Our team

With technical, legal, economic, political and communication backgrounds, the ECCO team works closely with leading company executives of trade associations, who entrust us with a key role in their European public affairs.

Alain Galaski

Managing Director

Alain Galaski is the owner and Managing Director of ECCO. He joined ECCO in 1984, became a partner the following year and took over the company in 1992. Alain had come to Brussels in 1982 for a contract working at the European Commission. For the last twenty years he has been managing European trade associations and leading or contributing to major business collaboration projects. Since 1991 Alain has been devoting his energies to managing a leading industry association. Alain has degrees in international relations and law. He is fluent in English, French (mother tongue) and German.

Frances Hunt

Manager, Food Regulatory Affairs

After completing a first degree in Law and French at Hull University (UK) and a diploma in French Law (Grenoble, France), Frances moved to Paris to do a Masters in European Public Affairs (Institut Catholique de Paris). She then spent two years in Brussels working as a lobbyist in the European Public Affairs department of a large multi-national retail company, with particular responsibilities for food dossiers and work with the European Food Safety Authority. Frances is currently Secretary General of a large international trade association and European trade associations in the food sector, focusing on regulatory affairs and communication. She is also a Board Member of the European Food Law Association (EFLA). Frances is fluent in French, English (mother tongue) and Spanish.

Maryse Hervé

Manager, ECCO's Food Practice

Maryse graduated as food microbiologist engineer (IMiB-ESMISAB – France) and worked for 11 years for several companies in the food ingredients sector, on R&D, marketing, communication and crisis management. Before she joined ECCO, Maryse also worked for four years in Brussels as Regulatory Affairs Manager with a sectoral association in the food sector. Maryse is fluent in English, French (mother tongue) and has a good knowledge of German and Italian. She currently serves as Secretary General for several associations in the ingredients sector.

Laurent Reverdy

Manager, EU Affairs & Agrifood Policy

Before joining ECCO, Laurent worked for the European Commission at the evaluation unit of DG Agriculture.  Previously, he did a traineeship at the European Parliament, working with the Institutional Affairs Committee during the 1996 intergovernmental Conference.  He also worked for Eurocontrol, where he participated to an internal audit on bilateral contracts with Central and Eastern European countries. After two years of Classes Préparatoires HEC, Laurent graduated in Business Administration and also holds a postgraduate diploma in International and European law from the University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas. Laurent is fluent in English, French (mother tongue), Spanish and has a good knowledge of German.  He is currently Secretary-General for a European Trade Association in the food sector, specialising in EU affairs and agrifood policy.

Chris Downes

Manager, International Trade & Regulatory Affairs

With a first degree in languages at Nottingham University (UK), Chris moved to Brussels where he completed a Masters in European politics and more recently an LLM in international law. Prior to joining ECCO, he worked for six years at a Brussels-based consultancy specialised in EU food and nutrition policy. Chris focuses within ECCO on international trade policy and trade law. He is Secretary-General for a European Trade Association in the food sector.  He is fluent in French and Dutch and has a good knowledge of German.

Caroline Rey

Manager, EU Affairs

Caroline first graduated from the Institute of Political Studies of Lille (“Sciences Po Lille”), where she specialised in EU affairs. She also holds a Master’s degree in European Politics from the “Institut d’Etudes Européennes” of the “Université Libre de Bruxelles”, with a specific focus on the EU’s food safety policy. Before joining ECCO, Caroline worked for three and a half years for a Public Affairs and Press Relations consultancy based in Brussels. Caroline’s working languages are French (mother tongue), English and Spanish. She is currently Secretary-General for an industry association in the food ingredients sector.

Carole Capitaine

Association Manager

Before joining ECCO, Carole worked as a Public Affairs consultant in Brussels, specialised in trade issues. She graduated in law and holds a postgraduate degree in European law from the Centre Universitaire Européen – Nancy. She manages and provides administrative support to trade associations in food and pharmaceutical sectors. She is fluent in English and French (mother tongue).

Laurent Boll

Manager, EU Affairs

Since his graduation in international and European law from the University of Maastricht (Netherlands), Laurent has worked in European politics and law. In the European Parliament he assisted an MEP in his daily policy work for three years. Laurent has also worked for a public affairs consultancy in the health sector and for a European trade association in the media sector. At ECCO, Laurent is in charge of trade associations in the food ingredients and pharmaceutical sectors. Laurent is fluent in English, German and Dutch (mother tongue), He also speaks Spanish, French and Italian.

Maria Estebanez

Office Manager, Administrative Assistant

Having joined ECCO in 1985, Maria has gained a solid experience in the administration of trade associations and has acquired a wide range of skills in line with the company’s development. Within ECCO, she carries out the general daily duties that ensure a smooth running of the company. Her skills in communication and finance are also put at the service of ECCO’s clients. As well as providing administrative support, she is responsible for managing the accounts of the associations run by ECCO. Finally, Maria’s good inter-personnel skills are complemented by her knowledge of languages: she is fluent in French, English and Spanish.

Caroline Hance

Communication and Executive Assistant

Caroline studied corporate communications and marketing at the “Université Libre de Bruxelles” in Belgium. She then spent one year in Barcelona obtaining a Masters in fashion marketing and communications (“Istituto Europeo di Design”). Before joining ECCO, Caroline worked in public relations and marketing agencies in Brussels and also assisted media officers in the European Commission’s Directorate General for Health and Consumers during a five-month traineeship. She speaks fluent French (mother tongue), English and Spanish.

Isabella Reati

Administrative Assistant

Isabella gained a polyvalent profile working as an Administrative Assistant for several EU institutions, such as the European Commission (DG ECFIN and DG MARKT) and the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR), where she was attached both to the legal and to the financial teams. As ECCO is growing, she came to strengthen the administrative team, and to give her support to ECCO’s busy managers. She is fluent in French, English and Italian (mother tongue).