A three months stay in the summer 1980, at the University of Dallas for a Pre-MBA program in conjunction with “international management” studies in Paris was the trigger to find work in the USA. With his business degree obtained in 1981, Gerald Gaucher found a position to come in the US (Southern California) in order to establish the first computerized industrial bakery line in North America (1,600 baguettes an hour).

From there, Gerald went to work for a bakery retail operation in Dallas with the tasks of searching, finding and opening retail outlets. After a period of two years, Gerald was hired by a French company to take over their San Diego subsidiary as General Manager. Then after three years, he became the company CEO. In 1992 Gerald had the opportunity to purchase the company. The company became the largest French bakery operation in San Diego with 100 employees with sales outside California. In 2003, Gerald sold the company to a larger competitor and went to create two years later a new company importing “natural body products” manufactured in France and targeting high-end gift shops and spas in USA and Canada. The company Ellesca was sold in 2008.

All this years, Gerald learned how to navigate the cultural differences between France and the US, making sure than the practices on both sides were respected in order to achieve the best results. His experience in managing companies here in the USA for the past 20 years gave him a wide experience from the food manufacturing side to the implementation of an agents’ network across the US. His marketing approach and unique appreciation of both cultures allow him to bring concrete solutions to business situations.

gerald.gaucher@france-sandiego.org

Charles Cousin is a French citizen, born and raised in Normandy. After his associate degree, from the Euro-American Institute of Sophia Antipolis, France, he transferred to the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Florida where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Ocean Engineering. Charles also holds a Master of Science in engineering in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Harbor.

Charles has been working in the subsea industry for more than 12 years. He is the owner and co-founder of Bellamare, LLC, a San Diego based company providing subsea engineering services as well as manufacturing novel oceanographic instruments. The company was created as a service company to the University of Miami, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, in order to develop and bring to market a new oceanographic instrument. Bellamare has therefore focused its activities on the manufacturing and commercialization of a remotely operated vehicle designed to carry a high performance imaging system used for fisheries research and marine biology.

Charles’s portfolio also includes designs such as full ocean depth camera equipment, various towed subsea vehicles, underwater lasers, subsea battery packs and lights. Prior to founding Bellamare, Charles led the design and manufacturing of a novel manned submersible while at Seamagine Hydrospace Corporation. This submersible was designed to accommodate three persons and to reach 1500ft depth while complying with strict ABS rules and regulations. The submersible has performed more than a 1,000 dives to date.

Charles has played key roles in both companies in promoting growth via contract negotiations or implementing strategic partnerships. A strong believer in creating solid relationship with his colleagues, vendors and clients, he has also been able to create solid ties to the US and French maritime industries and scientific communities.

charles.cousin@france-sandiego.org

Marie Flacassier is the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of BeatBabel, a San Diego based Localization Company with partner offices in France, Germany and Latin America. Born in Limoges, France, Marie has been working in the language industry for the past 12 years in Europe and in the US. She has over 10 years experience as a senior manager for several localization and translation companies in Southern California. She graduated from the University of Nice with a Master’s degree in English studies majoring in translation and linguistics and with an MBA in International Business from National University in San Diego. Her diverse cultural background, education and industry experience helps her daily in finding creative solutions to international business challenges. She continues helping US and European companies on a daily basis with their international expansion into foreign markets.

marie.flacassier@france-sandiego.org

Patricia Conner is a Francophone and Francophile American who has lived and worked in France for over 17yrs+. France has always been the center of her business and cultural activities. Her background is working in the legal, import/export and logistics of small to medium size European and American companies. Her work title in the USA has been European Trade Manager for Hankyu (Japanese company), Panalpina (Swiss)and SDV (French) while living in San Diego. She has worked for Destination France, Novotour (Accor) and ICC while in Paris. She also speaks French and German.

She has obtained a teaching degree from the University of Arizona, MBA in International Business from the Frei University of Berlin, and legal degree from the University of Paris. She understands the SDFACC is principally here to help French companies and French ex-pats but also to help French make the transition to the USA in business, immigration and personal matters. There is a difference and having lived this difference on a professional and personal level has made her a strong advocate of increasing membership and communication with both cultures on the same platform, i.e SDFACC.

Pascale Hayem is French-American and moved to San Diego in 1999. Born in France, she graduated as a medical laboratory technician and worked in the research laboratory of the Institut Oeunologique de Champagne, in collaboration with Moet et Chandon. In 1990 she moved to the French Riviera and worked as a medical Laboratory technician and phlebotomist at The Eber laboratory in Antibes, where she stayed for 10 years handling Microbiology and Medical billing.

In 2010 Pascale was ready for a new challenge and joined the Jonville Team - Keller Williams Realty. Pascale’s goal today is to focus on helping families as well as investors make their Real Estate dreams a reality. The Jonville Team is a strong player in the local real estate market, working with both buyers and sellers. As a Keller Williams Platinum Award recipient for the last 5 years, the team holds a position in the top 1% of Keller Williams’ international rankings. The team embraces strong enthusiasm for performance, customer service and achieving their clients' best interests.

pascale.hayem@france-sandiego.org

Lionel Bochurberg is an attorney with more than 18 years of experience advising clients about complex business transactions and international law. Having started his legal career in Paris, France, he subsequently moved to the United States under the category of "Alien of Extraordinary Ability,” and is licensed under both the Paris and California bars.

In France, he was the founder of Mandel & Bochurberg, an international law firm with offices in Paris and London. He then built and managed the legal department at Wavecom SA (now Sierra Wireless), a publicly listed international company. Subsequently, he became the vice president of human resources and general counsel at InfoVista SA, an international publicly listed software company Headquartered in both Herndon, Va., and Paris, France. He then joined NextWave Broadband Inc as vice president of international legal operations, managed NextWave’s international legal operations, served as the primary counsel for IPWireless, one of NextWave’s UK-based subsidiaries responsible for all of the company’s legal matters, and ultimately was responsible for all legal efforts associated with several divestitures (including NextWave semiconductor patent portfolio) and M&A initiatives (in Latin America and in Europe) on behalf of NextWave.

While practicing law in the United States, Bochurberg takes active steps to bridge the local community with the technology community in France, playing a role as an adviser to French BioBeach, a San Diego-based networking organization for the U.S. and French biotech communities (http://www.frenchbiobeach.com).

Bochurberg served as a panelist in an MCLE conference entitled, “Anatomy of a License Agreement,” hosted by the San Diego County Bar Association in June 2009, and in an executive roundtable covering corporate governance organized by the Daily Transcript in May 2010.

Bochurberg published several books in French, including a collection of poems in haiku form, “Cent tendres;” “Internet and Right of Privacy at the Workplace;” “Internet and E-Commerce;” and “the Right of Quotation” (doctoral dissertation in comparative law).

Bochurberg received his Ph.D. in comparative copyright law summa cum laude from the University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne.

lionel.bochurberg@france-sandiego.org