Biographies
Alexander Benczek | Competition | ||
| Senior Advisor, German. | ||
Qualified as a German lawyer, Alexander has been advising government agencies, sector specific regulators and competition authorities in the CEE and CARICOM regions for almost a decade. His practice has also included electronic communications, Intellectual Property and related competition matters in the Brussels office of an international law firm, following assignments to the EU – Commission (DG Comp) and to the office of an Advocate General at the European Court of Justice. During more than 15 years of specialisation in network industry regulation, he also sat on an advisory committee of a foreign incumbent telecoms operator regarding its market entry into Germany. | |||
In addition to his mother tongue German, Alexander communicates fluently in English and French and has a fair understanding of Romanian. | |||
Alexey Borev | |||
| Advisor, Russian. | ||
Alexey joined Avisa in 2008 and serves as external Advisor for Russia, providing strategic insights on a variety of policy, regulatory and industry issues related to Russian markets and legislation, as well as to EU-Russia cooperation issues. His competences primarily focus on trade policy, tariff regulation and state aid. Alexey works in the field of Government/Public Affairs and has a solid professional background in the automotive, metals & mining and machine-building industries. Alexey graduated from Sciences Po Paris in European Public Affairs. He undertook his professional training at the Regional representation of the European Commission in France, as well as at the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Ernst & Young. | |||
| Apart from his mother tongue Russian, Alexey is fluent in English and French and speaks Spanish. | ||
Nick Bromfield | |||
| Senior Advisor, British. | ||
| Based near Canterbury in England, Nick represents Avisa’s competition practice in the UK. Since joining Avisa in 2010 he has contributed his considerable experience of competition proceedings and policy, as well as of trade law matters. He qualified as a UK solicitor in 1983, and worked for the international law firm Lovells (now Hogan Lovells LLP) in its Competition and EU Law practice for over 25 years, in both London and Brussels. At Lovells he advised corporate clients on a wide range of issues, most notably in relation to merger control, competition investigations, and general competition law compliance. | |||
| Nick has a degree in Jurisprudence from Oxford University, and speaks English and French. | ||
André Clodong | |||
| Senior Advisor, Canadian | ||
| At Avisa André brings his long experience in working with the European Commission and Parliament. His main areas of focus will be the chemical, energy and transport sectors. For over 25 years André has been retained by large corporations and regional authorities to represent them in Brussels. His numerous clients have mainly been in air and rail transport, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, energy, regional development and security. André was employed 15 years by United Technologies, first at Pratt & Whitney Canada in Montreal in an external communications capacity; later in Brussels representing UT before financial institutions, national political bodies as well as the EU institutions. | |||
| André speaks English and French. | ||
Ana Costillas | |||
| Senior Advisor, Spanish. | ||
Ana, who joined Avisa in Autumn of 2011, is a qualified lawyer specialised in European and international law with over 15 years’ experience in Brussels devoted to EU public and legal affairs. She previously was Head of Public Affairs at a large EU consultancy and also worked for law firms including White & Case LLP, and as in-house EU affairs advisor for Kraft Foods. Ana provides clients with senior strategic counsel in EU laws and advocacy planning including coalition building, thought leadership and media. She is experienced in a wide number of industry sectors including Financial Services, Technology, Energy, Food and Healthcare. Throughout her career she has advised numerous blue chip corporations and large financial services institutions across all asset classes. In recent years she has focused on areas such as trading, clearing and settlement, asset management, taxation, corporate governance and financial services’ regulatory dialogues with third countries. | |||
| Ana corresponds in four languages: English, French, Spanish and Italian. | ||
Michel Gari | |||
| Senior Advisor, French. | ||
Michel, a Senior Advisor with an emphasis on CSDP (Common Security & Defence Policy) and NATO, is a graduate Engineer in Aeronautics and qualified pilot in the French Armament Corps. He worked 30 years in the French MoD before joining the European Defence Agency (EDA) as principal Officer for Armament Policy. | |||
