Franz von Merhart - Hotels & Property Development

Franz von Merhart (1962) has 25 years experience with the most prestigious names in the Hotel Industry. Until recently he was an Executive Manager at Orient Express, Trains and Cruises from 2005 to 2011. During this period Franz was also in charge of the iconic Road to Mandalay luxury cruises on the Irrawaddy River as well as the 5 star Governor’s Residence in Yangon. Prior to that Franz spent 9 years with Pansea Hotels and Resorts and opened hotels in Tunisia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Indonesia. Franz started his career with ACCOR International where he held different positions in France, Senegal and Gabon.

Franz is perfectly fluent in French, German and English.

When he is not scouting for locations to build his next boutique resort in some of the most beautiful corners of Myanmar, Franz likes to play golf, paint and draw cartoons. He also practices Vipassana meditation.

Dr. JP Verbiest - Banking and Finance

Dr. JP Verbiest (1950) is currently a principal for the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI, Tokyo). He co-authored the Myanmar Country Paper (November 2011), part of the “ASEAN 2030: Growing Together For Economic Prosperity” study. Previously JP held several senior positions with the ADB including Manager, Strategy and Policy Department, Assistant Chief Economist (Macro-economics and Finance) and Country Director in Vietnam (1996-2000) and Thailand (2005-2010).

JP currently lives in Bangkok and has been based in Southeast Asia for over 30 years. His principal research interests are macroeconomic policies in East and Southeast Asian countries and regional economic and financial cooperation and integration in Asia.

JP holds a BA in economics and finance from FUCAM in Mons (Belgium), a MSC in Econometrics from the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB, Belgium) and a doctorate in economics from Oxford University (UK).

Jean Pierre’s wit and good sense of humour make him a sought after speaker. He regularly addresses prestigious conferences in the region. In his little spare time JP likes to spend time with his family in the quietness of his country home and play golf.

ALEX BOWDEN – CORPORATE BRANDING

Alex Bowden (1975) is Founder and CEO of Liquid Branding, a leading independent branding and communications agency with offices in Bangkok, Yangon, and footprints in Paris and Hong Kong. Having established Liquid Branding in Bangkok in 2004, Alex is a highly-experienced marketer and branding expert with over 15 years’ experience across a diverse range of industries including hospitality,consumer goods, real estate and financial services.

A graduate of Sheffield Business School, he gained a BA with Honours in International Business with French before working in investment banking in the City of London. Realising early on a thirst for more creative and constructive pursuits, Alex entered the design and marketing industry, a passion for which has seen him launch and grow a successful branding consultancy by providing impactful brand strategies based on a solid foundation of research and proven processes.

When not working, Alex can be found trying to master 12 bar blues on the piano, or spending time with his young family.

ZIN MYO

Coming soon...

LEON DE RIEDMATTEN – Social Impact

Leon (1952) is an action oriented field diplomat. For the last thirteen years, he has been working at the heart of the main issues facing Myanmar and managed to reach substantial results while keeping a very low and discreet profile.

Before that, Léon has carried out humanitarian missions all over the world for many prestigious institutions.

At ICRC, serving as head of delegation in Ethiopia from 1983 to 1985, he ran one of the biggest and most valuable operations in Geneva based Institution history. As head of ICRC delegation in Myanmar in 1999, Leon managed to get access to all detention premises and to all political prisoners.

He then became the facilitator on the ground between the authorities and the Burmese opposition under the auspices of the UNSG special envoy as well as the first ILO liaison officer in Myanmar. In 2006, Leon had to leave Yangon for Bangkok where he was able to acquire a better understanding of Myanmar’s complex ethnicity issues.

Leon has been back in Myanmar since 2012 as an independent advisor to the peace process, and to initiate a project related to Business & Peace in one of the ethnic states where a ceasefire has been agreed.

PATRICK CHALANT – Belgium Correspondent

Patrick (1958) is Managing Director of New Communication Investors Belgium (NCI), a consultancy specialised in interim and crisis management.  Based in Liege, Patrick is centrally located to assist his clients in the heart of Europe.

