Dear AMCHAM members, partners and friends,
I am still thinking over all of the great memories and conversations I have held close to my heart as a result of our really wonderful New Year’s reception last week at Spuerkeess HQ on Avenue de la Liberté. My thanks again to Mrs. Françoise Thoma and Simône Von Schouwenburg from Spuerkeess for offering us the warm welcome and hospitality of their headquarters; Italo di Lorenzo and Amazon for so wonderfully sponsoring the food and drinks; Deputy Prime Minister Bettel for all of the wise and passionate leadership he brings to his three new positions; Ambassador Barrett and the U.S. Embassy team for being the tip of the spear and the cutting edge of the blade of trust, friendship and partnership which has characterized U.S. and Luxembourg relations for so many years. Most especially, I thank our AmCham Members, honored guests, Partners and friends for joining us! Thank you!
Our feature interviews this Newsletter are with two of the other most important leaders at Spuerkeess. Having spent time as guests in their building and enjoyed their hospitality, we thought it would be interesting to you all to hear the story of the founding and development of the bank itself and the specific story of this iconic present headquarters building, the former location for the Arcelor steel corporation of Luxembourg. Please enjoy both articles!
You likely have noticed that access for non-members to AmCham events is being reduced ever so slightly to allow more priority and ensuring suitable access for AmCham members. We will continue to be as publicly accessible as possible. But, it is both reasonable and appropriate to ensure priority treatment of our own dues-paying members over non-members. We thank you all for understanding and agreeing the necessity and appropriateness of this approach.
If you are not an AmCham member and are impacted by this necessary requirement, please talk to us and we will work with you to find an appropriate and affordable membership solution. Feel free to contact me personally at Paul@amcham.lu and I will be happy to discuss with you.
We have very interesting events large and small during February and continuing into the months ahead. Please see details which follow… and also don’t forget to enjoy Bibi Wintersdorf’s excellent cooking suggestion for this week!
I most especially encourage you and your friends and colleagues to join our Gala Carnival dinner dance on 1 March in the ballroom of the DoubleTree by Hilton in Dommeldange. We are delighted to offer the sound, the beat and the energetic dance music of Marco Boesen and his team. There is no better way to dance than to live music with a good beat and great sound. Marco and his team are cruise ship musical experts who can deliver this… and do so with warmth, friendship and style. Bring you partners and friends for a great evening. Sign up as couples or book your corporate tables with Sonja@amcham.lu, Jean-Claude@amcham.lu, or Daniel@amcham.lu!
On 8 March we are pleased to partner with PwC and Baker McKenzie for the seventh annual International Woman’s Day celebration, which this year will be hold at the PwC Crystal Palace again in the late morning and over lunch time (as a convenience to fit the schedules of our mostly woman audience). As every year, this is a must attend event full of inspired advice, emotional understanding and shared values. Join us via this link.
Next week, I will share more with you about the political discussions we are involved with on your behalf to make Luxembourg more expat- and business-friendly (please see a copy of our 4 page manifesto identifying our recommendations of the 8 things our constituents want the new government to do and the two things we hope they will resist doing).
As a last thought, videos recapping our New Year’s reception have been posted YouTube of Madame Thomas’ opening remarks as well as my speech at the New Year’s reception. We hope that you will enjoy the memories
Have a good week and weekend. Please stay connected with us, tell us what you want and need for us to do for you, your families, friends and companies!
With all respect and kindest regards,
Paul Schonenberg
Chairman and CEO
AMCHAM.lu
