Bilans d’évènement

Gala dinner 2023 - 40th anniversary

In 1983, several Danish and French directors decided to create a business club which at the time they called “Dansk Fransk Handelsunion”.

On May 3^rd at Klampenborg Galopbane we celebrated this anniversary during our annual gala with the attendance of the guest of honour the French Minister and spokesman of the French government Olivier Véran.

During the welcome drink, we had organized an exhibition where 14 companies introduced their activities and their history. Several French groups were present such as Vinci, Simone Pérèle, Saint-Gobain, Legrand, Alstom, BNP Paribas, Pierre Fabre and TotalEnergies. In addition, Renault was present and introduced their new Megane E-Tech, as well as a car from 1983, the Super 5.

Several Danish companies also had stands at the exhibition. Among them were DSV, Novo Nordisk, 360 Law Firm/Legal Inside and ISS.

The welcome drink was offered by Moët Hennessy. Thank you very much for this fantastic beverage.

After this exhibition, and the call for the dinner, the guests were invited to find their seats in the dinner room, where they were welcomed by our chairman, Anders Torbøl, and Anita Wagner Feddersen, who was our host of the gala this year. After a speech by the Minister Olivier Véran, our guests were invited to see a horse race where five horses competed: The horses from Saint-Gobain, 360 Law Firm/Legal Inside, Atos, Net-Zero of TotalEnergies all did great, but in the end it was Legrand who won the race. Congratulations!

After this race, the guests enjoyed an incredible performance from the violinist Philippe Benjamin Skow. Philippe is not only a fantastic artist, but is also the son of Rolf Meurs Gerken, one of the founders of the Chamber from 40 years ago.

After the main course we had organized our traditional export prize ceremony where every year we award a Danish and a French company for their splendid results.

This year TotalEnergies, represented by Martin Rune Pedersen, Country Chair Denmark at TotalEnergies, received the price for a French company established in Denmark for several reasons. The first one was for the development from the acquisition of Mærsk Oil several years ago and the second for their efforts to change their strategy in a greener way. The award was presented by Anders Torbøl, our chairman and the Minister Olivier Véran.

ISS won the award Danish companies for their impressive presence in France with 26.000 employees. Marc de Oliveira, CEO ISS France and Celia Liu, CEO Central & Southern Europe at ISS A/S and Group were the two representatives of the company on the stage. The price was presented by Laura Thorborg, Director for Europe Invest in Denmark.

The guests were lucky to enjoy another performance, this time by Emilie Rønnenkamp Callesen (violin) who was accompanied by her partner Jean-Baptiste Doulcet at the piano. Thanks a lot two both for the beautiful piece of music. Together they have established the French Connection Academy, a summer course located in Odense, giving young students the opportunity to study with renowned teachers from France and the Nordic countries. Visit this website to learn more about this academy.

During the dinner our guests enjoyed three French wines offered by our partners Les Grands Chais de France, Chablis 2022 – Maison Moillard, Domaine de la Baume, Les Thermes, Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 for the main course and an Arthur Metz, Riesling Grand Cru Altenberg de Wolxheim, 2021 for the dessert. A huge thanks to our loyal partner Les Grands Chais de France.

Before the dessert, two Danish artists performed very beautiful and poetic show, but also very impressive fire show.

We ended the night by tasting an incredible anniversary cake made by the Franske Conditori. All of our board members were invited to the stage in order for us to thank them for their fantastic work… and also to help us to cut the cakes.

We would like to thank all our guests for celebrating our anniversary with us, with a special thanks to our sponsors without whom we would not have been able to organize this event.

Thanks to our main sponsors:
- 360 Law Firm/Legal Inside
- Legrand
- TotalEnergies
- Saint-Gobain

Thanks to our supporting sponsors:
- Atos
- DSV
- Novo Nordisk
- Moët Hennessy
- Pierre Fabre

We are really looking forward to organizing the gala next year. More information is coming soon.

Please, click on the below picture to see all the pictures of the event. 

Please find below a video of the evening. 

Please, click on the below picture to see all the pictures of the event.