Le Business: Cultural Conflicts

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In today's hyper-connected and globalized world, businesses are more integrated than ever before. The lines between company nationality are blurred, as are the pros and cons to globalization as the status quo.

For our third and final round table, we will discuss the challenges presented by globalization, especially in the context of French-American business. Specifically, what are the differences and similarities between our working cultures, corporate settings, and ability to thrive in each other's nations?

Dr. Jean-Luc Boulnois, CEO of Quadrature, Executive Chairman of Microline Surgical, Dr. Guy Vernet, CEO of Mérieux Foundation USA, Prof. Martha Crawford of Harvard Business School and Xavier Saint-André, Senior Vice President & Group Business Controller for Natixis will join us to discuss this topic.

The panel discussion will be moderated by Jennifer Schunemann, President of JCS Consulting and Founder and Past President of The Goodwin Group International.

Co-presented with the French American Chamber of Commerce of New England.

Student (valid student ID must be presented at check-in)

For Members

$10

For Non-members

$20

About the Moderator

Jennifer Schünemann is a publisher, mentor, and proven, successful entrepreneur in the world of international medical publishing. At 32 she started her first company, and in 2014 sold The Goodwin Group International to the world’s 5th largest journals publisher, SAGE Publications Inc. At the time of sale, Ms. Schünemann’s hallmark publication, MD Conference Express, reached more than 1 million medical practitioners in more than 95 countries, in 16 languages. Upon joining SAGE, Ms. Schünemann was appointed to the Senior Management Group, tasked with leading the 1500+ employee organization with principal offices in Boston, Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore, and Washington, D.C. In 2016 she founded the New England chapter of Durga Tree International, a global charity that fights human trafficking, and in 2017, she was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Umbrella Community Arts Center.

Ms. Schünemann speaks four languages, and has traveled to 52 countries. She holds a dual Bachelor’s of Arts Degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and has studied and lived abroad in Paris, France where she took courses at the Paris Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po). She is a Chairman Circle member of the French Heritage Society, and a member of the American Friends of Lafayette.

About the Panelists

Martha Crawford is a Senior Lecturer in General Management at Harvard Business School, where she teaches the school’s main course on innovation in the energy sector. She mentors start-ups in the US and Europe, through the Tech Stars program. Crawford also serves as a Director for Altran (Euronext ALT), a French multi-national specialized in R&D and engineering outsourcing. Prior to moving to Boston in 2016, Crawford lived and worked in France for nearly 20 years. There, she worked as Chief Technology Officer for Areva (now Orano) and for Air Liquide, based in Paris. In these roles, she managed a global network of in-house R&D centers, as well as innovation partnerships with start-ups, national labs, and universities.

Dr. Guy Vernet received a Ph.D. in biochemistry and virology from the Université Claude Bernard in Lyon, France, and held postdoctoral positions at Institut d’Elevage et de Médecine Vétérinaire MVT in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso and at the University of Basel, Switzerland. Dr. Vernet comes to the Mérieux Foundation USA with expertise in strengthening laboratory capacity for infectious disease diagnostics, research, and surveillance in low-income countries. With extensive experience in West Africa, Dr. Vernet previously served as the General Director of the Centre Pasteur in Yaoundé, Cameroon, providing training and conducting public health and research activities. Formerly, as the Scientific Director of Fondation Mérieux in Lyon, he developed GABRIEL, an international research network with members in 17 countries, which strengthens capacities for research on infectious diseases in low-income countries.

Dr. Jean-Luc Boulnois is CEO of Quadrature, a strategic advisory firm for MedTech companies. Dr. Boulnois has over 30 years of international leadership experience in creating, operating and financing medical device companies. For 11 years he was Chairman and CEO, and subsequently Executive Chairman of Microline Surgical, a worldwide leader in electro-surgical instrumentation. Previously he was Executive Director at Arrow International and also was co-developer, President and CEO of Sometec, an innovative company in non-invasive cardiovascular monitoring. Dr. Boulnois recently served as Director of Mauna Kea Technologies (Euronext: MKEA) and is currently director of several venture capital financed medical device companies. Dr. Boulnois is co-author of 6 books and more than 35 peer-reviewed scientific articles in applied physics and biophysics. He is an Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at Babson College, and previously was Lecturer at Princeton University and a Visiting Professor at HEC in Paris. He holds an MSc. from Paris University, an EMBA from HEC, and a Ph.D. from Princeton University.

Mr. Saint-André is responsible for Natixis Investment Managers consolidated financial reporting, planning, forecasting and analysis matters. He joined Natixis Investment Managers in Paris in 2005 as Finance Analyst before to move to Boston in 2009 to become the VP, Assistant Group Business Controller, and then Senior Vice President and Group Business Controller, accumulating 13 years of industry experience. Mr. Saint-André graduated from the University of Evry where he received a BA in Finance and accounting, he holds a Master degree in International Business from Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge UK, and a MBA in Corporate Finance from INSEEC Business School Paris. Mr. Saint-André is a member of the Chartered Financial Analysts Institute (CFA) and the CFA Society Boston.

Le Business, a Series

Forty years ago, Général Georges Doriot took the helm as President of the French Library. French-born Doriot is regarded as a pioneer of venture capitalism, a legendary Professor Emeritus of the Harvard Business School, and one of the founders of l’Institut Européen d’Administration des Affaires, which is consistently ranked as one of the best business schools in the world.

In honor of his legacy, the French Library / Alliance Française of Boston and Cambridge and The French American Chamber of Commerce of New England proudly present a special series dedicated to French and American perspectives on business—from startups, healthcare, and biotech, to cross-cultural challenges in a global economy.

Upcoming Events

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French story time!

Saturday, April 18, 2026

We invite parents and children to gather in the children's room of our library for a magical story time in French!

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Join us at the French Library for a conversation on The Belly of Paris by Émile Zola. We invite you to read the book in its entirety and meet us on April 21st, from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM.