Eric Drury is a creative, strategic and conceptual thinker and doer with 25 years of international business-building and consulting experience in the technology, sports and content production industries. His current focus is on advising businesses and organisations looking to understand and benefit from blockchain, distributed ledger technologies, verifiable credentials, IDtech, digital trust ecosystems and other emerging technologies. Riam Sarah Knapp is a researcher in cultural landscapes and human geography focussing on the relationship between Buddhist beliefs and practices and environmental conservation in Bhutan. She has a PhD from the University of Cambridge.
Francois Valencony started his career with Schneider Electric, focusing on M&A and strategic initiatives, then contributed to the set-up and international expansion of G-F-X, a software company based in London. François has been working for Institut Mérieux since 2003, contributing to several initiatives in support to diagnostic and biotech business areas, the set-up of Mérieux Développement and more recently the management of Mérieux Equity Partners, as investment platform within the healthcare and nutrition sectors. François graduated from HEC Paris and holds a Master Degree from CEMS-Köln University, Germany.
Kalman Kelemen became a volunteer of the Loden Foundation in 2018, focusing on the Entrepreneurship programme. Kálmán began his career as a university lecturer at the Budapest University of Technology, then during his business career he managed the Hungarian subsidiaries of several major multinational companies as CFO and Managing Director in manufacturing, IT and consulting industries. He has significant experience in interim, change and crisis management. He runs his own Spice Consulting Ltd.
Based in Budapest (Hungary), Zoltan Valcsicsak is founding president of the Hungary-Bhutan Friendship Society and the first international volunteer of the Loden Foundation. Before 2011 when he got interested in bodhisattva entrepreneurship, Zoltan had been employed by Renault, USAID and the Levi Strauss Foundation. Later, as advisor and trainer, he worked with Ashoka, Eurogroup for Animals, Avocats Sans Frontières, Thimphu TechPark, Tarayana and YDF. He is the author of the first book ever published in Hungarian about Bhutan, and he guides tours in Bhutan.
Tadashi Nishihira is a professor in education and has more than 28 years of teaching experience at various universities in Japan. Noriko Nishihira has a certificate of junior course of practical theology and is currently overseeing the work of Loden Foundation- Japan. Professor Tadashi first visited Bhutan in 2009 and he and Noriko has been coming to Bhutan every year.
An entrepreneur from France, Thierry is a decorator and interior designer. He is a volunteer with Loden Foundation and he manages two companies. He has spent 10 years in the French Young Manager Center to form and support entrepreneurs.
Margaret Gee obtained a Cadetship in Journalism at the prestigious daily newspaper The Melbourne Age. Margaret is a keen advocate of animal welfare, and was delighted to be appointed Australia’s first Ambassador for the U.S based Snow Leopard Conservancy. Margaret and her husband have visited Bhutan 11 times. They both share a deep affection for the people, culture, landscape and extraordinary flora and fauna in Bhutan.
Erick has been making private equity investments for 25 years and manages his own investment firm, Milestone Investisseurs. He has made more than 40 acquisitions across Europe in various industries, investing more than €600m in more than 20 companies. Erick sits on the board of several European companies. He received his MBA from Columbia Business School in New York (Award for Excellence) and is an executive coach and a mindfulness teacher.
Anne Tardy is an author of children’s books and has founded and ran a museum for children in Paris, “Le Musée en Herbe”. She is the UK representative of the Karuna-Shechen Foundation. She translates Buddhist texts from Tibetan into French. She is also a trustee for the Loden Education Trust.
Based in Singapore, Alison is a traditional Chinese medical practitioner and recruitment specialist with more than 15 years of Human Resource management and Executive Recruiting experience. Alison received her B.A. degree in Economics and History from the National University of Singapore.
William Tacon has been visiting Bhutan for over 20 years and since retiring in 2012 has been volunteering with Loden Foundation, and in particular on the Entrepreneurship Programme. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and during his professional career of over 30 years, he worked with and advised companies, their directors and funders at all stages in the corporate life cycle from incorporation into maturity, sale or failure. He mentors several Loden entrepreneurs and has visited many to review their development.