San Francisco (CA) – On October 2nd, 2014, California Center took part in the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) event called “Exports, What is Beyond?” in San Francisco.  The event was sponsored by PG&E and Asian Inc. and was part of a week-long series of events called “California Minority Enterprise Development Week.”

Gordon Hinkle, VP of U.S. Operations for California Center gave a presentation during a special panel session called “International Trade Enabling Agencies.”  In addition to Hinkle, the panel featured: MBDA Moderator Tony Tang, Business Consultant, San Francisco MBDA Center; Daniel Giavina, International Trade Specialist, U.S. Export Assistant Center (USEAC), Jeanette Benson, Deputy Sector Navigator, California International Trade Development (CITD), Merced; and Steven Ross, District Sales Manager at Expeditors, a worldwide logistics company.

The event also featured a special address on White House International Trade Initiatives from Mr. George Mui, MBDA, Market Access Team Lead, Office of Business Development.  Mr. Mui serves as a Senior Advisor to the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders focusing on economic development.

San Francisco (CA) -The California Center held its second Member/VIP event in San Francisco on October 1st, 2014. The event provided a great opportunity for the attendees to network with each other. Also, two special guests, Mr. Eric T. Ashdown and Mr. Bruce Riezenman, delivered engaging presentations.

Mr. Ashdown, the Managing Partner of NorCal Asia Partners, shared his experience on developing and managing business relationships in China.  He has spent a lifetime working on business issues related to China and Asia, having lived in: Hong Kong, Beijing and Singapore over the past 20 years. He was previously a security consultant for ICBC, China’s largest bank, was the Chief Security Officer for Microsoft in Asia, and was also a Partner with Ernst & Young’s Security Division in China.

After Mr. Ashdown’s Q&A session, Mr. Riezenman discussed pairing California wine with Chinese cuisine, which sparked a lot of interest among the attendees. He is one of Northern California’s most sought-after chefs and a foremost speaker on the subject of food and wine pairing. Bruce is a restaurateur, an entrepreneur and the author of Pairit!, the highly acclaimed Food & Wine pairing app for iPhones and Android phones.