Founder & Managing Director
Sebastian Gerlach is the Founder and Managing Director of AMENA and a highly experienced business consultant. He can build on more than 16 years’ experience identifying investment projects into Asia, Middle East and North America and he has a considerable network of major companies in Europe. Sebastian has consulted European companies in their market entry strategies into Asia and Middle East since more than 10 years. Sebastian has an MSc in International Relations from the London School of Economics and a Postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Management from ESMT Berlin He is fluent in German, English, French and learns Italian.
Managing Director
Nicola Michels is the Managing Director of AMENA Germany. She has been in Economic Development for 25 years, lived and worked on three continents: Africa, North America and Europe. With her background in Communication across international markets, Nicola is able to convert client expectations into live projects. Nicola holds a Masters degree in Communication Sciences and has studied in Germany and Scotland. She is fluent in German and English, and brushing up on her French.
Director Italy
Louise is the Director of our Italian-based subsidiary AMENA Consulting Europe, she manages Italian projects as well as the Group’s finances and accounting. She is primarily involved in the Choose New Jersey project and with ITA – Italian Trade Agency. Louise has 20 years experience working in financial management for large corporations in the UK and France. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Sydney and an MBA from the Open University UK. Louise is fluent in multiple languages; English, German, French and Italian.
Director Benelux
Pascal Bleeker is the Director of AMENA Benelux. He has a 20+year track record in management and strategy consulting, venture capital, economic development and executive leadership. Pascal has consulted and achieved international growth for both SMEs and Multinationals. Pascal holds a Masters degree in Industrial Engineering and Management Science from Eindhoven University of Technology and certificates from Nyenrode Business University and Amsterdam Institute of Finance. He is fluent in Dutch and English.
Senior Consultant
Rainer Ptok is Senior Consultant with regional focus on the Southern part of Germany. He can look back on 30 years of experience in the fields of lobbying, advising federal and regional associations in international trade as well as supporting investment promotion agencies. Rainer has also a track record in the automotive industry working in different functions for a Tier-1 supplier. Rainer is fully lawyered and also has certificates in Economics from Germany's State Distant Learning University in Hagen. He is fluent in English and French with decent knowledge of the Italian language.
Consultant North America
Jacky has worked in international business for over 10 years. In her career Jacky has helped numerous SMEs in their international development and has also managed hundreds of international projects through her past work as COO and Head of Global Operations. She has a Bachelor’s in French Business and Translation with a minor in International Politics from Northern Illinois University and two Master’s in Management Entrepreneurship and SME Consulting & International Management / Business obtained in the Institut d’Administration des Entreprises in Grenoble, France She is fluent in English, Spanish and French.
Project Manager
My Linh is primarily involved in the Choose New Jersey project and the Alberta project. Additionally, she provides support for projects and clients in Asia. She specializes in customer relationship management using various systems, including Pipedrive, D&B Hoovers, Hubspot, Zoho, and Salesforce. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Business German and Tourism Management from Konstanz - University of Applied Sciences, has done her BA in German Language at Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages. My Linh is fluent in multiple languages, including Mandarin, English, German, Taiwanese, and Cantonese. She is currently learning Vietnamese.
Ben is a Project Manager at AMENA. He is primarily involved in the Alberta project. Additionally, he provides support for lead generation and market visit projects in Germany and Benelux. Ben has a BA in Economics from the Berlin School of Economics and Law (HWR) and is fluent in English and German.
Dennis Kotscharan is a Project Manager at AMENA. He oversees lead generation for the Nebraska project and assists on the Mississippi project. Dennis has an B.Sc. in International Business Administration from the Europa-University Viadrina, focussing on International Finance and Economics during his studies. He is fluent in German, Englisch, Russian and learning French.
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