The European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan (ECCT) has announced that Hakan Cervell, President of Ericsson Taiwan will serve as chairman of the ECCT's board of directors in 2017 for a second consecutive year. Cervell was elected by the new board of directors at their first meeting following the chamber's Annual General Meeting (AGM) today. The 2018 boards of 15 directors and 5 supervisors were voted into office at today's AGM by ECCT members (please see p2 for a full list of directors and supervisors).

In its annual report to members at today's AGM, Vice Chairman Giuseppe Izzo reported that 2017 was a very successful year for the chamber with frequent engagement with government ministries and agencies throughout the year, helping to further promote members' business interests. Membership rose to a record high of over 860 individual members and the quality and participation at events remained very high. A number of successful events were held and, in terms of advocacy, the chamber saw a similar high level of progress compared to 2016.

The ECCT was extremely active during the year, holding activities which included Premium Events, committee meetings and government visits. High profile activities included the Europe Day Dinner, Premium, Special and Committee events which attracted high profile guest speakers from Taiwan, elsewhere in Asia and Europe. ECCT members and the secretariat also arranged or participated in numerous conferences, seminars and forums in conjunction with government agencies from both Taiwan and Europe.

About the ECCT and the annual position papers
With over US$44 billion in direct foreign investments, European businesses are collectively the largest group of foreign investors in Taiwan. The European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan is the only foreign nationwide business chamber in Taiwan and the principal organisation promoting European business interests in Taiwan. The chamber represents over 860 members from over 400 companies and organisations. Through a network of 30 industry and support committees, the ECCT has been successful in addressing specific concerns and providing concrete recommendations to all levels of government to facilitate improving the business environment. The ECCT annually publishes a series of position papers that comprise issues identified by its committees as hindering the further development of their respective industries and provide recommendations to the government of Taiwan for improvement of the business environment on general issues as well as industry-specific problems. They also serve to keep the European Commission and parliament as well as the governments of individual European countries informed about Taiwan's business environment.

2018 Board of Directors

Chairman
Håkan Cervell, President, Ericsson Taiwan

Other directors (in alphabetical order)
Bernd Barkey, Managing Director, Robert Bosch Taiwan
Godwin Chang, Group Country Head, Société Générale Taipei Branch
H. Henry Chang, Principal, Baker & McKenzie
Chen Mei-lin, Chief Operating Officer, Richemont Asia Pacific Ltd., Taiwan Branch
Erdal Elver, President & CEO, Siemens Limited Taiwan
Irene Feng, Managing Director, Nephrocare Asia Pacific Taiwan Branch, Fresenius Medical Care Group
Giuseppe Izzo, General Manager, STMicroelectronics
Agatha Lee, Area Head Taiwan, Cathay Pacific Airways
Bart Linssen, Manager Director, Enercon Taiwan
Eckart Mayer, President & CEO, Mercedes-Benz Taiwan
Anjana Narain, Vice President & General Manager, GSK
Olivier Rousselet, Country Manager, BNP Paribas Taiwan
John Winter, Country Manager, Robert Walters
Francine Wu, CEO, Schroder Investment Management (Taiwan) Limited

Alternate Directors (in order of election)
Reiner Allgeier, Managing Director, Schenker (H.K.) Ltd, Taiwan Branch
John Pien, General Manager, Grundfos Handels AG Taiwan Branch
Eric Yu, Vice President & General Manager, Philips Lighting Taiwan
Hu Da-ming, President, Air Liquide Far Eastern Ltd.
John Demers, General Manager, Atlas Copco Taiwan Ltd.

2018 Board of Supervisors

Executive Supervisor
Mike Jewell, Chief Client Officer, Kantar TNS Taiwan

Other Supervisors (in alphabetical order)
Rami Baitieh, CEO, Carrefour Taiwan
Nathan Kaiser, Attorney at Law (Switzerland), Eiger
Thomas Kuiper, Chief Operating Officer, Gandi Asia
Martin Lindström, Group Director, DFI Home Furnishings Taiwan Limited - IKEA Taiwan

Alternate Supervisor
Gavin Zhong, Managing Director, Volkswagen Financial Services Taiwan Ltd.