Over the last 30 years Patrick has been active in a variety of sectors as diverse as chocolate, heavy industry, banking and ergo-architecture.

Patrick has a long track record of doing business with Myanmar – for the first time in 1996. He has successfully run many projects, mainly in the electronics and high-tech sectors.

Patrick assists companies located in Wallonia developing their activities in Myanmar. West Indochina is an AWEx accredited expert.

West Indochina is also hosting a business incubator for AWEx in Yangon

Patrick is also a Senior Lecturer at the HEC management school of the University of Liege where he teaches Entrepreneurship and M&As. Patrick holds a BA (Highest Honours) in Business (Finance and Quantitative management methods) from the University of Liege, Belgium.

Patrick is a competitive sailor – he has crossed the Atlantic many times. He is also an accomplished hunting horn player.

ERIC ROSENKRANZ – Strategy expert

Eric Rosenkranz (1952) is founder of e.three, a strategic advisory helping organizations develop their long term plans.

Serving as Vice-Chairman of Focus Media China he led the company’s 2005 NASDAQ listing, at one time valued at more than $7 billion.

For over 30 years, Eric helped craft the strategic direction of such companies as Procter & Gamble, Mars, Wrigley, GlaxoSmithKline, British American Tobacco, Novartis, Danone, Bristol-Myers Squibb and 3M.

At Grey Global Group, formerly the world’s largest independent marketing communications company, Eric held various positions from 1982-2004 including President Asia Pacific, President Latin America and Executive Vice-President Europe, Africa, Middle East and Eastern Europe.

Born in the U.S., Eric has an MBA from The University of Chicago and a BA from The George Washington University.

Eric has appeared as a moderator at the World Economic Forum. He writes a monthly column on strategy for the newspaper The Nation in Thailand.

THIERRY GIRARD – Switzerland Correspondent

Thierry Girard (1956) is CFO at Gasser Ceramic, a group of Swiss companies active in 2 sectors: production and distribution of terra-cotta products (tiles and bricks) and development and commercialization of an innovative photovoltaic system. Thierry is a member of the Senior Management Team and reports to the Board of Directors.

Thierry has spent 22 years with Philip Morris International (PMI), in Finance and Supply Chain in a number of senior managerial positions. Through several postings abroad, Thierry has developed a solid experience in international and multi-cultural environments leading projects to successful completion in countries like Senegal Ukraine and Czech Republic. In his last posting with PMI, Thierry has managed a team of international buyers as the lead negotiator for global procurement contractsforindirect materials & services. He has also implemented procurement strategies and streamlined various procurement processes and systems. Thierry has a good working experience in Myanmar where he led a complex procurement project.

Based in Switzerland, Thierry also assists Swiss companies developing their activities in Myanmar. West Indochina is a member of the Switzerland Global Enterprise (previously OSEC) expert directory.

Thierry holds a Masters’ degree in Science, HEC Lausanne, Switzerland

Whenever he has time, Thierry, who is based in Switzerland, is sailing or racing on a lake and when he has more time he also likes sailing in the French West Indies or Cuba. During the winter season, you will more likely find him downhill skiing the Swiss Alps.

WIN NAN AYE MYA SANDAR

Coming soon...

PATRICK RAEMY – Switzerland Correspondent

Patrick (1965) has spent over 20 years with multinational companies such as Alcoa, Energizer and Philip Morris, in a number of managerial positions in marketing, sales and supply chain.

Through long-term assignments in the USA, Hungary, Spain and Sweden, Patrick has developed a solid experience in international and multicultural environments. His missions allowed him to travel extensively around the world and above all to Asia, where he successfully led sales development projects with international customers.

Based in Switzerland, Patrick assists Swiss companies developing their activities in Myanmar. West Indochina is a member of the Switzerland Global Enterprise (previously OSEC) expert directory. He can work in four languages including French, Spanish and German.

Patrick holds a Masters’ degree in Science, HEC Lausanne, Switzerland.

Patrick is a ski instructor and holds a high seas sailing license. He likes to ski and sail with his family and friends. When time allows, Patrick travels the roads on his motorbike or dives to discover the beauty of the underwater world.

