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Ambassador’s Dinner 2017 Frankfurt

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This year’s Ambassador’s Dinner was a particularly festive event. 2017 is the year that the German Australian Business Council (GABC) celebrates 20 years of connecting Germany and Australia.

Held on the 12th of September at the Steigenberger Frankfurter Hof Hotel in central Frankfurt, we were honoured to welcome both our Co-Patrons, Her Excellency Lynette Wood, Australian Ambassador to Germany, as well as Richard Leather, Consul General and Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner at the Australian Consulate-General in Frankfurt. We also had the pleasure of the company  of The Honourable Martin Hamilton-Smith MP, South Australian Minister for Investment and Trade, Defence Industries and Veterans’ Affairs as well as many other distinguished guests both at Federal and State level.

Almost 120 international guests spanning across the business, political, educational and cultural spheres took part in this year’s Ambassador’s Dinner.

The evening debuted with a networking pre-dinner cocktail. The diversity, generous curiosity and open-mindedness of our guests allowed for the evening to immediately start off in great spirits, with many new contacts being established.

Once in the dining room, GABC Chair, Sabine Pittrof, welcomed all guests and took us through the past 20 years since the creation of GABC: an incredibly rich programme of events and business opportunities, to say the least!

Following, for the first time as our Patron, the Australian Ambassador to Germany, H.E. Lynette Wood, addressed our guests, highlighting the current business and political climate between Australia and Germany.

We also heard from the South Australian Minister, who touched upon numerous topics relevant to German Australian business relations, including those of innovation and renewable energy.

On a different note, Markus Svensson, European General Manager for Qantas, focused on the outlook of the airline industry, briefly outlining the plans for non-stop flight to Europe.

Our Master of Ceremony for the event, Evangelos Kotsopoulos, CEO Continental Europe for Sonic Healthcare and GABC Board Member, led us nicely throughout the entire evening.

The evening was concluded by an abundant business card draw as a way to celebrate our 20 year anniversary, followed by closing remarks and a word of thank you by Sabine Pittrof.

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), State of South Australia (Gold Sponsor), Qantas (Gold Sponsor), Squire Patton Boggs (Silver Sponsor) and the German Chamber of Commerce Abroad (AHK) (Silver Sponsor) supported the 2017 Ambassador’s Dinner. The German Australian Business Council would like to warmly thank our sponsors for their kind support.

 

 

 

 

All photos by Jens Braune del Angel, Frankfurt

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Breakfast Briefing with German Honorary Consul

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Members and friends of the German Australian Business Council gathered in Frankfurt on 7 July 2017 for a breakfast briefing with German Honorary Consul Prof. Michael Rosemann. Prof. Rosemann shared with attendees the various German initiatives that take place in Brisbane such as German week and David meets Goliath. He also captivated his audience with fascinating stories about how the universities help businesses transition to a digitalized world and adapting to a different mindset by thinking in a “bigger box”.

It was a great event to start the work day with attendees taking away a lot of food for thought.

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Frankfurt Summer Networking Event at feinform

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The German Australian Business Council’s special summer networking event revolved around art, design and beauty. For the first time, GABC expanded its scope by venturing into New Zealand territory. The event took place in our member Rena Jarosewitsch’s jewellery gallery, atelier and shop in Frankfurt, called feinform.

It was indeed a pleasant, inspiring and much appreciated evening. GABC members and friends eagerly listened to Rena’s fascinating story, taking her all the way to New Zealand where she worked over a decade as a glass artist. Back in Germany, Rena switched careers to specialise in jewellery design: two distinct crafts with overlapping traits such as work with light and reflections. Rena has featured in various exhibitions around the world. Guests learnt about the craft of jewellery design whilst admiring Rena’s own beautiful collection, as well as those of her other national and international colleagues. It was also a perfect opportunity to discuss and network while enjoying a glass of delicious Australian wine. An all-round successful evening!

feinform

Rena Jarosewitsch

http://www.galerie-feinform.de

Weckmarkt 3, 60322 Frankfurt am Main

r.jarosewitsch@feinform.de

+49 (0)69 29 22 88

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Networking Reception Frankfurt

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The German Australian Business Council continued our 20th anniversary by launching our “Bring a Friend” promotion at a business networking reception in Frankfurt, kindly hosted by our co-patron, Richard Leather, Consul General and Senior Trade Commissioner.

