(May 11, 2010) The California Chamber of Commerce Council for International Trade will host an International Forum featuring two trade officials from the Obama administration on May 17 in Sacramento.

Featured Speakers

Featured speakers at the forum, which also is a breakout session for the CalChamber Business Summit, will be:

• Demetrios Marantis, deputy U.S. trade representative Asia and Africa Division, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative; and
• Suresh Kumar, assistant secretary for trade promotion, director-general of U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service, U.S. Department of Commerce.
• Joel Ayala will be introduced as the executive director of the newly created Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GoED).

Asia Pacific

Marantis will discuss Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) issues and the U.S.-hosted APEC meetings scheduled for 2011. Marantis is responsible for U.S. trade negotiations and enforcement in Asia and Africa. He also leads U.S. Trade Representative global initiatives on trade and development, labor, and the environment.

Marantis recently served as chief international trade counsel (majority) for the U.S. Senate Finance Committee. National Export Initiative Kumar will be discussing President Barack Obama’s National Export Initiative.

In his current position, Kumar helps U.S. firms and workers navigate the often-complicated and unpredictable waters of foreign trade so that sales abroad help support U.S. jobs. He most recently was president and managing partner of KaiZen Innovation, a management advisory firm dedicated to improving local communities and global markets.

Kumar served as special advisor to the Clinton Foundation, working with governments in Sub-Saharan Africa and corporate CEOs to establish private-public partnerships to stimulate economic development in the region.

Kumar led Johnson & Johnson’s Worldwide Consumer Pharmaceuticals business and served on its Group Operating Committee.

Registration

To register for the International Forum, call (916) 444-6670, ext. 233, or e-mail intl.events@calchamber.com.

Staff Contact: Susanne T. Stirling