Meet the Team
Sven C. Oehme, Founder, President & CEO
Mr. Oehme is a recognized expert in European-American affairs. Until 1998 he served as Managing Director of the European-American Chamber of Commerce, Inc. (EACC). Before joining the EACC in 1991, Mr. Oehme held numerous executive positions for subsidiaries of Gruner+Jahr, the magazine and newspaper publishing division of the German media company Bertelsmann. He studied law and economics at the University of Hamburg, Germany and is admitted to the bar in Hamburg. Mr. Oehme's earned a Master of Laws degree in International Business and Trade Law with a focus on European Law from Fordham University, Graduate School of Law, New York. Mr. Oehme frequently speaks at trade and professional groups, as well as universities on developments in the European Union and EU-U.S. commercial and trade relations. Specifically, his expertise includes European Economic and Monetary Union, the Euro and international trade.
Mr. Oehme is the Senior Advisor for the Northeast Region of the United States for the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany. He is also a director of the American Foreign Law Association, a member of the Board of Advisors of the Weissmann Center for International Business at Baruch College. For more than 15 years he produced and anchored a weekly news show on public access television in Westchester County, NY.
Beatrice De Bacco, Operations Manager International
Beatrice De Bacco is a native of Treviso in the Northeast of Italy. At EABO, she provides consultancy services to both American and Italian companies that want to expand their business internationally. Beatrice is in charge of international business development services with a focus on the southern EU countries. In addition to Italian, she is fluent in English, and speaks Spanish.
While in Italy, she served the system of the Chambers of Commerce between 1998 to 2008, including as the Head of the Department for European Affair at Unioncamere Veneto. She has travelled the world leading economic delegations and representing the Veneto region, and took part as a speaker in seminars and conventions on economic issues.
She is a graduate of the University of Padua in Social Studies. Beatrice sits on the Board of Directors of the Alumni Association of Padova University and the Board of Directors of the German Forum.
John M. Zindar, Partner
Mr. Zindar leads the business development team at EABO. With 30+ years of global business experience (in Western and Eastern Europe, Central America and the Caribbean), John has developed the skills to bring companies together across international borders for mutually beneficial results
He served as an advisor for five years to the German Minister of Economics (where he developed specialized skills in post-communist transition economies), and headed projects for the Prime Minister of Latvia and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Panama.
John also served globally as a U.S. Army Intelligence officer, (with Meritorious Service), which included training development and execution with the British Intelligence Corps. He worked in Washington D.C. as a defense industry analyst, trade lobbyist, journalist, and documentary television producer. During this time, his work contributed to the 1992 Chapultepec Peace Accords which ended the civil war in El Salvador.
He has training/teaching experience on four continents. He was appointed adjunct professor at New York University in 2006 (receiving the Excellence in Teaching Award in 2013); at Long Island University’s Global College in 2018; and the Culinary Institute of America in 2020.
John is fluent in German and Spanish. He is widely published, a frequent speaker at industry events, and regularly provides commentary to global media. He has also given expert testimony to the U.S. Congress and the United Nations.
He is a Phi Beta Kappa from Ripon College and holds an MA in international economics and Latin American Studies from The Johns Hopkins University and an MBA from the Edinburgh Business School.
Tiia Henttonen, EEN Coordinator
In addition to her role at EABO, Ms. Henttonen is the Project Manager for its Enterprise Europe Network (EEN). Ms. Henttonen received her master’s degree from the University of Helsinki, Finland, in the Department of Translation Studies. She also studied in Russia at both the Linguistic University of St. Petersburg and the Moscow Linguistic University, and has completed studies in international marketing and economics. She has worked for international companies both in Finland and the USA, especially in the travel industry and in translation. Besides her native Finnish, she speaks English, Russian and Swedish.
Annabelle Fischer, General Counsel
Prior to joining the European-American Business Organization, Inc., Ms. Fischer was an Associate Attorney with prestigious international law firms in Cologne (Germany) and New York City. She is experienced in representing domestic and international corporations with respect to general business, commercial and corporate law issues in both litigation and transactional matters. She also handles a variety of immigration matters. Ms. Fischer received her LL.M. in Corporate, Banking and Finance law from Fordham University School of Law in New York City, and her J.D. equivalent from the University of Cologne, Germany. She is admitted to the New York and the German bar. Ms. Fischer is fluent in English, German and French.