Specialty Content Track
International Trade
Arnaldo Sehwerert, Director, SBDC Mid-Hudson (Moderator)
Paola Bianco, Business Advisor, SBDC York
Juan Carlos Eguia, Director, SBDC ITESO University (Mexico)
Jesse Karasin, Business Advisor, SBDC Baruch
Lynn Oswald, Director, SBDC Niagara
Harry Wells, Director, SBDC Queens - York
Jinshui Zhang, Director of International Business Development, SBDC Central
Monday, 9:00-10:15
Program Description: There are strong indications that the economy is getting better and, not surprisingly, our balance of trade is improving. Since small businesses are the backbone of the American economy, it follows that the international market is important for that sector as well. So, as a small business owner, why would you want to export/import? The answer is simple; to increase sales and make more money by reaching a bigger market and/or offering a wider array of products to local consumers.
Here are some interesting facts:
1 - 96% of the world’s consumers live outside the US and the global consumer spends over $46 trillion a
year.
2 - Most exports are done by small and medium companies. 97% of all exporters are not big companies.
3 - Export activities create jobs in the US. It is estimated that 1 out of every 5 manufacturing jobs depend
on exports and that each $1B in exports creates 6,000 jobs.
4 - The New York brand has immediate positive recognition all over the world.
5 - The American consumer has become increasingly sophisticated and demands goods from overseas.
The ease of travel and communication is making international trade a viable endeavor for just about any small business and this panel of experts will discuss and evaluate some key issues in international trade plus review initiatives being supported by the NY SBDC network and how you can make them available to clients.
Moderator Information:
Arnaldo Sehwerert joined the Mid-Hudson Region SBDC in 2002 and has occupied the Director’s position since 2004. After stints running his own consulting business, he worked in the brewing and distilling industry in various capacities. Arnaldo was President of both DMS Rapp Collins Direct Marketing and Summa Corporate Communications serving the Latin American market. He currently serves as member of the board of the Sullivan County Chamber of Commerce, the Educational Committee of the Ulster County Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Advisory Boards of the SUNY New Paltz School of Business and the SUNY Ulster Business Department. He has a BS in Political Science from SUNY New Paltz, an MS in Management from SUNY Binghamton and a PH.D. in Manpower Studies from the NYS School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University.
Panelists Information:
Paola Bianco is an experienced and skilled International Trade Specialist with extensive knowledge of import and export compliance, customs regulations, control processes, and procedures and more than sixteen years of experience in International Trade business with a specialization in Latin America and Middle East Market. She will focus on the process of exporting.
Juan Carlos Eguía has a Bachelor in Business Administration specializing in finance, a Bachelor in Philosophy and a Master in Business Administration (MBA). During his career he worked for several years for different companies such as Nestlé México and RCO (Red commercial de Occidente) in marketing and sales. In 2007 he founded Anagrama Consulting and he´s been its CEO since then, working as a consultant and instructor for different companies such as Hewlett Packard, IBM, Driscoll´s RARE, etc. focusing primarily on strategic planning, organizational development, marketing and sales, and finance. Currently, he is the ITESO University SBDC Director and has participated in the design of training programs for small business consultants and new consulting models and methodologies. Additionally he has been teaching at ITESO for over fifteen years. He will focus on doing business in Mexico.
Lynn Oswald became the Director of the Niagara SBDC in 2009. She had previously spent seven years as a business advisor. As an advisor she worked with over 1,400 clients leading to over $9 million in economic impact. In 2005 she was named NYSBDC State Star. Lynn earned her Advanced Certification in 2014. Her prior work history includes several banking positions in commercial lending and finance. Lynn specializes is developing financial packages and in International Trade. She is a NASBITE Certified Global Business Professional. In addition, Lynn is an adjunct faculty member of Niagara County Community College for the Business Department currently teaching Small Business Management. She has a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and an MBA in Finance both from the University at Buffalo. She will focus on doing business in Canada.
Jesse Karasin is a Business Advisor at the Baruch SBDC and has an MBA in Finance from Baruch College. Jesse specializes in financial analysis, EB5 financing and business strategy relating to business development & strategic partnerships. Prior to joining the Field Center, Jesse worked in financial services as an equities trader, where he managed day to day trading. As a result, he has a strong understanding of the capital markets and how management decisions can affect a company’s equity. Jesse’s recent work experience also includes business development, specifically consulting and marketing strategies for small businesses. Jesse has his bachelor’s degree in Psychology from SUNY Albany. He will focus on the EB-5 program.
Harry Wells has nearly twenty years of experience in international trade and economic development, entrepreneurship and small business management. Mr. Wells was a member of Innovative Distribution Services, a seven-member import/export trading and consulting firm, which sold products to major U.S. retailers. After graduating from USC, the then football star traveled internationally to source products and work with local producers. His firm became a vendor and supplier to Fortune 500 companies like J.C. Penney, Sears, etc. As the business grew, he participated in trade shows to develop export markets in South America and the Caribbean regions.
