Council President:
Matthias Beier
Transatlantic Business & Investment Council (TBIC)
Matt is the President and CEO of the Transatlantic Business and Investment Council (TBIC), with offices in Atlanta, Georgia, Berlin, Germany and Copenhagen, Denmark. He gained work experience worldwide at an international consultancy and is an expert in European American business relations.
Council Members:
Adam Murray
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
Adam Murray is a target market specialist with TVA Economic Development in Global Business. His primary responsibility is to recruit advanced manufacturing, aerospace and defense industries to the TVA region.
Alessia Paolicchi
Italy-America Chamber of Commerce
Alessia graduated from University of Pisa Law School, Italy, and later added a Master’s degree in Personnel Administration and Human Resources Management from the University of Bologna. Alessia was International Sales Manager and Production planning & scheduling for a large Italian shoe company for two years before becoming Director of Operations for CTT in 1997. CTT, a holding with 1200 employees, is responsible for public transportation services in the north-west area of Tuscany.
Alexander Kos
The American Dream – US Visa Service
Alexander Kos is CEO of the Berlin based service agency for U.S. visas and U.S. entry. Alex has over 10 years of industry experience and advises companies interested in obtaining an appropriate visa for the United States, for instance when setting up a branch in the United States. Alex studied Law at the Humboldt University of Berlin with a focus on foreign law and loves to travel regularly to the United States since his exchange year in Philadelphia.
Andreas Eckstein
Invest in Niedersachsen
Dr. Andreas Eckstein is the Managing Director of Invest in Niedersachsen. He serves as a transatlantic liaison officer between the U.S. and Niedersachsen and assists companies on both sides of the Atlantic with their efforts of expanding their business by successfully exploring new target markets, doing so with over 15 years of experience. Previously, Dr. Eckstein served as an Innovation Manager at Hannover Re SE responsible for transferring innovative U.S. products and technologies to the European Market and investing in promising start-ups. Dr. Eckstein has studied in Columbia (South Carolina) and Goettingen (Germany) and holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration.
invest-in-niedersachsen.com/en
Aryan Zandieh
NRW.INVEST (North America) LLC
Aryan Zandieh is the CEO of NRW.INVEST North America, LLC which is the US subsidiary of the state-owned economic development agency NRW.INVEST GmbH based in Dusseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). He brings over 12 years of experience in transatlantic trade and FDI consulting. Prior to this role, Aryan was responsible for the sales department at Hannover Fairs USA, Inc. as Head of Sales and the representative of the federal state of Niedersachsen.
Charlotte Nytoft
CNR-Consulting/ TBIC Specialist Nordics
Charlotte Nytoft is the founder and owner of CNR-Consulting, a boutique consulting firm working with European companies entering the U. S. market through direct export, by establishing their own production or through joint venture partners. Charlotte brings experience from 25+ years in international trade and business development and has served as President of the Danish American Chamber of Commerce as well as Deputy Head of Mission at the Trade Council of Denmark in Atlanta where she has worked with 150+ companies to secure successful entry into the U.S. market. Charlotte is TBIC’s Specialist for the Nordic countries of Europe and is head of the Nordic TBIC Representation in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Christopher D. Lloyd
McGuireWoods Consulting
Chris Lloyd leads the McGuireWoods Consulting infrastructure and economic development team where he specializes in site selection and economic development incentives negotiations. Since 1998, Chris has worked on dozens of high profile, corporate expansions and relocations across the United States. Chris has also worked closely with clients on numerous public-private partnership projects for transportation and other infrastructure. His site selection clients include companies such as Lidl, Maersk, Hilton, and Gulfstream.
mcguirewoods.com
Christopher Huppertz
TerraLogis Consulting LP
Christopher is President and CEO of the professional location service provider TerraLogis Consulting. In his role he advises on all aspects of international site selection and incentive advisory for industrial clients.
Previously he held various positions with private and public entities working on trade and investment promotion - including the U.S. Commercial Service, Germany’s leading industrial association, and the Transatlantic Business & Investment Council.
David Gaines
Goldstone Consulting Group, LLC
Mr. David Gaines is the Managing Director and Founder of Goldstone Consulting Group, LLC, a consulting firm in the field of site selection and economic development. In this capacity, he oversees the day-to-day operations of the consulting team, while also steering the strategic initiatives of the commercial and industrial real estate division, aptly named Goldstone Realty Partners. Goldstone Consulting Group is involved in Foreign Direct Investment projects within the manufacturing sector. The firm's extensive expertise extends to the transportation and logistics industry, further underscoring its versatility and profound understanding across a spectrum of diverse industries.
