Bristol Who’s Who Recognizes Jean Coune, MA
Jean Coune is an incredibly accomplished procurement expert who has over 33 years of military experience, and has served as Head of Procurement in various national and international Organizations including the Belgian Armed Forces, NATO, and the EU. Currently, he serves as Chief of Procurement for the European Union Police Mission in Afghanistan. Mr. Coune has more than 4 years of experience in Afghanistan, serving in Finance, Budget and Procurement-related posts. His responsibilities in this role range from organizing all procurement activities to overseeing an annual budget of 150 million Euros. He oversees a team of 20 preparers of all procurements and financial market research, and assists and advises the chain of command on all contracting and procurement issues, and provides assistance to the mission members related with all contracting and procurement matters. In addition, Mr. Coune develops professional relationships and work partnership with EC in the field of contracting and procurement for the mission.
As Chief of Procurement, Mr. Coune’s position demands the highest caliber of leadership. He provides such leadership and guidance to the procurement staff, leads, develops, manages and coordinates the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) mission, contracting and procurement processes in accordance with established professional and transparent procurement policies and procedures of European Commission (EC) legislation and regulations.
Mr. Coune describes Afghanistan as a challenging country where there is a tremendous amount of work to be done, and it is in a permanent war situation. Prior to his current position, he worked for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as Deputy Financial Controller for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission for 2 years, overseeing 50 member states and a budget of more than 500 million Euros.
Mr. Coune achieved a Masters degree with distinction in Social and Military Sciences, with a concentration in Economics & Law from the Royal Military Academy in Brussels, Belgium, in 1988. He also received a Senior Officer Course Certificate from the Royal Higher Institute for Defense in 2000, and served as an Officer in the Corps of the Artillery, Artillery Technology at Field Artillery School in Brasschaat, Belgium in 1989. Clearly, the international scope of his work cannot be understated. He excels in learning languages, and is proficient in English, French, Dutch, German, Greek, and Italian. Some of his additional experience includes training in procurement by U.S. military forces, where he successfully completed a Certificate in Foreign Military Sales in Dayton, Ohio. He was also active with the Belgium Military Supply Office in Washington, D.C.
Going forward, Mr. Coune will seek additional training while studying current regulations as much as possible, and went to Dubai (UAE) for some additional training in June. At the end of the current EUPOL mandate (end of 2016), he will apply for UN opportunities, NATO, or possibly on to other European missions like Libya, Kosovo or Ukraine. He attained the HART, Land, Sea & Air Integrated Solutions Certificate, Hostile Environment Security Driver’s Training, and the HART, Land, Sea & Air Integrated Solutions Certificate, Hostile Environment Security Training, in 2014. He also holds a Certificate in Enterprise Risk Management from Solvay Business School, received in 2012. Some of his key strengths include his management style, which is very open. He has managed teams from as few as 3 people up to as many as 30, and he has always maintained an open door policy.
One of Mr. Coune’s core strengths is that he is always ready to listen, considering all proposals and how to implement them to greatest degree possible. Among the many significant achievements during his career, Mr. Coune refers fondly to his work for 2 years as Deputy Financial Controller when he worked with 50 countries while managing a budget in a war environment working 6 to 7 days per week.
When he is not busy traveling for work, Mr. Coune enjoys traveling and visiting different countries, reading, and listening to classical music. He currently lives in Brussels, Belgium.
Bristol Who’s Who Member, Jean Coune, MA, can be found on the Who’s Who Directory where he is looking forward to networking with you.