Jinshui Zhang, Director of International Business Development; NYSBDC Advanced Certified Business Adviser; Certified Global Business Counselor. Since 1996, the IBD program has strategically positioned small and medium-sized businesses to take advantage of the business and trade development opportunities in China and the global marketplace. Jinshui provides expert business advisement and assistance to a variety of companies on issues of market identification, evaluation, selection, and investment in foreign marketplaces, assists in business/trade opportunities in new markets and advises companies on overseas investment, joint ventures, operations, and sourcing projects. Jinshui organizes and coordinates national and international conferences, training sessions and seminars for businesses to bridge the barriers of business practices, regulations, tariffs and serves as the primary liaison between government agencies and partners while coordinating the activities in economic and business development between US and China and other foreign countries. He will focus on doing business in China.
Cyber-Security – Targets of a Hacker
Tyler Wrightson, Founder & President, Leet Systems
Monday, 10:30-11:45
Program Description: In this presentation, Tyler Wrightson reviews the common targets, methods and tactics used by hackers and cyber criminals. There will be a discussion of common threat actors, their motives and empirical stories of how they operate. By understanding what they're up against, small businesses can better protect their businesses from cyber attacks.
Presenter Information: Tyler Wrightson, Alphabet Soup, is the author of Advanced Persistent Threat Hacking and Wireless Network Security: A Beginner's Guide. Tyler is the founder and president of Leet Systems, which helps organizations solve the hacker problem, by focusing on technical challenges.
LeetSystems focuses on offensive security services such as Penetration Testing and Red Teaming to secure organizations against real world attackers. Tyler has over fifteen years’ experience in the IT security field across many industries including healthcare and financial services with extensive experience in many areas of technical security including networking, systems architecture, offensive security and penetration testing.
Tyler holds industry certifications such as CISSP, CCSP, CCNA, CCDA, and MCSE. Tyler has also taught classes for CCNA certification, wireless security, network security, and penetration testing. He has been a frequent speaker at industry conferences including NYS CyberSecurity Conference, Derbycon, BSides, Rochester Security Summit, ISACA, ISSA, and others. Follow his security blog at http://blog.leetsys.com.
MWBE
Brian Ansari, Director of Business Development, ESD Div of Minority & Women’s Business, ESD
Bette Yee, Director of Certification, ESD Div of Minority & Women’s Business, ESD
Lourdes Zapata, Executive Director, ,ESD Div of Minority & Women’s Business, ESD
Monday, 2:00-3:15
Program Description: The program will consist of an overview of MWBE program, certification program changes, product code migration and MWBE search methodology. In addition the program will discuss ESD’s business development initiatives and recent changes in the program the impact businesses doing business with NYS.
Presenter Information: Brian Ansari, as the Director of Business Development for the Division of MWBE, is responsible for the expansion of MWBE’s in NYS contracting opportunities across all Agencies and Authorities working with MWBE’s directly, as well as the same agencies and authorities, prime contractors and other stakeholders in the MWBE ecosystem. He is the lead contact for major projects in NYS for MWBE’s and works closely with the stakeholders to optimize MWBE participation across all NYS procurement opportunities.
Bette Yee, as the Director of Certification for the Division of MWBE, manages the Certification Unit and helps develop recommendations on the legitimacy of ownership and operational control of applicants for minority and women owned and led business certification. She works in conjunction with Business Development to facilitate minority and women’s access to business opportunities in the public or private sector.
Lourdes Zapata is the Executive Director of the Division of Minority and Women’s Business Development, Ms. Zapata is responsible for the development of the statewide procurement policies supporting Governor Cuomo’s efforts to promote equality of economic opportunities for MWBEs and works with State Commissioners and the Legislature on matters affecting the MWBE community.
FAST Program
Chuck Schwerin, Business Advisor, SBDC Binghamton
Dr. Per Stromhaug, Assistant Vice President for Innovation and Economic Development, Binghamton University
Monday, 3:30-4:45
Program Description: This session will cover feasibility & fundability for a tech startup, as well as provide a guide to university support for tech startups.
Presenter Information:
Chuck Schwerin is a SBDC Small Business Advisor who is quite familiar with traditional startup methodology as well as lean start-up methods. He founded three start-ups: one a software company that developed the earliest electronic medical record system based upon customer inquiries about how to reduce medical record transcription costs, and two bio-medical firms. He was also a Senior Product Manager for a large software firm (MapInfo/Pitney Bowes) and experienced the transition from waterfall to agile software development. He has guest lectured at SUNY Binghamton’s entrepreneurship classes in the art and science of starting new businesses. At the SBDC he advises clients in both technical and non-technical fields. In his spare time he edits Adirondack PEEKS, the magazine of the Adirondack 46ers.
Per Stromhaug oversees the office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Partnerships including tech transfer activities, the start-up suite, entrepreneurial support and economic growth initiatives. He is also overseeing the new High Technology Incubator in downtown Binghamton and is the lead contact for the Start-up NY initiative at Binghamton University.