Emily J. Smith
American Electric Power
Emily Smith is a global business attraction manager with American Electric Power, one of the largest energy companies in the U.S. With more than ten years of international business experience, Emily spent seven years in economic development at the state level for both Michigan and Ohio. She is responsible for identifying and assisting internationally-owned businesses seeking to expand or locate in AEP’s 11-state footprint.
Florian Stamm
Smith, Gambrell & Russell LLP
Florian Stamm is a Partner at the law firm of Smith, Gambrell & Russell LLP, where he represents European investors, primarily from Germany, Switzerland and Austria. He focuses his practice on site selection and economic development.
W. Ford Graham
McGuireWoods Consulting LLC
W. Ford Graham is a senior vice president on McGuireWoods Consulting’s national infrastructure and economic development team and a partner with McGuireWoods. He has extensive experience working in the economic development sector, recruiting international companies to the Southeastern United States. During his career, he has been involved in over 123 new industry projects, which have resulted in more than 11,000 new jobs and $3.9 billion in new investment. Ford’s practice focuses on companies opening or expanding operations in the U.S. In addition to economic incentives, Ford assists companies with the full spectrum of legal needs that arise when companies enter new markets.
Henning von Gersdorff
Henning von Gersdorff worked for more than 30 years as a Relationship Manager in the corporate banking business of Commerzbank AG, including six years as a team leader in the International Desk of the New York Branch, USA. For another five years, he was Director in the International Corporate Banking Department at the bank's Frankfurt headquarters, where he took care of coordinating and improving the cooperation between the German and the American as well the Asian branches. After completing his successful career at Commerzbank in spring 2024, he is now focusing on strengthening and supporting economic cooperation between Germany and the USA with his expertise in Relationship Management, Cross-Border Business and Finance.
Jeff Forsythe
Forsythe & Associates
Jeff Forsythe has more than twenty-three years of experience providing location advisory and economic incentive services to corporate clients. His experience predominantly includes location consulting throughout North America for manufacturing, distribution, and office projects. Jeff has managed projects that have resulted in more than USD 4 billion in capital investment, 17,000 full-time jobs, 21 million square feet being developed, and USD 1.2 billion in realizable incentive support.
Jeff Reed
Evergreen Advisors LLC
Jeff Reed is a Director in Evergreen Advisor’s Location Strategies practice, a leading investment banking and corporate advisory firm focused on assisting emerging growth and middle-market companies. With over 30 years in location analysis, site selection, and business incentives services, Jeff is skilled at securing, negotiating, and implementing economic incentives such as cash grants, tax abatements, PILOT agreements, sales tax sharing agreements, employee training grants, payroll rebates, sales and use tax refunds, utility benefits, and other economic incentives for his clients.
James Blair
Navigator Consulting
Founder of Navigator Consulting, a site selection consulting firm located in Atlanta (USA) which has located 21 projects since 2015 representing over 4,100 jobs and USD 1.9 billion in capital investment. Blair has 32 years of site selection experience having worked as Director of the State of Georgia’s European Office (Brussels) and Director of the Site Selection Group at the German American Chamber of Commerce of the South (Atlanta). Navigator offers customized FDI strategic planning and intercultural communication workshops for Economic Development Organizations. In cooperation with TBIC, Navigator offers a unique “FDI-Qualified Community” certification that provides communities an opportunity to highlight their focus and interest in attracting European investment.
Katharina Lamers
HWF Hamburg
Katharina Lamers is a Project Director handling all U. S. related topics for the HWF Hamburg Business Development Corporation. She is an expert in market entry as well as location consulting to investors and companies. Her close relations to the U. S. and various players on both sides of the Atlantic make her an excellent point of contact in connecting Hamburg and the United States.
Matt Tackett
Southern Economic Development Council (SEDC)
Matt Tackett serves as President of the Southern Economic Development Council (SEDC), the oldest and largest regional economic development association in North America spanning 17 states in the southern United States. Prior to his appointment to SEDC in June 2022, Matt served as President and CEO of the Kentucky Association for Economic Development (KAED): under his leadership, KAED ascended as the nation’s largest state economic development membership association. Prior to KAED, Matt has served as Executive Director of the Kentucky Gas Association, in federal grant programs, the Office of the Governor of Kentucky, and is the owner of a consulting firm that focuses on economic development, public relations, and governmental affairs.
