WorldCity Business Magazine

X-Men: Lead and South Floridians Will Follow

by Suzy Valentine

To become a world city requires world-class leaders.

Several business and civic leaders told us that in order to reach the next level, South Florida needs to follow the lead of other major metropolitan areas.

Comparisons are made in the opinions that follow to London, Los Angeles, New York and Toronto.

Commentators urge governments, regional and national, to join forces with ordinary citizens to tackle everything from the wealth divide to the region’s reputation for business.

There is also the rallying cry to companies to relocate here, law schools to expand their curricula, educationalists to reach out to everyone in the community and authorities to be more proactive in providing workforce housing.

There is also the call for more scholarship on Latin America for which the region is the natural capital.

One attorney speaks of how downtown Miamis skyline has grown up in the 33 years that he has been here. The consensus is that the regions leaders must grow in stature also, if they are to take this young community to the next level.

The normal clichs abound. It won’t happen overnight, Rome wasn’t built in a day. The clock is ticking.

Nevertheless, the business community is looking to original thought from its leaders to facilitate a smooth transition. One commentator even endorses the controversial strong mayor initiative in Miami-Dade County. WC

Roger Crook, CEO, DHL Express International Americas

World-class cities, such as New York, London, and Hong Kong, share characteristics that directly or indirectly make significant contributions to the development of global business, academics, politics and society.

Some of these characteristics include opinion leaders, think tanks and non-governmental organizations that foster and promote legislation to support issues such as commercial openness and social responsibility; global corporations that drive economic vitality; top-tier educational institutions which attract talent that feeds the local workforce; and diverse communities and cultural venues that provide outlets for entertainment.

Looking around Miami, one will notice that there are efforts being made to paint a complete picture, in order to achieve world-class status. Miami is still only in the early stages of becoming a world-class city. Those of us that live and work in South Florida must acknowledge Miami’s early stage of world-class development but were all committed to taking this city to the next level.

It’s not going to happen overnight but through South Florida’s businesses, government, non-governmental organizations and academic institutions, this city must make significant contributions to the global community such as fostering trade agreements including the bid to land the seat of the Free Trade Area of the Americas which will support global commerce; producing innovative solutions that can be implemented worldwide; contributing to local universities, by being available for speaking events, forums and mentoring programs; and by supporting cultural venues that generate world renowned exposure.

It is through efforts such as these that South Florida will earn recognition at the global level, so the region can achieve the ranking it is yearning for.

Jorge L. Arrizurieta, chair of the international policy group, Akerman Senterfitt

As the city matures and broadens its focus, it is imperative that it does not forget its role as the gateway and business center for the Americas. This is more than a brand, it is a mutually dependent relationship that will continue leading the city towards endless opportunities.

Recently, there has been a worldwide push toward developing renewable fuel.

The Western Hemisphere is at the forefront of this movement. Economies within the region are uniquely positioned to provide each other as well as the rest of the world with a significant supply of biofuels. The use of this type of fuel is expected to explode due to the liberalization of markets, environmental concerns, the need to reduce dependency on foreign oil and government mandated use. Our community is uniquely poised to take full advantage of this New World revolution.

Our community and state, however, like all communities of our size and magnitude, are faced with growth challenges. Building adequate transportation infrastructure and strengthening our educational institutions are among the areas that need our undivided attention. We will continue to deal with our growing pains and develop policy solutions as we move to the next level.

As trade between Latin America and the rest of the world grows, so Miami grows.

For example, China is making a major push into Latin America. Almost half of China’s foreign direct investment has been spent in Latin America as the emerging economy taps into the region’s abundant natural resources.

China has already displaced Brazil as the number one importer into Miami and trade between South Florida and China continues to grow at a fervent pace.

The growing importance of China-Miami trade is evidenced by a new Chinese investment project on Watson Island. Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, a top-notch Asian brand, is opening a hotel for business travelers. Significantly, the company has chosen Florida to launch its brand in North America.

The world becomes flatter every day and further interconnected.

This trade reality ensures that our beloved community and state becomes an invaluable business center for the Americas and beyond.

Our gateway city has become a global revolving door and will soon become a model city for the world.

Eduardo Padrn, President, Miami Dade College

Like many urban areas, Miami is a city of contrasts. If you drive downtown, as I do each day, you will see more than a dozen cranes congested within as many city blocks. Right now, downtown Miami is experiencing almost exponential growth. Our skyline reaches higher with tall new buildings. At ground level, new cultural centers built low on the horizon are helping to create an urban centrality never quite experienced until now.

But this cultural wealth is countered by extreme poverty. Drive just a few blocks away from the AmericanAirlines Arena and the Carnival Center for the Performing Arts and you quickly enter a completely different world.

