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Events & News > Events > Past Monthly Workshops
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Monday November 17th, 2008, 6:15 PM
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Pre-register to attend for free
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HOME SWEET HOME
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w w w . t h e p r o v e n c e p a r t n e r s h i p . c o m
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COME MEET SUCCESSFUL FRENCH ENTREPRENEURS FROM PROVENCE:
MOBILE CONTENTS AND NFC
Location: Cooley Godward Kronish LLP,
3175 Hanover Street - Palo Alto, CA 94304 - 1130
Please register online: www.theprovencepartnership.com
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6.15 - 6.30 pm:WELCOMING and MODERATION
- Daniel Zimmermann: Cooley Godward Kronish LLP
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6.30 - 6.45 pm:WHY THE FINANCIAL CRISIS WILL NOT AFFECT ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN PROVENCE
- Pierre Distinguin: Executive Director, Provence Promotion
- Eric Fackeldey: IT Project Manager, Provence Promotion
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6.45 - 7.30 pm:TESTIMONIES FROM THE FLOOR
- Vincent Berge, Founder of MOBILE DISTILLERY
- Lucas Leonardi, Founder of DMAILER
- Antoine Buat: Founder of DIGDASH
- Pascal Lorne: Founder of MIYOWA
- Didier Serra: Founder and General manager North America of INSIDE CONTACTLESS
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7.30 - 8.00 pm:TAXATION & SOCIAL ISSUES: THE NEW DEAL ?
- Michel Combe: Partner, Landwell Paris and Marseille
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8.00 - 8.30 pm: TIPS & TRICKS FOR YOUR VENTURE IN PROVENCE
- Pierre Distinguin: Executive Director Provence Promotion
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8.30 pm: PROVENCAL BUFFET AND NETWORKING
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CONTACT THE PROVENCE PARTNERSHIP
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Cécile BRUN - Project Manager - Tél. : 04 96 11 60 28
c.brun@provence-promotion.fr
Bernard Friedrich - North America Representative
Tel : 001 805 379 3994 - bafrance@earthlink.net
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PROVENCE PROMOTION
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Economic Development Agency
Les Docks - 10 place Joliette - BP 45607
13567 Marseille CEDEX 02 - FRANCE
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Wednesday, September 10th, 2008 (co-sponsored with GABA) |
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Investing in Turbulent Times |
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Location:
Cooley Godward,
3175 Hanover Street,
Palo Alto, CA 94306
See map
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6:00 pm - 7:00 pm Registration / Networking
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm Panel discussion
8:30 pm - 9:00 pm More networking
Complimentary appetizers, beer, wine and soft drinks will be served.
Click
here to pre-register for this special event.
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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:
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
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Tuesday, July 15th, 2008 |
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Interfrench Leadership series |
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Managing Global Teams for Success
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Location:
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP ( pillsburylaw.com )
2475 Hanover St,
Palo Alto - (650) 233-4500
See map
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06:30 pm - 07:15 PM Registration and Networking
07:15 pm - 08:30 PM Panel Discussion
08:30 pm - 09:00 PM Coffee and dessert / More Networking
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Event Description |
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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
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Wednesday, June 25th, 2008 |
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Interfrench Leadership series |
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Learn from the experts how to thrive
as a leader in all business environments !
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Location:
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP ( pillsburylaw.com )
2475 Hanover St,
Palo Alto - (650) 233-4500
See map
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6:00 - 7:30 PM Food and Networking
7:30 - 9:30 PM Panel discussion
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Event Description |
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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:
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
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Wednesday, April 9th, 2008 |
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Succeeding in the Valley:
Foreign-born entrepreneurs share their stories about making it!
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Location:
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP (
pillsburylaw.com
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2475 Hanover St,
Palo Alto - (650) 233-4500
See map
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6:00 - 6:30 PM Registration
6:30 - 7:00 PM Food and Networking
7:00 - 8:30 PM Panel discussion
8:30 - ? PM Coffee and dessert/more networking
Click here to pre-register for this special event. |
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Event
Description |
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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
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Thursday, March 6th, 2008 |
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Coaching: Keys to Improved Results
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From 6:00PM to
9:00PM |
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6:00 - 7:00 pm Registration / Networking
7:00 - 8:30 pm Program
8:30 - 9:00 pm Networking / Reception
Complimentary appetizers, beer, wine and soft drinks will be served.
