global american technology alliances blog

manpower hr exec on world labour markets

intlalliances — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:11:41 PST

The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce seems to be beefing up its international resources to pick up the slack of their recently departed officemates from the now closed World Trade Center Illinois. In that vein, the CCC hosted a luncheon featuring David Arkess, Manpower’s President of Corporate & Government Affairs who discussed Understanding And Developing Labour [...]

hire an international intern?

intlalliances — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:14:57 PST

I caught this presentation @ the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, former location of the World Trade Center Illinois How to Lead in a Global Economy: Why You Can’t Afford Not to Hire International Interns Here’s the presentation that Larry sent over J-1 International Intern and Trainee from Interexchange. Like most presenters these days, Larry simply [...]

US China global brand summit

intlalliances — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:32:16 PST

I was invited to attend this event US China global brand summit which I could only attend the 2nd of 2 days. At the close, we were told that the presentations would be made available on the website, but I haven’t seen them you, so I’ll summarize what I saw. Michael Morley, formerly of Edelman Worldwide [...]

strategic overview of the global financial crisis today

intlalliances — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:40:01 PDT

The Chicago Counicil on Global Affairs hosted this event NAVIGATING GLOBAL BUSINESS IN THE NEW ECONOMY featuring David Nelms, CEO of Discover, Carlos Cabrera, former CEO of UOP, & moderated by Paul Laudicina, Chairman of the Board of A.T. Kearney. They had some interesting insights on how the world is fairing in the global financial [...]

is world unemployment or a worker shortage the issue?

intlalliances — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:59:55 PDT

I saw this presentation by Dr. Edward Gordon organized by the Independent Writers of Chicago (IWOC): Taming the Talent Revolution: Thriving in the Brave World of Work. He posited that despite rising unemployment in much of the world, the most pressing problem is an impending labor shortage. The bottom line is the future is in [...]

global midwest alliance sets up shop & hosts clean-tech conference

intlalliances — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:18:36 PDT

I checked out Business Network Chicago international group ’s meeting featuring the Global Midwest Alliance, (GMA) a new organization formed by by Gail Longmore, formerly of the Illinois Global Partnership, under the auspices of the Economic Development Council. Apparently the World Bank has ignored the US, in that up until the GMA roped them [...]

international panel @ Human Resources Technology conference

intlalliances — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:15:43 PDT

I attended this panel discussion Going Global Panel: Lessons From Executives Who’ve Been There at the Human Resources Technology Conference which was more interesting than I thought it would be. Here are some of the points they brought out: Interpretation of HR feedback varies across countries. There is a variation of extremes in orientation from a focus [...]

another SDL Global Information Management conference

intlalliances — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:08:10 PDT

I attended another SDL Global Information Management Conference which was a bit of a disappointment because some of the material presented was a rehash of their events earlier in the year. Anyway, there are some new tidbits, so there is still some value in checking it out. Here are links to the presentations that were [...]

European & emerging markets presentations @ global supply chain conference

intlalliances — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:32:05 PDT

I attended these sessions to see the attached presentations at the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) Global Conference: Global Supply Chain Developments presentation: Logistic Trends in Europe V1 090922 Q&A: Globalization is closing the gaps between the have- & have-not countries. Despite the fact that most top-level managers speak English, demanding citizens still prefer [...]

Global sourcing panel @ supply chain conference

intlalliances — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:16:00 PDT

I caught this panel Global Sourcing Panel: Making It Happen at the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) Global Conference: James Lewis, EVP/Chief Supply Chain Office, Fellowes Inc (F) led off. Fellowes has offices in 15 countries, works with 130 customer countries, 500 supply chain partners, & $500M spend. Their keys are total cost [...]

managing intercultural negotiations

intlalliances — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:28:01 PDT

I walked in on the end of this presentation by Dalip Raheja, Pres./CEO of the MPower Group, on international negotiations@ the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) Global Conference. It’s really a primer on considering cultural context in international negotiations & does a good job at that. Her’s his presentation CSCMP 2009 – International [...]

