Pew Campus, L. William Seidman Center, 50 Front Avenue SW, Suite 1054, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49504

P (616) 331-6811 • F (616) 331-6744 • VAGTC.ORG

Mexico is not only the United States’ second largest export market, but also Michigan’s,

accounting for 20% of all exports from the state. With Mexico being one of Michigan’s largest

trading partners, the potential opportunities this market holds for Michigan businesses are

endless. Join us for a half-day, Doing Business in Mexico, conference as we discuss Mexico’s

current business climate.

Underwritten by: Sponsored by:

Pew Campus, L. William Seidman Center, 50 Front Avenue SW, Suite 1054, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49504

P (616) 331-6811 • VAGTC.ORG

SPEAKERS

Mexico’s Business Environment & Economic Overview Efren Flores—Michigan Economic Development Corporation Mexico Office Partner Mr. Flores’ professional experience includes having worked part time as a representative of the World Trade Organization for the Ministry of Economy, as a member of APEC negotiation board. He also worked as a full-time consultant on customs and free trade agreements for Arthur Andersen Consulting Mexico City. Mr. Flores started working as a contractor for Pennsylvania’s Office of International Business Development in 1998. Since then, he had helped more than 1300 U.S and foreign companies to establish business relations with Mexican companies.

Javier Ramirez—Herman Miller, Mexico, Vice President of Finance for Latin America & Caribbean Mr. Ramirez is currently is based in Mexico City. He has worked in Herman Miller since 2007 as Director of Finance for Mexico and since 2012 as the Vice President of Finance for Latin America & the Caribbean. Under his direct responsibilities are the Accounting, Tax, Credit & Collection, HR and IT functions for the region.

Scott Sneckenberger—Plant Moran, PLLC, Partner Mr. Sneckenberger is an international business consultant, a member of Plante Moran’s global services team and leads the firm’s Mexican consulting practice. He has extensive experience working with various manufacturing companies in the automotive industry. He has assisted clients in a variety of areas, including wholly-owned foreign enterprises, joint ventures, mergers, acquisitions, strategic market analyses, transfer pricing studies, and import/export concerns.

Miguel Valdes—Arizpe, Valdes & Marcos Abogados (Miller Canfield Associate Office Mexico), Partner Mr. Valdes has experience in corporate law, foreign investment, mergers and acquisitions, contracts, environmental law, specializing in bond regimes

(Maquiladora IMMEX Program), intellectual property and immigration.

Shan Carpenter—NN Inc., Autocam Precision Components Group , L3 Manager The Autocam Precision Components Group (APCG) is a global leader in the manufacturing of high precision metal components. The group consists of 16 facilities across four continents and specializes in components with single-digit micron tolerances. Ms. Carpenter specializes in Lean Manufacturing and Problem Solving Analysis. She has worked for APCG for 14 years and has been influential in helping to set up operations in multiple locations. In her most recent assignment , she has been responsible for the transition of several manufacturing lines to the NN, Inc.’s Juarez, Mexico plant.

Doug Buma—IFR, Inc., President IFR, Inc. is an employee-owned company that has been in the Holland, Michigan area for 96 years. IFR, Inc. serves the automotive industry with textile-based Returnable Packaging Systems through Integrated Fabric Resource (www.ifrinc.com), manufactures bulk-liquid material handling Flexitanks through Big Red Resources LLC, and sells the SpeedCell® high-density storage solution to the Material Handling Industry through Holland Storage Systems LLC (www.speedcell.net).

Dan King—Herman Miller, Inc., Vice President Latin America & Caribbean Mr. King has been with Herman Miller for over 29 years. He has continuously served as President of Herman Miller Mexico since 2001. The focus of Dan’s career has been to develop sales and service focused distribution organizations capable of exceeding customer expectations on a local basis in many parts of the world. He has specialized in turnarounds, start-ups and fast growth organizations.

Martin Vasquez—ESCO Group, Inc., Sales Engineer for Edge-Sweets Company Mr. Vasquez is a professional engineering and sales manager with a strong background in tool design, production facilities, process engineering and marketing. He has the responsibility of representing the Edge-Sweets Company’s foam cutting equipment throughout North and Central America with an emphasis on further developing the potent Mexican market.

Negotiations & Best Practices for Doing Business in Mexico Panel

Strategic Planning for: Legal, Tax & Financing Opportunities Panel

TO READ FULL BIOS AND TO REGISTER VISIT VAGTC.ORG

DATE: AUGUST 30, 2016

COST: $120

TIME: 8:00A NETWORKING BREAKFAST

8:30A—NOON PROGRAM

LOCATION: GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY’S L.WILLIAM SEIDMAN CENTER 50 FRONT AVE SW GRAND RAPIDS, MI 49504