GGI European Regional Conference | Warsaw, Poland
Dr Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz has had many roles in government, most notably as Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland from 1996-1997. More recently, he was an Independent Senator in the Polish Parliament (2007–2015) and Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Senate.
In previous years he was also Member of the Polish Parliament (1989–2005); Speaker of the House (2005); Minister of Foreign Affairs, responsible for Polish accession to the European Union and for proposing a model of reform for the United Nations (2001–2005); Chairman of the Constitutional Committee of the National Assembly and Deputy Speaker of the House (1995–1996); Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice (1993–1995); Member of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly and a rapporteur to the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights (1992–1993); and Chairman of the political parliamentary Caucus of the Democratic Left (1990–1991).
Cimoszewicz received his PhD in Public International Law from the University of Warsaw in 1978; and obtained Honorary Doctorates from the University of South Carolina, Appalachian State University, and Odessa University. Before entering politics in 1989, he worked as an Assistant Professor at the Law Faculty of the University of Warsaw; Fulbright Foundation scholar and lecturer at Columbia University (1980–1981); from 1997 Honorary Lecturer at the Wofford College, Appalachian State University, University of New York, University of South Carolina, Furman University, Queens College, University of Maryland, and several other academic institutions in the USA and Canada, and from 2006 as Head of the Foreign Policy Centre at the Law School of the University of Białystok.
GGI European Regional Conference | Warsaw, Poland
Nenad Pacek and his businesses currently advise global and regional directors of over 380 multinational corporations. He is founder and president of Global Success Advisors (global business and economic advisory) and co-founder and co-CEO of the CEEMEA Business Group corporate service (advisory for regional executives running Central Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa). The advisory focus is on helping executives understand economic/business/political outlooks for virtually all countries around the world and on helping companies build strategies for sustainable growth in emerging markets.
Nenad is the author of “The Future of Business in Emerging Markets: Growth Strategies for Growth Markets” (2012), “The Global Economy” (2012), lead author of “Emerging Markets: Lessons for Business Success and Outlook for Different Markets” (2003, 2007), and a contributor to the book “The Future of Money” (2010). He is one of the world’s leading authorities on economic and business issues that concern multinational corporations seeking faster growth internationally. He performs on average two speeches/advisory sessions every week at various corporate meetings on issues ranging from global, regional and country level economic/business outlooks to best business practices for outperforming competition internationally. In corporate circles he is well-known for not using any notes or power point slides while speaking and engaging in discussion.
Nenad is former Vice President of The Economist Group (Economist Intelligence Unit) where he spent almost two decades advising multinationals on economic and business issues and managing several business units. He chaired over 100 Economist Government Roundtables with Prime Ministers/Presidents and their cabinets throughout Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America.
Nenad is a board member of the Center for Creative Leadership (globally no. 1 provider of leadership education). He is guest faculty at Duke Corporate Education (globally no. 1 provider of corporate education), Notre Dame Executive MBA and a number of corporate universities.
He studied international business, finance and economics. Nenad lives with his wife and three daughters near Vienna, Austria. He spends his rare free time mostly with his family, but occasionally sneaks out to play basketball, tennis, golf and to ski and swim.
GGI North American Regional Conference | Chicago, IL, United States
For sixteen consecutive years, Allan D. Koltin has been named by Accounting Today as one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in the accounting profession. In 2015, he was recognized as one of the “10 Most Influential” in the profession. Koltin was also voted one of the 10 Most Recommended Consultants for the tenth straight year in the “Annual Survey of Firms” conducted by INSIDE Public Accounting. For the past four years, he has also been named by CPA Practice Advisor as one of the Top 25 Thought Leaders in the profession. In 2016 CPA Practice Advisor inducted him into the Accounting Hall of Fame. He was also one of the first to be inducted into the Accounting Marketing Hall of Fame by the Association for Accounting Marketing (AAM). He has also been a recipient of the NACVA Instructor of the Year Award and winner of the Journal of Accountancy Literacy Award. Previously he was recognized by the Illinois CPA Society with the Distinguished Service Award for outstanding service and commitment to the profession.
A nationally recognized speaker and industry analyst, he has appeared on the CNN, WGN and Fox Television networks and has been quoted frequently in such media as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, USA Today and New York Post, as well as Bloomberg News, BBC World Service, Business Week, Forbes and Reuters. He has also spoken nationally and internationally at hundreds of conferences including those held by the AICPA, international CPA associations and state CPA societies.
Koltin is the author-editor of three books for professional services firms: CPA Firm Merger Strategies That Work, CPAs That Sell and the AICPA’s Marketing a Consulting Niche. He serves or has served on the editorial advisory boards of CPA Practice Management Forum, the Journal of Accountancy, Accounting Today, Public Accounting Report and Law Firm Management.
GGI North American Regional Conference | Chicago, IL, United States
Jonathan Fitzgarrald is Managing Partner of Equinox Strategy Partners, providing service professionals and firms with strategic counsel to drive revenue and increase market visibility.
For nearly two decades and prior to founding Equinox Strategy Partners, Jonathan directed the sales and marketing at three top business law firms.