All cities, from New York City to Los Angeles, contain extreme juxtapositions of rich and poor, the haves and have-nots. A key difference in Miami, however, is that our city is a profound symbol of hope for so many people in the nations to our south. As the primary gateway into the United States for immigrants from the Caribbean and Latin America, Miami is a beacon of hope for immigrants seeking better lives for their families.

Delivering on that promise depends on access to higher education. A college degree or advanced training in professional or technical fields is fundamental for low-income and immigrant populations to achieve a better life.

When I reflect on higher education’s aims, I don’t think about ivy-covered walls at a remote, pastoral college. Instead, I look through the lens of urban Miami Dade College, where I have worked for more than 35 years. And what I have learned during those years is that an institution of higher education within an urban society must itself become a miniature city within a city, directly mirroring the institutions and needs of the larger city it serves through it programs and curricula.

A city’s college must live and breathe with the population it serves. There are no town-versus-gown rivalries between students and citizens at a place like Miami Dade College, nor at any of our local colleges and universities. To become this city within a city, higher education must do four things: reach all populations, address local workforce needs, be affordable and, finally, provide real opportunities to deliver on the promise of hope that Miami represents for so many people.

As leaders in higher education, we cannot be afraid to do what it takes to create a highly skilled workforce. If we don’t, we will continue to see our nation’s skilled jobs outsourced and our standard of living diminished.

Doing what it takes means continually developing and strengthening partnerships with government, industry, health care organizations, non-profit organizations and educational partners throughout the learning spectrum to create a real-world context for students to tailor and streamline their developing skills directly into society.

Miami Dade College, like many other large institutions of higher learning, partners with many of these groups. In the last academic year, for example, we have added partnerships with Florida Power and Light, Lockheed Martin, as well as the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Federal Aviation Administration. We are continually building and expanding partnerships with high schools, other universities and regional health care institutions such as Baptist Health South Florida and Jackson Memorial Hospital.

Urban institutions have a responsibility, different from that of small, pastoral colleges. The city within a city is an integral partner in the community’s infrastructure. The identity and evolution of our educational institutions is directly linked with the South Florida community we serve.

Richard Hartzell, President, Latin American and the Caribbean, Mastercard international

Miami is still a young city, struggling with the growing pains of having been a tourist destination that is transitioning into a world city.

To be recognized as such, however, the city, its citizens, and its politicians need to be willing to invest in making each of the above characteristics world-class.

The city needs to provide incentives to companies willing to locate here that are directly or indirectly involved in international business transactions to counter the increasingly high costs of operations.

This includes controlling the high tax base on residential and commercial properties to make living in Miami more affordable. It also needs to find ways for government agencies to have a friendlier, can-do attitude toward multinational companies located here, beginning with Miami International Airport.

Once government officials understand the importance of international trade and commerce to this city, the momentum toward becoming a world city will accelerate.

Matthew Gorson, national operating shareholder, Greenberg Traurig

Since the first construction boom in the 1920s when thousands of people migrated from the northern United States during Prohibition, Miami has become a beacon for international business and a thriving financial and cultural center.

But we need to focus on two areas that will improve our quality of life: workforce housing and transportation.

The annual income required to purchase an average-priced home is nearly double the median household income.

We have at least a $100,000 gap between what a market-rate house is available at today and what an individual can afford. We need to foster an environment in which more companies open offices or relocate their headquarters to South Florida.

Workforce housing is not only a social issue but a real economic development issue. Service and office workers, teachers, police officers, hospital workers, firefighters, municipal workers and low- to mid-level management deserve to live in or near the cities they serve.

It is important to encourage our lawmakers and community leaders on the local and state level to support programs for affordable housing subsidies. We should support the work being done by the Urban Land Institute, which is looking to counter shortages in mixed-income housing, to expand available project financing, and support developers in completing workforce housing projects. Only by taking proactive steps will we break down the barriers that have prevented much of the private sectors participation in workforce housing.

One cannot talk about housing without also addressing the issue of transportation. They are part of the same equation. If we do what needs to be done regarding workforce housing, workers can avoid having to travel longer and longer distances between their homes and jobs, thereby minimizing the traffic congestion on our highways. Our state population is projected to double to 36 million by the middle of this century and the demands on our schools, roads, utilities and social services are great. The clock is ticking. Miami must explore options in order to grow into a more vital world city.

A more balanced, multimodal transportation system would be a great boon for the tri-county area. We must accomplish the following: connect Metrorail with southern Homestead; extend Tri-Rail to serve the tri-county area entirely; and expand inner-city public transportation such as the Metromover and streetcars. To be counted among the top global capitals, Miami needs to ensure its workers have convenient access to amenities including the cultural and sports centers of the city.

With adequate workforce housing and better transportation, Miami and South Florida can prosper as international hubs for law, trade and finance that can stand shoulder to shoulder with the greatest global cities.

