Antoine Amiguet

President

Antoine Amiguet studied at the NYU School of Law from 2002 - 2003 where he obtained a Master in Laws (LL.M.). Prior to that he completed a law degree at the University of Lausanne. As part of his Swiss studies he spent one year at the University of Basel. Antoine Amiguet now works as an attorney-at-law at ObersonAbels, a Geneva based law firm focusing on business law. From 2003 - 2009 he was a senior associate with a top rated business law firm in Geneva and Zurich. Antoine Amiguet is admitted to the bars of Geneva and New York.

Fabien Pellarin

Vice President

Fabien Pellarin graduated from NYU SCPS in 2009 with a MA in Graphic Communications Management and Technology. Prior to that he studied Economics at HEC Lausanne as well as 3D imaging and special effects at l’Ecole Européenne Supérieure d’Animation. Since 2009 Fabien works in brand management at Procter & Gamble for one of the world’s most valuable brand. His expertise lies in business, brand and communication strategy in both emerging and developed markets. He is committee member of NYU.CH since 2011.

Gary Bennaim

Treasurer

Gary Bennaim was born in Geneva. He earned a business degree from the University of Geneva (HEC), focusing on accounting and law. After several years working for a large bank in trade finance, he attended the Young Managers Programme at INSEAD and then joined NYU Stern where he received his MBA, majoring in finance and management, in 2002. After his graduate studies, Gary joined a major player in the banking sector, first in Geneva and then in London. Back in Switzerland, Gary joined an architects' firm as partner in particular to advise institutional clients on their real estate portfolios, investments and development. Currently, Gary is a member of the City of Geneva Parliament (elected) and is the chairman of the housing commission. Previously, Gary was a member of the board at Fondetec, a publicly funded foundation devoted to seeding and helping local projects grow in the city of Geneva. When he was active in banking in Switzerland, Gary was also a member of the board of the bank's pension fund.

Johanna Herbst

Member of Committee

Johanna Herbst completed her undergraduate degree in business administration at the University of Applied Sciences in Berlin in a scholarship program with Siemens AG. After graduating, she worked as financial analyst for Siemens in the Greater New York City area where she also enrolled in the Langone Part-time MBA program at NYU Stern School of Business. She specialized in finance and marketing, studied one semester at HEC Paris and graduated in 2009 being awarded with the beta gamma sigma distinction for her academic achievements. After this, she joined Procter & Gamble as finance manager in Geneva where she worked on various brands ranging from healthcare to hair care. In 2013, she moved to management consulting and has been working since then as managing consultant for Horváth & Partners in Zurich. In her leisure time, Johanna is passionate about arts and sports.

Gary Vachicouras

Member of Committee

Gary Vachicouras was born in New York, obtained his BA with a major in biology at NYU Washington Square and University College of Arts and Science in 1982. He pursued postgraduate studies at the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, Brookline, Ma. (M.Div), and continued at the Université de Paris – Sorbonne (Paris IV) and the University of Athens where he earned his Doctorate in Theology. He taught Orthodox Theology at the Institute of Postgraduate Studies at the Orthodox Centre of the Ecumenical Patriarchate (Chambésy, near Geneva). He previously managed the Foundation for Interreligious and Intercultural Research and Dialogue in Geneva. In the interim, he was an Academic Affairs Associate at the Rectorate of the University of Geneva.

Gary is currently Scientific Secretary & Administrator at the Hardt Foundation for the Study of Classical Antiquity (Vandoeuvres, near Geneva) and an advisor to HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan on inter-faith matters.

René Keiser

Webmaster

René Keiser graduated from NYU School of Law in 2001 where he obtained a Master in Laws (LL.M.) spezializing in corporate law. Before visiting NYU he studied law at the University of Berne.

After having worked for a business law firm in Berne and a top rated law firm in Zurich and Geneva he joined Mondelez International (formerly: Kraft Foods International) where he works as Business Integrity Officer and Security Director.