Global Economic and Workforce Development Coalition

CALIFORNIA INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS ALLIANCE

A Global Economic & Workforce Development Coalition Resource Affiliate
P.O. Box 989, Sun City, CA 92586-0989
Phone: 951-301-0605....Fax: 951-301-0606
Email:GEWDCinfo@aol.com 

Mission:

California International Business Alliance (CIBA) is a non-profit organization, dedicated to promoting and facilitating the business development objectives of its member companies seeking success in the growing global economic system.

CIBA is focused on creating and utilizing its global contact and resource network to assist California companies to present their services, products and other resources in the management of material and human resources. CIBA gets actively involved in a step-by-step process to assist member companies enter and expand into markets around the globe supported by federal, state and local governments.

CIBA advisory and support staff acts in a much needed counseling and advocacy role to promote CA companies in the global market and also act as an international marketing division of CA companies.

Objectives:

 CIBA works closely with business and government organizations to develop profitable international business expansion by:

• Creating comprehensive strategic and tactical plans to approach and enter the expanding global markets. This will include market research, analysis, strategic planning and implementation.
• Arranging for cost-effective services such as translation, legal, advocacy, networking, and other types of support to member firms.
• Creating a growing membership network open to any firm active in California. The membership fees are minimal. For each project, CIBA will charge only to cover expenses as they occur.  CIBA’s “hands on” team of business professionals will greatly minimize potential risks for project participants.  CIBA can participate as an active joint venture project partner in cooperation with member firms and be compensated as a percentage of the profits or revenues of the projects.
• Creating active focus and development groups for:

            * North America

            * Central and South America

            * Asia

            * Europe and the Middle East

            * Africa

CIBA’s Advocacy Role:

• CIBA serves as a proactive voice member businesses in the U.S. and the international markets. CIBA works with government officials to promote an environment conducive to successful business undertakings for member companies.
• CIBA troubleshoots and helps member companies in the international market with their unique needs and specific issues.
• CIBA will closely work with international agencies to promote US interests globally.

CIBA Educational programs:

• Publish online newsletter on current business trends and opportunities.
• Develop and conduct comprehensive “how to succeed in the international market” training programs in partnership with leading US higher education institutions
• Organize conferences and briefings relating to international business. 
• Next major conference in Ontario, CA, May 31, 2006.  Mark your calendar now.
• Promote the California Trade Information Network system of business opportunities
• Host international business and government delegations as they visit California.
• Develop a website with business information and economic data.

International Project Development Centers (IPDC)

IPDC is a non-profit entity supported by Global Economic and Workforce Development Coalition (GEWDC) and California International Business Alliance (CIBA) working in collaboration with municipal government and local economic development offices in the US and overseas. The function of the center is to identify and assess international development projects and find enterprises that are ready and able to participate in the planning, execution and management of these projects. These projects could involve the need for products (machinery/goods) and services as well as international business expansion opportunities.  

IPDC Functions:

• IPDC administrative and project support functions
• Identifying international opportunities
• Assessment and Feasibility studies
• Strategies and Recommendations
• Arranging Trade Missions and Business Meetings  
• Communication / Negotiations
• Building Relations and Facilitating MOUs and Agreements
• Government Registration, Permits for projects and Legal Matters
• Business Expansion, Merger /Acquisition and IPOs
• Trouble-shooting

Municipal Government role:

• Providing the address, telephone and room for occasional meetings of IPDC
• Providing interns for IPDC (through GEWDC assistance)
• High-level Participation in Trade Missions and IPDC meetings

USDOC support role:

• Participating in IPDC activities and Trade Missions
• Supporting Export Project Initiatives through DOC network
• Providing International Support through US Commercial Service Centers  

The main purpose of the IPDC is to create an interactive support system for the local businesses by integrating the public and private resources to facilitate international expansion and sales.  This model is very effective in the international market since most countries such as China, India and others operate in close collaboration with their municipal governments and private sector employers.

Furthermore, the US and State government support in meetings and trade missions means that the government in the other countries would receive the delegations at a level corresponding to the visiting guests.  For example; if a trade mission includes a US mayor then the delegation would be received by the local mayor. This arrangement is very helpful since it gives the delegation access to the pool of local resources rather than meeting with one or two companies. This arrangement would also create some protection and face-saving measures for the US businesses who are contemplating ventures in China.  Almost all delegations coming from China are not only represented by the Government but also the senior government officials are the leaders of the delegation.     

