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Christmas Business Networking Reception in Frankfurt

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To mark the start of the festive season, the German Australian Business Council was given the privilege of holding the annual Christmas event at the residence of the Australian Consul General, Richard Leather, in Frankfurt.

The Consul General warmly welcomed German Australian Business Council members and their friends into this intimate environment and as on many occasions before, proved to be an excellent host.

The elegant yet festive soundtrack to this evening was provided by one of the German Australian Business Council members  – Cherokee Bech, an Australian DJ now resident in Frankfurt. Australian wine accompanied the excellent catering for the evening, making the networking all that more enjoyable!

Our chair, Sabine Pittrof also gave a brief overview of the past year’s events, major topics and changes to the association. We welcomed a number of new members on this occasion, joining us for the first time in one of our regular events and coming from as far away as Hamburg just for this occasion.

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Australian Consul General and Senior Trade Commissioner in Frankfurt, Richard Leather welcomes our members and their friends to his residence.

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German Australian Business Council Chair, Sabine Pittrof giving an overview of our engagements and successes in 2016.

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German Australian Business Council members and their friends networking and enjoying a festive evening at the Consul General’s residence.

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Christmas Networking Dinner Munich

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On December 15 the German Australian Business Council invited members and friends to a joint Christmas Networking Dinner together with the Munich based Anglo Bavarian Club (ABC). As in previous years it was an ideal opportunity to meet new people and discuss the 2016 events as well as the basics for 2017. There was a fantastic buffet and everybody enjoyed the pre-Christmas atmosphere.

One highlight was the chorus of all participants singing two Christmas songs conducted by Hamish Douglas, the chairman of the ABC.

Some impressions from the event below.

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German Australian Business Council at Down Under Fair in Stuttgart

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On November 25, 2016 GOstralia!-GOzealand! held the Career, Studies and Research in Australia and New Zealand Fair in Stuttgart. The fair was in cooperation with Austrade, Education New Zealand and Baden-Württemberg International. The German Australian Business Council also supported. German Australian Business Council Board Members Melanie Töpfer and Evangelos Kotsopoulos were part of the speakers and shared their experiences with the attendees, Board Member Eberhard Goihl was responsible for the German Australian Business Council booth which was beside the stands of main universities of Australia and New Zealand.

It was a big opportunity to make German Australian Business Council available to a big group of young people.

The feedback was overwhelming.

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Melbourne Cup Business Networking Dinner in Frankfurt

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On 1 November 2016, over 50 of our German Australian Business Council members and friends gathered at the Mantis Roofgarden in Frankfurt for a touch of the Melbourne Spring Carnival. Guests enjoyed an Aussie-style BBQ buffet while listening to a presentation on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles by Dr Frank Fuchs. This was followed by a presentation by Susanne Stellberg from Visit Victoria and a delayed telecast of the race.

Congratulations to Elizabeth Wood from Clifford Chance LLP who was the lucky winner of our sweepstake, which included a return Emirates flight to Melbourne, two Victoria Racing Club passes to the AAMI Victoria Derby Day and Emirates Melbourne Cup Day 2017, and a night’s accommodation at the Fraser Place Melbourne.

Other stylish winners included Uli Hein from Thai Airways for his rebel outfit in the Best Dressed Gentleman category, kindly sponsored by Bob’s Fine Wines; and Bri Connelly from Deutsche Flugsicherung for her elegant hat in the Best Dressed Lady category, kindly sponsored by the Australien Wine Store.

The German Australian Business Council expresses our appreciation to our generous sponsors and partners for the successful evening: Aesop, Australien Wine Store, Bob’s Fine Wines, Emirates, Fraser Place Melbourne, Victoria Racing Club, and Visit Victoria.

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(L-R) Dietrich Klusemann, Irene Klusemann, Hon Andre Haermeyer

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Speaker Frank Fuchs

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(L-R) Susanne Muller and Kirsten Laupp

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Susanne Stellberg from Visit Victoria

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Guests networking

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Grand prize winner Elizabeth Wood

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Best Dressed Gentleman Uli Hein

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Best Dressed Lady Bri Connelly

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Council Chair Sabine Pittrof with Catherine Stephen

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Excellent spread by Mantis Roofgarden

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Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, The Hon Julie Bishop MP visits Berlin

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At the occasion of the Minister Julie Bishop´s state visit to Germany, the Australian Embassy in Berlin hosted an evening reception on 6 September which was attended by several GABC members. The Minister led an Australian Government delegation to attend the first German-Australian “2+2” consultations. This new format brings together the two country´s respective Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Defence and was attended by Minister Julie Bishop, the Australian Minister for Defence, The Hon Marise Payne, and their German counterparts Federal Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Federal Minister Ursula von der Leyen.

In her speech to the evening reception´s guests, Minister Julie Bishop also announced the program of the 2017 Australia now initiative. This year-long series of predominantly cultural events seeks to highlight Australia´s creativity and power of innovation. Dubbed a “celebration of Australia´s culture in Germany”, the program will raise Australia´s profile in Germany and highlight the country´s cultural richness and diversity.

