International Business in Emerging Markets

San Francisco's Society for Marketing Professional Services will hold a discussion on markets in China and India.

More and more, companies are looking beyond their established service areas to find work – some in a new domestic market and others, abroad. Establishing your business in an emerging foreign market is a great way to solidify yourself as a leader in that market, and, ultimately, to win work - but it’s not always easy to navigate foreign waters. Targeting work abroad requires savvy business development skills, as well as an understanding of the local market. Solid business skills are required for setting up and running a company — and ensuring that you get paid. Our panel of experts will provide insights from prime, sub and government perspectives from those who’ve lived through it!
Topics Include:
• The differences between being a prime and a sub in an emerging market
• Business development abroad: what it takes to win work in a new market
• Business 101: Getting started, getting work and getting paid!
Panel:
• Doug Wallace, Commercial Officer, U.S. Export Assistance Center (Moderator)
• Crystal Barriscale, Director of Planning, HOK
• René Bihan, SWA Group

SPEAKER BIOS
Douglas J Wallace Commercial Officer, US Commercial Service, US Department of Commerce
Douglas Wallace is a Foreign Service Officer currently working at the San Francisco Export Assistance Center where he assists U.S. firms in expanding exports abroad. From 2008-10, Mr. Wallace was the Senior Commercial Officer at the American Embassy in Algiers, Algeria where he was responsible for strengthening U.S.-Algerian trade relations through company-to-company matchmaking, export promotion activities, and detailed market research on the Algerian market. His previous diplomatic assignments have included Deputy Senior Commercial Officer in Tel Aviv, Israel; Principal Commercial Officer in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; and Commercial Attache in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Crystal Barriscale, AIA, AICP, Director of Planning, HOK
Director of Planning + Landscape Architecture, HOK SF, Crystal Barriscale AIA, AICP, LEED has designed a wide range of award-winning urban & academic master planning projects, including a 2009 SCUP Excellence in Planning Award. A Harvard Leob Fellow Finalist, Barriscale received her Master’s in Architecture and Urban Design from Columbia University. She is a frequent speaker at conferences including the American Planning Association, the Waterfront Center Conference, SF & Oakland Chambers of Commerce, and the NY Board of Real Estate Professionals. She has taught design at Columbia University, NYU, City University of New York (CUNY), NJIT and the Pratt Institute.
René Bihan, Principal, SWA Group
René Bihan is the Managing Principal of SWA Group’s San Francisco office. SWA is an international Landscape Architecture, Urban Design, and Planning firm with offices in California, Texas, and China. René is an accomplished Landscape Architect, Urban Designer, and Educator interested in issues of Urbanism, Landscape Design, and their symbiotic relationship to dense urban cities. Based out of the San Francisco office, his studio was recently recognized with the Urban Land Institute Global Award of Excellence for Beijing Finance Street, a significant urban park in the heart of historic Beijing. SWA San Francisco was also awarded a National ASLA honor award for Poly International Plaza in Guangzhou, China.