Washington DC
– The National Foreign Trade Council’s Global Innovation Forum (GIF) today unveiled its Brain Trust, an advisory board of innovation thought leaders. The Brain Trust will support the GIF’s efforts to increase awareness and understanding about innovation policy and its affect on jobs and the development of solutions to address global challenges.“The Global Innovation Forum’s Brain Trust will assist our effort in informing and directing productive discussions on innovation policy,” said John Stubbs, GlF’s Executive Director. “Our goal is to increase awareness and understanding about global policies that affect innovation. We are building a big tent for this dialogue, and we want to include all interested stakeholders.”
The Global Innovation Forum’s initial Brain Trust members are listed below.
GIF’s first event at Howard University with USTR Ron Kirk
GIF held its first event on Wednesday at Howard University in Washington, DC, “Securing America’s Future: Innovation Jobs for the Middle Class,” featuring the first public speech by newly confirmed United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk. The event focused on the importance of global trade rules to the creation of innovation-based jobs for the American middle class.
“The brainpower of American researchers, scientists, engineers and manufacturing workers are already solving the world’s greatest challenges– from health crises like AIDS and heart disease, to energy crises like climate change. And America’s industrial sector is ready to produce the solutions – from sophisticated chemicals to precision components,” noted Amb. Kirk in his remarks. “But as the President’s Trade Policy Agenda says, one key to our economic success is our ability to trade that innovation and creativity – through our products, our services, our intellectual property – in a rules-based system around the world.”
From the Brain Trust, Judge Newman, Professor Espinel, Dr. Gooray, Ms. Boseman-Hardy and Mr. Heibein were in attendance and participated in lively roundtable discussions with attendees. Other participants included representatives from academia, government, small businesses, non-governmental organizations, research and development, and investment communities.
“The event was an enormous success,” said Judge Pauline Newman, Circuit Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. “The Global Innovation Forum compiled a powerful cross-section of viewpoints, and at a high enough level to count. This forum may provide a pathway forward for understanding and resolving some of the issues confronting innovators around the world today.”
Global Innovation Forum Brain Trust
Prof. Amar Bhidé
Lawrence D. Glaubinger Professor of Business |Columbia University
Ms. Johnetta Boseman-Hardy
Executive Director | Entrepreneurship, Leadership and Innovation Institute, Howard University
Dr. Peter Capelli
Director, Center for Human Resources | The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Dr. Rajesh K. Chandy
James D. Watkins Chair in Marketing | Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota
Dr. Cartier Esham
Director of Health and Regulatory Affairs for Emerging Companies | Biotechnology Industry Organization
Prof. Victoria A. Espinel
Visiting Assistant Professor | George Mason University School of Law
Former Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Intellectual Property and Innovation
Dr. Arthur Gooray
Product Development Manager | Eastman Kodak
Mr. Steve Heibein
Vice President for Technology | Center for American Progress
Mr. Dean Kamen
President | DEKA Research & Development Corporation
Sec. Kathleen A. McGinty
Founding Partner | Peregrine Technology Partners, LLC
Former Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
Mr. John McIlwraith
Managing Director | Blue Chip Venture Company
Judge Pauline Newman
Circuit Judge | U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Dr. Rob Shapiro
Chair | NDN Globalization Initiative
Former U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs
Dr. Anthony Townsend
Research Director | Institute for the Future
Mr. Jeff Vogt
Global Economic Policy Specialist | American Federation of Labor & Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)
The Global Innovation Forum was created in January 2009 and is a project of the National Foreign Trade Council. The National Foreign Trade Council is the premier business organization advocating for an open, rules-based world economy. Founded in 1914 by a group of American companies that supported an open world trading system, the NFTC and its affiliates now serve more than 300 member companies through offices in Washington and New York.
About the NFTC
Advancing Global Commerce for 95 Years – The National Foreign Trade Council (www.nftc.org) is a leading business organization advocating an open, rules-based global trading system. Founded in 1914 by a broad-based group of American companies, the NFTC now serves hundreds of member companies through its offices in Washington and New York.
