Georgia welcomes new international representatives

ATLANTA, August 11, 2010 —The Georgia Department of Economic Development welcomes new representatives to its international offices in Brazil, Canada and Israel. These offices seek trade opportunities between Georgia companies and businesses in these countries, and advance the state as a desirable destination for tourism and foreign direct investment.

Jose Madeira comes to Georgia's office in Sao Paulo, Brazil, with more than 25 years of experience in both the public and private sectors. His governmental experience includes serving as a trade and investment officer for the Brazilian Ministry of External Relations in New York and as senior international advisor for the State of MG Industry Federation in Brazil.  He has held management positions at Silverton Enterprises in Colonia, N.J., and at Gerdau and Usiminas, major steel manufacturers in Brazil.  His background includes deep experience in sales, new market development and tourism.

Mr. Madeira is managing director of World Conquer, an international business representation service that advises small- and medium-sized businesses as well as governmental marketing agencies on effective ways to tap into the Brazilian market. He holds dual citizenship in Brazil and the U.S. and speaks Portuguese, Spanish and English.

Gail Morris will be managing director of Georgia's Canadian office, located in Toronto, effective August 15.  She has more than 20 years experience in Canadian, U.S. and international markets. Her expertise includes trade facilitation and promotion within the NAFTA countries, Canada and U.S. Customs, logistics and business development. Her past experience includes 15 years of sales, senior account management and marketing experience with a large North American customs broker and logistics service provider. She has also worked in the private sector in diverse markets such as consumer products, chemicals and construction machinery.

Ms. Morris is managing director of Trade Partners, a leading international trade consulting enterprise that guides businesses and marketing agencies in accessing opportunities in the Canadian market. She has a qualification certificate with the Canadian Society of Customs Brokers, and is an active board member of the Organization of Women in International Trade. She is a native of the Atlantic Canada region and is fluent in French and English.

Mr. Dov (Dubi) Levanon and Mr. Ronen (Ron) Kenan, managing partners of BizDevIsrael, became Georgia's primary representatives in Tel Aviv, Israel as of August 1. Mr. Levanon will serve as managing director of the Georgia office and Mr. Kenan as trade representative.

Mr. Levanon and Mr. Kenan have over 50 years of accumulated experience in managerial positions in private sector firms.  Mr. Levanon has served as vice president of sales, president and CEO for several prominent Israeli telecom and defense and security-related companies, including IAI, Elbit Systems, Optibase, Comverse Network Systems and ECI Telecom.  He is currently a partner and board member of AfterDox, a venture capital and angel investment fund and board member of Toda!cell, a platform for smart-phone mobile advertising.

Mr. Kenan has served in senior positions with a number of public and private companies including EDS, PRC/Raytheon, RAD Data Communications, BATM, and Corrigent Systems.  From 2003 to 2009, he was business development director for the Fairfax County (Virginia) Economic Development Authority.  He has worked in the Embassy of Israel in Washington, D.C. and is a seasoned entrepreneur, opening several start-up operations.
Georgia's international office contracts are awarded through a competitive bidding process. The state also maintains representative offices in Korea, Japan, China, Mexico, Chile, Germany, U.K., Canada, Brazil and Israel.  In fiscal year 2010, these offices helped with 60 percent of the trade deals facilitated by the state.  Foreign direct investment accounted for 21 percent of company locations and expansions and 23 percent of new jobs created in the state's 2010 fiscal year.

About GDEcD
The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) is the state's sales and marketing arm, the lead agency for attracting new business investment, encouraging the expansion of existing industry and small businesses, locating new markets for Georgia products, attracting tourists to Georgia, and promoting the state as a location for film, music and digital entertainment projects, as well as planning and mobilizing state resources for economic development. For more information, visit www.georgia.org