Jerry Haar, Associate Director of the Knight Ridder Center for Excellence in Management, College of Business Administration, Florida International University

World city a concept promoted by the Loughborough University (UK) geography department is one that has a direct and tangible effect on global affairs through economics, culture and politics.

That Metropolitan Miami is a world city is undeniable. The assets of our multicultural/multilingual gateway city are admirable and innumerable with tourism, international trade, professional services and Latin media and entertainment forming the competitive backbone of our economy.

Nevertheless, a world city is not synonymous with a world-class city.

To achieve that status, we need to remedy longstanding problems that are rapidly eroding our attractiveness and competitiveness: transportation gridlock, lack of affordable housing, poor quality education and workforce preparedness, punitive insurance rates and property taxes, low growth in higher valued-added job sectors (including information technology and biotechnology) and the brain drain (our best and brightest often move elsewhere).

While it is unfair to compare and foolish to hope Miami will become another New York, London, Hong Kong or Singapore, we can benchmark ourselves with similar multicultural, global cities of similar size cities that are world-class.

For that, there is no better example than Toronto. Thanks to strong leadership private, public and non-profit Toronto has an infrastructure that works well (including its mass transit system), quality job growth, affordable housing and accessible health and social services for its poor, a skilled workforce, a clean and well-appointed international airport where immigration and customs officers and airport workers are friendly and helpful, and symphonic and chamber ensembles that were funded and supported by the community prior to the erection of the modern concert halls that house them.

Despite the impediments to world-class status cited above, the moment is propitious to undertake action for excellence. The new strong mayor system of government in Miami-Dade County, a revitalized Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce and the increase in volunteerism and commitment by ordinary citizens are welcome signs.

EUGENE A. ROSTOV, PARTNER, BAKER & McKENZIE

Miami and South Florida face a number of challenges to be considered in the top ranks of world cities.

As a professional living here and working in an international law firm, I have been struck by the extraordinary quality of the multicultural and multi-lingual population that guides international trade and commerce through this community. Coupled with this gifted population, Miami, as part of South Florida, has a privileged position as a geographic crossroads between North and South America and other parts of the world.

Nevertheless, in spite of South Florida’s talented human resources and privileged geographic location, there seems to be a dichotomy in this community between that part, which devotes itself to the global marketplace and the other part, which is focused on the local economy.

While seemingly different activities, they are two sides of the same coin.

Unfortunately those two segments of the community have never appeared to pursue common goals. FTAA Florida, Inc., an entity formed to bring to South Florida the permanent secretariat of the Free Trade Area of the Americas, had its principal support in the private sector from individuals, groups, and entities devoted to the global market rather than members of the local economy. Although realizing the vision of FTAA in its original format may now be delayed by the complexity of multilateral trade negotiations, the entire community needs to support these kinds of initiatives.

Jos Astigarraga, Partner, Astigarraga Davis Miamis Future as a Global Legal Center

Increased commerce has spawned demand for lawyers with international expertise who can do deals abroad. Deals have led to disputes creating work for lawyers au fait with cross-border disputes. Then, Florida enacted its International Arbitration Act. Miami now ranks second to New York as chosen U.S. venue for international arbitrations.

International practice took off as political turmoil circled Latin America. Free market policies and reform, in countries such as Argentina, Chile, and Peru, prompted privatization of state entities. Law firms in Miami, with bilingual lawyers, have cashed in on international legal work.

But to remain competitive, Miami must address how it trains and retains lawyers.

Demand exists but it won’t necessarily come to Miami. The Beacon Council and other community leaders should encourage companies to set up regional headquarters here, be they U.S. or foreign companies.

Law schools are well positioned to attract foreign lawyers, particularly Latin Americans, who seek advanced degrees. The legal community could help law schools expose these students to U.S. legal culture and practice.

Miami should support efforts to attract international legal initiatives here. For example, the Florida FTAA and Governor Bush lobbied to have Miami become seat of the secretariat of the Free Trade Area of the Americas. The selection would enhance Miami’s status as an international law center.

The Miami international bar has significant expertise. There is a hunger in Latin America and elsewhere for that know-how. Apart from granting foreign lawyers U.S. law degrees, Miami’s institutions could train foreign lawyers in arbitration.

The Florida legislature should enact legislation to enhance Florida’s competitiveness as a legal and commercial center, just as other states have to catch investments.

The Florida Bar could consolidate the reputations of Florida and Miami as international legal centers by enacting appropriate legislation. The Florida Supreme Court has opened international arbitration to all lawyers, including foreign attorneys, to widen the appeal of Florida and Miami to clients.