4th generation telecom networks in Europe

intlalliances — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:15:37 PDT

I checked out 4G World, the successor to Wimax World telecom show in the past @ McCormick Place. The 1st panel I attended 4G Network Deployments in Americas was very disappointing because the only panelist from outside of the United States was from Jamaica, not necessarily a good representation of Latin America. Needless to say, [...]

my take on the 2016 Olympics

intlalliances — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 19:31:06 PDT

1st of all, hats off to Rio de Janiero, a choice that should have been a surprise to no one. It was a historic decision, naming the 1st Olympic site in South America. However what did surprise me is Chicago being the 1st out of the running. On the 1 hand, there is no way [...]

renewable German energy

intlalliances — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 12:33:24 PDT

The Germans were at it again: the GACCoM’s Annual Renewables & Energy Efficiency Roadshow took place almost all the way out in Rosemont. Everything you need/want to know can be found here. There’s very little left for me to do, as long as they leave these files up. They have posted the presentations as [...]

Korea-US Business Partnership Forum

intlalliances — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:00:44 PDT

I checked out this event KORUS (Korea-U.S.) Business Partnership Forum & KOREA EXPO 2009 at Navy Pier organized by Kotra, the Korean Office of Trade & Investment, Invest Korea, & the Korean Ministry of Knowledge & Economy. Here’s what I learned: from Jongtae Chung, Trade Commissioner, Kotra-Chicago: Korea’s 2009 growth is 2.3-2.5% & unemployment of 3.8%, [...]

A German Jew reconnects & recollects

intlalliances — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:47:29 PDT

I sat in on this lecture My Germany: A Jewish Writer Returns to the World His Parents Escaped by Lev Raphael @ the Goethe Institute. Contemporary relations between Germans & Jews was a frequent topic of conversation when I lived/worked in Germany, & this is the 1st time I’ve seen an event with this focus, [...]

what’s new from IL Dir of Trade & Investment

intlalliances — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 09:44:25 PDT

I attended this event WHAT IS THE STATE OFFICE OF TRADE AND INVESTMENT DOING TO ENCOURAGE AND HELP ILLINOIS BUSINESSES SUCCESSFULLY COMPETE IN TODAY’S INTERNATIONAL MARKETPLACE? hosted by Business Network Chicago. Mary Roberts was recently named interim director of the Office of Trade & Investment office of the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity. [...]

trade with/invest in Uganda

intlalliances — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 09:20:22 PDT

I attended this function US-Uganda Trade and Investment Forum which was sponsored by the Uganda consulate in Chicago, Uganda embassy in Washington, D.C., & Uganda Investment Authority. 1 of the best presentations given of the day was given by the African Alliance. Here it is: AFRICAN ALLIANCE BUSINESS FORM PRESENTATION. I requested the other presentations from [...]

Alderman for & local organizer against the Olympics

intlalliances — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 07:11:05 PDT

I attended another Chicago Olympics event, Chicago 2016: The Thrill of Victory or the Agony of Defeat? this time @ the Chicago Historical Museum. It featured Alderman Toni Preckwinkle, in whose ward much of the development for the Olympics would fall, & Jay Travis, the executive director of the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization (KOCO), which [...]

baseball in japan & around the world

intlalliances — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 12:58:28 PDT

I popped into this breakfast talk Baseball in Japan and the U.S. Persevering Through Difficult Times featuring Trey Hillman, the manager of the Kansas City Royals major league baseball team. He was invited to speak by the Japan America Society of Chicago because he took a losing team to the playoffs 3 times & won [...]

is networlding the solution to marketing in tough times?

intlalliances — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 08:00:36 PDT

I attended this luncheon presentation Marketing in tough times organized by Akumi Software & featuring Melissa Giavagnoli of Networlding fame. Here are the presentations they made TechGYRLSPresentationSocialNetworkingNetworlding & Akumi Software TechGYRLS 082409 8th grader Shadayah Gray opened by describing how she designed t-shirts with Photoshop & Office software. 7th grader Adinah Gray told us about her [...]

why save Greenlandic?

intlalliances — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 09:55:32 PDT

I read with interest this article in the Chicago Tribune Sunday section Saving world’s words by Jason George. The reason I’m highlighting this article is that Americans tend to minimize the importance of learning foreign languages because English is so predominant in the world today. They refuse to localize their websites into different languages, yet [...]

