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SCHEDULED SPEAKERS
Larry Combest, former Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee and House Select Committee on Intelligence will be our special guest and keynote speaker for our Spring Management Clinic.Combest grew up on a farm and ranch in west Texas and was elected ten times to the U.S. House of Representatives from the State of Texas.
As Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, Combest applied his farming background to his job and took a proactive approach to shaping sound federal farm policies.
Combest's common sense legislative record began on his first day in Congress, cosponsoring the Balanced Budget Amendment. Recognized for fiscally-responsible voting, Combest believes families should expect to keep more of what they earn and deserve effective management of their government.
Through his experience as a former small business owner, Combest was a strong voice for the job-making contributions that small businesses make to families and communities across America.
As a senior member of the House Small Business Committee, Combest's central focus was on regulatory reform. The National Federation of Independent Business recognized Larry Combest as a Guardian of Small Business and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce consistently honored him with their prestigious "Spirit of Enterprise" award.
Larry Combest was born in Memphis, Texas on March 20, 1945, a fourth generation West Texas farmer, educator and small business owner.
He holds a 1969 Bachelor of Business Administration degree from West Texas State University in Canyon, an honorary Doctorate of Strategic Intelligence from the Joint Military Intelligence College and an honorary Doctorate of Laws from Lubbock Christian University. Combest also served as a Legislative Aide to former U.S. Senator John Tower from 1971-78.
He is a recipient of the Gerald W. Thomas Outstanding Agriculturalists Award For Public Service, the Lubbock Area Foundation's "Hero of the Year" Award, and the "Legislator of the Year" for the National Association of Farm Service Agency Employees.
Agriculture in China:
In order to manage the unprecedented transition of millions of people from jobs in agriculture to manufacturing and meet the rise in demand for food production, the Chinese government are implementing a major restructuring of the agricultural sector. This includes the procurement of modern agricultural equipment and a move towards "western" agricultural methods.
Russell A. Meade, President of China Business Network (CBN) will discuss how members of the Farm Equipment Manufacturers Association can best assess the opportunity China currently represents as an export market and practical ways of moving towards growth in the PRC. Meade has built a Chinese company with strong Western management characteristics. CBN immerse their Western clients in the Chinese culture and business environment, and work side-by-side with them to conduct business as a Chinese company would. Meade has over 20 years experience in managing multinational operations in China. He previously served as President Lanco Watch at Swatch Group, where he was responsible for the development and implementation of their China-based manufacturing strategies.
At CBN he has presided over numerous Western OEM and mid-manufacturer China-based projects and joint ventures and, with his Shanghai-based engineering and management team has worked on behalf leading global manufacturers such as John Deere, GM, Parker Hannifin, as well as supplying product to leading US based retail chains.
Special areas of expertise include how to form sustainable win-win partnerships in China, practical IP protection and enforcement, and how to position western manufacturers to become leading suppliers to global and Chinese customers and taking advantage of the unprecedented growth of the Chinese domestic market.
Global Logistics - How to Deliver on the Deal
Session provided by our International Relations Committee
Jack Kane with Path Finders Logistics will address this most important topic for members wishing to sell abroad. Jack co-founded Pathfinder Logistics in 1988 with the focus to provide professional logistics services to manufacturers, distributors and retailers.
Jack has been involved in the logistics field since 1972. He has held a variety of positions in the domestic and international transportation industries in both the private and public sectors.
Here are some of the questions that will be answered in the session.
OK now that you have the sale pending……….
- Can you legally export the product you sold? How do you know?
- How are you getting paid?
- Concerns you should have before you sell and ship
- Who to contact?
- How to negotiate services and rates
- International Terms (Who pays for what?)
Shipping Considerations
- Who do you call?
- Who pays for what?
- What laws impact the sale?
- Timelines
The “logistics” of international sales
- Agent verses employee in the international market
- Proprietary distribution or third party?
- Inventory “rules” (the cost benefit view)
