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5th GABC Oktoberfest Event

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The 5th GABC Oktoberfest Event

On 21 September 2015, the 5th GABC Oktoberfest Event took place, proudly sponsored by our corporate members mic AG and Telstra. 20 GABC members and guests met for a welcome at the Hacker-Pschorr Bräuhaus in the afternoon. New contacts and interesting talks took place. Invigorated by a Bavarian ‘Brotzeit’ everybody enjoyed the unique atmosphere at the Bräurosl tent until late at night.

Before entering the Bräurosl tent…
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Starting the casual part…..enjoying the Hendl…singing along, and particularly enjoying the Australian bit of the song where they repeat  ‘oi, oi, oi’!

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OzFest in Munich

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On the weekend 7th to 9th August the 1st Munich OzFest took place, organised by the AFL Munich Kangaroos who are celebrating their 20th anniversary this year. Our Patron, the Australian Ambassador H.E. David Ritchie AO together with the 2nd Lord Mayor of Munich, Josef Schmid opened the event. H.E. David Ritchie AO had to tap the 1st beer barrel. He gave an excellent demonstration of skill – 2 strikes! The program was also excellent: 11 different musicians /music groups were playing during the festival, the Waltzing Matilda Bush Dancers performed famous Australian dances. There was also boomerang throwing and boat races in the fountain at the Rindermarkt.

The weather was really nice apart from 10 minutes of rain on Saturday evening.

The OzFest was a great promotion for Australia.

GABC Board members Rob Harrison and Eberhard Goihl had the chance to support the event with a German Australian Business Council page in the OzFest Booklet. A lot of visitors were able to take the new German Australian Business Council flyer home.

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Tour through the Siemens Schaltwerk

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Members and friends of the German Australian Business Council met on the afternoon of 29 May 2015 at the Siemens Schaltwerk in Berlin (production facility for switchgear technology). Greeted by German Australian Business Council Board Member Simone Wienhausen, guests received an overview of the long history of Siemens in Berlin, the importance of the Berlin site for the whole Siemens group and some technological background to understand the operations in the Schaltwerk. This introduction was followed by a guided tour through the Schaltwerk itself, giving guests an insight into the state-of-the-art industrial production plant. Even guests who were not involved in engineering were taken with the “team-work” of the workforce and machines, producing switchgear for low and medium voltage environments. The event was rounded off by a get-together at Zitadelle Spandau, where guests were able to network in a classic Berlin location.

We wish to gratefully acknowledge that the tour was made possible by Siemens Schaltwerk and are looking forward to the next tour.

Event Review by Claas de Boer

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Leadership Series: Tech Pioneer Phil Douglas tells all

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On May 27 2015, we kicked off our leadership series in Frankfurt with Phil Douglas, Australian entrepreneur, CEO and founder of the German company, 2e Systems.

Following a welcome speech from Catherine Stephen from the German Australian Business Council, Phil launched into an entertaining and insightful look into the growth of his business. From his humble beginnings as a freelance Lufthansa consultant to founding his own company and becoming an industry leader in online and mobile technologies for the global aviation industry, the company can now boast 75 employees spread over 5 international offices today. 2e Systems’ success story was interwoven with Phil’s humorous and at times surprisingly honest anecdotes, earning him an extremely captivated audience. As 2e Systems continues to grow and face new challenges Phil gave us all a positive perspective on leadership in a dynamic and demanding market.

Following Phil’s speech, there was networking amongst members with a delicious buffet, Australian wines and beer. Special thanks to our Corporate Member, King &Wood Mallesons, for hosting this event at their offices.

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Celebrating the Qantas – Emirates Partnership

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On Tuesday 21st April, members of the German Australian Business Council were invited to attend a celebration of the Qantas / Emirates partnership at the Emirates office.  Following a warm welcome from Volker Greiner, Vice President North and Central Europe for Emirates and Stefan Augustin from the German Australian Business Council, Johannes Falck from Emirates and Jane Duncan from Qantas gave an entertaining and enlightening update on the progress of the partnership to date, it’s positioning in the market place, achievements both external and internal and a hint of future developments.  While there have been many challenges along the way, the message from both Qantas and Emirates was united and unequivocal – the partnership is helping both airlines achieve their goals and is here to stay.

There was some lively discussion and networking amongst members both before and after the presentation. Special thanks to Bob Gogan from Bob’s Fine Wines and Gogan Wine Imports for supplying the wine to enable us to toast the partnership reaching its 2nd Anniversary and to Qantas and Emirates for arranging the catering.

 

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World Doctor’s Orchestra

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Members and friends of the German Australian Business Council gathered at the Konzerthaus am Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin on 25 April 2015 to listen to the World Doctor’s Orchestra. After an introduction by the Australian Ambassador, H.E. David Ritchie AO, music by Wagner, Dvorák and Schumann was interpreted by the orchestra in a technically brilliant and emotionally moving way. Berliner Philharmoniker’s Ludwig Quandt received an enthusiastic applause for his appearance as did the orchestra and its conductor Stefan Willich. After the concert members and friends were invited to a reception to network in the beautiful Ludwig-van-Beethoven-Hall of the Konzerthaus.

