Archive

Archive | Newsletter | Contact | Partners | Print

October 1, 2010, Swiss Re Centre for Global Dialogue, Ruschlikon, Zurich

The Swiss Global Business Forum (Swissglobe) is a leading platform set-up to explore business strategies that will foster strong commercial ties between Switzerland and the rest of the world. The initiative was created by the Joint Business School Alumni Conference (JAC) and the Swiss Association of MBAs (SAMBA) and works closely with other organizations that share its aims.

The overarching theme of Swissglobe is "Switzerland in the World - the World in Switzerland". JAC hosts the annual Swissglobe conference on October 1, 2010 at the Swiss Re Centre for Global Dialogue.

13:30 - 14:00	Swissglobe Award
	China: the Road Ahead	Brazil: Winning Strategies
14.00 - 14.10	Welcome Felix SUTTER, Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers Forum Chair	Welcome Morice MENDOZA, CEO, MENDOZAMEDIA, Forum Chair
14:10 - 14:40	China today: Tentative Stocktaking Blaise GODET, Ambassador of Switzerland to China, Mongolia and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea	Economic & Political Change in Brazil: Past, Present, Future Michael REID, Americas Editor, The Economist
14:40 - 15:10	Understanding the Past to build the Future Kurt HAERRI, Schindler & President, Swiss Chinese Camber of Commerce	Brazil On the Rise: Opportunties & Challenges Maria Stela Pompeu BRASIL FROTA, Ambassador of Brazil to Switzerland
15:10 - 15:40	Towards a Switzerland China Free Trade Agreement – State of Play Christian ETTER, Ambassador, Member of the Executive Board of the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO)	Turning Adversity into Success Gustavo RAITZIN, CEO Latin America, Spain, Russia, Central & Eastern Europe and Israel, Julius Baer
15:40 - 16:10	Break
16:10 - 16:40	R&D Strategies in China Stephan TITZE, CEO, Syngenta China	Business Strategies for Brazil Rafael BENKE, Senior Executive of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability, Vale
16:40 - 17:10	Preparing the Future: Building a successful Business Venture in China Johnny, CHEN, CEO, Greater China/ Southeast Asia, Zurich Insurance Group	Brazil: Winning Strategies Panel Discussion
17:10 - 18:00	China: the Road Ahead Panel Discussion


Swiss Global Business Forum (Swissglobe)

Swissglobe Award (Laudatio)

	Donald S. BEYER JR, the United States Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein Donald S. Beyer Jr. was sworn in as the United States Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein on August 5, 2009. He took up his duties in Bern on August 15, 2009. Ambassador Beyer is a nationally recognized political, business and philanthropic leader. Over the last thirty years, he built a strong reputation in Virginia, where he grew a successful and reputable business, and spent eight years as Lieutenant Governor. Throughout his adult life, Ambassador Beyer has been very active in Virginia and national politics. In 2008, he chaired the Transportation and Land Use working group of the Governor’s Virginia Commission on Climate Change. Before his nomination to be Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein, he was asked by President-elect Barack Obama to lead the United States Department of Commerce Transition Team. More


Brazil Forum

	Gustavo RAITZIN, CEO Latin America, Spain, Russia, Central & Eastern Europe and Israel, Julius Baer Gustavo Raitzin has been heading Julius Baer’s private banking business for the Americas, Spain and Portugal since 2005. As of 2010 heading International Markets in Latin America, Spain, Russia, Central, Eastern Europe and Israel. He began his career in international banking in 1981 with Citibank N.A. in Buenos Aires, New York and Zurich. In 1990, Raitzin joined Chase Manhattan Private Bank in Geneva as Director Latin America. From 1995 until 1998, he assumed responsibility for the Brazilian market and served as Chief Operating Officer for Latin America and Asia-Pacific at Union Bancaire Privée in Geneva. Until 2005, Raitzin held several key management positions with ABN Amro, including Head of Private Clients Latin America, Global Head of Products & Sales and Head of Private Banking Switzerland. He was a Member of the Executive Committee of ABN Amro Private Banking, Amsterdam. Raitzin graduated from the Belgrano University, Argentina, in 1989 with a degree in law. He completed senior management programs at Insead, France, and IMD, Switzerland.

