By all accounts, the 2021 EACC Conference and Annual Gala was a resounding success – and the highlight was, without a doubt, the visit of Her Excellency Emily Margarethe Haber, Ambassador of Germany to the United States. Here is a quick recap of the events.
Ambassador Haber, accompanied by German Consul General Wolfgang Mössinger, her Chief of Staff Sebastian Ernst and Honorary German Consul Martin Wilhelmy, had a whirlwind schedule on Thursday, including a visit to Festo in Mason and then a meeting and tour at the DHL Hub at CVG. She also visited the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center (including the Berlin Wall memorial) and the “Monuments Men” Exhibition at the Cincinnati Art Museum, as well as meeting with Congressman Steve Chabot (OH-1).
In the afternoon the EACC hosted our Supply Chains, Logistics and Transatlantic Trade conference at the Drees Pavilion in Devou Park, where over 60 attendees heard Cain Moodie, SVP for DHL Americas Region Network Operations & Aviation outline how DHL is acting as a beacon of excellence in our region and around the world in areas from environmental stewardship to workforce and beyond. This was followed by panel discussion moderated by Dr. Chuck Sox of UC’s Lindner College of Business and featuring Kerry Byrne (President of TQL), Kim Harper-Gage (Chief Operating Officer at Festo) and Scott Miller, a Senior Advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, who addressed some of the most vexing problems companies face as they consider current and future logistics, trade policy, and other issues in building efficient and resilient supply chains. Thanks again to our Presenting Sponsor for the conference, the Greater Cincinnati Foreign Trade Zones and sponsors CVG, Festo and TQL.
The beautiful weather facilitated a lively networking reception (sponsored by Miller Valentine Construction) on the Drees Pavilion patio overlooking Cincinnati. After greeting many of the guests, Ambassador Haber took her seat at the Head Table as the Annual Gala (presented by Altix Consulting and Modula) got underway with 150+ in attendance. After a delicious dinner prepared by Jeff Thomas 
Catering, EACC Board President Dominic Franchini offered his “State of the EACC Address” highlighting the ongoing changes underway at the EACC. Yannick Schilly of Altix then introduced Ambassador Haber, who noted this was her first official visit outside Washington since the beginning of the pandemic, and that she was delighted to see the depth of German connectivity to our region – from historic and family connections, to German-American cooperation in workforce development, innovation, logistics and so much more. She also underscored our shared values in confronting current and future challenges, from the environment to human rights to global trade. She responded to a few questions from the audience, after which Dominic and EACC Board Vice President Nelly Bonniol presented the Ambassador with a token of our appreciation. Finally Modula President and CEO Antonio Pagano thanked the Ambassador for joining us and invited the guests to enjoy coffee and dessert from the patio.
Again, thanks to our Gala Presenting Sponsors (Altix Consulting and Modula), our Gold Sponsors Clark Schaefer Hackett, Festo, Frost Brown Todd, Luxottica, MCM CPAs and Advisors, PNC Bank, RiskSource Clark-Theders, and Von Lehman CPA & Advisory Firm; our Silver Sponsors CVG Airport, DHL Express (USA), Flottweg Separation Technology Inc., Mubea Inc., Murrplastik Systems Inc. and the University of Cincinnati, and our A/V Sponsor Prestige AV and Creative Services.
Click here to view pictures from the event (and buy copies if you like); we’ll also be posting video highlights from the conference and other events on our YouTube channel soon!
Photos by Anamedia LLC
