Governor Perdue Secures Atlanta as Host Site for Sumaq Summit 2004

International business leaders to address Free Trade Area of the Americas, Iberoamerican marketplace, rapidly emerging U.S. Hispanic/Latin American economy

Atlanta - Governor Sonny Perdue announced today that Atlanta will be the host site for Sumaq Summit 2004: International Business Strategies in Latin America, to take place May 11-14, 2004. The meeting will bring to Atlanta top-level business, government, and academic leaders from Spain and Latin America.

"Sumaq's choice of Georgia to host its 2004 meeting sends a clear message about our state's position as a hub of trade in the hemisphere," said Governor Sonny Perdue. "The caliber of professionals involved and the topics to be discussed will further establish Georgia and our companies as a center for U.S. trade with the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking nations and the Free Trade Area of the Americas."

The Sumaq Alliance is the only entity of its kind in the trade and commercial Iberoamerican marketplace (the Iberian Peninsula of Europe and the Americas) that trains corporate leaders, interacts with top national decision-makers in their respective countries, and prepares corporations for the global economy. The word "sumaq" means excellence in Quechua, a Peruvian native dialect.

"The Sumaq Alliance is honored to be working with Governor Perdue and Atlanta's business community," said Angel Cabrera, a Georgia Tech graduate and Dean of Instituto de Empresa (IE), the founding school of Sumaq. "Atlanta ranks number three among U.S. cities with the most Fortune 500 headquarters, but more importantly, we believe these Atlanta-based companies are making serious efforts to capitalize on the growing opportunities of Spanish and Portuguese-speaking markets, both within and outside the United States."

Examples of Atlanta-based Fortune 500 companies include The Coca-Cola Company, UPS, SunTrust, BellSouth, Delta Air Lines, Home Depot, Intercontinental Hotels, Georgia Pacific, Southern Company, and Newell Rubbermaid.

About the Sumaq Alliance

The Sumaq Alliance offers executive education to professionals from large transnational organizations operating in global environments. Sumaq's programs are structured to enable executives to work together toward the same corporate vision while tailoring approaches to local realities. The alliance is comprised of eight top-ranked business schools in the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking world, all of which are known for top-level international faculties and strong links with the business community.

The Sumaq Alliance includes FGV-EAESP in Brazil, EGADE - Tec de Monterrey in Mexico, Instituto de Empresa (IE) in Spain, IESA in Venezuela, INCAE, Pontifica Universidad Catolica de Chile, Universidad de los Andes in Colombia, and Universidad de San Andres in Argentina. For more information, please visit www.sumaq.org.