Texas: Dallas and Fort Worth, prosperous cities teeming with business opportunities

Delegate list

LEADERSHIP:
Mike Rawlings – Mayor, City of Dallas
Sandy Nelson – Assistant to Mike Rawlings, City of Dallas
Betsy Price – Mayor, City of Fort Worth
Jason Reinhardt – Mayor Price’s Security, City of Fort Worth
Justin Robert – Mayor Price’s Security, City of Fort Worth
Sean Donohue – CEO, DFW International Airport
John Ackerman – Executive Vice President, Global Strategy and Development, DFW International Airport
Sam Coats – Board Chair, DFW International Airport
Lillie Biggins – Board Member, DFW International Airport
James Russell – Guest of the Board, DFW International Airport
Amir Rupani – Board Member, DFW International Airport
Dale Petroskey – CEO, Dallas Regional Chamber
Mike Rosa – Senior Vice President, Economic Development, Dallas Regional Chamber
Brandom Gengelbach – Executive Vice President, Economic Development, Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce
Melonye Whitson – Vice President, Economic Development, Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce

BUSINESS:
Robbie Briggs – President and CEO, Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s
JJ Cawelti – Senior Manager of Global Public Affairs, Bell Helicopter
Tom Galbreath – President, Dunaway and Associates
Hilda Galvan – Partner-In-Charge, Jones Day Leandre Johns – General Manager, Uber
Tim Keith – CEO, Texas Central Partners
Sonja McGill – Partner, Bell Nunnally & Martin
John Olajide – Founder and CEO, Axxess
Jennifer Sanders – Executive Director, Dallas Innovation Alliance
Jim Spaniolo – President and CEO, North Texas Commission
Shinsuke Takahashi – CEO, NEC Corporation of North America

PLANNING:
Mitzi Chollampel – Senior Manager of International Marketing and Public Relations, DFW International Airport
Karen Herberger – Project Coordinator, Global Strategy and Development, DFW International Airport
Seth Keida – Manager, International Marketing and Public Relations, DFW International Airport
Lena Bedwany – Specialist, International Marketing and Public Relations, DFW International Airport
Melissa Maguire – Manager, International Economic Development, Dallas Regional Chamber

Why Dallas and Fort Worth?

Texas today is the 2^nd largest trade partner of the Province of Québec in the United States. The total volume of trade between Texas and all of Canada was more than US$41 billion last year. More than 8,684 Canadian companies are known to do business with Dallas and Fort Worth and 127 of them are established with permanent operations. Part of what is called the Texas triangle, Dallas and Fort Worth (DFW) is recognized by many experts to be among the top metropolitan areas in the U.S. in terms of its fast growing economy and population (over 7 million inhabitants – making it the largest metro area in Texas and 4^th largest in the U.S.). DFW offers many strategic advantages to Quebec / Canadian companies, the most recent being a second daily direct flight with Montréal.

The activity in brief

New format: ask the experts all of your questions.

Adopt a better business development strategy for Texas by taking part in this new interactive seminar format.

Through the special format of this activity, you will gain practical knowledge of several facets of Texas, from current business opportunities to certain aspects of business culture, taxation, the legal system, customs operations, and transportation in the country.

Don’t miss this opportunity to:

• Directly ask the experts all of your questions
• Take part in small group discussions
• Benefit from the advice of a specialized panel of speakers
• Meet several entrepreneurs with in-depth experience on the market
• Speak to potential partners and key stakeholders for your projects.

A unique opportunity to…

• Meet several entrepreneurs with extensive experience on the Dallas and Fort Worth markets, in Texas.
• Speak to potential partners and key stakeholders for your projects.
• Understand the business context in this region of Texas.
• Get expert advice.
• Update your knowledge of the outlooks for various sectors.
• Target relevant business opportunities for your company.
• Hear testimonials from Québec entrepreneurs who have found success on this market.

Dallas-Fort Worth facts and figures:

• Texas has the 2nd largest state economy in the U.S. by GDP and the 10th largest economy in the world by GDP, at $1.63T.
• 0% state and local income tax, with business-friendly tax incentives to promote growth.
• The cost of doing business in Dallas is 7% lower than the national average.
• DFW is the #1 most visited metropolitan area in Texas.
• DFW is home to four Foreign Trade Zones.
• DWF is the #1 region in the U.S. for capital investment and job creation.
• Texas imports $15.9B in goods from Canada.
• Texas exports $4.5B in services to Canada.
• 127 Canadian companies operate in DFW with 215 locations under operation.
• 68 DFW companies operate in Canada with 1,890 subsidiaries.

Who should take part?

All companies seeking to develop their business in Dallas-Fort Worth (Texas) or seeking to learn more about this market. The activity will be of particular interest to companies in the following sectors:

• Aerospace engineering
• Automotive
• Finance
• Machinery and equipment
• IT and communications
• Food
• Transportation and Logistics
• Construction and construction equipment
• Electronics
• Chemical and plastic products

program