Ambassador Philip S. Goldberg

On the way to assuming his new U.S. embassy post in Bolivia, Ambassador Philip S. Goldberg stopped in South Florida for a briefing with locally based business people and other Latin American experts familiar with the current business climate in that country.

Held at the Omni-Colonnade Hotel in Coral Cables on September 27, 2006, the private luncheon and briefing session was organized by the Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU) and hosted by Ed Glab, director of the Knight Ridder Center for Excellence in Management. Senior college’s executives from Miami-area companies in the banking, energy, and engineering industries, all of whom are doing business in Bolivia, also attended.

“This event provided an excellent opportunity to engage in candid, off-the-record dialogue about the opportunities and challenges U.S. businesses are encountering today in Bolivia, where both the political and economical environments are extremely volatile,” Glab said.

Glab, who has a long-standing relationship with BCIU, welcomed the opportunity to share the college’s resources and insights into the Latin American market with the newly appointed ambassador.

“We have considerable hands-on experience and connections reaching into the Latin American region,” he said. “Participating in sessions like this one with Ambassador Goldberg is an excellent example of our commitment to address real-world issues facing the economies and business communities across The Américas.”

Public and private sectors work together to promote global commerce.

BCIU has been promoting commerce through partnerships in business and diplomacy since 1955.

“In today’s world, with its intensified competition and heightened operational risk, encouraging ongoing conversations among business and government officials is more critical than ever,” said Peter Tichansky, BCIU president. “As a neutral facilitator in many public-private partnership initiatives, our goal is to build relationships and support business development in the global marketplace.”

Glab and Tichansky would like to see continued collaboration between the college and BCIU.

“We appreciate the college’s gracious hosting of this event,” Tichansky said, “We are pleased to have contacts within Florida International University who share our views about the important role our U.S. embassies and ambassadors play as advocates for U.S. commercial interests, and we look forward to future joint roundtable discussions.”