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Event Description |
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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
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This event is in partnership with GABA
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Thursday, January 24, 2008 |
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Making Google Adsense Work for You
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From 6:30PM to
09:00PM |
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6:30 - 7:30 PM Registration & Networking
7:30 - 9:00 PM Program
Complimentary appetizers, beer, wine and soft drinks will be served.
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Event Description |
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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)
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Thursday, December 13, 2007 |
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Holiday Toys for Tots Holiday Mixer
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From 6:30PM to
09:00PM |
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6:30 - 7:00 PM Registration
7:00 - 9:00 PM Holiday Cheer
Complimentary appetizers, beer, wine and soft drinks will be served.
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Event Description |
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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.
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Thursday November 8th, 2007 |
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Sustainability
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From 6:00PM to
09:00PM |
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6:00 - 7:00 PM Registration / Networking
7:00 - 8:30 PM Panel Discussion
8:30 - 9:30 PM Networking Reception
Instead of appetizers, this last event of 2007 will feature home made
food, cooked personally by our Chef Bruno; please come and enjoy
this specially prepared meal, our interesting panelists and all of our
participants - you.
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Event Description |
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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
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Panelists (more to be announced later) |
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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.
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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.
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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).
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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.
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Moderators |
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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.
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| Home Sweet Home
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| Workshop
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You are an Entrepreneur, or you
plan to create your own venture?
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Join our conference on October 18th 2007, at 6.00 pm
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At Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, 2475 Hanover St.,
Palo Alto CA 94304, USA
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Please register online: www.investinprovence.com
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QUALITY OF WORK / QUALITY OF LIFE:
WHY PROVENCE RANKS # 1 IN EUROPE ?
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- 6.00 PM: BUFFET AND NETWORKING |
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- 6.25 PM: WELCOMING |
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- Thomas F. Chaffin, Partner Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
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- 6.30 - 6.45 PM : KEY ATTRACTIVITY FACTORS ON IT : HOT SPOTS IN
SOUTHERN FRANCE
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- Pierre Distinguin: Executive Director Provence Promotion
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6.45 - 7.45 PM : FASTEST GROWING COMPANIES IN IT
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- Antoine Buat, Founder of DIGDASH (Mobile content)
ex. BUSINESS OBJECTS USA
- Vincent Berge, Founder of MOBILE DISTILLERY (Mobile Content: Porting
Technology Solution)
- Kamel Ounadjela, Founder of SPINROC (Chip Design)
ex. CYPRESS SEMICONDUCTOR (USA)
- Jacques Souquet, Founder of SUPERSONIC IMAGINE (Medical Device),
ex. Philips Medical, USA
- Remy de Tonnac, CEO of INSIDE CONTACTLESS CARDS (Chip Design)
ex. GEMPLUS, USA
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- 7.45 - 8.30 PM : HOW TO CREATE YOUR BUSINESS FROM THE US ?
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- Michel Combe, Associate, Landwell Global Paris and Marseille
- Jean-Charles Pericchi, founder of REVELUM (Human Resources Adviser)
- Sebastien Dagault, Young Entrepreneurship Initiative, MIT Boston
- Pierre Distinguin / Franck Araujo: Home Sweet Home task force
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- 8.30 PM : NETWORKING
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Provence Promotion - Economic Development Agency
Contact: Pierre DISTINGUIN / Cecile BRUN
Tel. :+33 (0) 4 96 11 60 28 / Fax: +33 (0)4 96 11 60 11
E-mail: c.brun@provence-promotion.fr
www.investinprovence.com
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Thursday, July 12th, 2007 |
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Business Ethics - A Cultural Perspective
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From 6:00PM to
09:00PM |
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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.
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Moderator |
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David J. Blumberg, Managing Partner, Blumberg Capital
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Panelists |
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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.
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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
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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.
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Venky Ganesan, Managing Director, Globespan Capital Partners
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Event Description |
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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:
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How should a corporation conduct its operations when laws, standards and values of the home country conflict with those abroad?
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Should corporations work for improvement of civic society in each country, or stick to bottom line concerns?
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How is Social Responsibility manifesting in the managerial role; what are examples of dealing with “externalities”?
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Where are laws and norms converging towards universal standards and where are they diverging? Why?
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How does the increase in governmental regulation affect corporations?
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How does the increasing role of Non-Governmental Organizations affect corporations?
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Where can managers find the resources to help work through these complex issues?
