Club increasingly international in its membership but retains American leader

AmClub's new president, Ed Karr

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Americans’ reputation for being dynamic and enthusiastic won’t suffer at the hands of Ed Karr, Geneva businessman and the new president of the American International Club of Geneva, which also calls itself AIC.

Karr, 42, is a partner in RAMPartners SA, an investment banking and investment management firm in Geneva, and he’s also known around town for his role as co-chairman of Republicans Abroad Switzerland.

He’s one of the youngest presidents in some years of the 60-year-old AIC, believed to be the oldest American club of its kind outside the US.

Karr is enthusiastic and realistic in equal parts about being a member of what he calls “the best business club in town” at a time when all clubs are feeling the pinch of global economic blues, being an American abroad during a period when the US is coming in for some heavy criticism, and enjoying the pleasures of an international life.

He is married to an Italian and has lived in Geneva since 1997. “We like the city, we like the lifestyle—we really like living here.”

“General specialist” at heart of Geneva’s fastest growing fields: trading, high tech, health care, energy

RAMPartners is a group of six people with backgrounds in institutional brokerage. “We’re independent. We’re general specialists. I know the markets, structures, how markets trade, relationships. We do a little due diligence and screening and we have several specialists available. I’m an expert at finding the experts.” He offers as an example a 3D bioprinting project that was introduced to him, technically capable of printing a new heart (and named one of the 50 best inventions of 2010 by Time Magazine). The project looked exciting, he says, “but I’m not a doctor so I call people I know who specialize in biomedical investments.”

The firm was set up in 2005 and it has helped raise more than $200 million for small capitalization companies in fields such as natural resources, high technology, health care and clean energy. Futures Magazine named Karr as one of the world’s Top Traders” in 2004.

Karr brings his business acumen and contacts to AIC’s leadership. The club itself has for some time reflected changes in the foreign population in the Lake Geneva region. Membership is down from a peak of 1,300 some years ago to 900 today. “It’s tough—all the clubs are struggling to survive,” he says, with declining membership, costs going up and sponsorship down.

Impact of Americans renouncing citizenship

The club some time ago opted to embrace the larger population and today two-thirds of the members are not American. “It used to be that you had to be American to join, but now it’s just the president who has to be an American. We want to keep it the premier English-speaking busness and social club” in the area.

The recent flurry of Americans giving up their US citizenship is having an impact. “More and more people are giving it up and our US citizens pool is shrinking. And there’s going to be more [giving it up], with a much bigger queue” forming to renounce citizenship.

The US Embassy in Bern had a backlog of applications to renounce until recently; American groups in Switzerland encouraged the ambassador to hire an extra staff person to reduce the two-year waiting list.

Karr refers to the “almost economic jihad” policies of the US government as a source of irritation and anger outside the US but insists this doesn’t extend to Americans themselves. “I think there is still really tremendous love and respect for things American. When you get to the human level you have that dynamism and entrepreneurial spirit. I think people really admire that.”

Top business leaders for speakers remains big drawing card

Ed Karr with André Borschberg, CEO of Solar Impulse, an AmClub speaker

For Karr, AIC is perfect for business people like himself, who come looking to make contacts and who see benefits in the American and international mix. “I originally got involved because I had an office in the business centre near the airport when I moved here and it was just a coincidence that I went along to a meeting there. Now I’ve been here for so many years, but I still have an American mindset.”

He’s been a member of the executive committee since 2002 and he has co-chaired the young professionals group that regularly has networking events at different bars around town, negotiating half-price drinks to provide an affordable and fun background for making business contacts.

The club’s notable names for guest speakers remains one of its biggest drawing cards, with 60 to 180 people attending lunches that feature guest speakers like Peter Braebeck, head of Nestlé and Patrick Firmenich, CEO of the family-owned world leader in the perfume and flavour industry. “This is important for the business community and its leaders in the area. The US market is important for multinational companies” and the club helps them build ties.

US presidential elections: plan your all-nighter now!

The club also plays an important role during US election years. The US presidential election in November 2012 will see the club once again hosting a major election night event with large screens and televised returns and an early morning American breakfast.

“And our Fourth of July party is a signature event” says Karr, scaled down from a party that threatened to become too big to what he calls a back to the roots, family-style barbecue, a move that has pleased many members.

Ed Karr’s background

Karr studied at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Lansdowne College in London, England and received a BS in Economics/Finance with Honours (magna cum laude) from Southern New Hampshire University. He is a licensed pilot and certified master rescue scuba diver.

He was part of the US Program and spent 13 consecutive months working in the Antarctic, receiving the Antarctic Service Medal for winter-over contributions of courage, sacrifice and devotion. He then worked for Prudential Securities in the US and has been in the financial services industry for 20-plus years.

Today, outside work he enjoys traveling, flying, scuba diving, fly fishing, skiing and mountaineering.

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