Albright Stonebridge Group and Palacio y Asociados Announce Strategic Partnership

WASHINGTON, June 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Albright Stonebridge Group, a Washington, DC-based global strategy firm, and Palacio y Asociados, a Madrid-based consulting and law firm, announced today that they have entered into a strategic partnership.  The firms will work together to provide advice and assistance to businesses, associations and non-profit organizations on opportunities and challenges in doing business around the world, with a focus on helping clients throughout the European Union and Latin America. The firms will also advise European clients on market entry and growth strategies in emerging markets.

In this context, Ana Palacio, founding partner of Palacio y Asociados, will serve as Senior Strategic Counsel to Albright Stonebridge Group.  Palacio was Foreign Minister of Spain from 2002 to 2004, the first woman to hold that post. Previously, she served as a member of the European Parliament for eight years.  During her time as Minister and as a Member of the European Parliament, Ms. Palacio played a leading role in overseeing and drafting the European competition and industrial law. As summarized in a 2001 Wall Street Journal article, "Ms. Palacio often champions European integration over national interests, and she has earned a reputation for getting things done quickly -- both rarities in the EU's usually laborious, diplomacy-drenched legislative environment." After leaving office, she served as Senior Vice-President and General Counsel of the World Bank Group and as Senior Vice-President for International Affairs of Areva, the French nuclear energy company.

"Ana Palacio knows how to succeed in the European Union," said Madeleine K. Albright, Chair of Albright Stonebridge Group. "I have watched her operate in the public and private sectors for more than a decade, and I know that she gets the job done quickly, skillfully and with goodwill.  She brings to our global team a remarkable understanding of the nuanced priorities and agendas throughout the European Union."

Ana Palacio, founding partner of Palacio y Asociados said, "We are excited about the prospects that will result from joining forces with Albright Stonebridge Group.  Organizations today need to work across national borders, and there are very few advisers with the experience and capacity that together we bring to help think through the challenges that 21st century businesses and non-governmental organizations face."

Palacio y Asociados is a consulting and law firm with 25 years of experience, based in Madrid. It specializes in contract, business, trade, civil law and arbitration and serves a variety of business and private clients, as well as public institutions in Spain, the European Union and Latin America.

Albright Stonebridge Group is a global strategy firm chaired by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright, National Security Advisor Samuel R. Berger and Senator Warren Rudman.  The firm is headquartered in Washington, DC, with team members and affiliates in Bangkok, Beijing, Berlin, Delhi, Madrid, Moscow, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, Sydney and beyond.  The firm also has a strategic partnership with Joschka Fischer Consulting, a Berlin-based firm established by the former Deputy Chancellor of Germany.  The firm has undertaken engagements in more than 65 countries on six continents.

SOURCE Albright Stonebridge Group