Co-hosted by Silicon French, Hispanic-Net, CSPA, GABA, and SIPA
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Thursday, June 14th, 2007 |
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Driving Change: Alternative Fuels for tomorrows’ Cars.
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From 6:00PM to
09:00PM |
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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
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Moderator |
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- Christian Forthomme, CEO of Realchange
- Bruno Manh, GM Datamedia USA
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Panelists |
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- 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
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Event Description |
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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.
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Thursday, May 10th, 2007 |
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Trends in Digital Media / Digital Entertainment: What`s Next?
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From 6:00PM to
09:00PM |
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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
|
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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)
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Panelists |
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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
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Thursday, April 12th, 2007 |
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Climate Change: Large Companies and NGOs on a mission!
|
From 6:00PM to
09:00PM |
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|
|
|
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
|
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Panelists |
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- 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
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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
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How sustainability is integrated in HP’s operations
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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.
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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.
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Thursday, March 15th, 2007 |
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2007-2012 Silicon Valley Entrepreneurship Outlook
|
From 6:00PM to
09:00PM |
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|
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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
|
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Moderator |
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Daniel Zimmermann - Cooley Godward Kronish
|
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Panelists |
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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".
|
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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.
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Thursday, February 8th, 2007 |
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Are you ready for the Sustainability and Greentech Revolutions?
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From 6:00PM to
09:00PM |
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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.
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Thursday, December 14th, 2006 |
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Help a French entrepreneur to create the next Google
life! |
From 6:00PM to
09:00PM |
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|
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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!

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Thursday, November 9th, 2006 |
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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. |
|
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|
Panelist |
|
|
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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. |
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|
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. |
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|
|
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 NetworkingClick
here to pre-register for this special event.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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! |
|
|
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|
Thursday, September 28, 2006 |
| |
|
|
Venture Capital Globalization –
Where is it going, and why should we care? |
From 6:00PM to
09:00PM |
| |
|
|
| |
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 NetworkingClick
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 |
|
|
|
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 94027Menlo 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 94027Menlo 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.
|
|
|
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
|
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. |
|
|
|
|
October 2005
SiliconFrench
Program for October 13, 2005
Main workshop
From
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Registration Time
: 6:00 PM
How mobile devices are changing the way
we connect and interact.
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.
September 2005
Main
workshop
Financial Planning workshop: Taxation
Thierry Gabadou, Financial Advisor - Waddell & Reed (www.waddell.com);
Crista Lucey, Principal - Spott; Lucey and Wall
Spott, Lucey
& Wall is a CPA providing income tax compliance and
planning services to the international business community. Over the
last 30 years or so they have worked with people and businesses from
about 25 different countries having activities in the US.
As a result of that experience and the common questions they answer
everyday they have developed a seminar that discusses what happens
when U.S. tax residents (with varying immigration status) have assets
outside the U.S., and the U.S. income tax implications when that
happens.
This presentation provides exposure to the issues created when money
is coming in the US as a family gift or inheritance or when money is
going out as a foreign investment. Please join us to hear Ms. Crista
Lucey discuss these U.S. disclosure requirements and the U.S. income
tax implications of such investments.
Second Part Workshops
1. How to build top performing organization ?
2. DrivAd: earn free tickets, restaurant meals or airline tickets as
you commute!
Management and HR
Please join this interactive workshop and learn about an expert who
handled start-ups to top performing organizations.
John McSorley, Former
Vice-president HR - nVIDIA Corp. (www.nvidia.com) will tell us about
the fantastic success story of nVIDIA, the worldwide leader in
Graphics and Digital Media Processors.
Moderated by Geraldine Reau, VP Operations - SiliconFrench (www.siliconfrench.com)
Workshop Technology Start-Up:

DrivAd is a Silicon Valley
based company with a revolutionary automobile-based advertising
method. Individual drivers can drive their automobile according to
their normal driving routine with a see-thru advertising decal affixed
to the rear window of their vehicle.
By doing so, drivers will help advertisers promote their companies
while taking advantage of unique rewards. Over the next few months,
many companies, primarily French businesses will be offered a unique
opportunity to have their products and services promoted by
French-speaking drivers.
Drive as usual and receive:
- FREE dinners to prestigious French restaurants
- VIP accesses to wineries.
- Vouchers to French bakeries
- And much more!
Come to hear the CEO Olivier Baudoux - DrivAd (www.DrivAd.com)
June 2005
Main workshop
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
Technology
On-demand Software: Evolution or Revolution ?
