GLASGOW BUSINESS JUNE 2016


CONTENTS/PRESIDENT


Neil Amner, President president@glasgowchamberofcommerce.com


A new direction in international trade


6


Manhattan is pre-eminent among the boroughs that make up New York City. It has the same kind of urban buzz as Glasgow. That restless energy, the creative melting-pot, the massive retail footprint, and a civic determination to re-invigorate declining neighbourhoods into modern tech and media districts. Glasgow and Manhattan are carved from the same block of commercial rock. That is why we have teamed up with Manhattan Chamber with a ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ to begin a new direction in our international trade activity. The dilemma of doing


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international trade is there is such a vast world out there. It can be very daunting. Glasgow Chamber’s job is to make sense of overseas opportunities and support our members in accessing the right markets. We are


News Agenda


City Roundup Member news Partner news New members


Events


Past and forthcoming events 18 Intel Q&As


Glasgow Talks International Trade


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Features The Circular Economy


Official connections with Manhattan Chamber


Nominations are now open for the Inspiring City Awards


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The host with the most: The European Championships 30


The benefits of going green 34


Column BIG Talks


46


Cover image: Scottish champion Ross Murdoch will be competing at the Championships. Picture courtesy of Glasgow 2018 European Championships


approached by Chambers of Commerce around the world almost on a daily basis. While we always pass on our felicitations and offers of help, we wanted to target our resources and be more proactive with the relationships we set up. From work we did with Glasgow Airport on international flight destinations, we gained a strong sense of where the important markets for our city will be in the future. We settled on a combination of regions that were especially important to us, and where we had existing connections including direct flights, alongside a couple which deserved our attention for the future. We selected the Eastern seaboard of the United States, Germany, Northern Italy, Canada, Dubai – as the stepping stone to Asia – and China. Our Chamber was founded in the


late 18th century to help Glasgow merchants find new markets in the


aftermath of the American Wars of Independence. It is in a sense fitting therefore that our first new partnering arrangement should be with Manhattan Chamber of Commerce. It makes sense because there are already all kinds of existing interactions between our business and academic institutions, with the likes of Edrington Group, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley. Today, our President’s Club is


made up of influential business people who have all agreed to contribute time and connections for the benefit of Glasgow in its ‘Home’ and ‘Away’ teams. I was asked to invite members


of our US ‘Away’ team to a Glasgow business and investment promotion event in New York in March. When in the city, Richard Muir and I met Jessica Walker, President of Manhattan Chamber of Commerce; which led to the


agreement between


our two organisations. The Glasgow trade


event itself was attended by


150 influencers, who enjoyed such delicacies as a Glengoyne whisky cocktail and IRN-BRU bonbons from Glickman’s, Glasgow’s oldest sweet shop, in a room lit by 120-year-old Glasgow firm Shearer Candles. Among the Away team were Ken Donnelly, Director of Risk at the Bank of America, and James Heggie III, Merrill Lynch’s First Vice President, an American with deep Scots roots. For me, these two gentleman


show the high level of our US connections; while journeys like that to New York are all about expanding our contacts for Glasgow’s benefit. I’m delighted that we have made the effort to promote business with Manhattan. I encourage Glasgow members to grab the handle on this open door and step into commercial activities in the Big Apple, where support will be on hand; as it will be for those coming to Glasgow.


Glasgow Business . 3 www.glasgowchamberofcommerce.com


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