Business executive and thought leader Kati Suominen will participate in a senior-level keynote discussion on the top trends to watch out for in the evolving app economy. The discussion will take place on January 21, 2016, at the Kirchner Museum in Davos, Switzerland. The event is being sponsored by CA Technologies, and will feature The Economist Group’s new documentary, “Crystal Balls: Future of the App Economy.”
Joining Suominen on the breakfast panel will be John Chambers, executive chairman of Cisco Systems; Pranay Chulet, CEO of Quikr; Michael Gregoire, CEO of CA Technologies; and Erik Hersman, CEO of BRCK and founder of iHub Nairobi. The discussion will be led by Matthew Bishop, editorial director of new initiatives at The Economist.
The documentary focuses on three distinct regions — the Zhongguancun technology region in Beijing, Scandinavia, and Kansas City in the U.S.— which are leading the way in the app economy. The panel will delve into what the business community can learn from these three regions so as to unlock new sources of growth.
For Suominen, the event will be the latest in a series of high-level appearances around the globe. She is founder and CEO of Nextrade Group LLC which enables governments, multilateral development banks and corporations to optimize public policy and investment strategies to spur international trade, e-commerce and digitization. “Most companies in practically any country have yet to tap foreign markets, and most companies in the developing world have yet to get online. Governments understand that trade and digitization can be huge drivers of economic growth, entrepreneurship and job creation, but they are often short of strategies and solutions when it comes to advancing trade and digitization. Several corporations share an interest in removing barriers to trade and use of new technologies, but need analytical horsepower to rigorously show to governments what the main pain points are, and how to prioritize actions to remove them. This is where we step in: we help both public and private sectors to unlock trade and digitization worldwide, and work together.”
Nextrade offers its clients new data, actionable analytics, interactive platforms and cutting-edge policy initiatives now adopted by such institutions as the Inter-American Development Bank and the United Nations. In 2016, Nextrade is also opening a new service helping technology companies identify and unlock new B2B markets, especially in the emerging world.
Along with being an adjunct professor at the UCLA Anderson School of Management in Los Angeles, Suominen is also the founder and CEO of TradeUp, a digital financing platform that enables globalizing companies to raise growth capital from institutional investors. Research shows that globalizing companies outperfect the broader market. Yet, these highly scalable companies tend to cite inadequate financing as a leading obstacle to expanding their international sales. That’s where TradeUp steps in. TradeUp adds value to companies on its platform by helping them go to new markets and manage international risks.
Suominen will speak at more high-level gatherings in order to address challenges and opportunities in the global economy. They include:
– A Fintech panel on trade finance issues at leading global bank HSBC’s New York headquarters. The event will feature innovating applications like TradeUp for globalizing companies that need financing.
– A presentation at the United Nations in Geneva on her concept of “Aid for eTrade,” which is aimed to accelerate the e-commerce revolution worldwide. Built around her concept, the event will bring together leading officials from international financial institutions, government donor agencies, and corporate leaders for e-commerce, online payments, and IT infrastructure companies to discuss ways to operationalize “Aid for eTrade.”
– In October 2015, Suominen also gave a keynote address titled, “How to Thrive in the Global Digital Economy” at the Global Small Business Forum in Chicago. The event helped companies in the Chicago area to learn about how to take some of their products and services, and sell them to international companies.
– In November 2015, she made an appearance as a panelist at the Fourth Annual Global Alternative Funding Forum in Los Angeles. Much of the event’s focus was on non-banking alternative finance methods, such as crowdfunding and royalties financing.
– In December 2015, She organized a Council on Foreign Relations event entitled “Entrepreneurship as a Component of National Power” in Washington, D.C. The event featured Maria Contreras-Sweet, head of the Small Business Administration and cabinet member in the Obama administration.
Suominen has other speaking engagements scheduled in the U.S. and abroad during 2016, including the World Economic Forum event in Switzerland.