The goal of the Chamber Investment Committee is to better serve its members thanks to a group of experts in the investment industry at large, including:
- Banking
- Real Estate
- Land investment
- Financial advisors
- Insurance
The quarterly events organized by the investment committee will provide our members and non members with financial education. The goal is to better know the American market and the different ways to get financed and invest in general. Besides the quarterly informative and networking events, webinars will be held to answer specific needs and address specific topics.
We are interested in knowing your feedback on the committee and related events, feel free to contact us to share your inputs or suggest topics to be addressed at info@france-sandiego.org.

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 1999 her husband was transferred to San Diego where they still enjoy living today. Not allowed to work in the U.S.A at that time, she seized time to dedicate to her children, 1 boy, 2 girls, while volunteering in different committees at the French American School, Gala Committee, Green Committee.
She also enjoyed painting in mix-media and has exhibited her art at the Gallery 21 in the Spanish Village, the Watercolor Society and the Del mar Society.
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.

Ms. Danitra Acosta is a principal partner of Gateway Assets founded in May 2009 and currently specializes in strategic planning and international business relations collaborating with cross- border partners, affiliates and investors seeking an experienced team to help invest in the US commercial real estate market of opportunity. The Gateway Assets team has more than 30 years industry relationships and experience to execute opportunistic investment strategies in major US markets. Ms. Acosta is a licensed California real estate agent with Velur Enterprises, Inc. as a Land Investment Consultant specializing in helping clients discover the power of land banking through strategic positioning in Southern California. Further, she is a trained candidate for Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS), highly regarded in the real estate industry to enable fundamental understandings of multicultural business relationships and etiquette. She is a passionate entrepreneur who believes in building relationships and helping people as core values in all aspects of business and personal well-being.

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.

Our team of nine seasoned real estate specialists is committed to delivering you the expertise you expect when listing and selling properties in the counties of San Diego, Southwest Riverside and South Orange.
Our team is comprised of seller and buyer specialists, as well as a follow up coordinator and closing coordinator. Our exclusive, complete team approach and various departments allow us to be extremely efficient with traditional as well as distressed sales (short sales & REO).
Our listings receive premium exposure for optimum results: lower market time and higher sales price. Our dedication, expertise, customer service and attention to detail has allowed us to exceed the expectations of our clients and resulted in 80 sold homes in 2009, with a volume of over $35 million.
Achievement
#1 Agents in Carlsbad Keller Williams Market Center (North San Diego County) 2007 through 2010 (sales volume and # of transactions).
Top 40 Keller Williams Team Nationwide, #5 in Southern California and #2 in SD County.
Awarded Keller Williams Platinum Award, REMAX Presidentʼs &100% Club, Top Producer 2003 thru 2010.
Our dedication, expertise, customer service and attention to detail has allowed us to exceed the expectations of our clients and resulted in 110 transactions in 2010 with a volume of over $35 million.
Nicolas Jonville has a PSC - pre-forclosure Specialist Certification and is a CSP -
Certified Short Sale Professional by RealtyU, as well as Todd Stearman.

A native San Diegan, Ben Mallinger attended the University of California, Davis. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural and Managerial Economics. While attending college, he played on the Men’s Rugby Club and was an active member of the Zeta Psi Fraternity. Mr. Mallinger served his country in the United States Marine Corps Reserve. Mr. Mallinger has over five years of experience as a financial advisor. Ben is a proud father of his nine year old daughter, Leigh Ann.

Carl Vonderau has vast experience in international, commercial and private banking. He has lived and worked in the U.S., Latin America , Canada, and North Africa. Prior to coming to San Diego, Carl lived in Montreal for fifteen years. He worked for three different financial institutions and provided financing solutions to Canadian exporters and importers. He also developed relationships with banks in Latin America and North Africa. Carl moved to San Diego in 2005. He has worked as a private banker for Diego Private Bank and Northern Trust, where he financed private individuals and their companies. Carl is active on the Board of Directors of Mission Valley YMCA and is an advisor for start-up companies in the Springboard CONNECT program. Mr. Vonderau speaks French, Spanish and Portuguese. He graduated from Stanford University with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and earned a Masters-level certificate from Pacific Coast Banking School.