	Maria Stela Pompeu BRASIL FROTA, Ambassador of Brazil to Switzerland Maria Stela POMPEU BRASIL FROTA has been the Brazilian ambassador to Switzerland since November 2008. Previously, she was the Undersecretary-General of the Foreign Service of the Ministry of External Relations (2006-2008) and before that she was a special advisor to the Secretary-General of External Relations (2003-2005) in Brasilia. Following a career in diplomacy since 1975, Ambassador Maria Stela Pompeu Brasil Frota has performed a number of official functions for Brazil such as in trade promotion, trade policy, environmental affairs and press relations. Her overseas service has included the Brazilian Delegation to the United Nations in Geneva, and the Embassies of Brazil in Washington DC, Santiago and Paris. Ambassador Maria Stela Pompeu Brasil Frota holds a Bachelor’s degree in law from Rio de Janeiro State University and is a graduate of the Instituto Rio Branco, the Brazilian diplomatic academy, where she obtained a degree of Advanced Studies in 1991 with the thesis “Patent Protection of Pharmaceutical Products: The case of Brazil.

	Michael Reid, Americas Editor, The Economist Michael Reid is one of the world’s leading authorities on the political, social and business cultures of Latin America. He has been covering the region for a quarter century as a journalist, much of that time for The Economist. He has written Economist Special Reports on Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, Latin American Business and Mercosur. He speaks regularly on Latin American politics, economics and society, in English, Spanish and Portuguese. Michael is the author of Forgotten Continent: The Battle for Latin America’s Soul¸ on democracy and development in Latin America—a vivid, immediate and informed account of this dynamic continent’s place in a globalised world. He argues that advances in many countries in the region make it a truly vigorous laboratory for capitalist democracy. Michael Reid is Americas Editor at The Economist, the world’s leading business and news weekly. He also has been The Economist’s South America Bureau Chief and Mexican and Central American correspondent. He was formerly a writer and journalist on the Andean countries, based in Lima, Peru. He currently writes monthly columns on Latin American affairs in Valor Econômico, Brazil’s financial daily newspaper, and in Mexico’s Poder magazine. He has won several awards for his Latin American journalism.

	Rafael BENKE, Senior Executive of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability, Vale Rafael Benke is Senior Executive of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability at Vale, the world’s second largest mining company. Rafael joined Vale in 2006 to support the set up of the international affairs department, was later appointed Vice President of Corporate Affairs and International Relations for Vale Inco (nickel business), based in Toronto, and more recently as Senior Executive, Corporate Affairs and Sustainability at Vale International in Switzerland. Rafael held positions in the public and private sectors, including legal advisor to Brazil's Secretary of Foreign Trade (Brasilia, Brazil); coordinator of international affairs in the Brazilian Textile Industry Association (São Paulo, Brazil); consultant for the Organization of American States - OAS (Washington-DC); trainee at the World Trade Organization - WTO (Geneva, Switzerland); international associate at the law firm Steptoe & Johnson LLP (Washington DC); general manager for international affairs at the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (Brazil). Rafael is an attorney, specialized in international law. He holds a Master in Law of International Economic Relations (Catholic University of São Paulo, Brazil) and an LLM in International Economic Law (The University of Warwick, England). He was a visiting scholar and editor assistant at Georgetown University Law Center (Washington DC, USA) and a fellow of the Institute of International Economic Law (Washington DC, USA).


China Forum

	Blaise GODET, Ambassador of Switzerland to China, Mongolia and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Blaise Godet was born in 1947 in Neuchatel. He has a law degree from the University of Neuchatel and is qualified as a lawyer. He started his professional career in one of the big Swiss banks and entered the diplomatic service in 1974. Prior of being appointed Ambassador to China, Mongolia and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in 2008, he served as Ambassador in over 8 countries as well as at Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York.

