Online Event Invitation
 EUROPEAN UNION: 1/22 - Breakfast Discussion in DC with Ms. Beryl Blecher, NEW Senior Commercial Officer, U.S. Mission to the European Union Email a Colleague
 
BCIU is pleased to announce a breakfast discussion in Washington, D.C. with


Ms. Beryl Blecher
Senior Commercial Officer
U.S. Mission to the European Union


BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Beryl Blecher, a member of the Senior Foreign Service, will serve as Senior Commercial Officer at the Mission to the European Union (CSEU) in Brussels, effective January 31, 2010. The CSEU’s mission is to promote U.S. business interests in the European Union through advocacy, information dissemination, and cooperation with other Commercial Service posts throughout Europe and the world.

Prior to the above position, Ms. Blecher was the Senior Commercial Officer in Moscow, Russia, between September 2007 and December 2009. Based in the U.S. Commercial Service office at the American Embassy in Moscow, she supervised Commercial Service offices in St. Petersburg and Vladivostok as well as Moscow. She was responsible for expanding U.S. exports to the rapidly-growing Russian market and supporting U.S. commercial interests throughout the Russian Federation.

Prior to this assignment to Moscow, Ms. Blecher served as Senior Commercial Officer for Australia and New Zealand from July 2004 until February 2007. Based in Sydney, she supervised a Commercial Service team in Melbourne, Sydney, Wellington and Auckland. She received the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bronze Medal in 2007 for her outstanding advocacy work for the U.S. aviation industry. Ms. Blecher served as the Regional Senior Commercial Officer for Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia from April 2001 until April 20004. For her outstanding service in representing U.S. commercial interests and opening these markets, she was awarded the Secretary of Commerce’s Gold Medal in 2003. From December 1997 until September 1999, Ms. Blecher was the Deputy Senior Commercial Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia and then served as Acting Senior Commercial Officer from September 1999 until August 2000 in Moscow. From August 1995 until December 1997, she was Director of the U.S. Trade Center in Tokyo, Japan.

She is a twenty-three year veteran of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Ms. Blecher has been an active participant in women’s business organizations, formed a network of businesswomen in Russia and was a mentor for businesswomen in Hungary. She has worked closely with American Chambers of Commerce all over the world and organized the first AmCham in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2001. Ms. Blecher has a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.A. in Soviet Area Studies from Georgetown University. She has language fluency in Croatian, Russian, French and Japanese.


 Date:Friday, January 22, 2010
8:30 AM - 10:00 AM
 Place:Offices of Medtronic, Inc.
950 F Street, N.W.
Suite 500
Washington, D.C.
 Participation Fee:$35 Members; $70 Introductory non-members
 BCIU Contact: (202-595-2673)