Birmingham Post

Birmingham means business City on global map with transatlan­tic conference

- Tamlyn Jones Business Correspond­ent

BIRMINGHAM has won the right to host a major transatlan­tic business conference – boosting the city’s internatio­nal reputation on the back of its successful 2022 Commonweat­lh Games bid.

The British American Business Council (BABC) annual conference, from June 6 to 8, will attract delegates from all over Britain and North America as Birmingham firms seek new markets in a post-Brexit era.

The conference is a highly soughtafte­r prize for which many American states and British cities bid.

The decision follows Birmingham’s high-profile presence at last year’s conference in Chicago, when the Midlands Chapter of the BABC sent the biggest delegation.

Professor Julian Beer, president of the BABC Midlands Chapter and deputy vice-chancellor at Birmingham City University, said: “We are tremendous­ly proud to have won the right to stage this important conference. It is vital that as a city and a country we explore new markets for the post-Brexit era and the BABC can play a vital role.

“Each year, the conference brings together members of its chapters to its annual transatlan­tic business conference for a two-day programme of high-level business discussion­s and networking among senior executives from a broad crosssecti­on of business sectors who are actively engaged in transatlan­tic business. The conference was a huge success five years ago when it was last held in Birmingham and we’re delighted that the spotlight will again fall on the city. The transatlan­tic relationsh­ip will be of even greater importance post-Brexit.”

The event has also been held in London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington DC.

The conference will be hosted at several venues, showcasing some of the world-class facilities the city has to offer.

Paul Faulkner, chief executive of the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce (GBCC), said: “Our large and influentia­l presence in Chicago won us many friends and we are delighted that the BABC is bringing the conference back to Bir- mingham. For the Chamber it is confirmati­on of our growing internatio­nal influence, not just in transatlan­tic trade but the rest of the world.

“We have just launched the Greater Birmingham Commonweal­th Chamber of Commerce as part of a drive to promote a secure business across Commonweal­th countries as we prepare for Brexit.

“The EU will remain a vitally important trading partner but our mission now is to strengthen our reach across the Atlantic and to the rest of the world through our Internatio­nal Hub. Team Birmingham did a great job in Chicago and we were credited by the BABC’s global president Tom Stevens as being a ‘substantiv­e contributo­r to events’.”

The BABC, which incorporat­es British American Business, is the largest transatlan­tic business network, with 22 chapters and 2,000 member companies, including many of the world’s largest multinatio­nals.

GBCC president Paul Kehoe, who is also chairman of the West Midlands Growth Company, added: “It’s all about connectivi­ty and it’s vital that as we prepare for the post-Brexit world we get the name out there.

“The BABC conference is extremely important because we now have a very different role outside Europe.”

Russell Jeans, the GBCC’s chief operating officer, said: “It is now incumbent on the GBCC and BABC to create an unforgetta­ble conference in Birmingham. The venue will be announced shortly but we aim to stage an event that will address all of the key issues for British and North American business to trade.”

To book go to the website at www. greaterbir­minghamcha­mbers.com/ networking-events/

For sponsorshi­p details, email sponsor@birmingham-chamber.com

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(from left): Russell Jeans, Prof Julian Beer, transatlan­tic business coordinato­r Lauren Hunt and Paul Faulkner for last year’s BABC in Chicago
> (from left): Russell Jeans, Prof Julian Beer, transatlan­tic business coordinato­r Lauren Hunt and Paul Faulkner for last year’s BABC in Chicago

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