Interview with Paul Schonenberg, AMCHAM Chairman and CEO

The American Chamber of Commerce in Luxembourg (AMCHAM) was founded in late 1994 on the initiative of the American Ambassador to Luxembourg at that time, Clay Constantinou.

It has since gone on to become the largest international chamber operating in the Grand Duchy, with its Chairman and CEO, Paul Schonenberg, being a driving force behind it for the past 24 years.

With six major events planned for the year (New Year Reception in January; Winter Carnival Party in February; Transatlantic Trade & Investment Event in June; Summer Party; a Fall Indian Summer Party; Thanksgiving Gala in November), plus a resumption of their Newcomer Orientation Courses, of which they are planning three, Chronicle.lu reached out to Paul Schonenberg for an insight into his background and what AMCHAM does here for its members and the business community.

Chronicle.lu: Please tell us about yourself and how you came to be in Luxembourg

Paul Schonenberg: I am a US citizen, born and raised in New York. After university, I was accepted to enter New York University law school, but could not get a draft deferral and therefore was called to military service.  Since my father and uncles had all been Air Force officers, I joined that branch of service as an officer as well... And ended up have coming to Luxembourg 21 years later to spend my last three years of military service at the NATO supply agency in Capellen. After retiring, I became a senior NATO civil servant for a few years and the decided to become a real civilian with a real civilian job working for Clearstream. Two weeks after joining Clearstream, I offered to be a volunteer with the then very small American Chamber of Commerce, and a year later was elected the Chairman and CEO. Every five years since, I have been re-elected to continue this twin mandate of public service. Now I have served in this role for 24 years and, during this time, AMCHAM has gradually grown to become the largest private Chamber of Commerce in Luxembourg.

Chronicle.lu: What was Luxembourg like 29 years ago when you first arrived?    

Paul Schonenberg: Things were nice but rather quiet...  Only one movie theatre with one screen, no health and fitness clubs, no stores open after lunch on Saturday until Monday - again, one big change compared to being in New York and other major US or global major cities.

Chronicle.lu: Why did you stay? 

Paul Schonenberg: The simple answer is (1) that I liked the Luxembourg people I had the pleasure to gradually know and become colleagues and friends with, and (2) Luxembourg has relatively rapidly transformed and reinvented itself during the time I have been here and I love this new Luxembourg  where now most people speak English; shops, social places and restaurants are more numerous and diverse with their offerings and open most all of the time...  the international community has increased in quantity and quality, and the Luxembourg population has become more expatriate-accepting and friendly as well. Sure we have challenges, but I honestly believe their is the will to confront and overcome the challenges of the country and to do so in a manner which accepts and serves all of the residents, local and expat alike. 

Chronicle.lu: Will you say a few words about the recent US presidential election and what it means for Luxembourg?  

Paul Schonenberg: As AMCHAM Chairman/CEO, I have tried over the years to always be impartial and non-partisan... But always also very pro-business.  Regarding relations with the USA, I think Luxembourg has done very well and is in an enviable position compared to other EU countries. The figures in the annual AMCHAMs in Europe  2024 Transatlantic Trade and Investment Report prepared by John Hopkins University (of which our AMCHAM.lu partially funds the cost every year), very clearly points out the reciprocally balanced business relations between Luxembourg and the United States. So, on this basis, Luxembourg and the USA are happy partners with no present problems. I am very glad that Luxembourg and the United Sates have this very strong bilateral partnership which is so mutually beneficial. The one issue which could potentially be contentious is related to the NATO obligation which Luxembourg has accepted to invest into NATO 2% of the Luxembourg gross national product. In the current environment it is not easy for Luxembourg to bring these funds out of the current state budget, but the government has committed to do that by 2030 and is working to do that. Currently the US pays 4/5th of the NATO budget expenses and has asked its NATO allies to better share this burden. This request is a fair request and needs to be met. 

Chronicle.lu: What does AMCHAM do?  