	Christian ETTER, Ambassador, Member of the Executive Board of the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) Christian Etter is the Delegate of the Swiss Federal Government for Trade Agreements and Member of the Executive Board of the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) at the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Bern, Switzerland. He heads the Special Foreign Economic Service Division of SECO, in charge of trade in goods, trade in services, international investment and international economic treaty law. In his position, Ambassador Etter is chief negotiator and head of the Swiss delegation in negotiations on Free Trade Agreements. Since 2000, he negotiated Free Trade Agreements with Canada, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, the Gulf Cooperation Council, Egypt, Tunisia, Croatia and Lebanon. He currently leads negotiations with China, Thailand and Hong Kong. Christian Etter studied economics, management and law at the University of Bern, Switzerland, and economics and business administration at the Graduate Business School of the University of Rochester, Rochester NY, USA. He received a Master's and a Ph. D. degree in economics from the University of Bern, Switzerland.

	Johnny CHEN, CEO, Greater China / Southeast Asia, Zurich Financial Services As a member of the Executive Committee of Zurich’s International Businesses Division, Johnny oversees the businesses in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan markets. Chen began his career at KPMG in public accounting. After KPMG, Johnny went to work within such accounting firms as Peat Marwick Mitchell & Company and Price Waterhouse Coopers. In 2005, he joined Zurich Financial Services. Chen emigrated from Taiwan to New Haven, Conn. at 13. In 1987, as part of a teaching team for the Professional Accountancy Training Program organized by the World Bank, he was one of the first professional accountants from the U.S.A. in China. Chen has served as Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in China since 1995.

	Kurt HAERRI , Managing Director Top Range Division, Schindler Elevator Ltd & President, Swiss-Chinese Chamber of Commerce Kurt Haerri worked for Schindler in China from 1996 to 2003. During the initial stage of his assignment he introduced several new Elevator Product Lines to the Chinese market. He also became a member of the Schindler China Management Team taking charge of the New Installation Business in this booming market. After his return to Switzerland in 2003, he took over the Supply Chain Management Division at Schindler Switzerland as a member of the Executive Committee. In 2005 he became Head of the New Installation Business of Schindler Switzerland and in addition in 2008 Head of the Modernization Business. Since May 2006, Kurt Haerri is the President of the Swiss-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, a private non-profit organization founded in 1980 and registered in Zurich. Kurt Haerri graduated at the University of St. Gallen as an Executive MBA HSG and before that in 1990 as Mechanical Engineer at the Lucerne University of Applied Science.

	Felix M. SUTTER, Senior Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers & Swissglobe Chair (China Track) Felix M. Sutter is a senior Partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers Switzerland's Risk & Control Solutions Practice based in the Singapore office. He has had many opportunities to work and travel within the Asian region during the last decade. In particular, he has spent the last five intensive years, living in Beijing and serving local and international clients in mainland China. Having relocated to Singapore recently, he now focuses on serving MNC clients operating in or out of Asia. Mr Sutter's recent clients included China Life, New China Life, China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co. Ltd, Zurich Financial Services, Novartis, AIA/AIG, Shanghai Electric and Shandong Gold. Sutter has an Executive MBA from IMD, Lausanne.

	Stephan TITZE, CEO, Syngenta China Mr.Stephan Titze has been in China for the last 6 years, leading the growth track for the Syngenta Crop protection business to the leading market position in China, by introducing new technologies to Chinese farmers to improve their yields, food quality and farm income. He is originally Swiss and also an Australian citizen. He studied Agriculture and Marketing at Queensland University and spent his early working life in Australia with ICI, (now Orica). He has held various marketing and business management positions in Australia, Europe, East Europe, and Asia. Previous roles included General Manager Indonesia, Business Manager East Europe and European Strategy Manager. Stephan has been the Chairman of Crop Life China, the International Crop Protection Companies industry association in China and is also the Vice President of Swisscham China in Shanghai.

Platinum Partner Network Partners

Media Partners