Forums

Partial Listing of CalChamber hosted International Forums for The California Business Community

2024

August 7 – Mexico Advocacy Day with speaker Cheif of Staff to the Governor of Sonora, Mexico Dr. Francisco Acuña Méndez, with brief comments by the Sacramento Mexican Consul General Christian Tonatiuh González Jiménez

May 8 – International Trade Forum with speakers Deputy Director General James Golsen with the U.S Foreign Commercial Service, Laura Rosenberger, Chair, with the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), and Christopher F. Thornberg, Founding Partner, Beacon Economics. 

April 17 – Canada Advocacy Day – Partnering for Prosperity with Consul General to Canada Rana Sarkar, Ambassador Bruce Heyman, with brief comments from California Resources Agency Secretary Wade Crowfoot.

March 21 – German Marshal Fund Luncheon with Astrid Ziebarth, Managing Deputy Director of the Berlin Office for the German Marshall Fund of the U.S.; Miapetra KumPula-Natri, MEP of Finland; Dragoş Tudorache, MEP of Romania; Željana Zovko, MEP of Croatia; Gerrit Gerard de Graaf, Senior EU Envoy for Digital to the U.S.; Carla Hustedt, Director, Centre for Digital Society for the Mercator Foundation; Petar Vitanov, MEP of Bulgaria; and Brooke Tanner, Research Assistant for the German Marshall Fund of the U.S.

2023

August – International Forum & Reception with Ambassador Kevin Rudd, Australia’s Ambassador to the U.S.; Ambassador Nina Hachigian, U.S. special representative for city and state diplomacy with the U.S. State Department; Secretary Wade Crowfoot, California Natural Resources Agency; Director Dee Dee Myers, Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz).

May – International Forum – Judith Pryor, First Vice President/Vice Chair, Board of Directors, Export-Import Bank (EXIM); Dee Dee Myers, Senior Advisor to Governor Gavin Newsom, and Director, Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development; and Caroline Beteta, President and CEO, Visit California. 

May – Mexico Advocacy Day – The Future of the California-Mexico Relationship: A Partnership for Growth – Ambassador Esteban Moctezuma, Mexico’s Ambassador to the U.S.; and Ambassador Liliana Ferrer, Consul General of Mexico in Sacramento.

February – Canada Advocacy Day – Green Investing in the Golden State – Consul General Rana Sarkar, Consulate General of Canada in San Francisco; Ambassador Eleni Kounalakis, Lieutenant Governor of California; and panel discussion moderated by Dan Adler, California I-Bank; with panelists including: Travis Antoniono, CalPERS; Herman Bril, PSP Investments; Bertrand Millot, CDPQ; and Michael Hill, CPP. 

2022

September – International Luncheon – British Politics After PM Boris Johnson – Dr. Matt Beech, Founding Director of the Centre for British Politics and Senior Fellow at the Institute of European Studies, UC Berkeley

June – International Forum – The Hon. Arun Venkataraman, assistant secretary of commerce for global markets and director general of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service, U.S. Department of Commerce; Dan Walters, columnist, CalMatters; and Emily Desai, deputy director for international affairs and trade, Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz).

May – 13th Annual Mexico Advocacy Day – Ambassador Liliana Ferrer, Consul General of Mexico in Sacramento; Ms. Cristina Planter, Director General for North American Affairs, Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Mr. Richard Kiy, President & CEO, Institute of the Americas. 

March – International Reception with Ambassador of Japan to the U.S., The Honorable Koji Tomita; Consul General of Japan in San Francisco, The Honorable Hiroshi Kawamura; Lt. Governor of California, Ambassador Eleni Kounalakis; and Dee Dee Myers, Director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development.

2021

October – Virtual Event – Port Congestion featuring guest speaker Carl Bentzel, Commissioner, Federal Maritime Commission; moderated by Stuart Woolf, President & CEO, Woolf Farming and Processing

July – Lunch with UK Trade Secretary Elizabeth Truss and British Consul General Joe White

May – Virtual Event – A Conversation on Issues Facing California Agriculture featuring speaker Karen Ross, Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture; moderated by Mark Jansen, President & CEO, of Blue Diamond Growers. 

February – Virtual Event – California-UK After Brexit: Prospects for Partnership featuring speaker Dr. Matt Beech, Founding Director of the Centre for British Politics at the University of Hull and Senior Fellow at the Institute of European Studies at UC Berkeley.

2020

December – Virtual Event – California’s Consular Corps and International Representatives featuring speakers: Governor Gavin Newsom and Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis.