| Michel speaks French, English, German and Portuguese and has knowledge of Greek. | ||
Michal Grinberg | |||
| Associated Consultant, Israeli, Romanian. | ||
Before joining Avisa at the beginning of 2012, Michal was an intern at the European Commission DG INFSO in the Inter Institutional Relations unit, where she followed DG INFSO dossiers progress in all EU institutions in Brussels. Michal has worked in several consulting organisations where she specialised in EU standards, lobbying for the European Friends of Israel, as well as transport and event organisations. Michal has a master from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the VUB in Brussels in European Studies, with a focus on EU and international relations. Prior to her arrival in Brussels Michal worked for the Ministry for Environmental protection in Jerusalem on the EU - TAIEX (Technical Assistance and Information Exchange) program and also served in the Israeli Defence Forces. | |||
Michal is fluent in Hebrew and English, and has a working knowledge of French. | |||
Marianne Kager | |||
| Senior Advisor, Austrian. | ||
Marianne joined Avisa in 2008 and advises the Financial Services practice. She has a Masters degree in Economics from the University of Vienna and has been an expert in financial regulatory affairs for many years. Marianne has worked for nearly 20 years as a chief economist at Bank Austria, one of the big three commercial banks in Austria. She is well-known for her Eastern European expertise. Marianne also has many years of experience in the field of EU Financial Regulatory Affairs. During her long career she has served as an expert on many official financial committees, both on the national and international level. | |||
| Marianne speaks German, French and English. | ||
Niels Karssen | |||
| Associate, Dutch. | ||
| Niels joined Avisa Partners in 2008 and specialises in the areas of climate and environment. He also works in the competition practice. He advises a broad range of clients, including global industry associations and corporations, particularly on the EU’s climate change policies, environment and anti-trust. Before joining Avisa Partners, Niels worked as a trainee at DG Competition and at the Netherlands Competition Authority. Previously, he worked as an intern at an Austrian law firm in Vienna and Brussels. Niels holds a Master in European Law School and a degree in Dutch Law, both from the Maastricht University. | |||
| In addition to his native Dutch, Niels also speaks English, German and French. | ||
Carlos Khouzami | |||
| Director, Head of Paris Office, Lebanese. | ||
Carlos is Avisa’s consultant on racing, gaming and general sport issues. Carlos developed his skills as International Director and Board Member in important European groups, as Banca Commerciale Italiana, Mondial Assistance and recently in PMU France. | |||
| He speaks French, English, Arabic, Spanish and Italian and understands Portuguese, German and Russian. | ||
Laila Kjeldsen | |||
| Managing Partner, Danish. | ||
As co-founder of Avisa Partners, Laila oversees and intervenes regularly in the client practice. Laila also manages all human resources issues at Avisa Partners. Laila has specialised for more than a decade on environmental issues, including maritime, aviation, emissions trading and product energy efficiency. While doing her Masters in European Law at the EIPA in Luxembourg, she spent four years in the cabinet of EU Environment, Nuclear Safety and Civil Protection Commissioner Ritt Bjerregard in the late 1990s. Laila also holds a bachelors degree in economics and political science from Saint Louis University in Brussels. | |||
| She is fluent in English and French along with her native Danish. | ||
Jacques Lafitte | |||
| Founding Partner, French. | ||
Jacques set up Avisa Partners in 2007 and is in charge of setting out overall strategy with clients. He has a penchant for quickly grasping client requirements to help calibrate their priorities in dealing with EU institutions. Calling on Cabinet-level European Commission experience, he benefits from an impeccable network of contacts in Brussels and national capitals built up over more than two decades of government and private sector expertise. An independent consultant since 2002 and the author of several books on Europe, Jacques in 2009 was listed by the Financial Times as one of the 30 prime influencers of policy and legislation in Brussels – there were only 2 consultants on the list. Jacques also served as Microsoft’s European Director of Corporate Affairs from 2000 to 2002. From 1995 to 1999, he was in charge of the Euro dossier in the Cabinet of Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Yves-Thibault de Silguy. Prior to coming to Brussels he served in both the French and German defense ministries and at the French Treasury. A graduate of France’s prestigious Ecole Polytechnique, Jacques also lectures or comments on EU affairs at universities and in the media. | |||
