin, President and CEO, Iris Biotechnologies Inc.

The risks and rewards of being an entrepreneur in a new global economic environment where the quality and cost of health care demand a significantly better approach.

:: Philippe Leroy, Director, Palo Alto French Education Association

:: Daniel Hallee, Oenologue, France-Wine, Jerome Oriel, Wine Group Coordinator

What is Cognac and how to taste it? Cognac compared to the other spirits. How is Cognac made? Aging times. Vintages and classification. Tasting of several Cognac. Cognac "Boisson de soif".

See event photos

:: Susan Feland, Merrill Lynch Financial Advisor & Chris Kaiffer, Financial Advisor

A classical and alternative approach to investing. Ways to reach your financial goals and achieve a young and successful retirement.

:: Andreas Mueller, Chief Strategist, Bloofusion, Gabrielle Hendryx-Parker, Dir. Marketing, Six Feet Up & Calvin Hendryx-Parker, Systems Engineer, Six Feet Up

Great websites establish a professional first impression and generate online leads for your business. Discover the ingredients necessary to successful websites.
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:: Angelika Blendstrup, PhD, Blendstrup & Associates, Professional Business Communications

Do you know how to get ready and what to avoid if you want to make your big deal and increase your business?"

:: Vincent Amiot, Networking Guru & Joanne S. Black, Developer of the "No More Cold Calling" concept

Think of the radical difference in calling people who have never heard of you versus calling potential clients who know your name and want to discuss business. Referral selling as a way to build your business without cold calling.

:: Mike Fink, NLP Trainer, Coach and Founder of Magician Within, Inc. & Vincent Amiot.

Your beliefs around your identity in relationship to money, what money means, and what is possible for you to achieve, are the most critical factors of your financial success.
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:: Jean-Marc Parmentier, ContactCard

ContactCard, a platform for personal identity driven by an innovative and viral application that connects people on the Internet across messaging applications and devices.

:: Bernard Aboussouan, VP Marketing, BeamReach Networks, Alain Fastre, Director, Nokia, Mobile Software Division, Christian Gallais and Houfar Azgomi, InterFrench Telecom Coordinators

A brief technological overview from the ground up of the major actors of the current hottest industry.
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