January – International Forum – Dr. Jesus Seade, Undersecretary for North America and Chief Negotiator to the NAFTA and USMCA, Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Ambassador Liliana Ferrer, Consul General of Mexico in Sacramento.

2019

May – International Forum – Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis; Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Diane Farrell; and Visit California’s President & CEO, Caroline Beteta.

May – 10th Annual Mexico Advocacy Day – Dr. Pamela Starr, Director of the U.S.-Mexico Network at the University of Southern California and Senior Advisor for Monarch Global Strategies; Dr. Andrew Selee, President of the Migration Policy Institute; Dr. Rafael Fernandez de Castro, Director of the Center for U.S.-mexico Studies at UC San Diego.

April – Understanding Brexit International Luncheon Forum – Dr. Matt Beech, Founding Director of the Centre for British Politics and Senior Fellow at the Institute of European Studies, UC Berkeley

February – Canada Advocacy Day – Consul General of Canada in San Francisco, Rana Sarkar; Consul General of Canada in Los Angeles, Zaib Shaikh; and Consul General of Mexico in Sacramento, Liliana Ferrer Silva.

2018

May – International Forum – The Honorable Dale Tasharski, Acting Deputy Director General, U.S. Department of Commerce; Mr. Dan Walters, journalist at CALmatters; and Dr. Chris Thornberg, Founding Partner of Beacon Economics.

May – 9th Annual Mexico Advocacy Day – Dr. Luis Serra, Executive Director of the Energy Initiative at Tecnologico de Monterrey; Dr. Michael Siminovitch, Director of the California Lighting Technology Center at UC Davis; Dr. Mauricio Alcocer Ruthling, Director of the Center for Sustainability and Renewable Energy at the Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara; and Dr. Hermann Tribukait, Representative of Sener-CONACYT Funds for Energy Innovation in North America.

February – Canada Advocacy Day – Canadian Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Lawrence MacAulay; Secretary Karen Ross, CA Department of Food and Agriculture; Jamie Johansson, President of the CA Farm Bureau Federation; Jane Proctor, Vice President of Policy and Issue Management at the Canadian Produce Marketing Association; and Rana Sarkar, Consul General of Canada in San Francisco.

2017

September – Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Luis Videgaray Caso.

May – International Forum – Panorea Avdis, Director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development; Christopher Wenk, Executive Director of International Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce; and Ambassador Jamal Khokhar, President & CEO of the Institute of the Americas. 

May – 8th Annual California Mexico Advocacy Day –  Francisco Tovar, with Economic Affairs at the Mexico Embassy in Washington, D.C.; Benjamin De Alba, assistant secretary for rail and ports at the California State Transportation Agency; and Marcelo Sada, CEO of Source Logistics.

March – North American Trade Policy Event – Canadian Consul General Brandon Lee; Dr. Pedro Noyola, former undersecretary of trade and foreign investment and undersecretary of finance of Mexico, and representative of Mexico in various trade negotiations; and Andrew Grant, President and CEO, Northern California World Trade Center.

2016

May – Drew Quinn, deputy TPP chief negotiator, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative; The Honorable Leon Grice, New Zealand Consul General in Los Angeles, Judy Rising Reinke, deputy director-general of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service.

May – Mtro. Leonardo Beltrán Rodríguez, Deputy Secretary for Energy Planning and Transition, Secretaría de Energía, SENER; Ing. Marcos Valenzuela Ortiz, Director of Market Administration for Centro Nacional de Control de Energia; Blair Swezey, Senior Director, U.S. Market Development and State Policy, SunPower.

March – The Honorable Alan Kelly T.D., Irish Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government.

2015

October – Ambassador Ashok Kumar Mirpuri, Singapore’s Ambassador to the U.S.

June – An annual meeting between the California Chamber of Commerce and Japan business leaders highlighted California’s continuing interdependence with one of its largest export partners.

May – Ambassador David O’Sullivan, European Union Ambassador to the United States; Marjorie Chorlins, Vice President for European Affairs, U.S. Chamber of Commerce; Jake Slegers, Chair, American Chambers in Europe; Stephen Brugger, Vice Chair, AmChams in Europe; Executive Director, AmCham Denmark; Susan Danger, Managing Director, AmCham EU; Jake C. Slegers, Executive Director, AmCham Slovak Republic; Elias J. Spirtounias, Executive Director, AmCham Greece; Elif Demircan, Executive Director, AmCham Turkey; Caroline Ryan, Managing Director, AmCham France; Ambassador Kurt Tong, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of State

