Executive Roundtable Feb 11th 2010, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Through the network in the International Partnerships Committee, the Danish Community was invited to an Executive Roundtable by the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, initiated by Jorge Fernandez.

This event was hosted at the downtown facility of the MAC and co-hosted by the Trade Commission of Denmark, The Royal Danish Consul Christopher Smith, Macon and the Danish American Chamber of Commerce. This was a unique opportunity to bring the entire Danish business community together and the aim was to exchange information about how it is to do business in Atlanta.

MAC have successfully held such events with the Dutch, the German, and the British Community - and soon the French and Japanese community will be on the panel - but February 2010 was dedicated to the vibrant Danish community.

The companies selected were broad from both the 'new' and the 'old' business community, namely:

• Scanmarket, Ole Nielsen
• Celenia Software, Karina Nielsen
• Uhrenholt A/S, Michael Stentebjerg
• Maileg North America, Lars Jul Andersen
• Noliac North America, John Klausen
• Exhausto, Steen & Gitte Hagensen
• DSV Air&Sea, Jan Rene Knudsen
• SatAir, Brian Hviid
• CCI Europe, Carsten Jensen
• Bova Furniture, Steen Morup-Olesen

Jorge Fernandez introduced the concept behind this type of roundtable discussions and provided valuable information about the Chamber:

MAC is the oldest chamber in the States and has just celebrated its 150th anniversary.

The chamber functions as an economic engine in the South and is totally independent with no government subventions, but there is still a close cooperation with the public sector.

MAC is based on partnerships which consist of Consulates, Trade Commissions and bilingual organisations such as DACC. Moreover MAC works with the state, which makes MAC the centre that connects all the organizations and makes it easier for the company to get the information it seeks more effectively. If MAC does not know the answer it will be able to make a connection to the organisation or person in question. This way MAC facilitates the entry to USA for Danish companies.

MAC offers both one on one consulting and seminars. The chamber is a “One stop shop” which helps with everything like service providers and also able of getting a lawyer who speaks the native language of the client or the potential country which the company wants to enter. Furthermore, MAC’s services are free.

Metro Atlanta consists of 28 counties and this make Atlanta the economy of Georgia and wants to be part of the national agenda.

Goals of MAC and this roundtable:

• Find a way to make people more aware of Atlanta and the business opportunities
• Help companies connect with each other
• That Danish companies succeed and thrive in Atlanta
• What can MAC do to help?
• What can MAC do to make business grow and to leverage the burden?
• Create an open forum for companies, services providers and the different chambers (TCD and MAC)

And after a welcomming remark from also Jan Sauer from the Trade Commission, Chirs Smith from the Consulate in Macon and Charlotte Nytoft from DACC the discussion opened up and many topics were discussed in a open and honest dialogue amongst the participants. Some of the topics of interest was:

Several of the companies mentioned that the reason why they have chosen Atlanta is because of the location. It is easy to get access to Atlanta from Denmark. Furthermore, he finds the climate appealing and it is a big airport with connection to the rest of the States.

Jorge introduces the Ambassador program to find out how it works out with companies who exports to Georgia and who continues to export.

It has been proven to be successful to use Atlanta as an entry point for the market in USA and is actually a great starting point for export to Latin America. MAC can also facilitate connections such as service providers in Mexico. It is possible to use MAC for making connections regionally, nationally and internationally.

There is a huge diversity in markets in the USA. Georgia is the fastest growing state economically. Furthermore he mentions that Atlanta is currently the hub for the car industry and Atlanta is growing demographically. Jorge mentions the expression: “Global Metro Atlanta”.
Jorge mentions that these discussions and roundtables are important for business. He gives an example of a bill that was carried out in Georgia because of a meeting like this.

There is a lack of international companies and talents in USA and Jorge acknowledges that USA is not an easy country to enter due to facts such as health care, visa and insurance. MAC and TCD can help with all these questions and issues.

Further it was discussed to create a check list or a how to for companies entering the States. He was also asking for a check list for local hire. MAC will get back to him with that. What is necessary to realize is that it is an ongoing process which means that it is not only the entering process that is difficult, but the entire process of expansion, moving here with family etc.

Other concerns which were raised are:

• Health care – insurance companies.
• Visa – why is it necessary to fly all the way back to Copenhagen to get it renewed? Federal issue.
• Social Security number
• Credit history

It may be difficult to convince the Danish executives at home how to do business overseas. It is very important that the company looks and acts like a US company otherwise the consumers will not find the company credible and Americans are afraid of overseas companies.

The organizers were obviously interested in knowing if the audience experienced any difficulties in maintaining business in Atlanta, which lead to a discussion around the following issues:

Promotion and branding of Atlanta in Denmark by TCD and MAC – get the good stories out there! For example technology clusters are big in Atlanta, but no one seems to be aware of it.

Introduce the Danes for an American network consisting of locals and corporations which will integrate them. This way the Danes will increase their network which is crucial when doing business in USA and when expanding to other states as Americans always ask about track records.
Speed networking

What is the success rate of Danish companies entering the States via Atlanta?
American Ambassadors in Denmark which will promote Atlanta with a sympathetic face. “If you don’t know, you don’t know what you are missing out on”.

Check list for moving your family to the states which has guidance to utilities, schools etc.
Communication is crucial! We need to work closely together to get a pool of knowledge that everyone can benefit from.

The afternoon ended around 4 p.m. and is hopefully only the start of a countinous dialogue between the Danish Business Community and MAC. By the end of the day we are all striving to build a even better business community.

To learn more about the Metro Atlanta Chamber and what they can do for you to grow your business please go to:
http://www.metroatlantachamber.com/ for more information.


Charlotte Nytoft
Chairman DACC
404-626-9859