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.
Career
Coaching: Everyone needs a coach !
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.”
Real Estate
Topic for Silicon Valley Buyers and Sellers: How to think about buying and or selling in this economic climate bubble?
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..
May 2005
Can your customers find you on the internet?
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)
Finance
Investment principles & Strategies
Thierry Gabadou, Financial Advisor - Waddell & Reed (www.waddell.com)
Real Estate
Getting into the Mortgage process
Fabrice Dubois
Your Credit Score: What it means to you as a prospective home buyer
April 2005
Passport Program Event (April 14)
US Venture Capital is going Global
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 ProgramTM is a consortium of SDForum, CSPA, Anzatech,
Silicon Vikings, and InterFrench
Innovation And Enterpreneurship In Provence (April 6)
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
March 2005
WHICH PATH TO PROFESSIONAL SUCCESS IS RIGHT FOR YOU ?
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.
Finance
FINANCIAL PLANNING: The 401K
Thierry Gabadou Financial Advisor, Waddell & Reed
Career
CORPORATE POLITICS VS CORPORATE CULTURE
Patti Wilson, Career Coach, Career company
(www.careercompany.com)
January 2005
Understanding the Americans & Understanding the French by Pascal Baudry, Ph.D., MBA Author of "Français et Américains - L’autre rive"
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.
Technology
:: Jean-Marc Levy Dreyfus, Founder of GoTapp
Powering the Transactional Internet
Finance
:: Thierry Gabadou, Financial Advisor, Waddell & Reed
Estate Planning
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.
December 2004
Keynote Event
:: Thomas E. Horn
Special Honorary Speaker
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?
Culinary
:: Philippe Bressolier, Chef at Le Pot-au-Feu, Menlo Park
L'histoire de l'art culinaire et de la gastronomie de la prehistoire a nos jours (in French only)
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.
November 2004
Marketing
:: Yumi Prentice and Lee Kieran, Grey Advertising, Joseph Gutierez, CapGemini, Art Griggs, GRS Networks & Heather Sutherland, Sun Microsystems
Email Marketing: International Issues and Opportunities
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.
Entrepreneurship
:: Anthony Nassar, Founder & Principal, Venture Momentum, Inc.
Crafting the Financial Roadmap of Your Startup
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.
Finance
:: Thierry Gabadou, Financial Advisor, Waddell & Reed
Personal Financial Planning (follow-up)
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.
October 2004
Business
:: Sara Rauchwerger, Founder and Managing Director, BG Strategy
How to Build a Global Business in a Competitive World
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.
Business
:: Karina Jensen, Principal Consultant and Founder, Global Minds Network
Global Launch Readiness: The Amazing Race Around the World
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.
Technology
:: Alex Chauvin, CTO Nucleonet and Arié Bahbout, Director at PDN
From Enterprise Networking to Controlled and Confidential Networking
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.
Finance
:: Thierry Gabadou, Financial Advisor, Waddell & Reed
I Got Burned!
I got burned!
I have no money to invest!
I got laid off- what should I do with my 401-k?
How should I invest my surplus?
Thierry was quoted in the last meeting of Silicon French, saying "If you fail to plan-then you are planning to fail." Join him and discover how financial planning might supply you the tools necessary to address many of questions or circumstances above. Through a series of workshops, the basic concepts and the principles of planning, investing, importance of emergency fund, funding a college education, and more will be explained and discussed.
September 2004
Technology & Entertainment
:: Arnaud Lamorlette & Christophe, Dreamworks & ILM
The Industry of Special Effects
An outstanding workshop about the industry of special effects for cartoons and TV motion picture from the directors of special effects at Dreamworks (Shrek 2, the top-grossing animated film in history) and ILM (Star Wars, Terminator 2, Jurassic Park, Men In Black). Comme listen to Arnaud and Christophe that will show you the secrets of their extraordinary vocation with pictures and sound.
Self Improvement
:: Christian Rogelin, coach & healer (in French only)
Know Thyself or How to Create a Quantum Leap in Your Personal and Professional Life
L'ignorance est une cause essentielle qui engendre la souffrance, le stress et l'échec dans l'entreprise. C'est l'ignorance de comment nous fonctionnons qui cause le plus de dégâts et qui sclérose l'avance et l'innovation. En comprenant comment vous fonctionnez, vous allez vous ouvrir des perspectives nouvelles et sans fin dans votre avenir professionnel.