ANTHONY AINSWORTH - Executive Search

Sir Anthony Ainsworth Bt. (1962) is a Director at Richard Glynn Consultants (RGC) Bangkok, Thailand. He joined the company in January 1999 and was made a Director in 2000. Anthony also sits on the board of IIC Partners, a global partnership of executive search companies, and ranked eight in the world in terms of revenues with 53 offices in 37 countries.

His specific area of expertise are in financial services, consumer, healthcare, trading and retail sectors.

Previously Anthony was General Manager at IMIC, the leading business and management consultancy in Cambodia.

Anthony is a graduate from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

Anthony is a sports enthusiast. He created Bike Aid, a London based charity, to assist in the development of primary education in Asia and received Royal Patronage from HRH Prince Michael of Kent. Anthony led a team of three cyclists from London to Saigon, covering 10,000 km in nine months. He raised over US$60,000 to fund a school in NE Thailand and renovate three other schools in the Annapurna region of Nepal.

U MIN SEIN – Myanmar Legal expert

U Min Sein (1946) is the founder and managing partner of a flourishing legal and financial consultancy with offices in Myanmar and Singapore.

Michael is Advocate of the Supreme Court as well as a legal advisor and business consultant to many leading local and foreign companies: PTTEP (Thailnd), Myanmar Brewery Limited (MBL - JV with Asia Pacific Breweries Limited), Toyota Tsucho Company Limited, Chatrium Hotel, Park Royal Hotel, EXE Sakura Company Limited.

Michael is also the legal advisor to the French and Italian Embassies in Yangon, U Hla Tun Auditors (ex Price Waterhouse Myanmar), Medecins Sans Frontieres (Switzerland).

Michael is a board member of the Myanmar Times, the leading English newspaper in Myanmar and a committee member of the U Hla Tun Hospice (Cancer) Foundation.

U Min Sein graduated with a B. Sc. degree in English, Physics, Chemistry and Pure Mathematics. He is Registered Accountant (R. A.) as well as a CPA.

Michael is an avid golfer and a member of the Yangon Golf Club.

U MIN ZAW – Distribution Expert

U Min Zaw (1960) is a serial entrepreneur. Currently Managing Director of Good Norm Group of Companies, a company active in media, real estate, travel and tours, distribution and construction.

U Min Zaw pioneered the professional distribution of consumer goods in Myanmar. In 1993, as the Sales and Marketing Manager of Myanmar Singapura United Tobacco Ltd. (MSUTL), he built up and managed the largest sales force in Myanmar, organizing the distribution, sales and promotion of brands such as 555, Lucky Strike and Benson & Hedges cigarettes, Johnnie Walker Black Label whisky, Lipton tea, Evian water, Budweiser beer.

In 1997, he set up his own company to become the sole importer and distributor of Amstel beer, and Korea Tobacco & Ginseng Corporation brands as well as other consumer products. He was also the country representative for the advertising agency EURORSCG BALL from Thailand. In addition he set up Duty Free shops in both Yangon and Mandalay International Airports.

U Min Zaw co-owned and managed a large and successful restaurant and beer pub business from 1998 to 2003.

U Min Zaw holds a B.Sc. Physics from the Yangon University.

He is considered an expert in HR issues in Southeast Asia and has published a number of articles on HR issues.

During his free time, he loves to read, play golf, swim with his family, and power walks in the evening as his daily workout.

Fred Fishlock – Executive Search

Fred (1987) is an Executive Search Consultant with West Indochina who moved to Myanmar in 2015. Prior to this he was a Consultant for Hanover Search Group in the UK. Hanover Search Group focuses on senior appointments within Asset Management, Insurance and Wealth Management, Fred's clients included Private Banks, Investment Management businesses and Family Offices.

Before joining Hanover Fred worked for RBS in Edinburgh and London as a Wealth Manager, responsive for the financial requirements of around 150 High Net Worth clients.

Fred holds a MSc from The University of Edinburgh where he studied Geography with further electives in Zoology, Sustainable Development, Economic History, Italian and Criminology.

When not in the office Fred enjoys exploring Myanmar and South East Asia, often combining this with one or more of his hobbies, usually cycling or fishing.