Paul Schonenberg: Over the years we have committed to undertake to have a programme of activities focused on delivering four pillars of service to our members and the broader community. These are: Networking, to connect our members with each other and with the important decision makers who run Luxembourg; Provide help and support to ensure our members understand and are able to effectively get things done (in truth, while Luxembourg is an accommodating and friendly place to live and work, it is a bit of an insiders town and outsiders coming into Luxembourg will be more successful if they understand the local way of doing things, understand who the decision makers are with whom they need to talk to about what subjects and how to properly present and discuss their subjects  of interest, proposals and requests); Problem solving, working together to identify and implement better solutions in support of the needs of our international focused expat community and their local friends/partners; Engagement with the government, talking with the right government officials to explain the needs of the foreign community we represent and to do so in a way which benefits the Luxembourg government and the broad population living in Luxembourg which the government serves. We do not ever ask for favours, preferring instead to always advocate on behalf of ideas and initiatives which help ensure and support the best interest of Luxembourg to make and ensure Luxembourg remains strong and prosperous.

Chronicle.lu: Who can join AMCHAM? 

Paul Schonenberg: We are a business-focused organisation which strives to help and serve our members and the broader society as we identified above. On that basis we are primarily interested to have companies large and small join and be our members. We focus on serving the foreign expatriate companies because we believe they need the most help to fit in and thrive. We also believe that, regardless where a company comes from, we all face the same problems and have the same needs. So, we warmly welcome all companies large and small, regardless of their nationality of origin. As a result,, we are very proud to be a melting pot organisation with 30% of our members of US origin, 20% of local Luxembourg origin and 50% from other countries around the world. This rich diversity has been very popular and has helped us grow, prosper and better serve our target audience of members.

Chronicle.lu: What challenges do you see facing Luxembourg?  

Paul Schonenberg: As time has passed, Luxembourg has enjoyed its success and its status as the best country in Europe for international companies and their employees to be located. Unfortunately, other countries have looked at us, envied our success and initiated internal changes to increase their attraction as business locations for the constituency we have served. As a result of this, our relative competitive advantage has been eroded. Fortunately, the current government is aware of this increase competition and is working hard to reduce taxes, simplify and reduce regulatory/compliance paperwork and costs thereof, initiate actions to increase affordable housing (particularly with a focus on single occupant housing for young foreign university graduates needed by international companies' employees, build more English-language schools and similar initiatives, we fully stand in solidarity with the government to make these things happen.

Chronicle.lu: What are some of the major successes AMCHAM has had over the years?  

Paul Schonenberg: While our biggest and most profound success has been through all of the large number of little things we have done and always do to help people and companies every day, we have had some notable achievements which have been quite helpful and have made us proud: for the past 24 years we have produced every five or six years a 500-page book explaining in expatriate-friendly business English why companies should choose Luxembourg as a European business headquarters and operational location, and what they need to know and do to implement that decision. We successfully lobbied with the Minister of Economy, Henri Grethen, many years ago, convincing the government to grant a financial subsidy to the English-language private schools to help parents paying their private tuition costs of those schools. Just several years ago, we have been successful eliminating the work permit approval requirement for accompanying spouses of non-EU citizens of foreign work permit holders. And now we are busy having gained eligibility to obtain substantial government subsidies to build affordable micro housing apartments to serve the needs of young university graduate professionals we need to work in Luxembourg for our international companies.  

Chronicle.lu: Are you optimistic or pessimistic about the future?  

Paul Schonenberg: The world we live in is very dangerous and we currently face serious challenges. Now is not the time to be totally relaxed! But, I believe we can rise to these challenges, overcome them and continue together to live, work and thrive here in Luxembourg, in the heart of Europe, with safety, fairness and success for all of our inhabitants both foreign born and local. I believe in the Luxembourg moto of "let's make it happen"!

Chronicle.lu: Final thoughts?  

Paul Schonenberg: As Hillary Clinton said some years ago," It takes a village..". The work we need to do to become stronger and more competitive to thrive is best done by many hands rather than few.  I am personally committed to do all I can to overcome these challenges and firmly believe AMCHAM is a perfect organisation for us all to use to achieve the goals we seek. I warmly invite everyone or any company interested to achieve common cause, to join AMCHAM.  Send me a note and let's work together!