Entrepreneurship
:: Greg Luecke, Principal, Healy Communications
Changing Your Company Name. Theory and Practice.
This presentation will address basic issues like when you should change your company name, what makes a good name, and whether you need a tagline as well. We'll talk about how to create the name, checking trademark issues and URL availability, and implementing the new name. We will also present some real world results.
August 2004
Entrepreneurship
:: John Vigouroux
How Did He Do That?
In 2003, John Vigouroux, CEO of Cranite, took two companies that were losing millions a quarter and made them profitable.
Multicultural
:: Angelika Blendstrup, Ph. D., Principal, Blendstrup and Associates
Can you become a better negotiator by improving your multicultural quotient?
Join us to measure your multicultural business quotient by participating in a challenging, intercultural training game, and you'll see how you personally deal with business situations using "appropriate" local behavior.
Technology
:: David Bellot, Ph. D., Researcher, UC Berkeley
Probabilistic models in telemedicine for remote patients monitoring
Chronically ill people are monitored for years by physicians on a regular
basis. The lack of physicians and the distance between patients and
medical centers slow down the adoption of home health care. In this
presentation, David Bellot will show how the joint use of Internet technologies and
probabilistic artificial intelligence helps physicians to monitor
remotely a large number of patients. This kind of system allows them to
focus on patients who need care and to accurately monitor the others,
trying to detect earlier abnormal situations.
July 2004
Entrepreneurship
:: Dr. Thomas J. Buckholtz, business and executive coach (co-pioneer of several technologies, former co-CIO, U.S. federal government’s Executive Branch)
Gain a roadmap for your opportunities in the Information Age
Apply the roadmap to develop new products and services, market them successfully, and shape your career. Prepare to re-use the “Direct Outcomes” basis for the roadmap – throughout your business activities.
Human Resources
:: Julia Merrill
Outsourced Payroll And Human Resources
The purpose of this workshop is to inform on the cost-effectiveness and ease of outsourcing payroll, HR and benefits to a group of experts. Intuit's fully outsourced solution for payroll and benefits integrates seamlessly with our software, allowing for a totally paperless and secure operation.
Business
:: Jean-Marc Talbot
Selling Software to US Companies
This workshop will illustrate some of the challenges faced when building a fast-growing software company selling in the business-to-business arena. Created 4 years ago, Esterel Technologies develops and sell development tools for the design of electronic systems and real-time embedded softtware in aerospace & defense, automotive, semiconductor and consumer electronics, based on unique technologies initially developed in academia in France.
Beginning with a brief overview of the market, opportunities (especially in North America) and value proposal, the cultural differences between Europe and the US that makes the investment and deployment in the US of European software companies will be discussed, both as risks and an opportunities.
Real Estate
:: Jérôme Sierra
Unravel The Mystery Behind The 100% Financing
How to structure a 100% financing program. Review the pros and cons of the 100% financing. Understanding the Interest Only Options. Case study: 100% financing for people on an H1B Visa.
June 2004
Career
:: Patti Wilson, Msc, Career Coach
Networking 101: The Key Steps to Making Successful Connections
An overview and hands-on tactics of the essentials of business networking in Silicon Valley. How to build successful connections and relationships, how to determine professional and personal goals and build a network to meet them, comprehensive list of online networking resources will be offered. Topics covered: setting networking goals and objectives, using a networking database that is scalable and relational, categorizing and leveraging current contacts, developing and working a step by step networking plan, and cultivating not abusing relationships and contacts.
Marketing
:: Dr. Philip Parker and Keith Rayner, Kemarra Inc.
Latest developments in the Japanese Telecommunications Industry: Market Entry and Sales Strategies that ensure success for US companies
Selling into the Japanese industry requires detailed knowledge, extensive contacts, a clear strategy, and a lot of tenacity. Some companies find Japan impenetrable; others find great success in this market. This presentation describes the opportunities available in Japan for US companies and reveal the secrets to successful market entry based on solid experience with the cultural differences and the technology landscape.
Entrepreneurship
:: Valérie Vauthey
Project Launch! Get Your Business (Or Your Life) Flying!
Thinking about turning your idea into an enterprise? Have the doors to your business been open for years and you are looking to grow? Implementing a major new initiative?
