2015 SAUPO Atlanta

2015 Symposium on ASIA-USA Partnership Opportunities (SAUPO) was held successfully on Friday April 17, 2015 at the St. Regis Hotel in Atlanta. Over 350 business leaders, policymakers, diplomats, nonprofit activists, eminent scholars and students attended SAUPO, from the U.S., and Asia, mainly China, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, India and the Philippines. There were many business owners at SAUPO from the local Asian American communities. In addition, we had seven representatives from the federal government, including from the White House, U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Dept of Defense, MBDA and OPIC. The Honorable Consul General of Japan Kazuo Sunaga and the Honorable Consul General of the Republic of Korea delivered important remarks. Over 15 media agencies came and reported on SAUPO. All attendees were excited with the information they learned and the network they built at SAUPO.

 

    • Mr. Laju Augustine, Habitat for Humanity International/Asia-Pacific

      Mr. Ambrish Baisiwala, CEO, Portman Holdings

      Mr. Klaus-Peter Beck, Chairman, Board of Trustees, ASKO-Europe Foundation

      Dr. Gary Bertsch, Chairman of TradeSecure, & Professor Emeritus, University of Georgia

      Mr. Raghu Bukkapatnan, Senior Director of Corporate Strategy, McKesson

      Ms. Estrella Cramer, UPS Global Procurement Finance Manager & Asian American Business Resource Group

      Mr. Shahid Charania, Managing Director for Emerging Markets, Equifax

      Mr. John Copeland, Project Leader, International eCommerce, Delta Air Lines

      Dr. Thomas Currin, Professor & Dean, Southen Polytechnic College of Engineering and Engineering Technology

      Dr. Robin Dorff, Dean, CHSS, Kennesaw State University

      Ms. Patty Durand, Executive Director, Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative

      Mr. Lee Echols, VP Marketing and Communications, Northside Hospital

      Ms. Lee Farabaugh, Co-Founder & Chief Experience Officer (CXO), PointClear Solutions

      Mr. Jorge Fernandez, VP of Global Commerce, Metro Atlanta Chamber

      Ms. Molly Gaines-McCollom, Health Communication Specialist, CDC

      Dr. Barbara Gainey, Chair & Associate Professor of Communication, KSU

      Dr. Mahmoud Ghavi, Professor of Nuclear Engineering, Director of Center for Nuclear Studies, Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering and Engineering Technology, KSU

      Dr. Ken Harmon, Provost and VPAA, Kennesaw State University

      Mr. Adil Kabani, Private Equity Associate, Overseas Private Investment Corporation

      Farooq Kathwari, Chairman, CEO & President, Ethan Allen Interiors, Inc.

      Honorable Seong-jin Kim, Consul General of the Republic Korea in Atlanta

      Mr. Alan King, VP of Sales, Eastern Region, Yingli Green Energy Americas

      Mr. Bernard Lecours, Strategic Marketing Director, GE Energy Management

      Mr. Griffth Lynch, Chief Operating Officer, Georgia Ports Authority

      Mr. Madhu Madhusudan, Founder & CEO, VectorSpan Inc.

      Dr. John McIntyre, Professor of Management; Executive Director, Georgia Institute of Technology CIBER

      Mr. Tim McKain, International Business Development Director, UPS

      Mr. Jon Morris, Senior VP & Chief Information Officer, WellStar Health System

      Mr. George Mui, White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders & Minority Business Development Agency

      Dr. Monica Nandan, Interim Dean, WellStar College of Health and Human Services

      Ms. Julia Nesheiwat, Deputy Assistant Secretary, U.S. State Department

      Mr. Robert Petrina, Managing Director, Yingli Green Energy Americas

      Dr. Penelope Prime, Professor of International Business, Georgia State University; Director of Chinese Research Center

      Mr. Joseph Scaria, Habitat for Humanity International/Asia-Pacific Office

      Dr. Kat Schwaig, Dean, Coles College of Business, Kennesaw State University

      Mr. Albert Shen, National Deputy Director, Minority Business Development Agency, U.S. Department of Commerce

      Mr. Bill Strang, President, TOTO USA Inc.

