Governor Perdue Announces Third Annual Sumaq Summit

Governor Perdue Announces Third Annual Sumaq Summit

Business, Academic and Government Leaders Discuss Economic Opportunities in Latin America

ATLANTA – As part of Georgia’s trade outreach initiatives, Governor Sonny Perdue announced today that Atlanta will host more than 300 senior executives, government officials and academics May 15-16, 2006, for the Sumaq Summit 2006 – Heading South: Marketing and Logistics in Latin America. The conference, presented by the Sumaq Alliance, is designed to provide senior business and government executives with insight into conducting business and trade in Latin America.

“We are delighted to welcome business, government and academic leaders from the United States, Spain and Latin America to discuss marketing and logistic strategies among between the regions, including Georgia as a center for free trade with the Americas,” said Governor Sonny Perdue. “Sumaq’s return to Atlanta reflects Georgia’s position as a cornerstone of economic activity within the western hemisphere.”

Launched two years ago, Sumaq Summit has become a key event for companies interested in current and future trends among firms in Latin America, and opportunities in Latin American markets. More than 800 executives have participated in Sumaq Summit programs to date.

Sumaq Summit 2006 will be dedicated to marketing and logistics/supply chain management in Latin America, in line with the following objectives:

• Examine and discuss strategies and successful practices that promote and motivate distribution and sales of products and services in Latin America.
• Analyze the different ways to access Latin American markets and introduce products and services into the region effectively and efficiently.
• Identify cultural and organizational differences among countries in Latin America in order to define marketing and logistics/supply chain management functions and methods to implement them.
• Create a top-level contact network, comprising marketing and logistics/supply chain management experts from the U.S., Latin America and Europe.

The program is aimed primarily at directors and executives of U.S. firms that want to expand or upgrade their knowledge of marketing, logistics and supply chain management in Latin America. There will also be executives and directors from the Latin American region who work in these fields and wish to analyze and exchange experiences and visions with counterparts from the different countries in the region. A group of academics will lead and moderate discussions during the program.

The program will be structured around two parallel tracks focused on marketing and logistics/supply chain management in Latin America, with general sessions dedicated to both issues. Attendees will include executives from Procter & Gamble, Exel Logistics, Telefónica, CEMEX, as well as:

• Walter Westphal, managing director, FARMACIAS BENAVIDES, Mexico
• Douglas Lambert, professor of logistics and supply chain, Ohio State University
• Marcelo Ciano, area director of the Andean Region, ARCOR
• Manuel Cuevas, president, CARRIER Latin America
• Eduardo Benatuil, president of HEINZ, Venezuela
• Mauricio Sabogal, regional CEO, OMD International
• Cristián Toro, president, Toro Vasquez Mora Fischer América
• Christopher Crommett, senior vice president and general manager, CNN en Español
• Hugo Bethlem, director, COMPREBEM BARATEIRO, Pao de Azucar Group, Brazil
• Reynaldo Aragón, president, COLCERÁMICA, Colombia
• José María García Meyer, CEO, BBVA USA
• Alberto Padilla, business anchor, CNN en Español
• Sergio Biggemann, director of research, LALC/Georgetown
• Harvey M. Donaldson, director, The Logistics Institute, Georgia Institute of Technology
• Paul Esqueda, professor, Penn State University
• Rajandra Srivastava, professor, Emory School of Management
• Rodolfo Lopez Cerdan, director of value chain, GILLETE
• Luis Pereda, director of logistics, POLAR, Venezuela
• Salvador Romo, supply chain development director, Hewlett-Packard Imaging, Printing and Graphics (IPG) for Latin America
• Manuel la Madrid, director of sales, FEMSA Logística, Mexico
• Fernando Bolt, director of logistics, CODELCO, Chile
• Rafael T. Zubillaga, president, FARMATODO, Venezuela
• Omar González, president, ALMACENAR, Colombia
• Adrian de Wilde, director for Latin America, AVON, Brazil

Program participants will also have the ability to extend their networks through the various planned activities, including luncheons and evening events that serve as a forum to meet and exchange opinions with other leading executives.

“We are proud to promote the kind of dialogue with business leaders in key U.S. markets that is needed to support the development, growth, and prosperity that exists in the Latin American market,” said Santiago Iñiguez , dean of Instituto de Empresa (IE), the founding school of Sumaq. “In view of its importance as a gateway to Latin American markets, we feel Atlanta is the ideal place to host Sumaq Summit 2006, and we appreciate Governor Perdue’s invitation to host our third annual executive conference in Atlanta.”

Sumaq Summit 2006 will be held at the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center. The registration fee is $980. More information about Sumaq Summit 2006 (registration, special corporate rates and sponsorship packages) is available at www.sumaq.org.

About the Sumaq Alliance

The Sumaq Alliance is a global learning network and partner in executive education to executives worldwide. It is comprised of eight top-ranked business schools from different countries in Europe and Latin America, all leaders in their respective markets (IE – Instituto de Empresa in Spain, INCAE in Central America, FGV-EAESP in Brazil, EGADE - Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico, Universidad de los Andes in Colombia, IESA in Venezuela, Pontifica Universidad Catolica de Chile, and Universidad de San Andres in Argentina).

The Sumaq Alliance is the only entity of its kind in the Latin American marketplace that trains corporate leaders, interacts with top-level national decision-makers in their respective countries and prepares corporations for the global economy. Sumaq schools share more than 500 experts in executive education, 100,000 alumni in 90 different countries and nine operating campuses. The Sumaq Alliance is the biggest alliance in the educational sector and the largest virtual think tank on Latin American management issues in the world. For more information visit: www.sumaq.org.

About Instituto de Empresa (IE)

Instituto de Empresa, a renowned international business school, empowers graduates with the highest levels of academic achievement, innovative thinking and real-world experience to build successful, ethical organizations worldwide. The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Business Week and The Economist consistently rank IE as a top international business school and highlight its ability to instill qualities of leadership and entrepreneurship, as well as teaching managerial, communication and interpersonal skills. Additionally, Fortune 1000 companies trust IE as a partner that delivers original, market-oriented concepts with measurable business results. Located in the thriving business community of Madrid, IE offers an open yet structured approach to its full-time master's degree programs, part-time executive master's degrees and executive education programs by integrating academic excellence, entrepreneurship and applied research within an internationally diverse environment. For more information visit: www.ie.edu.

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