Matthias Oertzen
OERTZENGroup
A native of Germany, Matthias moved to Atlanta in 2005. Having served as a Consultant at the German American Chamber of Commerce among other roles and following a successful journey as a Principal Consultant in an international recruitment agency, Matt decided to take a leap of faith and created the OERTZENGroup. Matthias’ multicultural and bilingual background, paired with his long-standing experience enables him to “walk in his clients’ shoes” and recommend customizable recruitment solutions. Matthias strives to be a trusted advisor and uses his background to inquire about his clients’ needs, challenges, and cultural environment before recommending potential talent.
Paige Webster
Webster Global Site Selectors
Since 2011, Paige Webster is Founder and Owner of Webster Global Site Selectors, a site selection, economic development and Merger and Acquisitions firm based in Phoenix, Arizona. Paige has worked on many site selection projects throughout the world and has assisted companies with their financial needs over the years. Paige has also conducted numerous community, state and international economic development projects. He is versed in global initiatives and is a widely known public speaker on many topics including: workforce development, site selection, community analysis and financial needs. Webster Global works in Foreign Direct Investment, as well as reverse Foreign Direct Investment. Finally, on an adventurous note, Paige has picked up the sport of fly fishing and loves to be outdoors. Ask him about his fishing experiences!
Roberta Marcenaro Lyon
IMARK
Roberta is an expert on introducing European companies into the U.S. market. She is adept at managing large, multifaceted projects in complex international business environments and identifying solutions to increase company performance. As co-founder of IMARK, she has provided business management and marketing services to organizations in a wide range of fields: oil & gas, construction, transportation, architecture, healthcare, manufacturing, military, hospitality, and fashion. Published author of the seminal book Mobile City, she serves as the Local Representative in Washington, D.C. and Texas for the American Chamber of Commerce of Italy. She earned her Ph.D. in Urban Planning at the Politecnico of Milan, and her M.S. and B.S. in Marketing.
Rock T. Ete
Business Development, Entergy Louisiana (ELL)
Rock conducts domestic and international recruiting activities to attract economic development opportunities to the Entergy Louisiana service territory. He focuses primarily on advanced manufacturing, green/renewable energy production and petrochemical industries. ELL’s one-stop-shop and single source approach to economic development have helped Louisiana attract more foreign direct investment per capita than any other state since 2008.
Sabrina Greenman
EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants
Sabrina Greenman is a Senior Vice President and Managing Principal Head of International Business Development at EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants. Sabrina has over 20 years of industry experience with expertise in handling a variety of international accounts from high-end retail to large industrial manufacturing companies, originating primarily from Germany, Switzerland, France and Italy.
Sebastian Eich
NAVIGO Corp.
Sebastian Eich is Managing Director of NAVIGO Corp., an international market entry consultancy with offices in Atlanta, GA, Miami, FL and Cologne, Germany. NAVIGO provides site selection and representation services to German, Austrian and Swiss investors. Sebastian‘s experience and expertise include international site selection and economic development strategy.
Stefan Aengenheyster
Federal Chancellery of Germany
Stefan has worked as Director for European Affairs since day one of TBIC. He led the European Office in Berlin for almost three years and played a key role in making TBIC what it is today. In his role as Advisory Council Member he provides assistance to TBIC and European companies. Throughout his career he has supported creating more than 1,000 jobs and over USD 1.6 billion in capital investment through foreign direct investment in the United States. After working for the Federal Foreign Office of Germany on international cooperation for more than two years, he now serves the Federal Chancellery under German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Thomas Schwegmann
Pons Atlantic Partners
Thomas Schwegmann is President and CEO of the Berlin based transatlantic site selection consulting firm Pons Atlantic Partners. Thomas advises European investors interested in setting up manufacturing operations in the United States and inversely also facilitates European market entry for U.S. investors.
Werner Beermann
Gray Construction
As Director of European Business Development, Werner leverages his extensive experience to nurture relationships, leading Gray’s European sales efforts and project opportunities for nearly 15 years. Prior to joining Gray, Werner received a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Cologne in Germany and subsequently led the U.S. expansions of several Austrian and German automotive companies. Werner’s technical expertise and deep understanding of the global marketplace make him an invaluable leader in driving Gray’s FDI goals and advancing Gray’s presence across Europe.
Yvonne Bendinger-Rothschild
European-American Chamber of Commerce New York
Yvonne joined the European American Chamber of Commerce New York Chapter as its Executive Director at the beginning of October 2010. The organization’s goal is to stimulate transatlantic trade & business development, and to facilitate exchange and develop relationships between European and American businesses and professional organizations. As part of her role she focuses on providing EACC’s network access to new and innovative transatlantic business opportunities as well as relevant resources and support on topics affecting business activities between Europe and the United States.
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