 We wish to gratefully acknowledge that this event was made possible by our corporate member Sonic Healthcare Germany.

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Photos ©Frau Nina Altmann

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German Australian Business Council AGM

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The Annual General Meeting of the German Australian Business Council e.V. was held at the offices of King & Wood Mallesons on Monday 13th April. The mild weather allowed us to start the evening with light refreshments on the balcony with views over the Alte Oper and An der Welle.

The Chair of the Board, Sabine Pittrof gave an overview of 2014 and an outlook of what is to come in 2015. The presentation focused on the rebranding from Australian Business in Europe (Germany) to the German Australian Business Council, the changes in the office administrators and events. Sabine thanked Susanne Schnack for her contribution to setting up the office and wished her well in her new employment. Eleanor Stephen is currently holding the seat in the office. Sabine also provided an overview of the global organisation and upcoming events for the combined “ABIE’s”.

Eberhard Goihl, Treasurer of the German Australian Business Council, outlined the current financial status and highlighted some of the challenges we have been facing with invoicing, event payments and the data base. There has been improvement over the past twelve months due to the work of the office administrator. Eberhard also thanked Werner Waldner for his time in checking the books and approving the work completed over the past 12 months.

Discussion did take place regarding invoicing and payment methods, the ongoing ties between the parent group Australian Business in Europe and the German Australian Business Council, Event funding and payments and the use of social media to grow and promote the organisation.

The evening concluded with networking over drinks and refreshments.

We would like to extend our sincere thanks to King & Wood Mallesons for providing an excellent venue for the event and their warm and generous welcome and hospitality.

 

 

 

 

 

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Bavaria Australia Day 30 January 2015

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Whether they are impressed by the state’s strength in R&D or its high-tech locations, Bavaria offers lots of benefits for innovative Australian companies and useful support as they expand internationally.
The OECD Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard 2013 ranks Australia among the world’s leading countries when it comes to innovation. It provides an innovative environment for innovative companies thanks to strong protection of intellectual property, a high-quality IT infrastructure, a high level of R&D investment and generous R&D funding. Despite this, the domestic market is relatively small, so interested companies have to expand in order to remain successful. This is where Bavaria comes in – as a compatible location for Australia’s strengths.

The first step in this direction came in the form of a festive evening– with a relaxed atmosphere and wonderful food – held on 30th January in cooperation with the German Australian Business Council (GABC) to celebrate Australia Day. It was an opportunity to make useful contacts in the existing community and allow the participants to network with one another.

In future, Invest in Bavaria will be working with the GABC even more intensively in order to guarantee the greatest possible benefits for both sides, to support the existing Australian community and to expand it by attracting more new companies to the state.

Invest in Bavaria is looking forward to the cooperation between Australia and Bavaria and would like to thank all participants for coming to its first Australia-focused event in such great numbers.

Susanne Schierok – Invest in Bavaria

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German Australian Business Council Re-launch and Australia Day Dinner

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Adina Apartment Hotel Frankfurt Neue Oper

The weather may not have been a reflection of that experienced by the First Fleet landing in Australia on 26th January 1788 but the weather failed to dampen the enthusiasm of those attending the German Australian Business Council Re-launch and Australia Day event in Frankfurt 227 years later.
As the guests arrived at the Adina Apartment Hotel Frankfurt Neue Oper, the German Australian Business Council Board Members and Daniel Goihl from Zeitgeister Design & Kreativagentur had their fingers crossed as we prepared to launch the new German Australian Business Council website in front of a number of our Members, Friends and distinguished guests. Sabine Pittrof, Chair of the Board welcomed the guests and then handed over to our Guest Speaker for the evening, Greg Ellis, CEO of Scout 24. Greg has been involved in internet development and marketing since its beginnings back in the 1990’s. Greg commended the German Australian Business Council for creating a more user friendly and interactive website. Greg then “pushed the button” and the countdown to the new website began. At first we all held our breath; then exhaled and finally applauded as the website “went live” and we were taken through a tour to experience the new look and reinvigorated outlook of the German Australian Business Council.
The guests then moved to the Restaurant to continue networking and enjoy a buffet dinner reflecting an Australian influence. Unfortunately Mr David Ritche AO, the Australian Ambassador who was scheduled to speak at the dinner was unable to attend, but he did forward a message which Sabine Pittrof read when making her speech at the dinner.
It was great to see so many new members and some first time attendees at the event and we hope to see you in the near future at our upcoming events.

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Christmas Drinks in Berlin

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Gendarmenmarkt, Berlin

The German Australian Business Council invites you to join us for Christmas Drinks in Berlin on Monday, 15 December 2014 from 6:30 pm and we hope that you can join us for Glühwein and dinner at the Christmas Market “Weihnachtszauber Gendarmenmarkt”. Please contact Susanne Schnack at office@abie-germany.de for more details or RSVPs.