May – Dr. Pedro Javier Noyola, director general of Aklara and the NAFTA Fund, Dr. José Blanco, principal with Central Valley Fund Capital Partner, Marcelo Sada, chief executive officer of Source Logistics

2014

July – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. and First Lady Anne Brown; His Excellency José Antonio Meade Kuribreña, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico; Dr. Sergio M. Alcocer Martinez de Castro, Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs in North America; His Excellency Eduardo Medina Mora Icaza, Mexico’s Ambassador to the United States

May – Ambassador Eleni Kounalakis, California International Trade and Investment Advisory Council; John G. Murphy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce; Drew Bohan, California Energy Commission; Aimee Barnes, California Environmental Protection Agency; Benjamin De Alba, Transportation Agency; Josh Eddy, Board of Food and Agriculture

May – Duncan Wood, PhD, Director for the Mexico Institute for the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars; Jaana Remes, PhD, Partner at McKinsey Global Institute; J. Edward Taylor, PhD, UC Davis Professor 

February – The Honorable Clement C.M. Leung, Hong Kong Commissioner to the U.S. 

2013

October – Dr. Lawrence Spinelli, Director for Public Affairs, Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) 

September – Dr. Barry Naughton, Professor of Chinese Economy, Chair of Chinese International Affairs, UC San Diego

July – Caron Wilson, Policy Advisor, Canada’s Privy Council Office

June – Tai Ming Cheung Director, Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC) UC San Diego 

May – Michael Masserman, National Export Initiative, U.S. Department of Commerce 

March – Consulates General of Canada: Consul General Cassie Doyle of San Francisco; Consul General David Fransen, of Los Angeles 

2012

May – Mike Rossi, Governor’s Senior Advisor for Jobs and Economic Development

April – Ambassador Felipe Bulnes, Chilean Ambassador to the United States

March – Ambassador E. Anthony Wayne, U.S. Ambassador to Mexico

2011

June – Ambassador Kurt Tong, Senior Official for Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation for the United States, U.S. Department of State

April – Ambassador Arturo Fermandois and Ambassador Fernando Schmidt , Chilean Ambassador to the United States and Chilean Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs

March – His Excellency João Vale de Almeida, European Ambassador to the United States

2010

His Excellency Han Duk-soo, Korean Ambassador to the United States, September

An International Forum for APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation), NEI (President’s National Export Initiative) and GoED (Governor’s Office of Economic Development), May

Alert – CalChamber Forum Highlights Asia Pacific, Exports, Economic Development

Speaking on APEC –
Ambassador Demetrios Marantis, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative
for Asia & Africa

Speaking on NEI –
Assistant Secretary Suresh Kumar, Director-General of the U.S. & Foreign Service,
U.S. Department of Commerce

Speaking on GoED –
Mr. Joel Ayala, Executive Director, Governor’s Office of Economic Development

Northern California District Export Council Luncheon, May

Mr. Donald Tong, Commissioner to the United States, Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, February

2009

Mr. Ro Khanna, Deputy Assistant Secretary, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, December


The Honorable Jose Guadalupe Osuna Millan, Governor of Baja California, Mexico, October


The Honorable Carlos Gutierrez, Former US Secretary of Commerce, September


Mr. Stephen Jacobs, Assistant Secretary, International Trade Administration, US Department of Commerce, May

2008

The Honorable Margaret Fong, JP, Hong Kong Commissioner, February


Ambassador Charles Shapiro, US State Department, May


The Honorable Michelle Bachelet, President of the Republic of Chile, June


Ambassador Patricia Haslach, US Representative to APEC, September

2007

His Excellency John Bruton, EU Ambassador & Head of Delegation of the European Commission – June


The Honorable Eduardo Bours Castelo, Governor of Sonora, Mexico, August

His Excellency Lee Tae-Sik, Ambassador of Korea to the United States, August

The Honorable Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Minister For Foreign Affairs of Germany, August

Ambassador Douglas A. Hartwick, Assistant US Trade Representative, September

His Excellency Arturo Sarukhan, Ambassador of Mexico to the United States, September

The Honorable Michael Wilson, Ambassador of Canada to the United States, December

2006

Ambassador Eduardo Ferrero, Peruvian Ambassador to the United States, February & June

President Vicente Fox of Mexico, May

Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen of Denmark, June

The Honorable Margaret Fong, JP, Hong Kong Commissioner, September

2005

Ambassadors from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, & Nicaragua to the US
re: CAFTA, March

His Excellency Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda, April

The Honorable Jean-David Levitte, French Ambassador to the US, April

The Honorable Geronimo Gutierrez, Mexican Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, September