CCI France Philippines marks 3 decades
T HIS year serves as a milestone for the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Philippines (CCI France Philippines) as it celebrated its 30th anniversary through the La Soirée event on November 23.
“Thirty years cannot be achieved alone. My tenure as president is my own contribution to the three decades of the chamber. Thanks to our members for the loyalty, support and time invested all those years. Thanks to the loyalty, integrity and especially the hard work of the staff of CCI France Philippines,” current President Isabelle Nilo asserted.
She added, “Last and not least, thanks to the vision, authenticity, and generosity of the sponsors and past presidents. We would not be here if any of [those elements] was absent…”
Managing Director of CCI FrancePhilippines Vanessa Hans voiced in her opening statement: “Tonight is also about giving back. We partnered once again with our foundation-France Philippines United Action (FPUA) Foundation, which has three rehabilitation sites in Northern Cebu. They are assisting more than 1,200 victims of Supertyphoon Haiyan (local code name Yolanda) with four advocacies, one of them being education.
Hans declared, “Part of the proceeds will be funding the [foundation’s]
educational project.”
(FPUA was established five years ago by a group of French companies led by Lafarge President Don Lee, with the support of the CCI France Philippines and the Embassy of France in the Philippines. Following the visit of then-president Francois Hollande in 2015, it became the foundation of CCI France Philippines, with the goal of carrying out humanitarian works by way housing rehabilitation, as well as health and child welfare for the victims of natural disasters in the country.)
A seven-minute video clip documented the history of CCI France Philippines, as well as testimonials of its past presidents: Philippe Gauthier, Louis-Paul Heussaff, Roger Ferrari, Cyril Rocke, Bernard Flour, who all made significant contributions to the business and cultural ties between the two countries they serve.
The former executives, together with Ambassador Nicolas Galey, were then recognized for the valuable roles they have played in making CCI France Philippines grow exponentially over the years as a nonstock, nonprofit organization.
Nilo said to the past presidents: “Thank you for your leadership, passion, dedication and drive to create strong ties. Today we have 120 members consisting of French companies, entrepreneurs and Philippine corporations.”
The grand celebration was marked by French signature cuisine: wine, cheese and charcuterie (or delicatessen) f lown in straight from France, as well as French dishes served with a twist concocted by Chef Julien Cossé. World-class cocktails by award-winning bartender Lester Ligon lined-up the evening drinks.
For entertainment, dance duo French Wingz delighted the crowd with their soulful renditions. The band Silver Streak played danceable music from the 80s onward. Beats by DJ Abdel followed next. Round-trip business tickets for two to Paris were also raffled off.