11th UIA Round Table Europe 2017

Michel Ballieu

Association Adviser at Step2to…

Michel studied economics at the Brussels University, in Belgium, and holds a postgraduate in Management from the Solvay Business School. He gained his first professional experiences, mainly within BASF and Xerox, by coaching and managing sales teams, including several years of marketing management at multinational level throughout the European Union.

19 years ago he entered the Non-For-Profit world by running the European Operations of the Up with People exchange student programme. Later he acted as the European Executive Director for several US based professional associations (on behalf of MCI-Association Management Company). As a Chief Executive Officer he joined ECCO – the European CanCer Organisation in 2006, overseeing a team of 30 professionals, and retired in 2016.

Today he works as a staff recruiter for non-profit organisations, and as an association adviser, in that capacity he also acts as the Executive Director for the Alliance for Biomedical Research in Europe.

Sarah Verschaeve

Sarah Verschaeve is counsel in the Business Law team at Curia.

Sarah has built up a special expertise in social profit/non-profit law, social economy and companies in the form of non-profit associations, international non-profit associations or foundations.

She advises (inter)national interest groupings (among which professional organisations, holding structures and sector federations) on various contractual matters and on questions regarding the regularisation of their internal and external functioning. Process guidance with restructuring of associations (mergers, splits, takeovers …) and optimisation of group structures are also part of her common practice.

At the boundaries between the social and regular economy, she co-develops an advisory practice in which the less frequent company forms are regularly applied, such as the cooperative company and the company with a social purpose. Sarah also advises on the most diverse aspects of the general non-profit associations and foundations legislation. Sarah lectures on these topics on a regular basis.

In addition, Sarah has a vast experience in classic corporate law.

Career & profile

Prior to her start with Curia in 2010, Sarah worked at the law firms Linklaters and Baker & McKenzie where her practice focussed on mergers, acquisitions and restructurings. She also advised Bel-20 companies and multinationals on a wide range of corporate law topics.

In 2004-2005 Sarah studied at the University of Chicago Law School (USA) where she obtained a Master of Law (LL.M.) degree in corporate and financial law. Sarah graduated from Leuven University in 2003 (Master's degree). She also studied at the Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL).

Sarah Van Den Brande

Sarah specialises in intellectual property with a particular focus on copyrights, trademarks and patents. Her legal practice also involves general commercial and contract law, with a focus on market practices.

She assists clients in a variety of sectors, such as the pharmaceutical and technological industry, the media, the artist and fashion scene and consumer goods.

She is an experienced litigator in complex cases. She also provides advice on protecting intellectual property and know-how. She has extensive experience in drafting and negotiating commercial agreements, particularly regarding licensing, software and distribution.

She is a member of several professional associations in the intellectual property field, such as the Belgian National Association for the Protection of Industrial Property, Benelux Trademark and Industrial Design Association and the Belgian Copyright Association.

Sarah studied law at the University of Ghent, where she obtained her law degree in 2006. After obtaining an additional Master of Intellectual Property Law at Leuven University / KU Brussels, she started her career as an attorney at the Brussels Bar in 2007 with the law firm Eubelius. She subsequently joined the law firms Lydian and Crowell & Moring and gained experience in the private sector. She joined Curia in 2012. In the summer of 2013, she specialised in copyrights in Washington, DC at the WIPO (UN World Intellectual Property Organisation).

Kai Troll

CEO of Best Buddies Europe/Middle East/Africa and President of Best Buddies Europe and Africa Foundation
Head of Development, International Sport And Culture Association (ISCA)

From 2001 to 2013, Kai was a Director at Special Olympics Inc., leading strategic developments, specifically within the Europe-Eurasia region, and he represented the Special Olympics on the International Olympic Committee. He has been a member of the Expert Group of the United National Office of Sports, Development and Peace.

From 1998 to 2001, Kai was a Senior Management Consultant with the Boston Consulting Group based in Brussels and New York. He served as an advisor to several boards of international organisations and non-profits in the areas of strategy, organizational development, public affairs, governmental affairs and resource development.

Kai is a partner of the German-Finish joint-venture software company Admigro gmbh and the German based Equilibrium gmbh, a marketing relationship company supporting social causes. He is the Chairman of the Best Buddies Europe and Africa Foundation, CEO of Best Buddies Europe/Middle East/Africa, and a member of the Development Committee of ISCA - the International Sport and Cultural Association.

Kai has a BA in Science and a MBA in International Management.

Christophe Ginisty

Digital Strategist, social media intelligence expert, and founder of AGOREP, Christophe is the creator of the ReputationTime cycle of conferences.

