As a professional economist, I have been responsible for tourism development in the city of Spa since 2008. My first mission was to relaunch tourism in the region which had suffered greatly from the abandonment of reimbursement for thermal treatments, and for raising awareness and defending Spa as a tourist and thermal destination.

The creation of the Association of European Thermal Towns in 2009 initiated this dynamic which enabled the creation and certification as a Cultural Route by the Council of Europe in 2010 and all the work carried out by the association has enabled the inclusion on the UNESCO world heritage list of 11 major European spa towns.

General inspector of Finance, François Werner has held several national responsibilities for the French government, including at the interministerial mission for human rights, chief of staff to the Minister for Youth and Sport and advisor for the Chairman of the Paris bid committee for the 2008 Olympic Games. He also headed a public interest group for the prefiguration of the French National Cancer Institute.

François Werner is deeply committed to serving his region.

He is currently Vice-President of the Grand Est Region, responsible for the ecological transition and the environment, after having coordinated European policies, higher education and research, and sport.

He is 1st Vice-President of the Greater Nancy Metropolis, responsible for attractiveness, economic development and Nancy Thermal. The Nancy Thermal facility is part of the excellence of Nancy’s hospital-university eco-system, which has led to the creation of the Institut Européen du Thermalisme, on which he sits on behalf of the Metropole. He is also a member of the board of the Fédération Thermale du Grand Est.

Originally graduated as electrical engineer, Pierre Plumer specialised in biomedical engineering at the ETH Zurich. After completing his studies, he worked at the EPF’s Institute of Food Technology before joining CRP Henri Tudor as a research engineer in 1994.

In 1996, he became head of the “Technologies for Health” department, where he was responsible for the administrative and strategic management of the department as well as relations with national and international partners. A year after, he became a member of the Centre’s Management Committee, where he played an active role in defining and implementing the Centre’s strategic activities, in particular its development plans and performance contract. Over the years he has had the opportunity to become an expert/consultant in various fields, including eHealth, start-up evaluation and coaching, and the evaluation of European projects.

In 2010, he took over as General Manager of MONDORF Domaine Thermal, responsible for all the Domaine’s activities, including Health (cures and treatments), Spa (beauty and relaxation treatments), Wellness & Fitness, Accommodation (2 hotels), Catering (4 restaurants), Administration and the Thermal Park.

Mr Victor Vogt studied at the ESC Rennes business school and at Sciences Po Strasbourg ; he is a banker by profession and is currently on leave.

He has been involved in public life for many years, serving for the development of various public structures in Northern Alsace: Municipal councilor of Gundershoffen; Community councilor for the Pays de Niederbronn-les-Bains; Mayor of Gundershoffen; Vice-President of SMICTOM Nord Alsace; Advisor of Alsace – European Community of Alsace (CEA).

He is committed to cross-border cooperation, economic development, mobility, and bilingualism.

Nerea Pérez Adriano is the EU technical officer at the Eurocity Chaves-Verín, EGTC, since 2019. Graduated in Political Sciences and Public Administration with a master´s degree in International Studies, her career has been focused on project management among other cross-border territories. She was born and raised in the small border village of Verín, in Spain. Moreover, she studied in Konstanz, Germany, which contributed to the development of her interest in studying the opportunities and barriers that can be identified in cross-border territories. She is also an active member of the Regional Hubs network of the European Committee of the Regions.