PHILADELPHIA — On September 24, Commerce Director Harold T. Epps will lead a Philadelphia delegation on a trade and investment mission to Europe. The focus of the visit will be business attraction and best practices of German workforce development. In addition to staff from the Department of Commerce, the 18-member delegation will include representatives from Select Greater Philadelphia, Citizen Diplomacy International, the German-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia, Peirce College, Temple University, and additional partners from the business community.

“Philadelphia has been a global city for hundreds of years, and in order to remain competitive in today’s economy, we must continue to explore opportunities outside of the United States,” said Mayor Jim Kenney. “The upcoming trade and investment mission to Europe will give Department of Commerce staff the chance to pitch our city to international businesses and to bring back key strategies from Germany’s renowned workforce development model.”

During the first international mission of the Kenney Administration, the delegation will arrive in Frankfurt on September 24 and remain there through September 26, creating an opportunity to strengthen Philadelphia’s newest Sister City relationship with Frankfurt. Members of the delegation will attend the Organization of World Heritage Cities Conference 2016 in Stralsund, September 27-29. During the latter portion of the trip, the group will split up to visit potential business leads and workforce programs in Stuttgart, Dusseldorf and Berlin. While in Germany, the delegation will visit area high schools, vocational training facilities, companies, government offices, business associations, and a science and technology park to learn best practices associated with the country’s renowned workforce development model. They will also meet with German businesses to pitch Philadelphia as an ideal U.S. location and to explore business opportunities between the two countries.

On September 30, select staff from the Department of Commerce will split up to conduct short visits to other countries. Commerce Director Harold Epps will travel to Portugal, where he will meet with Mayor Horta of Sintra and local business leaders to explore business development opportunities. This will be a follow-up to a visit by Mayor Horta to Philadelphia in March, where Horta expressed great enthusiasm about the potential of building business opportunities with Philadelphia. Also on September 30, Chief of Staff Sylvie Gallier Howard, who is fluent in French, will join Philadelphia’s French-American Chamber of Commerce in Lyon, France during the last day of their business attraction mission. She will present to a group of French businesses about Philadelphia’s bio-tech and IT sectors and discuss partnership and business attraction opportunities.

“The Department of Commerce plans to take full advantage of our time in Europe,” said Commerce Director Harold T. Epps. “Our delegation will stop in three countries to explore business attraction opportunities and learn more about the exceptional workforce development model used in Germany. This mission will establish new relationships and further strengthen those that the City has been cultivating for years.”

Over 95% of the world’s consumers live outside of the United States, and as a result, international business opportunities are vital to the continued growth of domestic businesses. The Department of Commerce is committed to ensuring Philadelphia has a vibrant, diverse economy, and the City is working to achieve that by bringing more international companies to Philadelphia and identifying additional opportunities for local companies to do business abroad.

The City will cover travel costs for the four Department of Commerce staff participating in the mission, estimated at $3,500 per person. Other individuals and organizations participating in the mission will cover their own travel and accommodation costs.

The following people will be part of Philadelphia’s official delegation:

City of Philadelphia

  • Harold T. Epps, Commerce Director
  • Sylvie Gallier Howard, Chief of Staff for the Department of Commerce
  • Lauren Swartz, Director of International Business Investment
  • Jonathan Todd, Manager of Talent Development
  • Al Taubenberger, Philadelphia City Council

Partners

  • Jeanne Nevelos, VP of Business Expansion Services, Select Greater Philadelphia
  • Siobhan Lyons, Citizen Diplomacy International
  • Susan Kohler Reed, Citizen Diplomacy International
  • Lydia Sarson, Executive Director, German-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia
  • Chris Erb, Partner, Erb Law Firm / Vice Chairman, German-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia
  • Uva Coles, VP of Institutional Advancement & Strategic Partnerships, Peirce College
  • Jessica Sandberg, Director of International Admissions, Temple University
  • Dave Kipphut, Education Consultant
  • Ralf Wiedemann, Immigration & Nationality Attorney, Green Spiegel U.S. LLC / Honorary Consul to Germany
  • Steven Bradley, Bradley & Bradley Associates, Inc. / PHL Airport Advisory Board, Board Member at World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia and African American Chamber of Commerce
  • Gaston Mbonglou, Partner, UASG Advisors
  • Mark Vogelbacker, Associate, Reed Smith
  • One representative from consulting firm CH2M

Philadelphians can stay up-to-date on the mission by following the hashtag #PHLinEurope on Twitter.

The mission of the Department of Commerce is to ensure that Philadelphia is a globally competitive city to which employers flock, entrepreneurs thrive and innovation abounds; to recruit and retain a diverse set of businesses; to foster economic opportunities for all Philadelphians in all neighborhoods; and to partner with workforce development programs and local businesses on talent development ensuring that all Philadelphians can find and retain living-wage jobs. For more information about the Department of Commerce, visit www.phila.gov/commerce.

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