Prior to his focus in professional services, Jonathan held seniorlevel sales and marketing positions at various public and private companies within the high‐tech, telecommunications, electronics, health care, and consumer products industries.
A clear, dynamic, and diplomatic communicator, Jonathan regularly speaks and presents to professional audiences on various business development and marketing topics. He has been quoted in such publications as The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, the National Law Journal, The Recorder, ABA Journal, Strategies: The Journal of Legal Marketing, City News Service and on The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, KNBC.com and Law.com.
GGI North American Regional Conference | Chicago, IL, United States
Roger Fisk is the political campaign, marketing and media strategist widely credited with playing a key behind-the-scenes role in the back-to-back electoral victories of US President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012. He was heavily involved in these game-changing campaigns which are regarded as the best run presidential campaigns in the history of US politics.
Fisk has a deep understanding of 21st-century presidential politics, political campaigning and the unprecedented power of information, relationships and marketing. He successfully engaged millions of people in long, sustained marketing and promotional strategies, using the internet and social media networks to great effect.
During the campaign, Fisk served as principal liaison with US Secret Service and local law enforcement, and was directly responsible for coordinating and managing the media’s coverage of over 150 events across the country. He was in charge of some key Obama media appearances including: 60 Minutes, The Daily Show, Good Morning America, Saturday Night Live, and the historic Race Speech in Philadelphia in March 2008.
GGI Latin American & Iberian Regional Conference | Madrid, Spain
Benita Ferrero-Waldner
A career diplomat, she has been Secretary of State and Minister of Foreign Affairs in her native Austria, and Commissioner of the European Union (2004-2008) . She has published numerous articles, essays and books, including "Charting course in a changing world" and "Development Cooperation - Challenges and Visions" ("La Cooperación para el Desarrollo-retos y visiones").
She began her professional career in the private sector in the 1970s and entered the Austrian diplomatic service in 1984. In 1995 she was Head of Protocol to the Secretary General of the United Nations, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, and from 1995 to 2000, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. In early 2000, Ferrero-Waldner became Minister of Foreign Affairs, a post she maintained until October 2004. In 2000, she was also President of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
In January 2004 she stood for the office of President of Austria. At the end of the same year, she became European Commissioner for Austria in the Barroso I Commission, taking the office of Commissioner for External Relations and Neighbourhood Policy until the end of 2009 when she became Commissioner for Trade, a post she held until February 2010.
She has a doctorate in Law from the Paris-Lodron University of Salzburg (Austria) and an Honorary Doctorate from the Lebanese American University (Beirut).
GGI World Conference | Bangkok, Thailand
Dr Marc Faber was born in Zurich, Switzerland. He went to school in Geneva and Zurich and finished high school with the Matura. He studied Economics at the University of Zurich and, at the age of 24, obtained a PhD in Economics magna cum laude.
Between 1970 and 1978, Dr Faber worked for White Weld & Company Limited in New York, Zurich and Hong Kong. Since 1973, he has lived in Hong Kong. From 1978 to February 1990, he was the Managing Director of Drexel Burnham Lambert (HK) Ltd. In June 1990, he set up his own business, MARC FABER LIMITED which acts as an investment advisor, fund manager and broker/dealer.
Dr Faber publishes a widely read monthly investment newsletter “THE GLOOM BOOM & DOOM” report which highlights unusual investment opportunities, and is the author of several books including “TOMORROW’S GOLD – Asia’s Age of Discovery” which was first published in 2002 and highlighted future investment opportunities around the world. “TOMORROW’S GOLD” was for several weeks on Amazon’s best seller list and has been translated into Japanese, Korean, Thai and German.
Dr Faber is also a regular contributor to several leading financial publications around the world. A book on Dr Faber, “RIDING THE MILLENNIAL STORM”, by Nury Vittachi, was published in 1998. A regular speaker at various investment seminars, Dr Faber is well known for his “contrarian” investment approach. He is also associated with a variety of funds.
GGI World Conference | Bangkok, Thailand
Dr Narongchai Akrasanee is a Former Minister of Energy and Minister of Commerce of Thailand. Dr Narongchai, a Thai economist / technocrat, is known for his continuous involvement in the economic development of Thailand in many capacities, and in ASEAN and APEC affairs. He had a number of appointments in the Thai Government, including Advisor to several Thai Prime Ministers, Minister of Energy, Minister of Commerce, Senator, and a member of the National Legislative Assembly.
He has worked on ASEAN and APEC affairs all along, being an initiator of AFTA and the APEC Leaders Meeting. He has also served as the Chairman of Thailand Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation Council. In the private sector, Dr Narongchai is on the Board of several publicly listed companies in Thailand, including MFC Asset Management Plc and Ananda Property Development Plc.
He is also an Independent Non-Executive Director of AIA Group Limited, Hong Kong. Dr Narongchai served as a member of the Board of many Thai public institutions including the National Economic and Social Development Board, Board of Investment, Bank of Thailand, Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand and the Insurance Commission.
He was also a Chairman of the Export-Import Bank of Thailand. Having graduated with a PhD in Economics from the Johns Hopkins University, Dr Narongchai has a keen interest in education and research. He is the founding member of the Thailand Development Research Institute, and is Chairman of the Khon Kaen University Council.