02 February 2011
Florida has re-opened a business development office in Brazil, the state’s top trade partner and one of the world’s fastest-growing markets.
Enterprise Florida, the state’s economic development partnership, set up the office in Sao Paulo, Brazil’s financial hub. It will work both to encourage Brazilian investment in Florida and to promote Florida exports to Brazil.
The move comes as Florida seeks to help the state’s small- and mid-sized companies sell more to Brazil, a booming nation of more than 190 million residents that is poised to host soccer’s World Cup in 2014 and the Summer Olympics in 2016.
For the latest trade data on U.S. trade with Brazil, click here.
Florida’s export push also includes working with the U.S. Commercial Service in Brazil, helping small companies in Florida with marketing plans for Brazil, expos and trade shows in Brazil to showcase Florida goods and other initiatives, Enterprise Florida said in a statement.
Running Enterprise Florida’s Brazil office are Fabio Yukio Yamada as managing director and Mariana Crivello Falkenburger as business development manager.
Yamada has 28 years of experience in business development with such U.S. companies as Chemical Bank, Johnson & Johnson, DuPont and 3M and with Sweden’s Assa Abloy. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Brazil’s University of Campinas and an MBA in international marketing from Canada’s Carleton University. Since 2001, he has represented several U.S. states in Brazil, working with more than 200 companies a year to promote their exports to Brazil and to recruit Brazilian business to the United States. He will focus on attracting Brazilian companies to establish and/or expand operations in Florida.
Mariana Falkenburger has worked for the U.S. Foreign Commercial Service and has been involved with trade, investment and tourism promotion for Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania. She holds a bachelor’s in international relations at Sao Paulo’s Catholic University and an MBA from Brazil’s Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing. She will focus on trade development for Florida’s small and mid-sized companies.
Contact info for the new office is: Enterprise Florida Brazil office; Rua Gomes de Carvalho 1266, suite 45 - São Paulo – SP; 04547-005 – BRAZIL; Telephone: +5511-3044-4848; Mobile: +5511-7207-2065.
For the news release on the Brazil office, click here.