Organization:

CIBA was organized by three individuals with extensive business and organization development experience:

Ramses Rashidi - an international business enterprise developer and strategist.  He has lived and traveled in China for over 15 years.  He serves as Managing Director of Future Trends, Ltd. a consulting and resource management firm serving over five hundred municipal governments throughout China.  Mr. Rashidi also directs the operation of the Center for Balanced Development (CBD), conducting research on relational models of development in the emerging global economy. He lectures extensively on strategies for building successful business operations in Asia. He is currently completing a book on “The Human Dimension of Development” which is the result of his experience in observing economic and workforce development trends around the world.  Mr. Rashidi was born in Iran into a family of business entrepreneurs and currently lives in Southern California.

Dennis Fisher, MBA CFPIM CPM - Dennis Fisher, MBA CFPIM CPM is President of Basic Business Services, an organization dedicated to consulting and education in the global business community.  His business and personal life is founded on one key principle – To train and develop people for their maximum personal and professional growth potential. Thus he is focused on the physical application of learning through the students. He has held many positions over the last 30 years in manufacturing, distribution, purchasing, consulting, training, engineering and service organizations.

Mr. Fisher is considered an industry leader in “Who’s Who in Finance and Industry” and other reference publications for his contributions to automation and advanced process redesign throughout the world. He is a regular speaker at professional and civic groups around the world and has authored dozens of articles and reports that are considered state-of-the-art. He is regarding as one of the world's leading authorities on supply chain management and Total Quality Management (TQM).  He has served as the president of several professional societies including the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) and the American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS).

William Prouty, CBC CEC CLU RHU MBA PhD - Dr. Prouty serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Benefit Technologies International, Global Economic & Workforce Development Coalition and Global Education Services Alliance.  These firms provide small to mid-sized employers with a comprehensive range of resource services and support.  This includes online human resource management, regulatory compliance, executive and employee benefits.  Dr. Prouty’s business career spans over 50 years and includes hands-on management and leadership of many business and non-profit organizations.  Dr. Prouty teaches a wide variety of business management and communications programs at the local and regional level.

CIBA Executive Advisory Council

The CIBA Executive Advisory Council brings together the unique skills and talent of international business and trade specialists. 

Robert Gordon - developer of the information portal and California Trade Information Network community development resource group.  Mr. Gordon has dedicated the last three years of his life to the creation a mechanism where businesses could learn about the breadth and depth of the international business and interact with others of similar interest in the U.S. and around the world.  He has developed a highly effective and interactive communication platform.

Scott Sambucci – Scott is the Founder of Economic Information Services, LLC.  Scott has developed a highly successful business operation in Kazakhstan and Ukraine in Central Asia.  Scott and the EIS management team bring a wealth of experience and knowledge into project management in Central Asia.

Michael Khaled – Mike is the CEO of Ocean Consulting Group and Breakthrough Education Systems and Technologies.  Mike has over 25 years of leadership in the staff development and industrial training.  Mike served as the Director of Training for Douglas Aircraft Corporation with over 40,000 employees.  In the last seven years, Mike has assisted California firms in receiving over $27 million in training grants.

Robert Bowen, JD – Robert is an international trade and business legal specialist with over 15 years of experience.  He is a former international trade legal specialist with the U.S. Department of Commerce.

CIBA Advisory Councils

Several advisory councils help build the extensive resource and support networks and provide the collective knowledge of many different senior management level personnel who communicate on a regular basis:

Leadership - a collaborative community of business owners and CEO level management

Operations - a collaborative community of operations and production leaders

Finance - a collaborative community of financial resource and management leaders

Sales & Marketing – a collaborative community of sales and marketing leaders

Human Resources - a collaborative community of human resource leaders

The skilled professionals who are part of the Advisory Councils review programs and cooperate on a wide variety of specialized business projects.  Some are also available to serve as advisors, mentors and coaches to organizations moving into the global marketplace.  The Councils will meet together on a quarterly basis to discuss “best practices” for their industry sector.  An online communication community development system is provided by the California Trade Information Network (CITN).  This will also allow the facilitation of voice and video conferences on a regular basis as needed or desired by the Council members. 

Location

CIBA is a non-profit corporation headquartered in Southern California and is focused on building a network of public and private economic & workforce development resource centers offices throughout California that will cooperate with similar centers in China and other Asian countries. CIBA works in close collaboration with various agencies of federal, state and local government. 

If you have questions or other comments, please contact:

William Prouty CLU RHU CBC CEC MBA PhD, Managing Director
California International Business Alliance (CIBA)
Global Economic & Workforce Development Coalition (GEWDC)

PO Box 989, Sun City, CA 92586-0989 
Phone: 951-301-0605  FAX: 951-301-0606
email: GEWDCinfo@aol.com 

www.gewdc.org   www.benefitstech.com