Last month, the Miami-Chapter of The Organization of Women in International Trade (OWIT),

Last month, the Miami-Chapter of The Organization of Women in International Trade (OWIT), hosted the 16th Annual World Conference in Miami Beach, Florida. This year’s theme

“Emerging Markets: the Road Ahead for Finance, Business & Trade,” brought together a fantastic team of both exhibitors and speakers, including the notorious Helena Guergis, Canada’s Secretary of State of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and Sport, and international philanthropy expert and co-author of “A billion Bootstraps,”
Eric Thurman.

The conference, which was designed to work as an informative networking event where delegates from around the world come together and discuss the growing complexity of the international trade market and how it relates to their businesses, lasted three days and granted the perfect relaxed, interactive and fun environment to its guests. In fact, it provided the ideal platform so that all the members could mingle and chat with each other, assertively creating new business relationships.
    

The affair kicked off early morning Thursday October 11th, with Helen Picard, the president of the Miami Chamber, welcoming everyone and giving the floor to keynote speaker Ambassador Susan Schwab, the United States Trade Representative, who gave some pointers to emerging market leaders and guidelines for success in the rapidly developing economies of the world. As it happened, the conference was organized in informative sessions and tracks pertaining to the topics of interest.

 

Most of the sessions included top executives from diverse companies, such as Carnival Corp, Xerox, Exxon Mobil, General Motors, Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft, to name just a few. For example, one of the sessions moderated by Dr. Jerry Haar, a Florida International University Professor, presented facts and trends that shape the new global consumer, citing examples and personal anecdotes from the panel members, Zach Henry, Toyota Motor North America, Americas Strategic Research & Planning Group, John Price, the president of InfoAmericas, and Diego Stecchi, Regional Director Latin America and Caribbean for Salvatore Ferragamo. They also took questions and comments from the audience, which made it interactive and didactic.
    

Apart from focusing on the emerging markets, especially Latin America, India, and China, the involvement of women in international trade was one of the most highlighted topics in the conference. As it was discussed, some emerging markets have difficulty dealing with issues that affect women at a professional and personal level, such as gender imbalance, domestic violence, and poverty, which only slows down the process of achieving the balance necessary to promote equality to male and females in all the fields, especially in the workforce that will boost their marketplace.
    

One of the most interesting and perhaps enlightening session included a fireside chat with three outstanding ladies, Alicia Fernandez-Campfield, Vice-President of Integrated Supply Chain (ISC) and Enterprise Business Management for Xerox Corporation (DMO), Maureen Kempston Darkes, GM Group Vice President and President of GM Latin America, Africa and Middle East, and Diane Sanchez, Vice President of Telefonica, who opened up about their personal and professional lives. They not only represent a small percentage of women from a professional standpoint, but they also symbolize equality and balance in a developed market that includes women in top-level positions. They all agreed that education is the key when it comes down to pursuing one’s career.
    

Furthermore, Carolyn Rose-Avila, President of FAVACA (Florida Association for Volunteer Action in the Caribbean and the Americas) concluded that the world marketplace is affecting big organizations, leading them to focus on being socially conscious in business. She calls out to professional women to help in the improvement of the quality of life in those small markets where women are going to be the key in future business ventures, by volunteering their experiences and knowledge.
    

But not everything was a question of trade. The conference also hosted a dinner gala, where the organization honored this year’s Woman of the Year recipient, Linda Rottenberg, Co-Founder & CEO of Endeavor. The jovial mood lasted the rest of the evening and the following day. And on that note, the conference adjourned Friday evening amid congratulations and promises to meet next year in the 2008 Annual Conference that will be hosted by the Monterrey Chapter in Mexico.