Looking for some direction in these rather challenging times? I.E.Canada will be hosting a special event, Global Trade 2010: What’s Ahead on Monday, December 7, 2009, at the Sheraton Airport Hotel. The day long event will highlight new opportunities in global trade and provide participants with the information and tools the need to make strategic business decisions.

Special attention will be paid to China and Brazil, both of which offer new opportunities for business development. There are many Canadian success stories based on a variety of models. Participants will hear two unique stories.

There has been no shortage of information about China, and business success stories abound. But those who are successful have had a deliberate, well thought out strategy for sourcing and manufacturing. Mike DePaul is the associate vice president of Imports and Vendor Management for Canadian Tire Retail (CTR), a company which has a well established and robust international sourcing operation. Mike’s core responsibility is to enable CTR to have the optimal portfolio of both domestic and global vendors. Part of his responsibilities include the development of an integrated vendor management and global sourcing import system, incorporating regional purchasing offices and domestic operations. CTR’s After Sales Service operation is also part of his portfolio. Prior to his current role, Mike spent three years from 2004 to 2007 opening and managing CTR’s first mainland China sourcing operation located in Shanghai. Mike has been in the retail industry with Canadian Tire for 20 years and is a member of I.E.Canada’s Board of Directors.

Many businesses are looking for strategic international investments and ways to mitigate risk when doing so. Brazil represents a tremendous opportunity for those investors, provided they are well informed and have established reliable advisors. Eric Bonnor is the senior vice-president, Private Equity Fundraising for Brookfield Asset Management. Eric is responsible for Brookfield’s client relationships with Canadian institutional investors and fund raising efforts for the corporation in the private equity sector in Canada. He has successfully raised over $600 million for several of Brookfield’s private equity funds including the development and launching of Brookfield’s Brazil Timber Fund in 2008, raising almost US$250 million from investors world-wide for that fund. Prior to this achievement Eric was responsible for the company’s timber operations in Brazil, where he resided for six years from 1998 to 2004. Eric is also the Vice-Chairman of the Brazil-Canada Chamber of Commerce.

Take advantage of this unique opportunity to hear from I.E.Canada experts who have been on the ground in two of the strongest growing international markets. For a complete agenda and registration visit http://globaltrade2010.eventbrite.com. For questions, contact us at jesse@iecanada.com

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• We Need Your Input! Member Survey
• Importing Into Canada
• Global Trade 2010: What's Next?
• 5th Annual Food Forum
• Western Canada Conference

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Disclaimer - I.E.Now is designed to provide members with the most up-to-date trade information from a variety of sources. The information we feature does not necessarily reflect the association's opinion on a given international trade issue. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information notedin the daily e-mail, government policies are constantly evolving. The Canadian Association of Importers and Exporters Inc. cannot assume any responsibility for actions taken solely or principally on the basis of the information provided.