Newsletter December 2019

Dear NetworkIrlande Members,

The festive season is upon us and at NetworkIrlande we certainly have plenty to celebrate and reflect upon over the last year. Our many achievements in 2019 would not have been possible without the invaluable support of our Honorary President, H.E. Patricia O'Brien, and all the team at the Embassy of Ireland; without the time and resources volunteered by our amazing Board of Directors, not least of whom our extremely dedicated president, Richard Dujardin; and of course without the engagement of all our members: Pioneer, Business and Individual, throughout the year.

Thank you, Merci, Go Raibh Maith Agaibh!

In this issue you can read about our most recent events, notably the Ireland France Business Awards which were celebrated with a wonderful gala dinner in Paris, and our Annual Christmas reception at the Embassy of Ireland.

We have pleasure in welcoming many new members this month and hope that this growth will continue into the New Year – find out below how we are counting on you, our current members, to help fuel this development.

Renewals for 2020 are now open online so please do renew now to guarantee a seamless transition into the new calendar year and ensure that you do not miss out on any of our news or activities!

Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to wish every one of you, current members, past members and friends, a very peaceful and happy festive season and we look forward to meeting many of you at our various events in the New Year!

Your NetworkIrlande Team

Latest News

IRELAND FRANCE BUSINESS AWARDS 2019

The Minister of State for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection, Pat Breen presented awards to the winners of the 2019 Ireland France Business Awards at a special gala dinner on 28 November at the Cercle National des Armées in Paris, in the presence of H.E. Patricia O'Brien, Ambassador of Ireland to France and Honorary President of NetworkIrlande, H.E. Stéphane Crouzat, Ambassador of France to Ireland and Honorary President of the FICC, Richard Dujardin President of NetworkIrlande and CEO of ISS France and Margot Slattery, incoming President of the FICC.

Organised annually by NetworkIrlande and the France Ireland Chamber of Commerce (FICC) for over 26 years, the bilateral trade awards recognise excellence within the Franco-Irish business community and celebrate the outstanding achievements of the winning companies within their respective sectors and the development of trade and investment between Ireland and France.

The winners this year are: Smurfit Kappa France for best Irish company in France; Sodexo Ireland for best French company in Ireland and Kingspan for Impact on Climate Change.

You can access the full press release here and the photos of the event here (taken by @David Le Brun).

ANNUAL CHRISTMAS RECEPTION

The annual NetworkIrlande Christmas reception is often one of our most anticipated events of the year-end and 2019 did not disappoint! Over 75 members braved the looming transport chaos to join their fellow NetworkIrlande members at the Embassy of Ireland to ring in the festive season. Ambassador O'Brien matched the warmth of the beautifully festive Embassy with an address which celebrated the unique Franco-Irish business dynamic.

The Ambassador highlighted the many successes of our joint business community and underlined our achievements in tourism, food and drink, exports and investments while pointing out that two-way trade is now worth over €85 billion and growing! She gave some great examples of the strengthening relations between our two countries with the opening of an Enterprise Ireland office in Lyon and of course the Celtic Interconnector which will be Ireland's first direct link to the continental energy grid.

NetworkIrlande president, Richard Dujardin, acknowledged our many new members present and outlined a very rich and diverse agenda over the coming months.

A delightful and rewarding evening of networking was enjoyed by all. Many thanks to our Pioneer member Smurfit Kappa for generously sponsoring the event.

NETWORKIRLANDE OCCITANIE INAUGURAL MEETING

The Occitanie chapter of Network Irlande held its inaugural event on 26^th November in the dynamic setting of the HarryCow coworking space in Toulouse. As many as 45 Irish, French and Franco-Irish professionals and enterprises were in attendance. The meeting attracted interest and participants from as far away as Pau and Montpellier. Sectors that were represented included aerospace, semiconductors, hospitality, professional rugby, engineering, green-tech, real-estate, higher education, finance, accounting and the legal profession.

The chapter has received much encouraging feedback and the 2020 programme will be published in the new year. It will include events in the region's other dynamic cities such as Montpellier.

MEMBER REFERRAL PROGRAM 2020

We have high aspirations for the future of NetworkIrlande and believe in the importance of growing our membership to ensure a vibrant and dynamic organisation: the larger our network the more each and every member will get out of it.

In our recent survey, 80% of participating members* responded positively when asked whether they would be willing to refer membership of NetworkIrlande to their entourage and indeed the survey also showed the effectiveness of this with over 70% of respondents joining NetworkIrlande thanks to a referral!

Now is a great time to become a member of NetworkIrlande in order to reap the benefits of a full calendar year of advantages. The timing of our upcoming Speed Networking event is specifically designed so that new members can meet and exchange with a maximum number of fellow members from the very beginning of the year.

Please think about the people and organisations in your entourage that might gain from joining our network and don't hesitate to reach out to them…. point them to our website, forward them this newsletter…. so that they can get to know what we do and how membership could benefit them.

To add some fun to the program, for each new member referred by a current NetworkIrlande member, between now and our Speed Networking event at the end of January, you will be entered into a draw for a fabulous hamper of traditional Irish treats. Just drop us a line to let us know who you have referred. The winner will be drawn at our event in January!

