World Tradewinds
October-November 2003 - Issue N. 120
A Publication of the Monterey Bay International Trade Association (MBITA)
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MBITA CORPORATE
SPONSORS:
MBITA PARTNERS & AFFILIATES:
Thu,
Nov 13th Fri Dec 5th
To register for MBITA luncheons and events, call 831-469-0148 or email info@mbita.org including the event specifics you are signing up for in the subject line. For more detail on MBITA business events, go to http://www.mbita.org/events/home.php3 MBITA BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
 President Vice President Members: Victor Cordell Marcelo Siero Jim Faith Cristina Polesel
MBITA Contact Info
725 Front St. Ste 104 If you would like to have an article published on this newsletter please contact the editor by email. This newsletter has been created by MBITA's editor MBITA Members and Corporate Sponsors' Newsletter Links: |
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MBITA's UPDATE
On December 5th MBITA is co-producing 'Global California - Economy in Transition' with the CalTrade Report. This conference will feature leaders in California's Trade Promotion community discussing how California's global economy will change in the months ahead as funding from the State of California for trade development and promotion is scheduled to disappear. We hope you can attend! Please go to MBITA newsletter
archives to see MBITA Members profiles and visit MBITA's Export
Promotion Services.
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MBITA is proud to introduce its new corporate sponsor, IdeasSiero. IdeasSiero is currently developing and integrating several brick and mortar and Internet-based businesses. The business model takes full advantage of the recognition that even during a dot-com adverse economy, the Internet is not going away as a catalyst of business activities. IdeasSiero contributes its technical expertise, along with the managerial, legal, logistic and marketing infrastructure necessary for these companies to grow. The aim is to create a safe and creative environment for the start-up companies. In the current economic environment, IdeasSiero’s innovative thinking is directed not only at technology development, but also at its approach to designing and meeting the financial needs of each of the companies being built.
The current companies undergoing incubation are: Business With Pleasure, Sign City, Houses.com, Artists.com, InnerVision Computers, PostOffice.com and Romance.com. InnerVision Computers is the legacy consulting company, which has very successfully provided a broad spectrum of computer-consulting services for large and small firms in the Silicon Valley and Japan since 1982. Its focus is primarily in the areas of computer-aided design, computer architecture and design related services. Business With Pleasure and Sign City have over the last year been integrated to provide a very broad range of business services for the communities of San Lorenzo Valley, Scotts Valley, and peripherally for the rest of Santa Cruz County. The key services included are quality black and white and color printing, wide format printing, tradeshow support, computer rental, design services for web development, desktop publishing and graphics, and last but not least shipping and receiving. These activities are being well received by the community. These two businesses are designed to provide the necessary foundation to support its partner Internet businesses.
With the cooperation of its sister companies Business with Pleasure and Sign City, Artists.com will act as a print shop and fulfillment center for quality art reproductions. Artists.com will use the Internet as its primary marketing vehicle. Like other IdeasSiero Internet businesses the model is being tested in the Santa Cruz and Monterey region, but has been designed to organically grow and extend itself over time to serve artists and customers on an international scale. In addition to helping visual artists, Artists.com has also ventured into producing several CD’s for very talented California artists, with the notion of adding a grass-roots recording company component to its list of activities. Artists.com is scheduled to be officially launched on November 15th of 2003, with an initial contribution of 4 artists. The number of artists featured is expected to grow dramatically in 2004.
Using business models that have inherent social value is a priority for IdeasSiero. It is the company’s belief that this general approach creates a healthy business environment that brings great satisfaction and energy to all those who invest their effort and energy into each of these endeavors. Something that is often lost in the corporate world is that business, just like life, is not just about making a profit; it is also about participating in the exciting endeavors that make a difference in people’s lives. The company’s
CEO, Marcelo Siero, is also currently serving on the Board of Directors
of MBITA. Mr. Siero brings 30 years of broad-based experience in computer
engineering and marketing. His experience includes serving on a team that
successfully designed and launched the very first VLSI HP3000 computer
for Hewlett Packard Corporation and worked at Xerox Palo Alto Research
Center (PARC) during the early revolution of the computer industry. He
also pioneered and ran an Internet Service Provider business for 9 years
in the early 90's, and has been running a successful computer consulting
business for the past 20 years. He is currently spearheading IdeasSiero
by applying technological innovation and creative solutions towards the
development of socially conscious businesses. Contact:
MBITA New Member: DeFeo Gehri Associates
In 1998, Mr. Robert
(Bob) DeFeo and Ms. Suzanne Gehri, both retired US Air Force
colonels, decided to combine their 60+ years of experience with US and
foreign militaries in joint and combined operations, security assistance,
DOD acquisition and program management, USAF/Joint logistics, aircraft
maintenance and transportation to start DeFeo Gehri Associates.
DeFeo Gehri has built its reputation in the world of commercial and DOD business development, marketing and analysis. The firm works with individuals and agencies within The Pentagon, including the offices of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Secretary of Defense and the military services to help clients get the latest insights on emerging requirements. In addition, DeFeo Gehri is involved at home and abroad with US unified commands, Air Force major air commands (like the Air Mobility Command), the military global transportation and logistics commands, and federal agencies involved with all aspects of homeland security. The firm’s particular
core competency is within the high-tech world of military & aviation
logistics, and software solution selection. DeFeo Gehri is known for its
close working relationships with military and commercial centers and its
expertise in the fields of aircraft, engine, and component maintenance,
repair, and overhaul (MRO), aircraft servicing and handling, outsourcing
and privatization, supply chain management, information technology modernization,
solution software selection, and training. The firm's video production
company associate, Perry Productions, Mill Valley, CA provides
marketing video productions. DeFeo Gehri's marketing communications company
associate, Pacific Communications Group at the Presidio of San
Francisco, provides integrated marketing communications and public &
governmental relations for companies with business interests in Washington.
