The Franco-American Chamber of Commerce of Houston (FACC) has a new president: Franck Avice. Newly arrived in Texas to follow his wife, he carries out consulting activities for companies and non-profit organizations. He replaces Geoffroy Petit, leaving for Europe.
"We must promote the city of Houston and bring to it our French know-how, our pool of start-ups could choose Houston as the first base of implantation, He explains. After Silicon Valley and the East Coast, it is possible to consider a Third Coast in the United States.
This former lawyer became Inspector General of Finance has spent part of his career at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, in the government audit structure based in Bercy.
From 1995, he held various positions related to business and innovation in government agencies. He later joined the European Commission, as an expert in helping the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland to accede to the European Union, and in particular to comply with Community law on aspects of the law. competition and business support. He then joined the office of the French Minister for Sustainable Development and Energy in 2008 and 2009 as chief negotiator for the EU's climate energy package under the French presidency, forerunner of the Paris agreements on climate change. .
Appointed director of audit and strategy of RATP in 2009, Franck Avice becomes the executive vice president in 2012 of the public transport network and, in 2014, its general manager in charge of operations and client portfolio. " The city of Houston and major institutions are preparing for the after-oil and post-gas era. Their ambition is to develop other activities for companies in the fields of technology and digital. The city has the advantage of having a huge industrial base with portfolios of customers available. This is one of Houston's main strengths. Our role is to help them in this strategy especially by developing more links with France ", He analysis.
The medical sector is not left out because the Chamber of Commerce has already initiated relations between the Texas Medical Center and major hospitals in France. It intends to strengthen them in the future. " There is a will to move forward because there is competition between all cities, including inside Texas, " add the latter.
At the beginning of November, Franck Avice will take a delegation from Houston to France to meet the actors of French Tech. According to him, this will increase the awareness of the CCAF, increase the number of members and projects. " We need to calibrate our range of services on what the big players in Houston want to do. France is not really perceived as a country of business. We must change our image. We have a lot to offer ".