Real Estate
:: Ron Ricard, Investment Property Exchange, Inc. (A Subsidiary of Fidelitry National)
1031 Exchange: Protecting Assets
What is a 1031 Exchange? A key element of any solid business plan is the protection of assets. Minimizing your tax liabilities in addition to other operating expenses is equally as important as maximizing your revenues. Prudent businesses protect their hard-earned assets by engaging the services of a professional qualified intermediary to facilitate the use of a tax deferred exchange to defer the taxes on the replacement of their business assets. With few restrictions, whether an exchange involves a parcel of real property, an airplane, a broadcast spectrum, or a fleet of cars, exchanges allow businesses and individuals the flexibility to sell property to whomever they wish, and to buy new property from whomever they wish.
May 2004
Career
:: Patti Wilson, Msc, Career Coach
Online Resume Clinic
The difference between a good and a bad resume is whether or not it would open a door to opportunity for you! Will that happen when your resume is emailed to an employer? Find out how to build the best resume online.
Management
:: Christian Pineau, President, CRM Consultants
Sell More and Service Customers Better
ACT! is an affordable and fully integrated business solution to better manage customer and company data, improve sales and productivity while reducing costs. Easily increase sales success by creating a database of customers/prospects with the ability to shorten sales cycle and improve close rates, manage your calendar more effectively and synchronize your data on different platforms, from PCs to PDAs, and identify and focus on your most profitable customers and how to increase customer loyalty.
Real Estate
:: Flore Baudouin
Selling your home? Have you thought about renovation? Staging?
Flore Baudouin, a realtor and stager/designer in the Silicon Valley for 15 years, will help you sorting out what makes homes sell faster.
Expatriates
:: Bruno Rousselet, Directeur général ADEL
The Loiret's Entreprising Spirit
À une heure au sud de Paris, une équipe est prête à vous accueillir et vous faciliter votre retour en France, en tant qu'entrepreneur ou en tant que porteur d'un projet de développement d’une entreprise nord-américaine.
Technology
:: Jean-Luc Vaillant, VP Engineering and co-founder, LinkedIn
LinkedIn: Surfing The Wave of A Successful Start-Up
Who has not received a LinkedIn invitation? LinkedIn is the hot start-up everyone talks about as they are revolutionarizing professional networking through the Internet.
April 2004
Career
:: Patti Wilson, Msc, Career Coach
Online Networking: C'est dans le vent, mais so what ?
A look at the opportunties, issues and tools needed to connect to money, people and deals online. How to use Linkedin, linksv.com, Ryze and Orkut to your advantage.
Management
:: Rick Schaefer, President, Mile 26 Consultants, Inc., Sales Acceleration/Management Consulting
Confessions of a Successful Entrepreneur: 10 Big Mistakes & How You Can Avoid Them
"Confessions of a Successful Entrepreneur..." provides a humorous appraisal of 10 of the costliest mistakes entrepreneurs make and offers practical lessons that you can apply to avoid repeating them in your business. It's been said that some of the best lessons in life are learned from mistakes. Why risk learning your lessons the hard way?
Innovation
:: Raphael Cohen, Ph. D., Serial entrepreneur, Getratex (Switzerland)
A new toolbox to stimulate and manage innovation
Innovation is recognized as a key driver for corporate growth and career development. Trouble is, sources for innovation are often overlooked, under analyzed or misunderstood. The new "Innovation by Opportunity" model provides the missing link that leads to a convincing business plan. This step-by-step toolbox helps entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs identify and turn an opportunity into a feasible action plan.
Companies like Oracle, Nestlé, Serono, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, banks, startups as well as non-profit and public sector organizations have already adopted "Innovation by Opportunity" to stimulate and manage innovation.
For more information: http://www.innovationbyopportunity.com.
Multicultural
:: Thierry Gabadou, Consultant Redhill Partners & Angelika Blenstrup, Ph. D., InterFrench Coordinator
Doing business with a big "G" for Global
Over the past 20 years Thierry has developed skills in analyzing, planning and executing sales and marketing strategies in France and in the US, that have propelled him to high responsibility management positions at large global Corporations and Silicon Valley start-ups.
Real Estate
:: Jerome Sierra, Mortgage Consultant, Alex Saba, Insurance Broker and Sophie Ravel, Realtor
Are You Well Prepared to Win The Real Estate Multiple offer game?
Can your Real estate agent impact the multuiple offer process?
Are you really pre-approved for the right loan?
Is your future property insurable?
