2006 America-China Women Business
Conference |
| The 2006 America-China
Women Business Conference was held on October
2-4 at the Marriott Hotel & Conference Center
in Bethesda, Maryland. The second annual conference
attracted 300 attendees, including forty women
entrepreneurs from China.
The first day of the conference featured two
series of simultaneous workshops led by a number
of expert panelists. The presentations focused
on identifying and executing business opportunities
in both the United States and China. |
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| Chinese attendees were
treated to a workshop entitled “Multi-National
Companies Global Procurement and Suppliers Diversity
Programs” where experts from IBM, Alcatel,
UPS, and Haliburton shared their knowledge on
how multinational companies do business in China.
Topics ranged from supplier certification for
multinational companies to development of supplier
diversity programs to promote women-owned businesses.
Meanwhile, attendees from the US listened to Chinese
experts share their first-hand experiences of
conducting business in China. |
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| The welcome luncheon
began with remarks from Xugeng Zhou, Chairman
of America-China International Foundation, Ben
Wu, Assistant Secretary of Business Development
for the State of Maryland, and Marilyn Johnson,
VP of Marketing for IBM Corporation. |
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| The keynote luncheon¡¯s
¡°State of the Union Address¡±
was delivered by Shi Qingqi, President of the
Chinese Women Entrepreneurs Association, and Sharon
Hadary, Executive Director of the Center for Women¡¯s
Business Research. Xing Wei, President of China
Putian Company, followed with a speech on ¡°Women
and Business Innovation¡±. |
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| The second day brought
attendees from the two countries together as stimulating
presentations covered common issues in international
business between the United States and China.
Plenary sessions such as ¡°Yin and Yan
of Successful International Market Entry¡±,
¡°East Meets West Woman Leadership¡±,
¡°Impact of Cultural Difference in Doing
Business between China and the U.S.¡±,
and ¡°How to Create the Right Technology
Foundation for Your Business¡± provided
a plethora of useful information for attendees. |
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| The third and final
day included the trade show, various networking
opportunities, a final series of workshops, and
closing ceremonies. The Closing Gala featured
honored guests Sam Mok, CFO for the Department
of Labor, and Mary Kane, Secretary of State for
the State of Maryland. |
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| After a delightful classical
Chinese musical performance, the keynote speech
was given by Paula Beroza, Managing Director of
Sierra Asia Partners. |
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| The conference concluded
with an awards ceremony recognizing individuals
from both the United States and China who have
made great contributions toward the promotion
of women in business. |
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| Award Recipients |
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| Social Responsibility
Contribution Award |
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Debra Ruh
CEO, TecAccess |
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| Ambassador of
US-China Trade Award |
Paula Beroza
Managing Director
Sierra Asia Partners
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CCPIT
China Council for the
Promotion of International Trade |
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| Business Innovation
Award |
Virginia L. Pan
Chairman
TransCapital Group
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Xing
Wei
President
China Putian Corporation |
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| Business Development
and Growth Award |
Gay Warren Gaddis
President and CEO
T3 (The Think Tank)
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Yu
Jian
General Manager
Shenzhen Natural Gas Company |
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| Supporter of Women
Entrepreneurs Award |
Sharon G. Hadary
Executive Director
Center for Women’s Business Research
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Shi
Qingqi
Executive VP
China Women Entrepreneurs Association |
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Debra Ruh
CEO, TecAccess |
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| As the winner of the
US Department of Labor's "New Freedom Initiative,"
TecAccess is among the leaders in accessibility,
Section 508, Section 255 and Section 504 compliance
solutions. Widely recognized for expertise in
accessibility issues, TecAccess employs a diverse,
skilled team of professionals, most of whom are
people with disabilities. Ms. Ruh has been invited
to speak before members of the European Union;
was appointed to Virginia Governor Tim Kaine's
Olmstead Board for disability rights; named the
Small Business Administration's "Small Minority
Owned Business Person of the Year.” |
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Paula Beroza
Managing Director, Sierra Asia Partners |
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| Paula Beroza has more
than 20 years of experience in investment banking
and investment management—originating, structuring,
and marketing over $26 billion of acquisitions,
debt and equity issues for U.S. and international
companies. While working as head of the Greater
China investment banking group at Merrill Lynch
in the mid-1990's, she completed the first international
equity offering of a Chinese company; structured
and placed innovative financial products; and
educated the government and Chinese enterprises
on the operation of international capital markets,
including investor expectations, regulatory practices,
transparency, and after-market trading. Over her
