THE
FOREIGN INVESTORS COUNCIL ELECTS A NEW BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The Foreign Investors Council (FIC), in their annual
General Assembly on April 7 2003, elected a new Board
of Directors. The new Board, which will serve for the
next twelve months, is comprised of 15 members, listed
in alphabetical order of their company:
Patrick Gelin - BRD Groupe Societe Generale; Alexis
Sacre - Coca Cola; Rod Grant - Ernst&Young; Roberto
Musneci – GlaxoSmithKline; Gilbert Wood - Hall
Dickler; Helmut Bernkopf - HVB Bank; Kurt Habersatter
– Holcim; Victor Kevehazi – KPMG; John Saunders
– Kvaerner IMGB; Veronica Savanciuc – Lowe
& Partners; Bernard Moscheni – Orange; Jean
Pierre Vigroux – PricewaterhouseCoopers; Christian
Esteve – Renault; Serge Monier - Zaharul Oradea;
Gianluca Testa - Zoppas Industries.
The new Board will elect its officers, consisting of
a President, three Vice Presidents and a Treasurer,
in its first meeting on April 24 2003.
The outgoing Board expressed its gratitude to Fergus
Cass, its former President, for his outstanding contribution
to the FIC and particularly for guiding it through a
challenging period for investors in Romania. The FIC
thanked Mr. Cass for his efforts, enthusiasm and dedication
during his term of office, which contributed significantly
to improving the Romanian business climate.
The Board reported that the first big event of last
year, which set the FIC’s 2002 agenda, was the
publication in May of the third edition of the “White
Book”. On this occasion, the White Book was linked
explicitly to EU membership and indeed was given the
title “An Investment Climate for EU Membership”.
The FIC believes that many of the proposals in the White
Book regarding improvements to the business climate
are crucial to achieving Romania’s successful
entry into the EU. Increasingly, the views of the FIC
are a factor in assessments about whether Romania is
making progress regarding EU accession.
Since publication of the
White Book, there has been further progress. The FIC
senses that the government is serious about listening
to the concerns of the business community. At the same
time, many businesses have yet to see the impact of
this progress on their day-to-day operations. The FIC
believes that following up on the implementation of
the White Book recommendations is a key challenge for
the next twelve months, and one where the FIC can play
an important role.