DeFeo Gehri Asociates also have additional associates who provide subject
matter expertise as required.
Mr. DeFeo has a BS
in Biology from Duquesne University and a MS in International Relations
from Troy State University. He also holds the highest level certification
in Program Management from the Defense Acquisition University. In his
military career, Mr. DeFeo held the positions of Deputy Director, Logistics
& Security Assistance, US European Command and USAF C-5 Aircraft Program
Director & Aircraft Product Director. Contact: Robert DeFeo
'Organic
Export - Succeeding in the Global Marketplace' Seminar
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The COPES program will provide extensive marketing assistance to companies in California to initiate and increase export activities for organic products, including key trade show appearances in Europe and Asia, foreign and reverse trade missions, seminars, and 'desk-top to desk-top' eLearning courses. |
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COPES is the direct result of a competitive grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) awarded to CCOF for their proposal to increase awareness and export opportunities for California's organic specialty crops exports.
Founded in 1973, CCOF was one of the first organizations to certify organic farms in North America. Today, it is dedicated to organic certification, public outreach and education about organic food and organic agriculture, and advocacy for governmental policies that protect and encourage organic agriculture in California and throughout the U.S. CCOF has more than 1,200 members and over 150,000 acres of certified organic land.
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Growers, processors and shippers who want to develop a competitive edge in the global marketplace are encouraged to take advantage of the COPES program by attending an eight part seminar series discussing exporting organic products to the global marketplace. Between the years 2003 and 2005, the goal of the COPES program is to offer four seminars per year delivering vital information on how to sidestep potential export barriers and successfully deliver organic products to the global marketplace. In being a participant of these seminars, you will learn how to: |
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Whether
you are thinking about pursuing organic export for the first time
or simply expanding your current export business into new markets,
these seminars will provide important tools for your success in the
global marketplace.
The first of the eight part seminar series discussing Organic Export
'Succeeding in the Global Marketplace' will be held on November 13th,
2003 from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM, at the Steinbeck Center in Salinas,
CA. The keynote speaker will be Secretary William (Bill) Lyons, California
Department of Food and Agriculture.
To register and to see a complete listing on topics and other speakers for this inaugural seminar of the series, please go to http://www.copes-ca.org/seminars.html. Also, look for information on upcoming seminars to be posted on the website in late October!
Contact:
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Organic Products Export Strategy - California (COPES) c/o California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) 1115 Mission Street Santa Cruz, CA 95060 Phone: (831) 423-2263 Ext. 22 Web: www.copes-ca.org email: info@copes-ca.org |
Jeanne
Ikemoto
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TradePort, MBITA, and the CalTrade Report invite you to participate in this year’s premier California International Trade conference called Global California - Economy in Transition to be held December 5, 2003 at the Cisco Conference Center in San Jose. In today's world, there is no such thing as a purely self-sufficient economy. The fact of the matter is that all business is in some way global, and nowhere is this truer than in the state of California. |
| Unique in its role as both a world class market for and producer of a broadest possible range of goods and services, California's economy in terms of Gross Domestic Product ranks alongside countries such as Japan, the UK, Germany and China, as one of the top ten economies in the world. |
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Global California conference will be addressing current issues related
to global trade with California importers and exporters by providing
a forum of unique topic-specific panels of international businesspeople
from across the state to offer insight, vision and dialogue on the
current and future state of the global economy in California. |
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Panel topics include:
The conference will
address these important issues and will also provide an opportunity to
meet and network with some of the most experienced international business
people in the state. Join us on December 5th from 8 am to 5:30 pm in San
Jose and draw on California's vast reservoir of business acumen, energy
and entrepreneurial spirit to further international business and trade.
For more information and online registration click here.
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Over fifty people attended the conference “Rethinking Eurasia: Spotlight on Central Russia, Armenia and the Republic of Georgia” on Friday, September 5th at the Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS) in Monterey, CA. One-on-one meetings with the presenters were available after the conference. As part of the MBITA 2003 Russian Outreach program, the event was organized by MBITA and MIIS in cooperation with the US Export Assistance Centers in San Jose and Monterey and the Business Information Service for the Newly Independent States (BISNIS) of the U.S. Department of Commerce (USDOC). |
 McGowan Conference Room, Monterey Institute of International Studies, Monterey, CA. |
Representatives of the U.S. Department of Commerce BISNIS Program gave an overview on the business opportunities in Central Asia.
BISNIS is the U.S. Government's primary market information center for U.S. companies exploring business opportunities in Russia and other Newly Independent States. BISNIS provides U.S. companies with the latest market reports and tips on developments, export and investment leads, and strategies for doing business in the Newly Independent States (NIS). Since opening in 1992, BISNIS has facilitated more than $3.2 billion worth of U.S. exports and overseas investments.
U.S.
companies can take advantage of opportunities arising from the growing
strength of Central Russia SMEs in many industry sectors in virtually
all regions, including agribusiness, information technology, retail
products, machinery, electronics, pharmaceuticals/medical and more.
For more information on the BISNIS program, visit http://bisnis.doc.gov