| Jacques is fluent in French, English and German and understands Spanish and Danish. | ||
René Leray | |||
| Senior Advisor, French. | ||
In a long public service career which encompassed high-level French and later EC posts, René Leray has devoted much of his time working on timely as well as universal issues including but not limited to the geopolitics of energy, Middle East water issues, and the European armaments industry. He has worked long in DG EcFin as well as a part of a Group of Advisors to European Commission Presidents Thorn and Delors as well as in the forerunner for DG RELEX on Mediterranean policy and later CSFP. He maintains excellent contacts in these areas as well as with the people overseeing them in the EU. René is presently professor at the Facultés Universitaires Saint Louis à Bruxelles and leads an academic research group on “Defense and Security of Europe”. He is also the initiator and organizer of a programme called Europa plus, delivering high-level, tailor-made training sessions on the EU, its institutions and its policies. He also leads the European programme at the Ecole des Mines in Paris. | |||
| René speaks French and English. | ||
Tomás Llobet | Energy & Climate - Environment & Health - Transport & Logistics | ||
| Associate Director, German and Spanish. | ||
Tomás joined Avisa in 2008 and specialises in the areas of energy, climate and environment. He also works in the financial services practice. He advises a broad range of clients, including global industry associations and blue-chip corporations, particularly on the EU’s climate change policies, renewable energy and on transport and the environment. Previously, Tomás served as an assistant to an MEP in the European Parliament sitting on the Environment Committee. Tomás also worked at the Bertelsmann Group for Policy Research and the Bavarian State Chancellery. He studied Political Science, International Law and Philosophy at the University of Munich. Tomás grew up in Colombia and Spain. | |||
Apart from his mother tongues German, Spanish and Catalan, he is fluent in English and French. | |||
Kenneth Mikkelsen | |||
| Senior Advisor, Danish. | ||
Kenneth, an advisor on strategic knowledge-brokering, specialises in facilitating organisational storytelling, leadership training programmes and public relations. His extensive international network includes consultants, professors, scientists, business psychologists, sociologists and journalists and his client base ranges from SMEs to multinational companies.
He has also served as a strategic knowledge broker to members of the Danish Growth Forum, a group appointed by the Prime Minister to advise the government on growth policy and changes necessary for Denmark to compete effectively in the global economy. | |||
| Kenneth speaks English, German, Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish, and has working knowledge of French and Spanish. | ||
| Nicolas Pomey | Transport & Logistics - Defence & Security - Energy & Climate - Environment & Health | ||
| Associate Director, French and Swiss. | ||
Nicolas has worked at Avisa since its founding in 2007. He specialises in energy, transport, defence and security, with an additional focus on R&D. Nicolas has advised companies in launching their EU public affairs strategy and in raising research funds for cutting-edge energy and transport technologies. Before joining Avisa, Nicolas was in charge of business intelligence at an international market research company in Brussels. Previously, he worked as a legal-trainee at EFTA and at the Secretariat General of the European Commission on transport and energy issues. Nicolas studied EU Law at the Aix-en-Provence University and International Politics at the ULB in Brussels, specialising in energy and security issues. | |||
| A native French speaker, he is also fluent in English and Italian. | ||
Eline Post | |||
| Senior Associate, Dutch. | ||
Eline Post joined Avisa Partners as a Senior Consultant on competition in December 2010. Prior to this, she worked at the European Commission's DG for Competition as a case-handler for 6 years. She has a profound understanding of all aspects relating to the life-cycle of cartel cases with particular emphasis on settlements and leniency. In addition, she has made a vital contribution to the overall organization, implementation and development of anti-trust and cartel policy. | |||
| Besides being bilingual in Dutch and English, she also has a good understanding of French. | ||
