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The Atlanta-based Belgian-American Chamber of Commerce of the South has added new board members that help the organization better reflect its regional focus.
Long established in Georgia, a proven beachhead for Belgian firms, the chamber has always sought to reach out to other Southern states to provide a bridge for Belgian companies investing in one of the fastest-growing regions of the U.S.
The cadre of 80 Belgian companies in the Carolinas shows how Belgian firms have wasted no time breaking into the market, prompting BACoS board member Jim Blair, CEO of Navigator Consulting, and the rest of the board to look for new members in those two states. The chamber has 25 core member companies, largely concentrated in Georgia.
New board appointees include Melissa Ratliff, vice president of Management Insights, a consulting firm focused on market entry in North Carolina; Aimee Redick, director of global engagement for Upstate SC Alliance, an economic development organization representing the globally diverse business base in the northeastern corner of South Carolina; and Jean-Louis Vanderstraeten, former CEO of Fabrique Nationale, a Belgian-owned firearm producer with a factory in Columbia, who also serves was the honorary consul of Belgium in South Carolina.
The South has risen in the consciousness of Belgian firms in recent years, so much so that nearly 400 delegates were planning to visit Atlanta in October for one of the city’s largest trade missions since the Olympics. Set to be headlined by Belgian Princess Astrid, the trip was postponed due to COVID-19, with organizers hoping to carry it out sometime in spring or summer 2022.
Until then, the chamber is capitalizing on the momentum: Ms. Redick and Mr. Blair will be represented among the panelists at an Oct. 12 webinar on business and tax incentives for Belgian companies landing in the Southeast. After the panel discussion, tax and legal experts will provide insights and answer questions in English, French, Dutch and German. Learn more here.
Bram Vandenbroucke is the chamber’s executive director. Contact him at bram@bacos.us.
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