Bringing a worldly view to business
Institute offers help with trying to build a firm’s global economy
Baltimore is often thought of as a small town, where everyone already knows one another.
But the city and the state of Maryland are thriving hubs of international activity, with a major seaport and airport serving businesses that do business overseas or are foreign-owned — and are looking for new opportunities.
To help with that, there is the World Trade Center Institute, an international business education organization headquartered in Baltimore’s World Trade Center. The institute showcases what’s already here to attract new business and offers training and networking possibilities to those just wading into international waters.
That international focus was what attracted Eddie Resende, who was born in Brazil and came with his family to the United States 23 years ago.
“I was looking for a position, and I applied and knew right away it was where I wanted to work,” said Resende, who is now the group’s vice president of operations. He interned twice at the institute while earning a degree from Towson University in international business, found a job at a Hunt Valley telecommunications company and then returned to Brazil to see family and work for a nonprofit. He found his place back in Baltimore at the institute, where he puts his language, cultural and business skills to work helping develop and run programs for the local business community.
The institute was founded in 1989 by then-Gov. William Donald Schaefer and the chairman of the architectural firm RTKL Associates, Harold Adams, and it offers dozens of programs a year. On a trade mission to Asia, they had learned that even the most experienced corporate leaders may not understand how international business works.
Resende said the world has become more connected over time, but it’s also grown more complex. People can learn some basics just by logging onto their computers, but the institute has an important role in building relationships and helping business leaders understand the latest developments in foreign economies and culture, transportation logistics and supply chains, for example.
But perhaps most importantly, the institute helps build relationships, he said.