Charles Seidenberg | |||
| Director, French/Italian. | ||
Charles joined Avisa Partners in 2009 and specialises in EU Competition. He is Avisa Partner’s Competition Team Principal and advises blue-chip corporations clients on EU Anti-trust, Cartels, Mergers, State aids as well as on Infringement proceedings.Since joining Avisa Charles has been involved in approximately 50 cases most of which concerned competition. Prior to Avisa Partners, Charles worked seven years at the European Commission’s DG Competition where he was involved in more than 300 state aid case reviews of companies’ financing and restructuring in sectors including notably Telecoms, IT, Media, Health, Postal services, Manufacturing and R&D. Previously, Charles worked as an investment banker at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and consultant for premier private equity and venture capital funds in London and Paris. Charles studied business engineering at Ecole de Commerce Solvay in Brussels, business administration at L.U.I.S.S. in Rome and ESCP in Paris, and economics at the College of Europe in Bruges. | |||
| A native French and Italian speaker, Charles is also fluent in English, German, Spanish and Dutch. | ||
James M.Small | |||
| Senior Advisor, Canadian. | ||
James is a qualified Canadian lawyer involved in EU affairs since 2006, with high-level contacts in all EU institutions. He currently provides independent political and regulatory risk advice primarily for mining and metals companies on advancing their trade and investment interests with the EU institutions and with the Member States. He is also the Executive Director, and founder of the Canada EU-Mining Council which operates in Toronto and Brussels. James is frequently consulted on issues concerning the international trade, investment and sustainable development activities of the global mining and metals sector. | |||
A native English speaker, James has a basic knowledge of French. | |||
Martin Toman | |||
| Senior Advisor, Slovak. | ||
Martin has significant expertise in the energy, post & telecommunications, financial services, transport, health & pharma and public procurement sectors. Martin previously worked as a partner and senior consultant in several Central European consulting firms and was an executive director of the Slovak Association of Photovoltaic Industry (SAPI). Prior to that Martin worked as an assistant in both the European Parliament and National Council of the Slovak Republic (Slovak Parliament) and as a lawyer in the legislative department of the Slovak Ministry of Health. Martin will play a central role with Avisa in the Energy & Climate and Financial Services Practices, acting as a liason between Avisa’s activities in Brussels and in the Central European sphere. | |||
| Martin speaks English along with his mother tongue Slovak and has a working knowledge of Czech. | ||
Laura Vivani | |||
| Senior Advisor, Italian. | ||
| Laura has worked intensively for nearly 20 years on EU financial programs, including the EU Framework Programs at DG RTD and organises training to improve the quality and implementation of RTD EU contracts. She is heavily involved in project design phases, negotiation, implementation, dissemination and communications activities. . Her many clients include private companies, universities and research centers with specialisations including Energy, Climate change, Environment, Health, Information Technologies, Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies, Food Science, Security and Transport Thematics. Her work with Avisa includes consulting clients on strategies to take advantage of EU initiatives and helping them to finalise competitive proposals likely to be supported under FP7, the future Common Strategic Framework and other financial opportunities. | |||
| Laura speaks Italian, French, English and Spanish. | ||
Patrick Wailliez | |||
| Senior Advisor, Belgian. | ||
A founder of the Zeebrugge Gas Hub, founding vice-chairman of GTE-GIE and the first COO of Fluxys, Patrick possesses a thorough knowledge of the competitive, regulatory and technical factors governing the Gas & LNG business and markets. Over more than 30 years experience in the industry he held responsibilities in the Operations, Commercial, Strategy and Public Affairs fields in a European and Latin American context. He also served, within a multi-utility international group, as Gas advisor to the CEO of Suez-Tractebel. Patrick played a strategic role in the gas market liberalisation in the EU and Argentina, as well as in the Efficient Networking & Authority Management at European level. He has held senior management positions in various entities of the GdF-Suez Group. | |||
| Patrick speaks English, French, Dutch and Spanish. | ||
