Mr. Hans Jörg Neumann has served as German Consul General in Los Angeles since July 2015. Prior to this, he was German Ambassador to Benin in West Africa. His extensive knowledge of the United States was acquired during his time as an exchange student with the American Field Service in Pennsylvania in 1974, and while serving as Political Advisor and Head of Consular and Legal Affairs at the German Embassy in Washington from 2001 to 2005. Neumann joined the German Foreign Service in 1987. He has served as Deputy Head of Mission at the Germany Embassy in Bucharest, Head of Consular and Legal Affairs in Prague as well as in the Economic Department of the German Embassy in Cairo and as Foreign Desk Officer for the Maghreb countries. Before starting his career in the German Foreign Service, Neumann studied law in Frankfurt and Lausanne, Switzerland. From 1984 to 1985, he spent a year at the Ecole National d’ Administration in Paris. He practiced law in Frankfurt from 1986 to 1987. Mr. Neumann was born in Berlin and has three daughters.

Mr. James Cummings is Vice President of Business Development at London and Partners, the Mayor of London’s promotional company. London and Partners works to build London’s international reputation and attract investment and visitor spending. He is based in Los Angeles, California and works with US companies that are expanding into and growing operations in London.

James was previously Vice Consul at UK Trade & Investment at the British Consulate-General in Los Angeles. Before moving to Los Angeles, James worked as Inward Investment Officer at the City of London and during this time he became a Freeman of the City of London. James also has a Masters Degree in London Studies and now lives in Los Angeles, California.

Moderator: 

Mr. Chris Lynch‘s expertise is in international business strategy. He currently is Global Marketing Manager for DestinHaus, a boutique management consultancy in Orange County, CA. He gives back to the community as President of the non-profit Community Vitalization Council (CiViC 180) which focuses on building local business communities. He developed CiViC 180’s signature program, the International Business Accelerator. Chris is a retired US Foreign Service Officer who dealt with economic and business policy issues in Washington DC and at five US Embassies in Europe and Latin America, last as Consul General to Hamburg. Upon returning to the US, he focused on local economic development at the Irvine and the Santa Rosa Chambers of Commerce. He was the SBA Orange County/Inland Empire Small Business Advocate of the Year in 2012. He teaches international business at Golden Gate University and Economics at Long Beach City College. Chris graduated from Georgetown University’s Foreign Service School and has a Masters in Economics from Virginia Tech. He speaks professionally fluent Spanish and German.

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