* Our Member Feedback Survey of July 2019 recorded a response rate of over 60% of current members

Upcoming Events

BOOST YOUR NETWORK EDITION#3

Save the date for the third edition of our very successful speed networking event BOOST YOUR NETWORK. It will take place at the offices of Grant Thornton on the morning of January 29th, 2020. Held in association with the Franco British Chamber and Australian Business in France, members will all be informed directly once online registration is open and we would advise you to register promptly as this event is likely to be fully subscribed.

On 31 January, the Embassy will organise a day of events to mark St. Brigid's Day, celebrating the contributions of women in the fields of business, politics and peacekeeping, and culture and the arts.

As part of the celebrations, Ambassador O'Brien will host a high-level lunchtime event which will feature key speakers on the topic of gender, peace and security, focusing in particular on the important contributions that Irish women have made to peacekeeping.

The Embassy will also hold a morning event on women in business, together with NetworkIrlande. Later in the evening, the Embassy is partnering with the Irish Cultural Centre (CCI) to celebrate the contribution of Irish women to the arts. The event will feature a panel discussion with accomplished Irish women from a variety of creative fields, including actress Olwen Fouéré and filmmaker Pat Murphy. The Blazing A Trail exhibition will also be on show at the CCI during the day – keep an eye on our website and social media for more, and don't miss the first Brigid's Day celebrations in Paris!

New Members

NEW PIONEER MEMBER

Cheuvreux is a major notary firm in France.

We assist our clients in all real estate transactions covering the widest range of assets (office buildings, shopping centres, logistics and industrial sites, hotels, clinics, residential assets etc..) from pre-deal due diligence to the negotiation and signing of transactions documents.
Our dedicated teams advise financial institutions and borrowers on a wide range of real estate finance transactions, including structured finance, syndicated loans, bond issuance and debt restructuring.
Cheuvreux is recognised as a reference in major urban planning and development projects. Our public law department advises investors and developers as well as local authorities in finding innovative solutions for new urban projects while favouring sustainability and environmental protection.
Our wealth and tax management experts advise private individuals and expats with cross border estate planning and family law issues.

Building bridges… with our expanding network of local partners, we identify and design pioneering legal solutions tailored to our clients' needs while ensuring the highest level of legal security.

NEW BUSINESS MEMBERS

Our accounting, advisory and audit firm was founded in 1994 by Thierry Denjean with the aim of providing an alternative and complementary solution to the services offered by the major players.

We decided to position our firm as one-of-a-kind player on the French accounting, advisory and audit market.

We chose to dedicate our high value-added services to major groups, mid-caps and SMEs with high-growth potential.
We deliver customised services to every company, by mobilising our teams and we support our clients in the most complex matters.
We fulfil all of our clients' needs by combining expertise, responsiveness and competitiveness.

Our International Business Services team assist foreign groups or SMEs, including Irish companies, in setting up or developing a business in France.

Red Flag is a specialist global campaigning agency founded on the idea that politics, regulation and global movements are becoming more difficult for companies and interest groups to understand and navigate. We are a first port of call for businesses who need to bolster reputation, address difficult issues or communicate on complex topics. We represent some of the biggest corporations and industries across the world. With our multi-disciplined team of experts across media, politics and regulation, we specialise in changing the atmosphere and framing debates ensuring that the right messages are delivered by the right people at the right time.

NEW INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS

Daphne BOUGET

David BOYLE

Catherine BRENNAN

Patrick BRENNAN

Stéphane CAMBAY

Laure CHANDEZE-FITZPATRICK

Louis DIEU

Michael GREALY (NetworkIrlande Occitanie)

Nick HICKS

Patricia KILLEEN

Sinéad McKENNA

Neil O'BRIEN

Paul REID (NetworkIrlande Occitanie)

Latest Member News

Brexit-focused Enterprise Ireland opens office in Lyon

Enterprise Ireland, the Government agency which helps Irish firms to export, have opened an office in Lyon, its second in France, as Brexit sees it focus more on continental Europe.

"We are focusing on driving business into the euro zone. There's an urgency because of Brexit," says Sinead Lonergan, the agency's director for France.

EirGrid and RTE Sign €530 million Funding Agreement for the Celtic Interconnector

EirGrid and Réseau de Transport d'Electricité (RTE) of France signed a €530 million European Commission funding agreement this month for the Celtic Interconnector, a high-voltage electricity cable linking Ireland and France.

The agreement follows the submission in June of an application for funding under the Commission's 2019 Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Energy Programme. The Commission announced in October that the funding application had been successful.

Tourism Ireland and partners attend International Luxury Travel Market in Cannes

Twenty-four (24) tourism businesses from the island of Ireland joined Tourism Ireland in Cannes this month, for the annual International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM).

Pioneer member Bold Executives reminds us to work on our personal branding for 2020!

Learn how here!

Key Trends in Health and Wellness for 2020

As outlined in Bord Bia's consumer lifestyle trends, health and wellbeing will continue to be a key trend shaping consumer's lives and the food and drink industry. Consumers want to eat, drink and live to optimise their body's systems, to feel better than well today and tomorrow ("Bord Bia Consumer Lifestyle Trends", 2019). However, how consumers believe this is achieved will continue to evolve, so it is important that food producers are not complacent in their understanding of this trend.

The Embassy of Ireland, Paris, is recruiting!

Current vacancy with the dynamic team at the Embassy as an Events, Visits and Protocol Officer. Apply before January 3rd!

Find out more here.