The European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan (ECCT) today announced that Giuseppe Izzo, Managing Director, Taiwan & Vice President, Asia Pacific Region, for STMicroelectronics will serve as chairman of the ECCT's board of directors in 2020 for a second consecutive one-year term. Izzo was elected by the new board of directors at their first meeting following the chamber's Annual General Meeting (AGM) today. The 2020 boards of 15 directors and 5 supervisors were voted into office at today's AGM by ECCT members (please see below for a full list of directors and supervisors). Also at the board meeting, the following directors were elected to serve as Executive Directors on the ECCT's board of directors: Erdal Elver, President & CEO of Siemens Limited Taiwan and H Henry Chang, Principal at Baker & McKenzie, will serve as Vice Chairmen. In addition, Chen Mei-lin, Chief Operating Officer of Richemont Asia Pacific Taiwan Branch, will serve as Treasurer while Bart Linssen, Managing Director of Enercon Taiwan, will serve as Executive Director.

 

In its annual report to members at today's AGM, Chairman Izzo reported that 2019 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 900 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 achieved the highest level of progress in five years with around 23% of the issues raised in its 2019 Position Paper either resolved or making progress towards resolution.

 

The ECCT was extremely active during the year, holding activities which included Premium Events, committee meetings and government visits, which attracted high profile guest speakers from Taiwan, elsewhere in Asia and Europe. There were three major highlights of the year: the annual Europe Day Dinner, the Global Offshore Wind Summit and the EU-Taiwan NEV Forum. All events received positive reviews from members. 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

With over US$55 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 largest foreign nationwide business chamber in Taiwan and the principal organisation promoting European business interests in Taiwan. The chamber represents over 900 members from 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's annual position papers 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.

 

2020 Board of Directors

 

Chairman

Giuseppe Izzo, Managing Director, Taiwan & Vice President, Asia Pacific Region, STMicroelectronics Ltd.

 

Vice Chairmen

Erdal Elver, President & CEO, Siemens Limited Taiwan

H Henry Chang, Principal, Baker & McKenzie

 

Treasurer

Chen Mei-lin, Chief Operating Officer, Richemont Asia Pacific Ltd., Taiwan Branch

 

Executive Director

Bart Linssen, Managing Director, Enercon Taiwan Ltd.

 

Other Directors (in alphabetical order)

Olivier Blachier, President, Air Liquide Far Eastern Ltd.

Kathy Chen, General Manager, Clarins PTE Ltd., Taiwan Branch

Guillaume de Braquilanges, CFO, Carrefour Taiwan

Irene Feng, Managing Director, Fresenius Medical Care Group

Jan Hollmann, Managing Director, Robert Bosch Taiwan Ltd.

John Pien, General Manager, Grundfos Handels AG Taiwan Branch

Matthias Schepers, Group Managing Director, Audi Volkswagen Taiwan Co., Ltd

Markus Wild, Managing Director, EnBW Asia Pacific Ltd.

John Winter, Country Manager, Robert Walters

Francine Wu, CEO, Schroders Investment Management (Taiwan) Limited

 

Alternate Directors (in order of election)

Eric Yu, General Manager & Global VP, Signify Taiwan Ltd.

Antoine Bouin, Vice President, Head of Area Taiwan, Schenker (H.K.) Ltd., Taiwan Branch

Martin Xu, Area Head Taiwan, Cathay Pacific Airways

Brandon Hsu, Country Manager, Regus

 

2020 Board of Supervisors

 

Executive Supervisor

Mike Jewell, Freelance Consultant

 

Other Supervisors (in alphabetical order)

Marc Dancer, Chairman & President, Thales Taiwan Co. Ltd.

Thomas Kuiper, General Manager, Gandi Asia Ltd

Martin Lindström, Group Director, DFI Home Furnishings Taiwan Limited - IKEA Taiwan

Janne Schneider, CFO & Service Center Manager, The Swatch Group Far Eastern Distribution Ltd Taiwan Branch

 

Alternate Supervisor

Johnson Wan, Country Manager, Taiwan, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines - Air France