A visit that had been long-planned finally came to fruition on 31 January when US ambassador Randy Evans was welcomed by Maison Moderne CEO Richard Karacian to the offices of the publishing house in Bonnevoie. Maison Moderne and the ambassador are no strangers--the embassy hosted a CEO cocktail organised by Paperjam Club in July 2018, just a few weeks after Evans presented his credentials to Grand Duke Henri.

Karacian and Maison Moderne board member Dan Schneider gave the ambassador a run down of the company and a tour of the headquarters, and Evans took time to chat with graphic designers and journalists about their work.

The ambassador said he was impressed by how innovative Maison Moderne is as a publishing house in a time when many print publications are folding and even traditional media moving to digital platforms are also struggling. The ambassador also revealed that he was reading Delano before he arrived in Luxembourg. He said:

“When you think about it, never before has there been a time when the well informed need to stay informed. When I need information about what matters here in Luxembourg I go to Delano.”

During frank, off-the-record talks with Maison Moderne’s editorial director Matthieu Croissandeau and Delano editor-in-chief Duncan Roberts, the ambassador discussed his experience with media in the United States as well as subjects ranging from cyber warfare and climate change, the funding of Nato and the US government shutdown to the upcoming European Parliament elections.