Executive Committee
Who runs Viva?
The Viva Committee meets on a regular basis and is represented by a group of professional women from different backgrounds and countries, based in Beijing. The committee is responsible for the strategic and operational success of the group and currently comprises the following individuals.
President Kelly Brantner
As Viva's new President, Kelly's aim is to further build the Viva brand and create awareness of the group whilst finding new and creative ways to add further value to the members and help Viva to become the leading professional women’s association in Beijing.
Kelly Brantner is the Executive Director of the International EMBA Programs in China for Rutgers Business School (RBS). RBS is the business school at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey which is the 8th oldest institution of higher learning in the United States, founded in 1766.
Kelly’s entire professional career has been in the field of executive education and organisation development. Prior to joining RBS, Kelly worked in Vancouver, Canada for MICA International a firm that specialises in Strategic Talent Management including talent selection, talent development as well as advanced organisational development solutions. At MICA for over 13 years, her clients included Fortune 100 organisations as well as leading-edge entrepreneurial firms and a number of Canada’s foremost universities.
Contact Kelly at: president@vivabeijing.org or by phone on 1391 0732 081.
Vice President & Programme Manager Jasmine Keel
Jasmine Keel moved from Switzerland to Beijing in 2006 with her husband and her two children.
As most women do, she wears different caps at different times. As a mother, she is proud to be the one nurturing the family, but delegates the running of the house to her ayi. As a contractor, she is completing a healthcare project for her previous employer BAXTER. As the founder of INSPIRED, she strives to help expat spouses in Beijing by providing them with useful workshops and seminars.
Jasmine holds a Masters in Strategy and is a UK Chartered Management Accountant. She has seven years experience working for multinationals in Paris, London and Zurich and speaks French, English and German. Jasmine used to be very active in Zurich Professional Women’s Group and very much believes in empowering women to help them achieve their potential.
Contact Jasmine at: programme@vivabeijing.org
Marketing Manager Kate Alden
Kate Alden moved to Beijing in 2006 and is currently Marketing Manager for the British Chamber of Commerce in China. A marketing specialist, she has over 6 years experience in communications and strategic marketing for both multi-nationals and non-profit organizations, as well as significant freelance experience. She is an enthusiastic writer and is the Editor of British Business in China magazine. She speaks English and French, and has a keen interest in Chinese language and culture.
Contact Kate at: marketing@vivabeijing.org
Communications Manager Sonia Cahill
Sonia Cahill moved to Beijing from Brisbane, Australia in July 2008 with her husband and two young daughters. With a background in marketing and communications, and experience across the education, arts, health and resources sectors, Sonia is a trained speechwriter who is currently freelancing as a writer and editor.
Sonia enjoys meeting inspirational women from all corners of the globe. She holds a degree in communication and marketing and is undertaking further studies in editing and publishing while also mastering survival Mandarin.
Contact Sonia at communications@vivabeijing.org
Events Manager Tina la Cour
Before moving to Beijing in September 2007, Tina was working in the marketing department for Denmark’s largest daily newspaper. She holds a degree within Languages and International Relations, and since graduating she has worked in the marketing field both for an advertising agency and for various Danish companies, among them the well-known Danish brick-manufacturer LEGO, a job that benefited her children in the toy area!
Tina enjoys her expat life in Beijing with her family and takes advantage of the endless opportunities for personal growth in this setting. As a volunteer for the Danish Chamber of Commerce in China, she organises the Danish Charity Gala Ball and in this way helps to support underprivileged children in China.
Contact Tina at: events@vivabeijing.org
Membership Benefits Segolene Dufour-Genneson
Originally from France, Segolene came to China upon graduating from the London School of Economics in 2006. Although her original expertise lies in International Politics, she fell upon the contemporary art scene in Beijing and found herself in a career born out of her second passion. Formerly the Memberships and Sponsorships Manager at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, she now works freelance as an External Relations consultant, doing fundraising and communications for galleries, art fairs, film makers and the like.
She has a penchant for jiaozi, bitter chocolate and French wine. Her regular attempts at conquering the world of music are met with patience from her neighbours as she's playing away on her piano. Segolene also enjoys traveling.
Secretary/Special Projects Katja Kochte
Originally from Russia but grown up in Germany, Katja moved to Beijing at the beginning of 2008. She has more than 5 years experience in the field of marketing and project management working for multinationals and small business in Germany and Australia. Before moving to Beijing she worked for Hyundai Motor Germany being responsible for trade marketing and cooperation.
Growing up in an international family Katja speaks German, Russian and English and is now studying Chinese. She holds a degree in marketing and management and is undertaking further studies in graphic design and website development. She enjoys travelling through China and meeting interesting people from all over the world.
Contact Katja at: projects@vivabeijing.org.
Finance Manager Arina Divo
Arina comes from St. Petersburg, Russia. Her degree in Linguistics and desire to travel led her to work for three years as an interpreter for a multitude of international business projects. Then she dropped her suitcase in Geneva to combine work with further studies. As a bonus to her degree in Management Accounting came addiction to chocolate, cheese and Montreux Jazz Festival. After graduation, she moved to Luxembourg and worked as a business analyst and project manager for the investment fund businesses of JP Morgan and Nomura.
Arina came to Beijing in August 2007 with her husband and two sons. She worked as a financial controller for an automotive company till February 2009 when she decided to spend one year gaining proficiency in Chinese at Beijing Language and Culture University. Besides Mandarin, she speaks Russian, English, French and German.
Arina loves her family and friends, blue sky days, good books, traveling, sipping Chinese tea, hiking the Great Wall and singing with the Chorale Francophone of Beijing.
Membership Liaison Manager Maryam Afnan Ahmad
Maryam Afnan boasts a varied background including: working with some of the best MNCs, including ACCA and Nestle Pakistan; consulting with startups; visiting faculty experience at one of the best universities in Pakistan; a stint as a radio DJ for English music; door-to-door consumer research; props for plays; and writing for newspapers and magazines.
She has an MBA degree in Marketing, from one of the top universities in Pakistan; and has both marketed and initiated trainings. Being an enthusiastic people’s person, one of her key strengths is public speaking and communications. She spent a year during 2006-2007, working on independent training and consultancy projects in Pakistan.
After spending some months in Beijing in 2006, Maryam returned in October 2007 with her husband and two children.
Apart from handling membership liaison for VIVA, Maryam is Secretary of the fledgling Pakistani Women’s Association, Beijing; working on a book project with a group of Expat Parents; holding Pakistani cooking classes at the Hutong and freelancing occasionally. With all this activity, she also juggles painting and studies Chinese.