March 2004
First Round of Workshops
Immigration
:: Eliot Norman, ReedSmith, LLP
Homeland Security and the New Immigration Rules: So You Want To Stay In The US? Visas, cartes vertes et nationalité américaine: Un Guide Pratique
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.
Finance
:: Claire Grosjean, CFO, IDB Consulting
April 15 Is Near: It Is Time To Do Your Taxes!
Learn about new legal strategies to minimize your taxes and grow your business.
Career
:: Patti Wilson, Career Coach, Careercompany
Don't Leave Your Life on the Table
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.
Real Estate
:: Greg Lartilleux, Mortgage consultant, Paramount Financial
How To Become A First-Time Home Buyer
Second Round of Workshops
Technology
:: Philippe Marinier, Director, Strategic Partners, Documentum Inc. (a division of EMC)
Information Lifecycle Management
Four times the growth of the 90s? How information Lifecycle Management is standardizing as software infrastructure to release an unforeseen wave of growth.
Public Relations SIG
:: PR-Meister Cordell Koland, CEO, SIPR
Positioning
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.
Leadership
:: Saadia Sabah, Ph. D. (Organizational Anthropology), Career Matters Coaching Inc.
Adaptive Leadership: What It Is, What It Is For, and Why You Should Care
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.
February 2004
Special Workshop
:: Patti Wilson, Career Coach at Career Company
How to Use A Weblog to Promote Your Career or Your Business
Entrepreneurship
:: Jorden Woods, Silicon Valley serial entrepreneur
Frustrated By Not Growing Fast Enough? Challenges With Customer Acquisition or Product Delivery?
How to uncover your customers’ pain, validate your market, develop sustainable market-focused products, and maximize revenue and market potential.
Multicultural Group
:: Angelika Blendstrup, Ph D., Principal, Blendstrup & Associates and InterFrench Coordinator
Translation of Oneself
How to find our cultural identity when we have one foot in one country and one foot in the other.
Real Estate
:: Max Bouchard, Realtor
How to Approach the Foreclosure Market
:: Jérôme Sierra, Mortgage Broker
How to Manage Your Credit Report
Technology
:: Christophe Ramstein, Ph.D., Vice-president, Engineering at Immersion
The Story of Haptic (Touch Feedback) Technologies
Christophe grew an original concept into a valuable technology used today in all gaming applications, automotive and cellular phones.
January 2004
Special Workshop
:: Angelika Blendstrup, Ph.D., InterFrench Coordinator
Inaugural Session of the InterFrench Multicultural Group
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.
Career
:: Thierry Gabadou, VP Sales and Jack Katz, VP Marketing and Sales
You Are Someone to the World and the World to Someone: A Practical Guide to a Marketable YOU
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".
Technology
:: Leslie Latham, VP Marketing, Mirra Inc. & Arnaud Guerrand, Technical Support, Mirra Inc.
Not just backing up, but preserving your invaluable digital life
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.
December 2003
Marketing
:: Judy Curtis , PR Guru and InterFrench coordinator, SIPR
Inaugural session of the InterFrench Public Relations Group
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».
Finance
:: Mikkel Herman, Chief Dealer, HIFX Inc.
Getting the Best Deal in Foreign Currency Exchange Markets
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.
Technology
:: Virginie Glaenzer, CEO, ProximityMail & Eric Glaenzer, Chief Technology Officer, Inventop
Networking and ProximityMail
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.
November 2003
Special Event dedicated to Montreal
Co-hosted with our partner Montreal International.

Introduction
:: Georges Bosse, City of Montreal
Montreal: One of The Best Cities In The World

Biotech
:: Laurent Le Portz, CEO, Ethypharm
Gaming
:: Alain Tascan, VP & General Manager, Electronic Arts & Remi Racine, CEO, A2M
October 2003
Technology
:: Dr. Richard Swann, SAP Labs and the Auto-ID Center & Vijay Sarathy, Solutions Marketing Manager at Sun Microsystems
Radio Frequency Identification Technology (RFID)
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.
Real Estate
:: Jérôme Sierra, InterFrench Coordinator, Real Estate.
Avoid 5 Mistakes That Could Destroy Your Credit Score!
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.
Career & Project Management
:: Arnaud Hubert, PMP, LUZ, Inc. & InterFrench Coordinator & Jim Sloane, PMP, Project Management Explorations
The PMP Certification from the Project Management Institute: Why and How?
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)
Entrepreneurship
:: Kevin E. Wood, BSEE, VP Information Systems & Keith Love - Robert Van Securities, Inc.