Energy financing in Turkey

intlalliances — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 11:44:04 PDT

I attended this last minute presentation organized by Central Asian Productivity Center at the International Visitors Center by Hacettepe University’s Prof. Dr. Hasan KAZDAGLI. Here’s his presentation: sunum chicago And here’s what was not contained in the presentation: Despite all of the oil flowing through Turkey, as a fast-growing country, it still has [...]

US-China CEO matchmaking networking mixer

intlalliances — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:01:52 PDT

I checked out this US-China CEO matchmaking networking mixer hosted by MeetChinaBiz Here is Shawn He Yuxun’s presentation: MCBC09s & here’s the presentation made by George Mui of the Minority Business Development Agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce Access to Global Economy China_final_8_13_2009 Unbeknownst to me, there was a program delivered earlier in the [...]

railroad infrastructure in North America

intlalliances — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 09:40:20 PDT

I attended this luncheon presentation PAY THE FREIGHT: RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS IN CANADA AND U.S. hosted by the Canadian Consulate General, Metropolitan Planning Council, & Union League Club of Chicago. Here are the presentations the panel made: Combined Presentations Mary Sue Barrett, President of the Metropolitan Planning Council opened with few statistics: freight is increasing 350% by [...]

German M&A specialist on complex projects

intlalliances — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 09:23:03 PDT

I caught Kai Lucks presentation on the complexity of M&A @ the Alliance of Merger & Acquisition Advisors summer conference. Kai was in charge of mergers & acquistions for Siemens AG for many years & is now the president of the German Federal M&A Association & CEO of the Merger Management Institute. He declined my [...]

international negotiation competition

intlalliances — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:40:49 PDT

I was lucky to be invited to the closing dinner of the International Negotiation Competition which was sponsored by the Center for Advocacy & Dispute Resolution @ John Marshall Law School. All of the participants & judges were there to witness the awards to the winners. Competing teams came from 15 foreign countries, although the [...]

what’s new @ the WTO?

intlalliances — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 05:52:03 PDT

I munched @ lunch to this lecture WTO and International Trade Agreements: Under Pressure in Light of a Global Economic Downturn @ John Marshall law school by Mark Nguyen of MDN Trade LLC Here’s his presentation WTO-Protectionism-Chicago-June30-09 & the handouts to go along with the presentation WTO-March09-Handouts Here are some additional points he made not included [...]

should US computer companies censor in China?

intlalliances — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 09:36:38 PDT

I read with interest this article in the Chicago Tribune by David Greising Computer-makers should help skirt China’s censors. It brings up a tough issue to which there are no easy answers. Greising scolds US computer makers for acquiescing to Chinese demands that they provide software that censors access to anti-Chinese government websites. He criticizes [...]

branding America?

intlalliances — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 07:00:57 PDT

The Chicago Council on Global Affairs hosted this event Rebooting America’s Global Image featuring Keith Reinhard, Pres./founder of Business for Diplomatic Action , Chairman emeritus of DDB Worldwide, & Ted Pincus, who is a director @ BDA. They’ve partnered with Thunderbird to provide Culturespan workshops, which is laudable. The BDA together with the National Business [...]

Saab sold back to Swedes

intlalliances — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 09:25:57 PDT

Pardon me for the indulgence, but I have to write about the Swedes when they come up in the local press. I caught this article by Ken Bensinger in the Chicago Tribune: GM secures Saab sale to Swedish carmaker I question whether Koenigsegg Group, a small niche ultra-high performance automaker, is a great fit for Saab, [...]

telecom, aviation, & retail in India

intlalliances — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:42:00 PDT

The US-India Chamber of Commerce-Midwest organized the 5th annual conference U.S. INDIA BUSINESS CONFERENCE – FOCUS ON TELECOM, AVIATION AND RETAIL Illinois Governor Pat Quinn made an appearance to kick-off the event & indicated he’d be more like former Governor Jim Thompson & open more foreign trade offices rather than close them down like Jim [...]