We need to think big picture. While the profession focuses on Latin America, international practice has wider reach. Regional deals and disputes remain our core but globalization will imbue deals and disputes with legal overtones far beyond. Law schools and firms must address that if Miami is to remain a capital for legal services.

Susan k. Purcell, Director, Center for Hemispheric policy, the University of Miami

What had been missing in South Florida until recently were policy-oriented think tanks focusing on Latin America and U.S. relations within the hemisphere, such as those present in other East coast world cities such as New York and Washington, D.C.

These institutions play an important role in strengthening the world city status of cities in which they are located.

They give local decision-makers from very different sectors the opportunity to get to know each other better. They serve as a platform for important hemispheric leaders to express their views, raising the local, national and international profile of cities that host them. And they strengthen the ties between groups and leaders in the U.S. world city and groups and leaders throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

Recognizing Miami’s need for a policy institute dedicated to Latin American and Caribbean issues, University of Miami President Donna Shalala created the Center for Hemispheric Policy two years ago. The support for and participation in the activities of the center leave no doubt that Miami was ready and eager to host such an institution.

Since its creation, the center has sponsored more than 100 programs about Latin America and U.S.-Latin American relations featuring speakers from throughout the hemisphere. It did with strong support from an array of business, financial, legal, academic, non-governmental and media organizations based in the Greater Miami area, as well as from its bipartisan congressional delegation and the local diplomatic corps.

As a result of all these efforts, Miami has strengthened its ties with Latin American and Caribbean officials and groups and has begun to play a more important role in helping to influence and shape U.S. policy toward the hemisphere, thereby further strengthening the citys role as the gateway to the Americas.

Stephen Flowers, President, UPS Americas

On a daily basis, UPS has more than 40 inbound and outbound Miami flights, making us one of the top carriers at Miami International Airport.

The influx of companies managing Latin American operations from South Florida validates this area’s central role in ensuring the flow of goods to and from Brazil, Mexico, Central America and the rest of its southern neighbors.

Increased logistical needs mean that businesses view Miami as a crucial link in their supply chains and they’re taking advantage of new technologies and services, as well as proximity to growing Latin American opportunities, to enhance inventory management, accelerate time-to-market and reduce shipping costs.

At the same time customers are capitalizing on Miami’s advantages, UPS and the shipping industry are working with Latin American governments on the other end to ensure that packages and cargo move through customs as quickly as possible. This is maximizing Miami’s transportation and logistical strengths.

We anticipate that free trade agreements such as DR-CAFTA, as well as other open market policies in the region, will continue to drive trade traffic through Miami, whether it comes from the regions traditional trading powerhouses or China and India.

Latin America’s businesses are prepared for the opportunities this presents. According to the UPS Latin America Business Monitor, the region is expecting its current economic growth and trade momentum to continue.

That suggests even better days ahead for Miami and its diverse, multicultural population, an environment in which a native from Toronto, like me, feels at home.

My career at UPS has taken me to cities around the world, and each has its pros and cons, but Miami is special, the beneficiary of a climate that is exceptional for business and leisure. Not many major cities can make that claim.

Miami has its challenges, foremost among them congestion and cost of living, but no more than any other city.

The city’s abundant professional and cultural offerings make Miami a great place to live and work, and thats why UPS is committed to being here for a long time to come.

John Sumberg, Managing Partner, Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod

When I returned to Miami after law school 33 years ago, downtown Miami shut at 5:00 p.m., and One Biscayne Tower was the tallest building at 39 stories. Now skyscrapers dominate the skyline along Brickell Avenue, downtown and Biscayne Boulevard.

This metamorphosis is the direct result of the diverse people who have made our community their home, who have brought their unique cultures and perspectives, and made Miami the fascinating multicultural, international city it is today.

When I began practicing law, the legal community’s largest law firms had no more than 25 attorneys, doing predominantly local work, with revenues of $5 million to $6 million a year. Today, there are 12 firms with 100 or more attorneys in Miami, doing work as sophisticated as any other city in the country. Today, the 12 largest firms in Miami have more than 2,000 attorneys and more than $1 billion in aggregate annual revenue. Twenty-five years ago, my clients were all locals; today, 75 percent of my clients are international. Miami’s legal community reflects that the city is a gateway to South America, the Caribbean, Canada and Europe and now Asia.

Miami has been flourishing at an astonishing rate and is poised to grow even more in the coming years. As a result of our rapid expansion, we have outgrown our infrastructure. We have significant problems with affordable housing, education and transportation three things that are vital to a strong workforce and thriving community.

If we are to compete with other major cities in attracting top businesses and executives, we must begin to solve these issues now. We have recently begun to address these issues but we need to do much more. Our business leaders and politicians must partner to create a long-term strategic plan with initiatives to solve these and other infrastructure issues in order for Miami to maximize its potential throughout the 21st century.