Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick served as the government keynote speaker at the Global Trade Summit 2011, which was held last Tuesday to address how to "solidify [Massachusetts'] place as a worldwide leader" in the global marketplace.The summit, sponsored by the Perlmutter Insitute for Global Business Leadership at the International Business School, was a conference held in the Levin Ballroom that attracted over 330 leaders from Massachusetts businesses, academia and government agencies, according to BrandeisNOW.

Patrick discussed the plan to rehabilitate the Commonwealth "after the worst recession in living memory" so it is able to "compete in the global economy." Patrick said that he and other government officials "have pursued a three-pronged strategy to lift up our state and compete in the global economy: It's all about education, innovation and infrastructure."

He also described his recent trade mission to Israel and the United Kingdom, which focused on increasing interaction with those countries by building a strong trade relationship and an international business partnership. "We initiated a 6-month project to convince El Al [an Israeli airline] to create direct flights between Boston and Tel Aviv," Patrick said, adding that to ensure success, "we need to continue these conversations and ... close on these investment opportunities." IBS Dean Bruce Magid also attended the mission.

Patrick said that he values "generational responsibility-[leaving] things better for those who come behind us."

The "importance of planning, organizing and executing [will not just benefit] the here and now, but the long-term," he said.

The summit's program involved a variety of "experts who shared regional expertise on key emerging markets [and] sessions on doing business in Asia, South America [and] Europe," Matthew Parillo, director of Marketing and Communications at IBS wrote in an e-mail to the Justice.

"We offered panels on key functional areas-like how to build global trade operations, export financing and working with foreign suppliers," Parillo wrote.""Collectively, we hope that business leaders left better suited to navigate the global economy,"" he wrote.

IBS master's student Thomas Weaver, who attended the event, said in an interview with the Justice that his interest in emerging markets, specifically in Asia, drew him to the summit. "There's a great panel of speakers [discussing that subject]," he said. "I'm looking forward to getting new ideas that ... drive new interest."

John Gugliada, another attendee and principal of his international business development company Parallel Partner, Inc., said he was most looking forward to the summit's breakout sessions, during which the leaders had the opportunity to break into smaller, more informal groups to discuss more pointed issues. "I'm here to learn ... from a larger experience of speakers [about] the markets they've tried to enter, and then learn from their trial and error," he said in an interview with the Justice.

Business Keynote Speaker James Taiclet, CEO of American Tower, a wireless and broadcast tower provider, recognized in his speech that business leaders are responsible for providing a focused, structured plan for their businesses. "Clearly define the one or two things that your team is going to be the best in the world at, and then determine the steps that you need to take to get there," he challenged the leaders.

"[Taiclet's] story of transforming his firm from a local business to a global provider of wireless and broadcast communication sites ... provided valuable lessons to the attendees," Parillo wrote.

Parillo noted that Brandeis students were able to get involved in the summit not only by attending, but also by further serving as Summit Ambassadors. As ambassadors, students were "assigned a visiting speaker or dignitary as a primary contact, ... reached out to these visitors in advance and welcomed them to Brandeis. On the day of the event, the ambassadors showed the visitors around campus and provided assistance needed," Parillo wrote. "This enabled them to have direct contact and to network with many of the leaders from industry and government throughout the day," he added.

"The emphasis of the Summit was to focus on providing practical knowledge-not just theoretical concepts-to conduct business successfully across borders," Parillo wrote. "It was truly a collaborative effort [with the entire Brandeis community, the organizers, senior administration, faculty, staff and students], which we feel was highly successful and well received.