Management Board


From left to right : Mr Carlo Thelen, Mr Jean-Claude Knebeler, Mr Jean-Claude Vesque, Mrs Yuriko Backes, Mrs Carole Tompers, and Mr Robert Biwer.

  • Mrs Yuriko Backes, Deputy Director for International Economic Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

    Mrs Backes was appointed Deputy Director for International economic relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in January 2008, after a posting as Minister Counselor at the Luxembourg Embassy in Japan and several years at the Permanent Representation of Luxembourg to the European Union in Brussels.

    Mrs Backes represents the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Governing Council of Luxembourg for Business as well as in the Advisory Council Luxembourg for Business (CCLfB). She also participates as a board member of LuxDevelopment and a substitute member at meetings of the Luxembourg Board of Economic Development (BED).

    Mrs Backes received a BSc degree from the London School of Economics, as well as post-graduate degrees from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London and from the Collège d'Europe in Bruges.

    Mrs Backes was born in 1970 and is married with 2 children.

  • Mr Pierre Barthelmé, Government Counselor at the Ministry of SMEs, Tourism and Housing

    Mr Barthelmé was educated at the Université Catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve (UCL) in Belgium and the Université - Faculté de Droit, Sciences Économiques et Gestion - in Nancy, France.

    Mr Barthelmé started his career in 1992 at the Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) as a reporting and controlling manager of the UBS Fund Department. From 1996-1998 he became Deputy CEO at the Luxembourg National Tourist Board (ONT), and was in charge of research, statistics and marketing.

    In 1998 he joined the Luxembourg Ministry for SMEs, Tourism and Housing, where he has been in charge of the Tourism Department since 2004, advising the Minister of Tourism on national and international matters, as well as strategy and policy for promoting tourism to Luxembourg. His department further provides state grants and support for tourism enterprises and improvements to the tourism infrastructure, as well as overseeing the National Tourist Board, Luxembourg Congress and Luxembourg's Tourist Offices abroad.

  • Mr Robert Biwer, Government Commissioner for Maritime Affairs at the Ministry of the Economy and Foreign Trade

    On May 1st, 2008, Robert Biwer was appointed Government Commissioner for Maritime Affairs. CAM, the agency he is heading, is the focal point of all shipping matters in Luxembourg. Prior to his current function Mr. Biwer was head of public relations at the Ministry of the Economy and Foreign trade.

    From 2001 to 2007, he was Consul General of Luxembourg and Executive Director of the Luxembourg Board of Economic Development (1) in San Francisco, California.

    He was a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Luxembourg Army and from 1988 to 2000 he served as Aide-de-Camp to H.R.H. Crown Prince Henri of Luxembourg (2). In this function, Mr Biwer accompanied the Crown Prince on numerous economic missions all over the world.

    Mr Biwer was born in 1959 and is married with three children.

    (1) Government agency in charge of attracting foreign investment to Luxembourg
    (2) As of October 2000; Grand-Duke Henri of Luxembourg

  • Mr Jean-Claude Knebeler, Director of Foreign Trade at the Ministry of the Economy and Foreign Trade

    A diplomat since 2002, Mr Knebeler currently serves as Director of Foreign Trade at the Ministry of the Economy and Foreign Trade in Luxembourg. He is providing advice to the Minister on bilateral trade affairs as well as strategy and policy promoting Luxembourg's economy abroad. The Department of Foreign Trade also provides direct support to companies through trade missions and national pavillions at trade fairs.

    Mr Knebeler chairs the Committee for the Promotion of Luxembourg Exports, is a member of the Consultative Committee on Foreign Trade and the Luxembourg Board of Economic Development. He holds board positions at the Office du Ducoire (the public export insurance provider), Enovos International S.A. (an energy production and distribution company) as well as Cargolux International Airlines S.A. (Europe's leading all-cargo airline).

    Mr Knebeler furthermore represents the Ministry of the Economy & Foreign Trade in the executive management of Luxembourg for Business, the public-private partnership promoting Luxembourg on the global marketplace as well as in Luxembourg @ Shanghai 2010, the organisation preparing the Grand Duchy's presence at the Shanghai World Exhibition in 2010.

    He was educated at the London School of Economics & Political Science in Great Britain and the French senior civil service college, the Ecole Nationale d'Administration, gaining a BSc in Government & Law and a postgraduate diploma in Public Administration.

  • Mr Nicolas Soisson, Director General at FEDIL

    After a first experience in the banking sector, Mr Nicolas Soisson joined Fedil, Business Federation Luxembourg, in 1980.  He first served as Secretary General and was appointed Director General in 1996.

    The main objective of Fedil, Business Federation Luxembourg, is to defend its members' professional interests as well as to monitor any economic, social and industrial issue affecting the Luxembourg economy.

    Mr Soisson  Nicolas holds a Master's degree of  applied economics from the University of Louvain, Belgium.

  • Mr Carlo Thelen, Chief Economist and Head of the International Department at the Chamber of Commerce

    Carlo Thelen joined the Chamber of Commerce of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in 1996 as economic adviser. He is in charge of strategic papers, studies, surveys and statistics, and of international affairs. In this context, he supports the promotion of Luxembourg as an ideal location for partnerships with local companies. Since 2003, he has been a member of the Managing Board and Chief Economist of the Chamber of Commerce.

  • Mrs Carole Tompers, Secretary General at Luxembourg for Business

    Having started her career as a Marketing and Communication manager in the automotive industry, Mrs Tompers currently serves as Secretary General at Luxembourg for Business. Her mission is to insure the promotion of “Made in Luxembourg” products and services in foreign markets.

    Mrs Tompers works in close cooperation with Luxembourg for Business's founding members to jointly create added value in promotional efforts and to foster competences, leading to the development of avant-garde projects. These projects aim to increase the professionalism of each partner in his support to companies and act as a "trickle down effect" benefiting the internationalisation process of Luxembourg's companies as a whole.

    Mrs Tompers was educated in Great Britain at the Manchester University Business School and Manchester Metropolitan University gaining a Master's in International Business and Management and a Bachelor in Marketing and Management.

  • Mr Jean-Claude Vesque, International Department (non-European markets) at the Chamber of Commerce

    Mr Vesque is responsible for elaborating new marketing tools for the promotion for Luxembourg's trade and commerce and heads the organisation of economic and trade missions for business delegations outside Europe. Previously he held an international position at Parker Hannifin Corporation, U.S.A. (1979-1983) and was Director of Finance & Administration as well as Member of the Board of Directors for TradeArbed Pte Ltd in Singapore (1990-1997).