On Friday 19 March 2010, a breakfast was hosted by HSBC Bank plc in Edinburgh. The speakers included Ambassador Eduardo Medina-Mora, and Alexandra Haas, Promexico.
On 23rd March, the SNABC held an evening reception kindly hosted by HSBC at their offices in Glasgow. Speakers included: Iain McMillan CBE, Director of CBI Scotland and Chairman of the SNABC; Dana Linnet, the Principal Officer at the US Consulate in Scotland, provided an overview of how the US Government can assist Scottish companies looking to invest in the US; Keith Neilson, Chief Executive of Craneware offered his advice and experience on growing his business which is headquartered in Livingston, across the US; Iain Ritchie from Bespoke Control Ltd outlined how he had grown his software business, based in Glasgow, into New York; and Jim Mason from SDI provided an overview of the assistance that SDI can provide businesses looking to expand in the US.
Over 30 people attended the event and the feedback from guests was that they valued hearing from people who actually had grown their businesses in North America.
In February, the SNABC arranged a breakfast meeting to offer businesses advice on growing their organisations in the US. This event was kindly hosted by Dana Linnet, the Principal Officer at the US Consulate in Scotland, at her residence in Edinburgh. We were delighted to welcome Aaron Brickman, the Director of Invest in America at the US Dept of Commerce in Washington, who provided an excellent overview on how his organisation promotes foreign direct investment. Iain McMillan CBE Director of CBI Scotland and Chairman of the SNABC, welcomed guests, along with David Carrick from the SNABC Board and CEO of Memex Technology Ltd, who outlined his experiences of growing his business in the US. Over 40 guests attended, and the feedback from the event has been very positive.
Download Aaron Brickman interview, BBC Scotland (MP3 file, 5MB)
In August, the SNABC hosted a lunch in partnership with Interactive Ontario at the Royal Scots Club in Edinburgh. This was attended by 25 guests including representatives from the io and industry leaders from Scotland and Ontario.
io is a not-for-profit industry trade organization committed to the growth of the Ontario interactive digital content industry. To this end, io is an industry advocate, both within Ontario and nationally as a founding member of the Canadian Interactive Alliance / Alliance interactive canadienne (CIAIC). io represents over 200 interactive digital media companies – both content producers and distributors – as well as stakeholders from a range of industry sectors eg e-learning, games, mobile, television, online, social media, marketing and academia.
On 30th October, we were honoured to have a lunch with the US Ambassador to the UK, the Hon Louis B Susman, to mark his first official visit to Scotland. The event was generously hosted by Glasgow City Council and held in the prestigious City Chambers.
Prior to taking up his position, Mr Susman was a banker and a lawyer with extensive experience. Ambassador Susman was the Vice Chairman of Citigroup Corporate and Investment Banking. He is also a former member of the Citigroup International Advisory Board. Prior to joining Salomon Brothers, Inc. in June 1989, Mr Susman practiced law in the City of St Louis for 27 years and was a senior partner at the St Louis based law firm of Thompson & Mitchell.
The lunch was attended by 70 guests, including the Lord Provost Cllr Bob Winter, Stephen Purcell the leader of Glasgow City Council, Dana Linnet the US Consul and members of the SNABC all of whom thoroughly enjoyed the Ambassador’s address and the welcoming remarks by the Lord Provost and our newly appointed Chairman, Iain McMillan.
We were delighted to welcome Dorothy Lutter, the Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs at the United States Embassy in London to her first official visit to Scotland.
She presented at a round table discussion in Glasgow on 16th June, kindly hosted by CBI Scotland, in which Dorothy talked about investment opportunities in the US, an overview of the Commercial Service and how they work to partners US exporters with UK importers. Later that day, she attended a networking evening reception, generously hosted by the Royal Bank of Scotland where she provided an update on investment opportunities in the US, and took part in a wide-ranging discussion with members and guests.
On 17th June, Dorothy presented to guests at a lunch meeting in Edinburgh, kindly hosted by DLA Piper Scotland LLP. Guests included members of the SNABC and Cllr Tom Buchanan who is the Convenor of the Economic Development Committee at the City of Edinburgh Council.
On 18th June, the US Consul, Lisa Vickers, hosted a breakfast meeting where Dorothy had the opportunity to meet with representatives from the renewables, marketing, banking, insurance, investment and software sectors.
We look forward to welcoming Dorothy and members of her team, back to Scotland soon.
On Friday 20th March, we held a joint lunch with the Canadian UK Inter Parliamentary Association Lunch which took place at the Royal Scots Club in Edinburgh.
Our guests included Canadian Senator, The Hon David Smith, from the Liberal Party who, at the time of his appointment to the Senate in June 2002, was Chairman of Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP, one of Canada's oldest and largest law firms.
In addition, we had several Canadian Members of Parliament. Dean Del Mastro has been a Conservative MP since his election to office in January 2006, and he is currently a member of a range of Standing Committees.
The Hon Geoff Regan is a Liberal MP currently serving as Natural Resources Critic for the Official Opposition. Geoff served as Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and Regional Minister for Nova Scotia from 2003 to 2006. In February 2004, Geoff was appointed to act as Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada.
Raynald Blais MP has represented the Bloc Québécois since 2004. And finally, Pat Martin is a New Democratic Party MP elected in1997. He has been an executive member of the Manitoba Building Trades Council, and was part of the Winnipeg 2000 Economic Development Committee.