illustrious career, Ms. Beroza has helped raise
over $2 billion in financing for Chinese enterprises. |
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| CCPIT |
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| Established in May 1952,
the China Council for the Promotion of International
Trade (CCPIT) comprises VIPs, enterprises and
organizations representing the economic and trade
sectors in China. It is the largest institution
for the promotion of foreign trade in China. The
purpose of CCPIT is to operate and promote foreign
trade, to use foreign investment, to introduce
advanced foreign technologies, to conduct activities
of Sino-foreign economic and technological cooperation
in various forms, to promote the development of
economic and trade relations between China and
other countries and regions around the world,
and to promote the mutual understanding and friendship,
in line with law and government policies of the
People’s Republic of China. |
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Virginia L. Pan
Chairman, TransCapital Group |
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| Over her distinguished
career, Virginia L. Pan has held such prestigious
positions as the first woman Vice President at
American Express International Bank, Senior Asian
Advisor to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC, and Manager
of Banking Operations at the Federal Reserve Bank
of New York. She has over 30 years of experience
advising corporate directors for companies such
as PepsiCo Foods International, Bristol-Myers
Squibb Company, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC, and
Aetna Life Insurance Company. Ms. Pan is also
the Chairman and founder of the TransCapital Group,
a leading international business development and
investment firm founded in 1984, and is currently
actively engaged in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games
infrastructure projects. |
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Xing Wei
President, China Putian Corporation |
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| Xing Wei is the President
of China Putian Corporation and Party Secretary
of Putian Group, the Chairman and President of
China Potevio Company Limited, the Chairman of
the Board of Beijing Sony Ericsson Putian Mobile
Communications Co., Ltd., the International Trade
Arbitrator of China International Arbitration
Commission, Life Professor of Chinese Academy
of Social Sciences, a member of Information Security
Expert Group of National 863 Program, and a member
of Advisory Committee for State Information. |
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Gay Warren Gaddis
President and CEO, T3 (The Think Tank) |
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| Gay Warren Gaddis is
the president and CEO of T3 (The Think Tank),
the largest independent advertising agency, wholly-owned
by a woman, in the country, with offices in Austin
and New York, over $150 million in capitalized
billings, and a staff of 150. Organized as a marketing
and creative think tank, T3 works with clients
including Dell, Marriott, JCPenney, MSN, John
Deere, Universal, i3 Research, MTV, Nortel and
Baker Botts. Gaddis has been recognized as one
of Fast Company's "Top 25 Women Business
Builders," Inc. magazine's "Top 10 Entrepreneurs
of the Year" and 25 Advertising Working Mothers
of the Year by Working Mother magazine. T3's family-friendly
workplace programs have been recognized by the
White House, NBC's Today Show, The New York Times
and most recently in the May issue of Fortune
Small Business. |
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Yu Jian
General Manager, Shenzhen Natural Gas Company |
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| Yu Jian is the General
Manager of Shenzhen Natural Gas Company, the second
largest natural gas company in China and the top
importer of natural gas for the past five years.
Annual sales reached 6.6 billion RMB in 2005 with
a sales volume of 1.7 billion tons. It is a distributor
of natural gas, gas pipeline, and containers,
and provides natural gas distribution network
construction and development. |
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Sharon G. Hadary
Executive Director, Center for Women’s Business
Research |
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| Sharon Hadary is the
Executive Director of the Center for Women's Business
Research, a premier non-profit research institute.
At the Center, Dr. Hadary leads major initiatives
to improve the quality and comprehensiveness of
information concerning the role of women business
owners and their enterprises in economies and
societies around the world. She has been an adjunct
professor and lecturer at several prestigious
universities, served on various boards and committees,
and spent 21 years with IBM as an executive in
communications and public relations. In addition,
Dr. Hadary has been the recipient of numerous
international and national awards in recognition
for her leadership among global enterprising women
and the Center for Women's Business Research's
global impact in bringing recognition to women
business owners as an economic and social force. |
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Shi Qingqi
Executive VP, China Women Entrepreneurs Association |
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| Shi Qingqi is the Executive
Vice President, the Secretary-General and the
legal representative for the China Association
of Women Entrepreneurs. In addition to receiving
China’s first master’s degree in Economics
from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, her
joint research with the World Bank on “Coal
Electricity Transmission Distribution System”
was awarded the Franz Edelman Prize, a prestigious
award for the field of management science. In
2000, she founded an international forum for business
women to discuss mutually concerned issues. |
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Second page fro 2006 conference from Event Calendar: 
