Cleveland Council on World Affairs Blog Release

Dear Friends:

On behalf of the Cleveland Council on World Affairs, we are inviting you to join us for two special events involving globalization and innovation experts, Mr. Vivek Wadhwa and Mr. Pete Engardio.

The Plain Dealer recently referred to Wadhwa, a native of India, technology entrepreneur and Harvard researcher, as “a technology guru seen as the rock star of the immigrant talent movement.”

Engardio is the Senior International News Editor for BusinessWeek, writing and editing stories on globalization and economic trends.

We invite you to attend two exciting events next week:

*Thursday, January 24, 2008
Immigrant & Minority Entrepreneur Networking Event,
featuring Special Guests, Vivek Wadhwa and Pete Engardio.

The Networking Event will be held as follows:

When: Thursday, January 24th from 6 – 8pm
Where: Bridges Restaurant, Q Arena
1 Center Court, Cleveland, OH 44115-4001

Cost: $20

Reservations: reservations@ccwa.org
216-781-3730 x 102

*Friday, January 25, 2008
City Club Forum Presentation, Vivek Wadhwa
Title: “Myths and Realities in the Globalization Debate: Why Current U.S. Policies Could be a Competitive Blunder”

The City Club presentation will be held as follows:

When: Friday, January 25th, 12:00 noon
Where: City Club of Cleveland
850 Euclid Ave
The City Club Building, 2nd Floor
Cleveland, OH 44114

Cost: $18 Member
$30 Non Member
$360 Corporate Table of 8
$280 Non Profit Table of 8

Reservations: 216-621-0082

Space is limited for both events, so we encourage you make reservations at your earliest convenience.

Building upon previous successful global diversity events, the Council is proud to host the Networking Event and co-sponsor the City Club event in an on-going effort to celebrate, connect and support Northeast Ohio’s tremendously talented immigrant and minority entrepreneurs.

Our region’s economic future depends on developing and attracting a diverse, globally-connected, innovative and entrepreneurial community.

The Networking Event for Immigrant & Minority Entrepreneurs and the City Club Friday Forum are being held around the time that people throughout the world will be celebrating the unparalleled contributions of Martin Luther King, Jr., his special connection to Gandhi, and the Republic Day of India.

Sponsors of the Networking Sponsors for the Networking Event include the following:

· Kauffman Foundation

· Cleveland Cavaliers

· Cleveland Foundation

· Consortium of African American Organizations (CAAO)

· Gar Foundation

· Jumpstart

· Forest City Enterprises

· BioEnterprise

· Cuyahoga County Commissioners

· University of Akron, School of Business Administration

· Richard Eastburn, Vice President, Financial Services, UBS

· Cleveland State University, International Center

· City Club of Cleveland

· Civic Innovation Lab at the Cleveland Foundation

· NEO Immigrant & Minority Business Alliance

· Asia Services in Action

· Richard T. Herman & Associates Law Firm

· On Leong Chinese Merchants Association

· Eduardo Romero

· Raj Pillai, Financial Fitness Network

Please join us for this festive Networking Event on January 24^th, and the enlightening City Club presentation on January 25^th.

Help us further our common goal of building an intercultural partnership around the power of entrepreneurship in a global age.

For questions, please contact the undersigned Trustees of the Council, or Mr. Mark Santo, President and CEO of the Cleveland Council on World Affairs at 216-781-3730.

Thank you!

Richard Eastburn, Trustee, Cleveland Council on World Affairs

Rose Zitiello, Trustee, Cleveland Council on World Affairs

Richard Herman, Trustee, Cleveland Council on World Affairs

* * * * * * *

BIOGRAPHIES OF SPECIAL GUESTS

Immigrant & Minority Networking Event

VIVEK WADHWA is the founder of Relativity Technologies. Wadhwa has more than 25 years experience in the software industry. Wadhwa’s Relativity Technologies was named one of the 25 “coolest” companies in the world by Fortune Magazine for its vision in helping businesses recycle legacy systems. He is a founder of the Carolinas chapter of TIE (Talent, Ideas and Entrepreneurship), a non-profit global network intended to foster entrepreneurship. www.tie-carolinas.org/Home . Wadhwa is a Research Fellow at Harvard University School of Law, an Executive-in Residence/Adjunct Professor for the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University, a frequent contributor at BusinessWeek, and the co-author of the groundbreaking Kauffman Foundation research “America’s New Immigrant Entrepreneurs.” A sampling of Wadhwa’s work can be found at the following web links:

www.kauffman.org/pdf/entrep_immigrants_2_61207.pdf
www.kauffman.org/pdf/entrep_immigrants_1_61207.pdf
BusinessWeek Article

Pete Engardio is the Senior International News Editor for BusinessWeek. Prior to joining BusinessWeek, Engardio was a feature editor of Business Korea in Seoul In 1990, Engardio became a BusinessWeek correspondent in the Hong Kong bureau, where he covered Asian business for six years. From 1999 to 2001, he was editor of the Asian Edition. He is co-author of "Meltdown: Asia's Boom, Bust, and Beyond," published in 2000 by Prentice-Hall. Engardio is a Research Fellow at Harvard University School of Law.