Dear AmCham Members, Partners and friends,
Welcome to issue 176 of your AmCham Digital Newsletter! We are pleased to provide you with timely targeted news and information about Luxembourg and the world to help you prosper and succeed in this difficult world in which we all, our companies and our families live and work.
Two weeks ago, many of us were shocked to read a news announcement concerning the possible closure of the US Embassy in Luxembourg. This story as reported in the American news outlet POLITICO has been attributed to a leaked US State Department draft internal analysis which allegedly identified potential consulates and embassies in Europe, Africa and the Middle East which had been identified for closure during an internal US State Department cost savings and mission optimization review.
Absent any clear confirmation the US Embassy in Luxembourg will definitely remain open and operating, I indicated in an interview with the Lux Times that I was planning to write a letter to President Trump on behalf of AmCham to make our case against any US Embassy Luxembourg closure.
Please find my letter to President Trump as the feature content of this week’s Newsletter. Feel free to share this letter with your colleagues and friends. Please feel free to send me your feedback (Paul@amcham.lu).
Also in this newsletter, we have included a video analysis of President Trump’s first 100 days in office presented by US academic Victor Davis Hansen. This video presents a comprehensive detailed summary of what is going on with the economy and politics of the United States and more clearly explains this and the US voting population response than is generally available in the local Luxembourg and European media. I encourage you to take a look at this video.
As many of you know, we have responded to the significant cost increases of our local hotels and private clubs by initiating monthly corporate sponsored After Work Drinks (AWD). Our goal has been to provide our members with rich networking opportunities while also providing our member companies with opportunities to present themselves and become better known to our high quality membership of exceptional business professionals. We are delighted by the success we have had and sincerely thank both our sponsoring companies and our attendees!
I encourage companies which are interested to become better known to a broader audience to take advantage of their AmCham membership and join us as AWD sponsors. Feel free to contact me to further discuss (Paul@amcham.lu)!
We are happy to share with you later on in this Newsletter the photos and information from our Talent Attraction event partnered with A&O Shearman, and our second AWD (After Work Drinks) event with Art-Management.
The Talent Management event featured an excellent analysis presentation explaining the recent personal and corporate tax improvements initiated by the Luxembourg Ministry of Finance to improve the tax attractiveness of Luxembourg, followed by a panel discussion of HR Talent professionals expertly moderated by Gilles D’Agnol, chair of our AmCham HR Committee. The post-event networking was well enjoyed by all participants!
The Art-Management AWD event brought together art lover patrons of the art gallery with our AmCham members in a joint event that was a strong sharing of ideas and values. All participants were enthusiastic, and the networking was energetic and strong! I was particularly pleased to better understand the approach of Art-Management which understands and promotes the use of art to enhance business success. We will explore this theme more in the future.
Upcoming before we enter into our summer break, we look forward to an AWD event at the Data Center in Cloche d’Or, an asset manager event with Aztec at the Grand Ducal Country club, a summer BBQ for the Real Estate Committee at Schroeders, our first ever AmCham Golf Tournament organized by BDO, and our third Polo tournament and summer party. I express my thanks to all of you who are partnering with us to put on this wonderful series of events and look forward to seeing many of you at these events.
My sincere thanks to all of our members and partners! We are strong and able to serve because of you!
With respect and my very best wishes,
Paul Schonenberg
Chairman and CEO
AmCham.lu