Communications and Digital transformation expert, Christophe started his career at the age of 24 when he founded Rumeur Publique, a PR business specialized in technology that has become one of the leading agencies on the French market.

In 2011, Edelman appointed him “European Digital / Technology Evangelist” with the responsibility of Deputy Managing Director, EMEA. In 2013, he served as President of the International Public Relations Association (IPRA).

Danièle Vranken

Danièle Vranken is the Secretary General of the FAIB, the Federation of European & international associations based in Belgium, helping its 280 member associations representing some 40.000 members of their respective sectors.

Danièle’s know-how is based on a 29 years career as Director Finance & Administration for the European cosmetics industry association (Cosmetics Europe, formerly Colipa) and Management assistant education. Her previous assignments were mainly abroad, hence her multilingual skills (French, English, German, Dutch, some Italian and Spanish for the fun!)

She took over the management of the FAIB in 2010 on a voluntary basis and puts all aspects of her professional experience and personality at the service of the Federation.

Philip Alan SPRINGUEL

Executive Director, World Lottery Association (WLA)
Immediate Past President, European Society of Association Executives (ESAE)

Contact information:
World Lottery Association
Lange Gasse 20
CH-4002 Basel
Switzerland
Tel +41 61 544 11 06

Philip Alan Springuel is the Executive Director of the World Lottery Association (WLA). WLA member lotteries raise funds for good causes. Each year, the majority of profits go to support the public treasury, education, sports, culture, and various social causes. In 2015, WLA members returned USD76.1bn to society.

Philip acts as President of the Board of Directors of the European Society of Association Executives (ESAE, AssociationExecutives.EU), where he has been an active member since 2011. He is also member of the European Association of Communications Directors (ECD).

Prior to joining the World Lottery Association, Philip served as Head of Corporate Affairs at the non-profit, European Food Information Council (EUFIC) for six years. Before that, he was for two years at association management consultancy, MCI, acting as the global Project Director of World Kidney Day, for which he raised funds and established partnerships in over 90 countries. In 28 years of professional life, he has also performed many assignments in economic development or humanitarian and legal aid.

Mr Springuel speaks fluent English and French, some Spanish, and a bit of Dutch and Moroccan Arabic. In his spare time, through his non-profit, Athelte21, he promotes inclusive sports participation for disadvantages groups, and healthy performance improvements for all athletes.

Ionnis Pallas and Chloé Menhinick

ESAE - European Society of Association Executives

Case study in Booth 1: 10.30-11.00 and 14.00-14.30

"Networking with your peers: tips and tricks"

For most people networking doesn't come naturally. Good communicators are either professionally trained or they learn through experience which takes time, and can be awkward or even embarrassing at first. Luckily, this is the case for the most of us. We all work for organizations that require a personal engagement to spread the word for our activities. Networking is not confined in physical meetings; preparation and follow-up are vital to get the message across and perhaps even build strong and lasting professional relations that help boost careers.

This session will cover the basics from a peer-to-peer perspective on how to network more effortlessly and avoid common mistakes. Bring your notepads and prepare to exchange ideas and best practices!

Biographies

Ionnis has studied, International Political Economy and International Relations, giving him the analytical skills to find combinative solutions in perplex situations and grasp the full extent and consequences of a political or economic development. He has worked in consulting and lobbying as well as in development projects evaluation. He has a thorough knowledge of EU and country-member politics and an insatiable need to be constantly up to date on an array of topics ranging from politics to currencies and commodity prices. He speaks four languages. and is based in Brussels where he manages the secretariat of ESAE, the European Society of Association Executives.

Chloé Menhinick has 15 years' experience of working in the associations industry, providing leadership across all areas of association management and operations, membership, stakeholder engagement, communications and marketing. She has various leadership positions on boards, advisory bodies and expert committees, where she has demonstrated effective experience in strategic planning and implementation.

Chloé worked at the International Water Association from 2005 to 2018 where she was responsible for developing and executing a global growth and engagement strategy for a network of +60K members including national members, corporates, universities and individuals. Her professional experience includes international management and leadership, membership management, membership retention and growth, change management, strategic planning, organisational communications, digital engagement, awards and events management, sponsorship and partnership development, committee management, programme development, internal communications and brand management.

As a globally recognised thought leader in the association sector, Chloé is a regular speaker on issues pertaining to membership, communications and digitalisation at many industry events and also regularly contributes to industry magazines on issues ranging from communicating brand value to association impact and legacy.

She is a nominated Active Member of the Union of International Associations (UIA) and a Board Member of the European Society of Association Executives (ESAE) where she also chairs the Communications and Membership committee.