Corporate Conversations

Atlanta is a Popular Destination for International Businesses. How Are We Doing in Supporting Them? (01/25/2011 show)

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Atlanta is a popular destination for international businesses to open up their U.S. market. Atlanta has more than 60 international consulates. Is Atlanta doing well at supporting them once here?

01/25/2011 Show

Jorge Fernandez, Vice President Global Commerce, Metro Atlanta Chamber leads the international investment recruiting arm of the Chamber’s economic development division. Fernandez finds innovative ways to connect Atlanta area companies to international business growth opportunities, furthering Atlanta’s reputation as a top competitor in the global marketplace. Prior to joining the Chamber, Fernandez was the international and alliance vice president for Delta Air Lines in its world headquarters in Atlanta where he was responsible for the entire operational aspect of the regions for Caribbean, Latin America and Pacific transatlantic operations, developing Delta’s alliance strategy in those regions. He has held multiple roles within Delta.

Prior to his tenure at Delta, Fernandez was a senior politico-military analyst and spent 24 years in the U.S. Air Force as a command pilot, strategic planner and international affairs advisor, holding various diplomatic posts.  Originally from Havana, Cuba and fluent in Spanish, English and Portuguese, Fernandez holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from the University of Puerto Rico and a master’s degree in international marketing from Texas Christian University. He is a National Defense Fellow in Brazilian Studies from the University of Miami’s Graduate School of International Studies and completed Thunderbird’s Executive Education Program for Int’l Business in Phoenix AZ.  Fernandez was named by Hispanic Business magazine as one of the “100 Most Influential Hispanics in the Unites States” in 2003 and is the recipient of Panama’s 2002 “Friendship Award”.  In 2009, he received from the Governor of the State of Georgia the “International Person of the Year Award”. In 2010 the Atlanta Business Chronicle honored Fernandez as one of Atlanta’s International Who’s Who, recognizing leaders who are shaping Atlanta’s global market. Jorge Fernandez’s Segment

Phil Bolton, President & Founder of Agio Press, Global Business Reporter, GlobalFax news service and Global Atlanta . Phil Bolton is the founder and president of the Agio Press, which has been reporting on international business affecting Georgia since 1991. His news service’s main innovation is to report on how the global and local economies interconnect in business, culture, economic development and education.   Based in Atlanta, he launched the Global Business Reporter, a monthly newsletter, which was replaced in 1993 by the weekly GlobalFax news service. The Web site www.GlobalAtlanta.com and the electronic newsletter, GlobalAtlanta, replaced the fax in 1995. The company is developing GlobalSavannah.com, GlobalGeorgia.com and related sites. The GlobalAtlanta readers are business leaders, government officials and academics from around the region, although international readership through the Internet now accounts for more than 10 percent of the visitors to the Web site.  Since he started the company, he has served on the boards of 12 international organizations in Atlanta.  He also has served as an adviser to the board of two other international organizations and has been an active participant in several other international groups.

Phil served as president of the Korea-Southeast U.S. Chamber of Commerce from 2001-2003.  Gov. Sonny Perdue recognized Phil in 2006 as the winner of the Governor’s International Award in the individual category for his contributions to international business and educational activities.  He began his journalism career in the early 1970s in Macon on the staff of the Macon Telegraph and News. Besides the Macon newspapers, he was the editorial director for Lafferty Publications, an  Irish company with a Norcross office that published The Southern Banker magazine and other publications.  As an employee of Lafferty, he reported from Paris, France, on financial issues from 1989 through 1990. He also edited a financial magazine for Communications Channels Inc. when he first moved to Atlanta in 1980.  Phil was a Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya, East Africa, in the late 1960s.  Phil Bolton’s Segment

Mike Gomez, is President of Allegro Consulting, an Atlanta-based business growth specialty firm.  Mike has worked with governments and companies in over 20 countries and accumulated sales in excess of $5B.  Mike draws on his extensive sales, engineering, manufacturing and business management background to help companies plan and execute aggressive growth strategies. Allegro provides operating advice to businesses on a wide range of management issues that effect growth, such as strategic and organizational planning, marketing, sales and business process improvement.  www.AllegroConsultant.com Mike Gomez’s Segment

Julien Nadaud, is the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of B-pack, the international leader in business optimization and purchasing solutions. As the key innovator and visionary for b-pack, Julien is a global specialist in e-procurement and spending management implementation. As a result of Julien’s leadership and his expert team, b-pack is widely-recognized as THE innovator and standards creator for ERP-enhancing purchase-to-pay practices and technology. The company has a star-studded roster of satisfied clients and partners – some of the most recognized and respected brands in Europe.

Tapping his advanced software knowledge, product management experience and international business development skills, Julien has overseen the implementation of more than 80 technology deployments across Europe.  Julien recently launched and is directing North American operations for b-pack headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia to support current and new customers with global services. From the U.S., he oversees operations, a New York office, customer service and support, and new technology innovation and development.

A thought leader and frequent industry speaker, Julien is an active participant in several industry associations, including American SAP Users Group, Technology Association of Georgia, French American Conference of Entrepreneurs and the Young Entrepreneurs Initiative.

Prior to founding b-pack, Julien was product manager at Schneider Electric for seven years, where he was responsible for the design of nuclear safety software that is pervasively used in almost every nuclear power generating station in the world. He has a degree in computer science engineering from the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Toulouse.  Julien Nadaud’s Segment