      Honorable Kazuo Sunaga, Consul General of Japan in Atlanta

      Mr. Kenji Tateiwa, Manager, Nuclear Power Programs, Tokyo Electric Power Company

      Mr. Mike Thompson, Global Tax, Deloitte

      Mr. Phil Thompson, Partner, Moore Ingram Johnson & Steele, LLP.

      Mr. Rajesh Tripathi, National Leader for the India Business Group, Grant Thornton LLP

      Mr. Partha Unnava, CEO & Co-Founder at Better Walk

      Dr. Juefei Wang, Program Director, Freeman Foundation & Professor of Education Emeritus, University of Vermont

      Ms. June Wang, VP of Strategic Partnership, Assistant to CEO, Huawei Consumer Business Group

      Mr. Russ Williams, SVP, Crisis and Issues Management, Cohn & Wolfe

      JR Wilson, VP of Partnerships & Alliances, AT&T

      Dr. Jay Yadav, Cardiologist, Chairman & CEO of CardioMEMS Inc.

      Dr. Ye Zhu, Research Center for Language Strategies, State Language Commission of China, Shanghai International Studies University

  • Dr. Gao, Hope you are getting some good rest. Congratulations for a super conference and world-class event!
    John McIntyre, Executive Director, Georgia Tech CIBER

    Great Job May! You should be really proud of the work you're doing. There are a number of deals that will get done in the region because of this one conference. Thank you to all the amazing panel members in the building strategic partnerships panel. Happy to be associated with such great leaders! Feel free to reach out to me whenever.
    Adil Kabani | Private Equity Associate | OPIC

    Dear Dr. Gao, Congratulations on another successful SAUPO conference. Your hard work and tenacity pays off.
    Li Wong, Publisher CEO, Georgia Asian Times

    I greatly appreciate the half-day attendance to an amazing learning experience event [at SAUPO]. Little did I realize how beneficial it would be. I attended the M&A section (the key learning was you can never spend enough time on Due Diligence and it goes a long way in ensuring successful business partnership) that focused on due diligence, required across Asian-American business. It was interesting to hear views from Real Estate experts, Legal, Social, Private Companies that provided macro issues across geographies. I will be glad to do a lunch and learn and share what I learnt from the experience within SOF.
    Neeta Nankani, Business Resource Group member, The Coca-Cola Company

    Dear May, Just wanted to say congratulations again for organizing another successful and impressive SAUPO. You do a great job.
    Penelope B. Prime, Ph.D., Director, China Research Center; Professor of International Business, Georgia State University

    Hi May, Thank you for your amazing work creating SAUPO as a premier event. We appreciate you allow us being a part of it. The photos and videos below reflect the positive energy of the event.
    Patricia Decker, U.S. Operations Director, Habitat for Humanity International

    Dear May, You are so fast with the photos and videos! Talking about efficiency, you will be so successful no matter where you are.
    June Wang, Assistant to CEO, Huawei Consumer BG

    Thank you for inviting me to speak at SAUPO this year. Everything is so perfect. Thank you so much for your hospitality, and I hope to see you soon!
    Dr. Ye Zhu, Shanghai International Studies University

    May, first thanks for being the usual excellent host that you always are. I thought the symposium went extremely well. Relax and take a breath!
    Jim McGee, Sr. Director Government Relations, Huawei Technologies USA, Inc

    May and Heeman, Congratulations on such a successful SAUPO 2015. The program overall and the individual speakers were most impressive. I know that everyone there gained so much from the presentations and the networking opportunities. I hope you and the team of folks who helped put on the event can relax a bit this weekend! Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to attend.
    Pauline Howes, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Communication, Kennesaw State University

    Dear all, Just a quick note to thank you for a great panel and also for your support to SAUPO and the conference. It was a great honor for me to moderate such a great group! I remain at your disposal at the Chamber.
    Jorge Fernandez, VP, Global Commerce, Metro Atlanta Chamber

    May and Heeman, Congratulations on another great SAUPO. I know you're glad it's over, but the hard work you put in to planning made it another successful conference. Speakers were great, networking was intense, and the setting was elegant. I was glad to have played a small role in the event.
    Buddy Mayo, Ph.D., Director of MA In Integrated Global Communication, KSU

    It was a pleasure to participate at the SAUPO event. Thank you,
    Rajesh Tripathi| National Leader India Business Group, Grant Thornton LLP