Members attended from a wide range of sectors of the Scottish economy, and there was a useful round table discussion on potential increased collaboration between Canada and Scotland.
The SNABC hosted a drinks reception which included an excellent presentation by Stephen Boyle, Senior Economist at the Royal Bank of Scotland, looking at the current and future conditions of the Scottish, UK and US economies. Dr Mark Shepherd, Senior Lecturer at Strathclyde University, offered his expert analysis on the challenges ahead for President Obama.
John Penman, Sunday Times Scotland Business Editor chaired the proceedings.
The reception was held at the Royal Bank of Scotland’s offices at Kirkstane House, 139 St Vincent Street, Glasgow on the evening of 4th February.
This event was generously hosted by the Royal Bank of Scotland, and sponsored by Scottish Development International.
Over 70 guests attended the SNABC’s 10th Anniversary Reception held at the Scotland Office’s Dover House in Whitehall, London on 24th February.
Guests included senior members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, as well as Board members of the SNABC and leading business people who have an interest in trans-Atlantic trade. We were also joined by Lisa Vickers, the US Consul in Scotland, and representatives from the US Embassy in London, as well as Peter Hunt, the Chief Executive of the BABC based in London.
This event was generously sponsored by Scottish Development International.
On 7th November, the SNABC held a lunch with Robert Holmes Tuttle who is the United States Ambassador to the Court of St James in the UK, a post he has held since July 2005. This event was generously co-sponsored by CBI Scotland and Scottish Development International.
Robert Tuttle is a native of California, and was appointed Ambassador by US President George W Bush, having previously worked in the White House during the Reagan administration as an Assistant to the President in 1982, and Director of Presidential Personnel in 1985. He is also on the Board of Directors of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. He is a graduate of Stanford University, and earned his MBA degree at the University of Southern California.
The event, which took place at The Royal Scots Club in Edinburgh, was attended by around 30 people. The SNABC’s Chairman, Andrew Fulton, chaired the lunch and Board member and Director of CBI Scotland, Iain McMillan, gave the vote of thanks. Scottish Development International were represented by Mike Rymaruk. Other SNABC Board members attending included Mike Still (Marsh Ltd), David Carrick (Memex), Iain Stirling (The Native Agency) and Colette Cunningham (CBI Scotland).
On 5th November, we held two US Presidential Election breakfast seminars in Glasgow or Edinburgh on the morning after the US Presidential Election night, with more than 220 guests attending both events. These events were hosted and sponsored by Lloyds TSB Scotland, and co-sponsored by Scottish Development International.
The Edinburgh breakfast was chaired by Brian Taylor, BBC Scotland Political Editor. The key speaker was Prof John Peterson who provided his authoritative analysis of the events of the US Election night. John is Professor of International Politics at Edinburgh University.
The Glasgow breakfast was chaired by John Penman, Sunday Times Scotland Business Editor, with Dr Mark Shephard as the key speaker. Mark is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Government at Strathclyde University, and he provided his own take on the impact of the election night. Mark is a member of the American Political Science Association, and has written extensively on US Governmental issues.
Andrew Fulton joined the panel for the Q&A session in Edinburgh, along with Susan Rice, Chief Executive Lloyds TSB Scotland.
In Glasgow, David Carrick, Chief Executive of Memex and a Board member of the SNABC joined the panel along with Professor Donald McRae, Chief Economist Lloyds TSB Scotland.
BBC Scotland presented their business news slot live from the Edinburgh venue which included interviews with guests.
In addition, there was a live link up from Washington with Robert Moran and David Cantor, a Republican and a Democrat respectively. Robert is Executive Vice President of Strategy One, a market research and strategic communications agency. David is the Senior Vice President of The Glover Group which is also a market research and strategic communications organisation.
On Thursday 25th September, more than 80 guests attended a lunch with Lord Kerr of Kinlochard as the guest speaker, at the Royal Scots Club in Edinburgh. The event was generously co sponsored by DLA Piper Scotland LLP and SDI.
Lord Kerr is the former UK Ambassador to the US, and currently Deputy Chairman of Royal Dutch Shell plc as well as a Director of Rio Tinto plc.
The theme of his talk was on the implications of the US Election for Scotland plc.
He painted a wide and varied picture calling upon his years of experience in the diplomatic service, detailing the consequences of a McCain or Obama victory, both domestically within the US,and within Scotland and the rest of the UK, as well as global implications.
His talk was very well received by the guests attending. Andrew Fulton, Chairman of SNABC, who was a former colleague of Lord Kerr, thanked him very much for his tour de force.
SNABC held a successful networking event, hosted by the Royal Bank of Scotland, and generously sponsored by Scottish Development International, on 26th June 2008.
The event was looking ahead to the US Presidential Elections, and the implications of a Republican or a Democrat victory.
The audience of over 50 guests were informed by Dr Mark Aspinwall, who is a senior lecturer at the University of Edinburgh. Mark lectures in international relations and international political economy. He originates from Massachusetts and in his previous life he worked as a professional staffer in the US House of Representatives, and as a Washington lobbyist for a consortium of ship owners.
Nathan Elia, Senior Vice President, Scottish Development International, Boston also outlined the current aims and objectives of SDI, and detailed some recent case studies of businesses that had benefited from SDI’s services.
John Penman, Business Editor Scotland of the Sunday Times, chaired the event and handled a lively and entertaining Q&A session.
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