TeamBuilders: An E-Commerce Opportunity For You
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.
September 2003
Technology
:: Jean-Pierre Maeder, CEO, Zevcat, Inc.
A Zero Emission Vehicle That Runs on Compressed Air
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.
Entrepreneurship
:: Marouchka Liarokapis
:: Mike Spohn, Six Sigma Black Belt, Terravite Corporation
What Is Six Sigma and How Is It Transforming The Way Companies Do Business?
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.
Career
:: Patti Wilson, Career coach and counselor, Career Company
Managing Your Career 101
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.
Career
:: Jean-Claude Zambelli, Coordinator Mentoring InterFrench
Mentoring, A Way to Enhance Your Career!
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".
April 2003
Entrepreneurship
:: Derinda Gaumond, Founder, WorkIt
Three Tips to Smart Networking
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.
Technology
:: Luc Julia, CEO, BravoBrava!
BravoBrava!: Innovate differently
In addition to playing with new technologies, BravoBrava! also innovates with its structure, its organization and of its business plan.
Networking
:: Janet Fitzgerald, Director, FitzCom Inc.
A "Crash Course" in "Romancing the Stone: Connecting with Americans
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."
Entrepreneurship
:: Claire Grosjean, CFO, IDB Consulting
Business plan: The Financial aspects
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.
Education
:: Jean-Bernard Rolland, Stanford Graduate School of Business (2004), & Jerome Bertrand, Stanford Graduate School of Business (2004)
Getting into a top-tier MBA program
Tips & Q&As on admissions at Stanford University – as well as financial aid, career placement and student life - with Stanford students.
March 2003
Networking
:: Karen Habegger, Revel Coaching & Vincent Amiot, Networking Guru
It’s not who you know. It’s who knows you.
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.
Biotech/Medical
:: Simon Chin, President and CEO, Iris Biotechnologies Inc.
Convergence of New Technologies in Advanced Medical Diagnostics, Biotechnology, and Information Systems
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.
Education
:: Philippe Leroy, Director, Palo Alto French Education Association
How to ensure that French-speaking children are provided French education to maintain their cultural identity and reinforce their French language skills while attending American public schools.
Lifestyle
:: Daniel Hallee, Oenologue, France-Wine, Jerome Oriel, Wine Group Coordinator
Cognac Tasting
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".
February 2003
See event photos
Finance
:: Susan Feland, Merrill Lynch Financial Advisor & Chris Kaiffer, Financial Advisor
Investment Strategies to Retire in Style
A classical and alternative approach to investing. Ways to reach your financial goals and achieve a young and successful retirement.
Entrepreneurship
:: Andreas Mueller, Chief Strategist, Bloofusion, Gabrielle Hendryx-Parker, Dir. Marketing, Six Feet Up & Calvin Hendryx-Parker, Systems Engineer, Six Feet Up
Creating Websites That Work
Great websites establish a professional first impression and generate online leads for your business. Discover the ingredients necessary to successful websites.
Download the presentation (Acrobat PDF, 34 Kb)
Business Development
:: Angelika Blendstrup, PhD, Blendstrup & Associates, Professional Business Communications
10 Keys to A Winning Presentation
Do you know how to get ready and what to avoid if you want to make your big deal and increase your business?"
Networking
:: Vincent Amiot, Networking Guru & Joanne S. Black, Developer of the "No More Cold Calling" concept
No More Cold Calling: Build Your Business Through Referrals
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.
January 2003
Personal Finance
:: Mike Fink, NLP Trainer, Coach and Founder of Magician Within, Inc. & Vincent Amiot.
The Money Clinic: Identify and Overcome Your Mental Blocks to Making Money
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.
Download the presentation (Acrobat PDF, 23 Kb)
Entrepreneurship
:: Jean-Marc Parmentier, ContactCard
An Identity System for People on the Internet
ContactCard, a platform for personal identity driven by an innovative and viral application that connects people on the Internet across messaging applications and devices.
Telecom
:: Bernard Aboussouan, VP Marketing, BeamReach Networks, Alain Fastre, Director, Nokia, Mobile Software Division, Christian Gallais and Houfar Azgomi, InterFrench Telecom Coordinators
3G, Wireless LAN, Broadband Wireless Access: Competing or Complementary?
A brief technological overview from the ground up of the major actors of the current hottest industry.
Download the presentation (Acrobat PDF, 497 Kb)
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