    Thank you for sending the link, the conference was great! I'm sorry I missed you before I had to leave, but I couldn't get past the paparazzi to say goodbye :)
    John Copeland, Delta Air Lines

    Dear Dr. Gao and Madhu, Thank you for allowing me to participate in such a distinguished Panel. There was a lot of wisdom passed on to the audience from a business perspective. I will be pleased to meet again to continue our dialogue. Sincerely,
    Phil Thompson, Partner at Moore Ingram Johnson & Steele

    Hi May, I wanted to reach out and thank you for organizing such an interesting and exciting symposium last week. I was impressed with the high-caliber speakers and the thought-provoking panels. As a result of attending the symposium, I have made multiple new connections and now have several new business opportunities. You have great energy and a dynamic personality! You truly made the event a smashing success.
    Marcy Sperry, Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, LLP.

    Barbara, May, and all, It was a great pleasure being part of a great panel at the SAUPO meeting last week in Atlanta. I learned a lot from my fellow panelists' interesting experience and perspectives. Thank you for having me. Hope we can keep in touch. All the best,
    Kenji Tateiwa, Manager, Nuclear Power Programs, Tokyo Electric Power Company, Washington Office

    Dear May, Thank you very much for your time and tremendous effort to put together such a wonderful and successful event! It was so impressive! You have an amazing team and thanks to your leadership! Big congratulations! Really being proud of you and what you did as a successful Asian woman leader! Thanks for providing the opportunity to network with many key administrators and people from different organizations and companies. I did meet a lot of people and got more connections. If there is anything I could do to help you and your Asia study program or anything else in the future, please feel free to let me know. I wish you another year of great success in 2016 SAUPO!
    Jin Jin, Ph.D., President, Atlanta International Education Group

    Dear all, Thanks for the outstanding session. The collective experience and wisdom was very visible and well appreciated. My gratitude to you for taking the time to prepare and participate in SAUPO. I look forward to staying connected and hope we will have other opportunities to work together.
    Madhu Madhusudan, President, VectorSpan

    Dear May, SAUPO 2015 got great success, and thank you for your great work. I enjoy the conference very much and meeting so many excellent people. The hotel was very nice. Thank you for the accommodation.
    Dr. Yejing Huang, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences

    Dr. Gao, good morning, Thank you for the opportunity to meet and introduce the Global Health Informatics panel.
    Monica Nandan, Ph.D., Professor, Interim Dean, WellStar College of Health and Human Services, KSU

    Congratulations on another successful conference!
    Sabbaye McGriff, Communications Professional, University Relations, KSU

    May, Thank you for having us. My colleague Neeta Nankani gained a tremendous amount of insight and will be sharing back with both her Finance team and our BRG team.
    Sonny Dua, The Coca-Cola Company

    Russ, Molly, Lee and Kenji, I wanted to thank you again for participating in the SAUPO panel on crisis communication. You all had fascinating and important information (and "war stories") to share with our audience. The audience interest was apparent from the number of questions they had and their conversations with all of you after the session was over. Your expertise in this subject was obvious. I hope you enjoyed the experience and would be willing to speak to a KSU group again in the future.
    Barbara Gainey, Ph.D., Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Communication, KSU

    It was such a pleasure to see you again at SAUPO. I was also thrilled to receive a copy of your paper on Duracell, because as you can imagine it directly ties to so much of my work.
    Vicki Flier Hudson, Coach and Chief Collaboration Officer, Highroad Global Services, Inc.

    Congratulations on a successful Conference! I hope you were pleased with the Health Informatics Session. May, you are incredible! Congratulations on a wildly successful conference.
    Jimmy Calloway, Moderator, SAUPO Panel in Global Health Informatics, KSU

    Dr. Gao... Dr. Borders... fellow speakers, Thank you for the privilege of speaking, and it was an honor to be on the same panel with all of you. Thank you and please stay in touch.
    Gene Ho, President of Gene Ho Photography

    Everything looks great Dr. Gao! Congratulations once again. I will post the photos and videos on the SAUPO Facebook,
    Patricia Chourio, graduate student, MAIGC, Kennesaw State University

    Congratulations Dr. Gao! SAUPO was so well organized, with great speakers! I am looking forward to attend again!
    Sarah Min Jia, Doctoral Student, International Conflict Management, Kennesaw State University

 

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