The Phoenix Warburg Chapter engages the region’s diverse population on critical issues influencing the transatlantic and global agenda. The Chapter works closely with universities such as Arizona State University, University of Arizona, and Northern Arizona University, as well as organizations like the Phoenix Committee on Foreign Relations.
Events are generally held in the evening. Recently, the Phoenix Chapter has had speakers such as Dr. Markus Kaim, former Helmut Schmidt Fellow at The German Marshall Fund of the United States; Ricklef Beutin, Director General for Crisis Prevention, Stabilization, Peacebuilding and Humanitarian Assistance in the German Foreign Office; Prof. James D. Bindenagel, Senior Non-Resident Transatlantic Fellow at the German Marshall Fund; and Anja Goerz, journalist, radio host, and author.
About the Chapter Director
Bernard Otremba-Blanc
Chairman & CEO
BOA Group
germanconsulaz@aol.com
Bernard Otremba-Blanc is Chairman & CEO of the BOA Group, an international business consulting organization. Some of his main areas of expertise are in corporate matchmaking, government relations, M&A, and technology transfers. He has earned several prestigious awards, including the Blue Chip Enterprise Award for innovative marketing from the United States Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C., and the Business Ethics Award.
Dr. Otremba-Blanc was a founding member of the Arizona Chapter of the German American Chamber of Commerce and served on the Board of Directors from 1992 to 1999. He also is the past president of the Glendale Kachina Rotary Club in Glendale, Arizona.
He was the Director of the Phoenix Warburg Chapter from 1997 to 2011 and resumed the responsibility in April 2015. In March 2002, the President of Germany bestowed upon Dr. Otremba-Blanc the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Bundesverdienstkreuz der Bundesrepublik Deutschland) for his endeavors in fostering and sustaining American-German relations. He served as Honorary Consul of Germany, from 2002 to 2012 and Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Consular Corps of Arizona, from 2007 to 2011. In January 2012, he received the Officer’s cross of the Order of Merit (Bundesverdienstkreuz 1. Klasse). Dr. Otremba-Blanc is a citizen of the United States, France, and Germany. He speaks English, French, German, and some Spanish.
