Date: May 20, 2005
Contact: Michael Hopkins
Phone: (708) 534-7090
Fax: (708) 534-8399
Email: m-hopkins@govst.edu
For Immediate Release
University Park, May 20, 2005 – The Global Trade Center at Governors State University’s Small Business Development Center, CenterPoint, will present a conference titled “Navigating the Global Economy: Practical Strategies for Survival” on Wednesday, June 15.
The conference will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Hilton Oak Lawn, 9333 South Cicero Avenue in Oak Lawn, Illinois. Registration is $75 per person. A business breakfast will be sponsored by UPS.
Attendees may register by e-mail at RSVP@itagc.org or by phone at 773-725-1106. Registration is open through June 13.
CenterPoint Director Hilary Burkinshaw said, “If businesses want to survive today, if they want to remain viable and grow, they need the international edge. This conference will give them that.”
The conference will feature keynote speaker Roger E. Axtell, author and editor of several books on international trade and relations, including “Do’s and Taboos of International Trade: A Small Business Primer.”
Axtell has been named “One of the Twenty-Five Most Influential People in World Trade” by “World Trade Magazine” and “International Citizen of the Year” by the International Institute of Wisconsin. He currently serves as vice chair of the Wisconsin International Trade Council.
“Axtell is a dynamic speaker,” Burkinshaw said. “If there’s one man who absolutely has his finger on the pulse of international trade, it’s Roger Axtell.”
Burkinshaw added that the conference will feature several breakout sessions, including Trade Finance, Branding and Marketing, Export Finance, Supply Chain Management, and Freight Forwarding.
Featured presenters from Fifth Third Bank, Export-Import Bank, UPS, LR International, College of DuPage, and the U.S. Export Assistance Center will be on hand for the breakout sessions.
A lunchtime panel will include experts on exporting from Tek Pak, North American Tool, Inc., and International Management Consulting.
“We’ve worked with our partners to make this conference as comprehensive and helpful as we can for a single day’s attendance,” Burkinshaw said. “Small businesses in particular will find there’s a huge advantage to understanding trade in the global economy.”
Other conference sponsors include United Parcel Service, the U.S. Department of Commerce Export Assistance Center, the Illinois District Export Council, the International Trade Association of Greater Chicago, and International Trade Centers of College of DuPage and North Industrial Business Council.