Our new friends were able to learn more about the Council and meet existing members and friends over drinks and canapés.

Frankfurt hosts to the Gondwana Indigenous Children’s Choir, Lucianne Brady and Catherine Stephen, also gave a lovely and heartfelt introduction to the Choir and their journey towards organising an all-volunteer-led concert at the Liebfrauenkirche Frankfurt as part of the Choir’s European Tour.

For his efforts in bringing new friends, Bob Gogan, a long-time German Australian Business Council member was gifted with 20% discount vouchers to be used for his next event registrations. We encourage all members and friends to take part in our 20th anniversary promotions (details to be found on our website).

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Gondwana Indigenous Children’s Choir Concert

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German Australian Business Council members and friends enjoyed a special concert evening in Frankfurt on Saturday, 6 May with Australia´s Gondwana Indigenous Children´s Choir touring Europe for the first time. Together with the choir of the Frankfurt European School, the children truly fascinated the audience of around 500 guests in Frankfurt´s packed Liebfrauenkirche.

Participation was made possible by German Australian Business Council corporate member Sonic Healthcare Germany who supported the event together with Tourism Australia as part of the “Australia now – Germany 2017” program (www.australianow2017.de) .

 

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Aesop Frankfurt Store Tour

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Just one day after International Women’s Day, the German Australian Business Council was privileged to host a members-only visit of the Aesop store in Frankfurt.

Our Aesop hosts, Edna and Juliana, shared the fascinating story of Dennis Paphitis who launched the business from his former Armadale (Victoria) hair salon in 1987. Its products now extend to body and skin care; and the business has expanded overseas to over 40 countries with 11 stores in Germany alone.

Aesop, which means “storyteller” in Greek is a fitting name for the brand as every store has a unique story.

The Frankfurt signature store was created in collaboration with the Philipp Mainzer Office for Architecture and Design, taking for its primary inspirations the city’s Modernist roots and cultural heritage.

The store interior arrangement also alludes to the Die Frankfurter Küche – the 1920s prototype for kitchens prevalent in the West, first used in public housing project Das Neue Frankfurt.

The store tour was followed by personal skin consultations by Aesop and attendees went away with goodie bags courtesy of Aesop.

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Australia Day Business Networking Lunch in Frankfurt

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The German Australian Business Council kicked off its 20th anniversary and first official event of 2017 with our Australia Day Business Networking Lunch at the newly opened Adina Apartment Hotel Frankfurt.

Our special guest all the way from Sydney was Mr Jason Collins, Chief Executive Officer of the European Australian Business Council, who provided us with a thorough background and fascinating insights into the proposed Australia – European Union Free Trade Agreement. The session sparked off a great deal of discussion among the 35 participants as they debated the opportunities and challenges of the proposed agreement.

Mr Richard York, fellow member of the Australian Business in Europe network, ABIE Czech Republic also joined the event to launch the new ABIE International website. Abie.eu is a collaboration between the different ABIE groups – currently Australia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, United Kingdom – and provides a common platform highlighting various initiatives taking place across Europe.

Those in attendance were also treated to an Australian menu comprising fresh seafood, lamb, and Pavlova specially created by the Adina team.

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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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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

2nd

Speaker Frank Fuchs

3rd

(L-R) Susanne Muller and Kirsten Laupp

4th

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

9th

Council Chair Sabine Pittrof with Catherine Stephen

before-10 10th

Excellent spread by Mantis Roofgarden

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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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