Market Access International’s CEO Dr. Diane Alleva Cáceres Chairs 2nd Annual Event and Hosts Trade Panel

Working to help organizations grow through global trade and investment, The World Trade Center Atlanta held its 2nd Annual World Trade Day on May 4, 2018. This year’s theme was, “High Stake Innovations Impacting the Global Stage.” The event included a full-day conference with eight panel discussions and a keynote address by Bryson Koehler, CTO, IBM Watson and IBM Cloud.

This year the World Trade Center Atlanta created the John C. Portman Global Leadership Award to honor the legacy of John C. Portman Jr., the globally renowned architect, developer and visionary who helped launch Atlanta’s international growth. Portman’s son, John C. (Jack) Portman, III, Vice-Chairman of Portman Holdings, the land and property development company founded by his father, presented the award to the inaugural awardee, Ambassador Andrew Young Jr.

“Uncertainty about international trade and investment has been the focus of conversations around the world for a while now,” said Dr. Diane Alleva Cáceres, Founder and Chair of World Trade Day in Georgia and CEO of Market Access International, Inc. and Lecturer at the Georgia Institute of Technology.  “We are proud of World Trade Day’s success in galvanizing the community around the merits of global trade and investment.” This year the event increased participation by and sponsorships by over 25%.

“World Trade Center Atlanta is committed to building an organization whose leadership and membership are in tune with the sophisticated and changing needs of today’s global executive,” said Dr. Karen Loch, president of the World Trade Center Atlanta and professor in the Institute of International Business at the Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University.

Panel discussions featured representatives of the Brookings Institution, IBM Watson Health, Accenture,  Emory University, Georgia Tech, Georgia State, Alcon, ToTo USA, AGCO, Dornier MedTech GmbH, Georgia Centers of Innovation, and Tempus FX, among many others.

In 2017, total trade between Georgia and the world reached 225 unique countries and territories, exceeding a record breaking $128.6 billion. Exports reached $37.2 billion. The state also maintained its national rankings as the 12th-largest exporting state and seventh largest importing state.

World Trade Day 2018 was sponsored by the Georgia Department of Economic Development, Emory University’s Goizueta Business School’s Executive Education department, CIIX, HBL Gross Collins, Tempus FX, Hall Booth Smith, P.C., Birchtree Global, Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce, Georgia State University – Center for International Business Education & Research (CIBER), and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.