The Technology Association of Georgia has formed an international business society to help its members take advantage of Atlanta‘s growing global commerce.
The new society is one of 25 groups operating under the 8,500-member professional organization, known as TAG. These societies provide networking opportunities and forums for discussion on how technology affects sectors like human resources, marketing, entrepreneurship, finance and others.
The international business society will help TAG members make better use of Atlanta’s swelling ranks of bi-national chambers of commerce and consulates. More than 60 countries have government representation in the Georgia capital, and the state is actively working to help companies do more business abroad.
Many TAG members, which include some large Atlanta companies like Delta Air Lines Inc., Coca-Cola Co. and AGCO Corp., are at the forefront of the state’s global engagement. Some, however, are still unaware of connections that could benefit their businesses, said Senour Reed, marketing director with Jabian Consulting, an Atlanta management and IT consulting firm, and chair of the international business society.
“It’s a matter of how we allow our members to know what’s offered by all the chambers and the consulates and the state resources,” said Mr. Reed.
Mr. Reed said TAG launched a global sourcing society last year in response to what its board saw as a rising global consciousness in the state. Georgia exported more than $25 billion in goods in 2008, and the state has accumulated more than 2,400 international companies, more than double what it had during the 1996 Olympic Games.
“Those are some stats that jumped out at our board,” Mr. Reed said.
This year, at the urging of TAG President Tino Mantella, the organization re-branded the society to widen its appeal beyond the 600 or so members who attended global sourcing events last year. The new international business society officially launched at a Jan. 21 event.
The society has five more events planned for the rest of the year, including three corporate panel discussions and two International Leadership Panels, where members of the consular corps and bi-national business groups will speak on a range of issues.
The first panel is scheduled for Feb. 18 at the UPS headquarters at 5:30 p.m. Speakers are to include Annabelle Malins, United Kingdom consul general; Duncan Cole, Australian consul general; Ray Donato, Philippines honorary consul general; Kathe Falls, Georgia Department of Economic Development international trade director and Alberto Valenzuela, president of the Chilean American Chamber of Commerce of the South. The event is free for members and $20 for non-members.
To register, click here.
For more information on TAG’s International Business Society and a list of its board members, click here.