Julie Bishop, Foreign Minister of Australia, attends a reception at the Australian Embassy. Berlin, 06.09.2016. Copyright: Adam Berry/photothek.net

Julie Bishop, Foreign Minister of Australia, with Board members of the German Australian Business Council, Sabine Pittrof and Evangelos Kotsopoulos. 

 

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The 2nd German Australian Business Council Oktoberfest Mittags Wies’n

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The 2nd annual German Australian Oktoberfest Mittags Wies’n took place on 30 September 2016. 10 German Australian Business Council members and guests met at the Löwenbräu Festzelt and everybody enjoyed the unique atmosphere during lunch time.

Outside the typical Bavarian white blue sky could be seen and inside the tent we had nice music, some maß of beer and the obligatory Hendl.

New contacts and interesting talks took place.

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The 6th German Australian Business Council Oktoberfest Networking Event

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The 6th German Australian Business Council Oktoberfest Event took place on 21 September 2016 and was proudly sponsored by our corporate member mic AG. 20 German Australian Business Council members and guests met at the Bräurosl Tent.

New contacts and interesting talks took place.

Everybody enjoyed the unique atmosphere at the Bräurosl tent until late at night.

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Before entering the Bräurosl tent.

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Starting the casual part…..

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German Australian Business Council Board Members Elisabeth Opie and Eberhard Goihl.

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Ambassador’s Dinner 2016

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The Annual Ambassador’s Dinner was held on Monday 6th June at the Spatenhaus next to the Opera in Munich. We were delighted to be joined by the Australian Ambassador, H.E. Mr David Ritchie AO. We were also delighted to see so many of our members in attendance along with some of their corporate guests. We saw the typical Bavarian white-blue sky.

The evening commenced with pre-dinner drinks in the Maximiliansstube. We then moved to the Grosse Opern Stube for the dinner and speeches. Sabine Pittrof, Chair of the Board welcomed the attendees and his Excellency David Ritchie to the event as well as Rita Roider, the representative of the City of Munich.

We also had the pleasure to hear from Björn Behrendt, the German-Australian entrepreneur behind start-ups such as MadPaws, Luggage.co.nz, DocBook and ParcelPush Pty Ltd. Bjorn addressed us on the topic of „Innovation Playground Australia“ and shared his personal experience with innovative business start-ups.

The Ambassador’s speech focused on the topic of innovation as well as including information regarding the newly established landing pads in Berlin. Shanghai, Singapore, San Francisco and Tel Aviv. He also gave a status of implementation of the recommendations of the German Australian Advisory Group.

As he will leave Germany in July he concluded his speech with a comprehensive resume of his 41 years’ experience with Germany.

The GABC Board addressed a farewell and thanked him for his work and support as the patron of GABC in the last 2 and a half years.

Events such as the Ambassador’s Dinner would not be possible without the generous support of our Corporate Members and sponsors. Sonic Healthcare (Gold Sponsor), 24 IP Law Group, Invest in Bavaria and Aesop supported the event. The German Australian Business Council would like to thank them once again for their ongoing support.

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Investing Responsibly – A Changing Landscape

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On 24 May 2016, Will Oulton, Global Head of Responsible Investment for First State Investments flew into Frankfurt from London to give a presentation on “sensible investments”, an approach to investment that explicitly acknowledges the relevance to the investor of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors, and of the long-term health and stability of the market as a whole.

Besides expounding on the three drivers of “sensible investments” – fiduciary duty, investment performance, and growing demand driving transparency and technology – Will shared some case studies in Germany and Australia that highlighted the strong link between ESG factors and company performance.

After a lively Q&A session, the attendees adjourned for further discussion and networking over Australian Shiraz and German Riesling.

With the successful turnout in Frankfurt, we are delighted to announce that we will be bringing Will back to Berlin and Munich to share more about “sensible investments”. So look out for further information either by email or on our website.

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Cross-border Succession Law and Asset Structuring

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On 14 April 2016, Mario von Seelstrang, a partner, lawyer and tax advisor at the Munich based law firm FORUM Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater Wirtschaftsprüfer gave a presentation about the current legal framework for cross-border succession and asset structuring. Mario’s presentation focused on expatriates, mixed nationality couples and German citizens with property interest in both Germany and Australia.

Due to some legislative changes that became effective in August 2015, Mario pointed out some important factors to consider in that context which led to a lively discussion while enjoying a typical Bavarian Brotzeit.

Larry Schulz from the American German Business Club was an interested attendee who contributed to the topic from his own experience at the American German Business Club. It was also great to have some of our new individual members with us for whom it was their first German Australian Business Council event and who provided very positive feedback.

We are delighted to announce that we are currently planning a similar event on the topic in Frankfurt and possibly Berlin. So look out for further information either by email or on our website.

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