News and Events

Greater Washington Marketing Mission Raises Visibility of U.S. Business Opportunities Among British Executives

November 13, 2003; Washington, DC – The Greater Washington Initiative (GWI) – an economic development organization representing Northern Virginia, Suburban Maryland and Washington, DC – will promote business opportunities in the Greater Washington region to more than 300 UK executives at a series of conferences Nov. 19-20 in Newcastle and Basingstoke, Hampshire.

The conferences – targeting aerospace, defense, homeland security and information technology firms – connect British firms seeking U.S. government contracts with companies and experts who will provide testimonials and share success stories. Connections will be established through one-on-one meetings and interactive presentations. Executives throughout the UK are invited to learn about the benefits of doing business with the U.S. government and locating a business in Greater Washington, DC.

“In 2002, Greater Washington, DC was the only large metro area with positive job growth as regional employment increased by 10,100 jobs,” said Thomas Morr. “Accessibility to the U.S. government is a regional strength. Federal procurement in Washington reached $36.1 billion in 2002, a 15% increase over 2001 that demonstrates the growing opportunities for private-sector firms. As we take this message to British businesses, we hope to help our regional economy continue to grow.”

The GWI marketing mission is a collaborative effort of GWI and numerous British business organizations, including British American Chamber of Commerce, Business Link, North East Chamber of Commerce, ONE North East, South East England Development Agency, UK Trade & Investment. This is the third time GWI has organized and presented this type of program; previous conferences were held in Canada, the UK and Germany.

The Washington area speakers and delegation members headed to the UK include Roy Forey, British Embassy; William Hanbury, Washington, DC Convention & Tourism Corporation; Hope Lane, Aronson & Company; Kevin Plexico, INPUT; and Michael Stevens, DC Marketing Center. The UK speakers and delegation include David Bowles, Northern Defense Industries Ltd.; Chris Burchell, UK Trade & Investment; Mike Evans, SEEDA; Graeme Hull, Multitone Electronics PLC; Peter Jaco, BeCrypt Limited; Brian Johnson, BAE Systems; Mark O’Shea, Rawlison Butler; and Sir Neville Trotter, British American Chamber of Commerce. GWI representatives on the mission include Thomas Morr and April DuBois.

For more information on the UK conferences, contact April DuBois at 202-857-5986.