Veterans Programs
Robert Piechota, Director, SBDC Brooklyn
Tuesday, 9:00-10:15
Program Description: The presentation will focus on the few unique traits/communication considerations that many veteran clients have in common. We will also address some salient data you may want to collect from veteran clients that may be useful should they become long term clients.
Presenter Information: Rob Piechota is a US Army Veteran and West Point graduate having served both as an enlisted man and an officer in the Military Police Corps. He has over 25 years’ experience in business working within a Fortune 100 company as a Sales Manager and as a Business Unit Training Director. He has also operated his own small business in Connecticut. More recently Rob has worked with the Small Business Development Center, (SBDC) located in Brooklyn, NY on the City Tech campus for four years working as both a Veteran Assistance and Support Advisor and as the Director of the Brooklyn SBDC. The Brooklyn SBDC services a very diverse ethnic client base. Inherent in his role as director of the award winning SBDC, is his on-going effort in assisting small business owners recover from natural disasters such as Superstorm Sandy, and preparing for similar challenges in the future.
Commercial Real Estate: Get a Clue! Assisting Your Client in Finding Commercial Space to Suit Their Business Needs
Cathy Terrizi, Certified Business Advisor, SBDC Mid Hudson
Jan Pisanczyn, Director, SBDC Rochester/Brockport
Tuesday, 10:30-11:45
Program Description: Basic overview about commercial real estate and knowing what to ask about to serve your clients operational needs and everyday usage of the property. The session will help you and your clients in how to look at a business location with a critical eye.
Presenter Information: Catherine Terrizzi is a NYS Certified Business Advisor with the Mid-Hudson Small Business Development Center. She holds a NYS Real Estate Broker license and runs her own brokerage firm. Catherine has served in local and county government. She served as a county legislator and on her local Town Planning Board. Additionally, she earned a Business Degree and a Master’s Degree in Public Service, both from SUNY New Paltz.
Jan Pisanczyn is Director of the Rochester/Brockport SBDC and a Certified Business Advisor. Jan has been with the SBDC for 30 years. He holds a NYS Real Estate Sales Agent license with a focus on Commercial Real Estate and Business Brokerage. Jan is involved with many Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Organizations and is currently serving on the Finger Lakes Economic Development Council Entrepreneurship and Innovation work group as well as the Global NY work group.
FRANnet - Business in a Box, Franchise Formula for Entrepreneurial Success
Frank Dunne, Owner, Franchise Fit/Placement Specialist
Wednesday, 9:00-10:15Program Description: The landscape of franchise opportunities will be covered as well as the basic principles of franchising, and key considerations in being matched with the right opportunity. The myths surrounding franchising will also be debunked. Participants will learn about the importance of systems in a business that is offered by franchises – and how they may be leveraged by NY SBDC clients/prospects.
Presenter Information: Frank Dunne helps aspiring entrepreneurs, executives-in-transition, veterans and others explore franchise opportunities. He provides counsel on the benefits, costs, and risks of franchising – and helps individuals navigate the maze of franchise concepts. Utilizing cutting-edge profiling, and 1:1 consultative processes, he helps match leading franchises that best fit each client’s goals, skills, and interests. Qualified clients receive coaching services at no cost, as all funding is provided by franchisors.
ESD – Global NY
Erin Cole, Senior Vice President, Global NY, Empire State Development Corporations
Wednesday, 10:30-11:45
Program Description: This session will provide a description of who and what Global NY is and does, and will share information on core programs and services that can be used by SBDC clients. In addition, there will be an update on Global NY’s plan for trade missions for Fall 2016- Fall 2017 plus an update on several key trade policy issues, such as US sanctions against certain foreign countries.
Presenter Information: Erin Cole is the Senior Vice President for Global NY at Empire State Development Corporation. She manages New York State’s foreign offices and Global NY staff. Global NY’s mission is to increase state exports and attract more foreign direct investment.
Previously, she served as the President/CEO of World Trade Center Buffalo-Niagara (WCTCBN), the leading international trade services provider in the Buffalo-Niagara region. Prior to this, she served in Central Asia with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) managing regional economic development programs.
In addition to USAID, Erin previously worked for the US Departments of State and Commerce and served in Russia, Washington DC, Rochester, NY, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Her expertise is private sector development with a focus on international trade and export promotion. She received international certification as a “Certified Global Business Professional” from NASBITE International.
Erin began her career as a soldier in the US Army working in Combat Electronic Warfare Intelligence and Civil Affairs; she is a decorated Gulf War veteran (Operations Desert Shield and Storm). In 2009, she received an Executive Masters of Public Administration from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School and a Certificate in Advanced Study in Security Systems from SU’s Institute of National Security and Counterterrorism. A native of Buffalo, Erin also holds a BA in International Relations from UB. Outside of her government service, Erin started her own small business selling female military collectibles and co-founded the Veterans for Common Sense NGO with fellow Gulf War veterans. She is fluent in English and Russian.