US stars of tomorrow will earn their stripes in Monaco.

The entente between Monaco and the US has undergone a step-change since the launch of a dynamic initiative – the Monaco US Business Roundtable.

There’s no doubt that the key movers in the new organization mean business. The co-founders are Mike Powers, a prominent American figure on the Monaco map, and Susan Feaster, the powerhouse CEO of Ryder Cup France, US Partners Club, who splits her time between Washington DC, Paris and Monaco.


Their aim is to build solid relations between Monaco and the US in the realms of education, government, business, culture and sport. Proof that we are not dealing with a talking shop here came when the Reporter met with former US Senator Paul Trible, who was staying at the splendid Château Tardieu as the guest of Philippe Laïk and his wife Irina.

Susan Feaster, Co-Founder and President Monaco US Business Roundtable and Senator Paul Trible, President Christopher Newport UniversitySenator Trible is President of Christopher Newport University (CNU), which has its main campus in Virginia.

“I’ve come here with my dream of establishing in Monaco a CNU International Study Abroad Center,” said the Senator, whose confidence and friendliness make him an excellent educational ambassador.

“Students from CNU will benefit greatly from the broader view of the world they will get from mixing and working with students at the International University of Monaco. They will be meeting students from France, Italy, Brazil – from around the world. It’s a two-way street of course – students from IUM will gain a lot from studying at CNU.”

The cultural life of Monaco, alongside its finance and business disciplines, is a big pull for the CNU students. And IUM students headed in the opposite direction will learn a little about sense of scale, as the main CNU campus is the size of the Principality.

After positive discussions with Dr Jean-Philippe Muller, General Director of IUM, and Dr Marika Taishoff, Director of the MBA programme IUM, Senator Trible was hopeful that the first batch of exchanges, in the shape of high-achieving students in the business studies field, would take place in June 2014. Professors from both establishments will also be swapping roles in the near future.

And next up on the Powers/Feaster recipe for a successful cultural cocktail mix? This June (2014) the duo will bring the US delegation travelling to France for the 70th anniversary of D-Day to meet the Parliament of Monaco for a Friendship Exchange. For the sports enthusiasts, the Roundtable is working with Ryder Cup France 2018 Chairman Pascal Grizot (see Reporter 160) and the Fédération Française de Golf towards the re-birth of a famous championship, the Monte Carlo Open, as the Prince Rainier Cup, with a strong US contingent anxious to secure the first glory.

For more information, contact Monaco US Business Roundtable at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.