team

wise is managed by Etienne Eichenberger and Maurice Machenbaum, each with more than 10 years' experience in the humanitarian and social fields as well as in the interface between the social and private sectors.

Etienne Eichenberger
Executive Director

Etienne EichenbergerEtienne Eichenberger is well acquainted with financial and political spheres. He began his career at Nestlé, followed by the Swiss Agency for Co-operation and Development. In 1999, as Senior Manager at the Centre for Strategic Insight (part of the World Economic Forum), Etienne was responsible for the global agenda in the areas of security in the humanitarian sector, global governance and international development. Consultant for the Schmidheiny Group’s Avina Foundation and co-founder of Casa Alianza Suisse, Etienne has always privileged ties with international development in his activities within decision-making circles.

Maurice Machenbaum
Executive Director

Maurice MachenbaumMaurice Machenbaum is a social development and project management expert. Maurice founded and was for several years, Programme Director at Casa Alianza Nicaragua, an international NGO dedicated to the defence and rehabilitation of street children. He was subsequently in charge of research on the topic of child soldiers at the International Committee of the Red Cross, and later became Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean at Terre des hommes Lausanne. Maurice draws on a broad and multifaceted experience in the social development field and has visited or collaborated with over 160 projects in close to 30 countries.

Ariane Wismer
Research Analyst

Ariane WismerAriane Wismer has twelve years’ experiences in the tourism sector in Switzerland, for airlines, tour operators and travel agencies. Alongside her professional activities, she studied at the Graduate Institute of International Studies (HEI) in Geneva and obtained a Master in International Affairs in February 2008 . Since the end of 2006, Ariane has been supporting wise's internal development, conducting research and coordinating our European projects.



Martial Paris
Program Manager

Martial ParisMartial Paris has been managing projects in fields such as local economic development and human rights in South East Europe and Caucasus. He used to work, first as Field Director in Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina, then as Regional Coordinator for the Association of Local Democracy Agencies (AADL). He managed a team of 22 project managers from 6 different countries implementing projects sponsored by the European Commission; different Foreign Ministries and Swiss Agency for Development.


Jessie Johnsson
Communication Manager

Jessie JohnssonJessie finished her Bachelor degree in Political Science and Economics at McGill University in Canada. She worked in sport events for 3 years at many levels and especially in communication as drivers’ relation for The Race of Champions. Jessie has had the opportunity to travel either for internships, notably in Central America and China, or for her eagerness to discover new cultures. Jessie speaks five languages fluently and was involved with the Literacy Club, a not-for-profit association which helps disadvantaged teenagers through educational activities.


Denis Concordel
Technological Development Advisor

Denis Concordel Denis Concordel has 25 years of experience developing and managing the development of new high technology products and services. His areas of expertise include online payment systems, Open Source system management, eCommerce procurement system, enterprise supply chain management, semiconductor capital equipment and biotechnology instrumentation. Denis holds a Master Degree in Computer Science from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications de Paris.


 




«(…) you have changed my life - or at least you have allowed me to respond to a plea for help I have long wished to answer: to be at the service of those less fortunate, in a world where sharing is so difficult.»

Reginald