Prominent Business Execs, Government Officials, Foreign Buyers and Journalists to Participate in 2011 Ex-Im Bank Annual Conference

USA - English

• Latin America - español

WASHINGTON, March 8, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Five ambassadors, current and senior Obama Administration advisors and CEOs of leading U.S. and international companies are among the distinguished speakers slated to address attendees of this year's annual conference of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) March 31-April 1 in Washington, D.C.

"We are honored to have such a prestigious group of individuals contributing to this year's conference," said Fred P. Hochberg, Ex-Im Bank chairman and president.  "They will provide attendees with valuable insights into the vital role that exports are playing in the revival of the U.S. economy, and they'll identify significant sales opportunities for American companies."

The conference attracts over 1,000 U.S. exporters, foreign buyers and lenders to hear presentations on the U.S. and world economies, learn about global export opportunities, and network and discuss potential sales and export financing.  This year's event, with the theme of  "Government at the Speed of Business", will feature a range of plenary session speakers and topics with a focus on small business exporters and the Obama Administration's National Export Initiative, the details of which the President announced at the Bank's annual conference in 2010.

Confirmed speakers, panelists and moderators for the 2011 conference include:

Government:

• Michael McKinley, U.S. Ambassador to Colombia
• Thomas Shannon, U.S. Ambassador to Brazil
• Michael Michalak, former U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam
• Donald Gips, U.S. Ambassador to South Africa
• Gabriel Silva, Colombian Ambassador to the U.S.
• Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. Commissioner of Food and Drugs, FDA
• Gayle Smith, senior director, National Security Council
• Kurt Campbell, asst. Secretary of State, East Asian & Pacific Affairs
• Johnnie Carson, asst. Secretary of State, Bureau of African Affairs
• Lawrence Summers, former economic advisor to President Obama  
• Carol Browner, former EPA Administrator and asst. to the President
• Sergio Cabral Filho, governor of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,  managing director, World Bank
• Sri Mulyani Indrawati, managing director, World Bank

Corporate:

• James McNerney, Jr., president and CEO of The Boeing Company and Chair of the President's Export Council
• Peter Loescher, president and CEO of Siemens AG
• Douglas R. Oberhelman, chairman and CEO, Caterpillar, Inc
• Vikram Pandit, CEO, Citigroup
• Dave Cote, chairman and CEO, Honeywell International
• Anil Ambani, CEO, Reliance Infrastructure, Ltd.; Reliance Capital, Ltd.; Reliance Communications, Ltd., Reliance Power, Ltd.
• Dirk Matthys, chairman and CEO, Gamesa North America
• Dan Tishman, CEO, Tishman Construction Corp.
• Rusdi Kirana, CEO, Lion Air
• Peter Baranay, president, ABRO Industries
• John Denniston, partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers
• Carl Wharton, COO, Zero Motorcycles
• Luis Arguello, CEO, Demetech
• Frede Lewis-Hall, chief medical officer, Pfizer, Inc.
• Roberta Lispon, CEO and president, Chindex International
• Anthony Harrington, president and CEO, Albright Stonebridge Group
• Dr. Orlando Cabrales, group chairman, Reficar
• Howard Dahl, president, Amity Technology
• Thomas F. McLarty, III, president, McLarty Assoc.

Media:

• Peter Cook, Bloomberg Television
• Mike Hofman, editor, Inc.com, deputy editor, Inc. Magazine
• Brian Moran, The Wall Street Journal
• Steve Pearlstein, Washington Post
• John Pomfret, Washington Post
• Judy Woodruff, senior correspondent, PBS

In addition to the plenary session presentations a number of breakout sessions are planned, covering topics such as:

• Ex-Im Bank's "Global Access for Small Business" initiative
• Export Opportunities in Nigeria, South Africa, Colombia and South and Southeast Asia
• Infrastructure Opportunities in Brazil
• Renewable Energy and Medical Technology Exports
• Unique Structured Finance Transactions

Additional information about the conference, including on-line registration, is available at www.exim.gov or http://go.usa.gov/gUk.

Ex-Im Bank, an independent, self-sustaining federal agency, helps create and maintain American jobs by filling gaps in export financing and strengthening U.S. export competitiveness.

During the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2011, the Bank approved $8 billion in total financing authorizations, supporting nearly $9.3 billion in export sales. The sales in the first quarter in turn support approximately 66,000 American jobs in communities across the country. During the FY2011 first quarter small business authorizations rose over 22 percent, and new customer volume rose 55 percent, over the same period of 2010. In Fiscal Year 2010 overall, the Bank authorized a record high of approximately $24.5 billion in loans, guarantees and insurance, supporting about 230,000 American jobs.

SOURCE Export-Import Bank of the United States