Schedule – 2014

Schedule – 2014

Third Annual Texas EU Business Summit:
Trade, Investment and Innovation
Thursday, May 1, 2014
AT&T Conference Center
Austin, Texas

8:00 – 8:30 Breakfast & Conference Registration

8:30 – 8:45 Opening & Welcoming Remarks

    • Dr. Doug Biow, Director University of Texas EU Center of Excellence
    • TBA
    • Master of Ceremonies – Adriana Cruz, President, Greater San Marcos Partnership

8:45 – 9:30 KEYNOTE: EU/US/Texas Transatlantic Relationships

    • George Papanikolaou, Consul General of Greece, Houston, Presidency of the Council for the European Union
    • Josh Stanton , Project Manager, Transatlantic Relations, Bertelsmann Foundation

9:30 – 9:45 Break

9:45 – 11:15 EU Visegrad Group Opportunities and Best Practices

Moderator/Chair: Lorrain McCord, Creative Director, Xworks Project

    • Hungary Industry Opportunities – Katalin Csorba, First Counselor, Head of the Hungarian Economic Representatives in the US
    • Poland Industry Opportunities – Tomasz Sowa, Deputy Head of the Trade and Investment, Embassy of Poland
    • Czech Republic Industry Opportunities – Tomáš Hart, The Head of Economic Section at Czech Republic Embassy
    • Slovakia Industry Opportunities – Peter Kolesar, Trade and Innovation Counselor, Embassy of Slovakia
      • Company Success Story – Lynda House-McPeters, Director – Carrier Relations, Wholesale/Global Service Deliver, AT&T
      • Company Success Story – Rob Porterfield, Vice President, Manufacturing, National Instruments

11:15 – 12:30 Europe US Energy Partnership Opportunities

Moderator/Chair:

    • James Clad, Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense
    • Henk Jelsma, President, Radial Drilling Services, Inc.
    • Wout Last, President& CEO, Hint Americas
    • Geert Visser, President of the Netherlands – American Chamber of Commerce

12:30 – 1:30 Lunch – buffet

1:30 – 3:00 Featured EU Country: France and Innovation

Moderator/Chair:(TBA)

    • Sujiro Seam, Consul General of France, Houston
    • Philippe Bouyoux, Minister Counselor for Economic Affairs, French Embassy
    • Philippe Yvergniaux, President, North America Invest in France Agency

3:00 – 3:15 Break

3:15 – 4:15 Part I EU Market Access and Best Practices

Moderator/Chair:  Ben Ramirez III, International Economic Development Manager, City of Austin

    • Ireland Industry Opportunities – Micheál Smith, VP Technology, IDA Ireland
      • Gemma Thompson, Indeed.com
    • Spain Industry Opportunities – Mario Buisán, Trade Commissioner, Embassy of Spain
      • Company Success Story – Jacobo Bergareche, CEO, Wake App
      • Company Success Story – Nicolas Rubio, President, Cintra, U.S.

5:15 – 5:00 Part II EU Market Access and Best Practices

Moderator/Chair:  Allison Turner, Area Director, Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency

    • Italy Industry Opportunities, Fabrizio Nava, Consul General, Italy
    • Michael van der Woude, Chief Operating Officer, Emergo

5:00 – 6:30 Networking Session/Reception/Meetings with Trade Representatives – Room 103

    • Closing reception
    • Individual meetings with EU trade Representatives