WEST INDIA COUNCIL
IACC's Interactive meeting with Consular Chief over breakfast

Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (WIC) organized an Interactive breakfast meeting with Glen Keiser, Consular Chief and Ms Amanda Zafian, Vice Consul, US Consulate General, Mumbai on Friday 15 December, 2006.
Addressing lACC members, Keiser said the Consulate had received IACC's application on becoming a member of the Business Executive Program (BEP). The BEP is designed to facilitate US-Indian business relationships by streamlining the visa application process for qualified business travelers. The objective through this programme is to support Indian Businessmen to get visas in a timely manner and facilitate their visit to the US for business purposes.



Keiser said that the aim and focus area this year would be to streamline the entire visa issuance process. This has been achieved to a great extent in Mumbai and Delhi. Visa applications can be made online on the website and the same could be availed of within a week's time. He congratulated his entire team for their support in making this aim a reality and assured that with the opening of the new office at Bandra Kurla Complex which will enable to have additional manpower and space support will definitely help in the aim to issue visas within reasonable timelines.
Atul Nishar, President, West India Council (IACC) earlier welcomed both Keiser and Ms Amanda and presented them floral bouquets at the start of the meeting, held in Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Mumbai.
WIC committee members and a few industrialists interacted with both the officers and had a valuable interactive session.

IACC hosts Greater Seattle Business & Trade Mission

A 32-member delegation from Trade Development Alliance of Greater Seattle lead by US Congressman from House of Representatives Jim McDermott and Washington State President for US Bank Kenneth M Kirkpatrick visited India from 24 November to 6 December, 2006.
IACC, along with Hemant Sonawala, Past President of IACC and Chairman Hinditron Group of Companies hosted a networking cocktails and dinner on November 27, 2006 at the Malabar Club in Mumbai.
IACC members interacted with representatives of Boeing, Microsoft, Commissioners of Ports of Tacoma, Seattle and Everett; Attachmate, University of Washington, Bandwidth Advisors and other members of the delegation.



Bill Stafford, President, Trade Development Alliance of Greater Seattle said, “India is a significant current and future trading partner for our region, with Washington exports to India exceeding $ 400 million. Top export commodities from Washington State to India are transportation equipment, computers and electronic products and wood/paper products.”
Many small to medium sized companies from the Greater Seattle region have significant business interest in India and some are already actively doing business with the country. The Greater Seattle region has a large professional Indian community in industries such as software and aviation. More than 140,000 Indian Americans live in the region.
“This follow-up mission will continue to establish and foster business and trade relationships between India and the Greater Seattle area,” Stafford said.

PUNE BRANCH

Interactive meet at Annual 'Fellowship Nite'
Members of the Indo-American Chambers of Commerce, Pune Branch, celebrated their 'Annual Fellowship Nite' on 19 December 2006 at Hotel Le Meridien, where they interacted with US Consular Chief and acting Consul General Glen Keiser from Mumbai.
Glen Keiser apprised the audience of how the US Embassy achieved the amazing sea change in visa appointments bringing wait period down to as less as 6 days. He, also, encouraged the Pune Branch to interact further for membership under BEP for the benefit of its members. He assured to look into this positively from his side.
Raghavendra Ponkshe, the outgoing Chairman of IACC, Pune Branch, while handing over the charge to Shekhar Agharkar, the new Chairman for 2006-07, presented a synopsis of the concluding year's activities and achievements. He highlighted the focus area, namely SMEs, which benefited from 30 odd business get-togethers arranged by the Branch during the year. Other important activities are as follows.
Two Pune companies, which joined the IACC delegations visiting the US received support from the Pune secretariat. Liaison with Virginia firms and authorities resulted in direct business exchange between Pune members and their counterparts in the US. Close cooperation was also established between the Pune Branch and the US Commercial Consuls. The branch achieved a record 50 percent growth in membership besides 100 percent renewals.



Ponkshe made a special mention of the untiring efforts of Prafull Mokashi, the Executive Secretary in accomplishing various activities. Agharkar took the audience through the IACC vision and mission and put down goals with a target of 50 percent growth in membership, business meets for the SMEs and working closely with the US Consulate for the benefit of members.
The evening celebration was well attended by about 90 members representing the broad cross section of industry in Pune. The members had substantial opportunity to personally interact with Keiser at the event, which was attended by media persons.

GUJARAT BRANCH

Lecture on “Doing Business In USA”

IACC Gujarat Branch organized a lecture and interactive session jointly with Gujarat Institute of Civil Engineers & Architects on "Doing Business In USA" by Robert McCollom, Management Consultant from Kansas, USA (Specialising in the field of stone industry & construction sector) at Gajjar Hall, Ahmedabad on December 6, 2006. The delegates of IACC & GICEA were delighted to listen to the latest happenings in the stone Industries and the demand for architects in the US. The lecture was well received and appreciated by members, and other guests and was followed by Networking & Refreshments.



Seminar on How to Incorporate a Company in US
On December 1, 2006, Indo American Chamber of Commerce & Exim Club jointly organized a Seminar on “How to Incorporate a Company in USA and Transfer People to Work There A Road to American Dream” at Hotel Taj Residency, Vadodara.
Dr. Sudhir Shah, a renowned advocate and expert on the visa formalities of the US was the keynote speaker. With Indian companies globalizing their operations, they must aspire for business development in the US. He provided solutions for how a corporate can have their employees' placement in the US through L-1 visa.



Breakfast meet on “Lean Thinking: Organizational Fat to Fitness.
IACC Gujarat Branch organized a breakfast meeting on the topic of “Lean thinking towards leanness: Organizational Fat to Fitness on 21 November, 2006. The Speaker, Jayanth Murthy, Director, Kaizen Institute for India and African operations, told the members that lean thinking was a process of identifying and systematically eliminating fat within an organization. This would lead to better organizational health, greater flexibility as fat elimination reduces cost, defects and bureaucracy, he said. Lean thinking is gaining huge momentum globally and is applicable to manufacturing, service industries and government.

KARNATAKA BRANCH

Pennsylvania Trade Mission explores tie-up opportunities
Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC), BCIC and Pennsylvania's Trade Office in Bangalore jointly organized a meeting with Pennsylvania Trade Mission India led by Dennis Yablonsky, Secretary Department of Community and Economic Development, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, on 17 November, 2006.
Eight Pennsylvania companies participated in the Mission and met with several Indian counterparts to explore possibilities of collaboration.



The goal of the Department of Community and Economic Development is to foster opportunities for businesses and communities to succeed and thrive in a global economy, thereby enabling Pennsylvanians to achieve a better quality of life. Headed by Yablonsky, the Department ensures growth and development in businesses and communities across Pennsylvania.
India is Pennsylvania's 19th largest export destination. The key products include machinery, computer and electronic products, metal manufacturing, Chemicals and minerals and ores.
Seminar on US GAAP & Training Solutions For Dynamic Corporation Environments
The Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, Karnataka Branch, in Association with New Horizon & Morgan International organized a customized half-day seminar on 'An Overview of US GAAP & Training Solutions For Dynamic Corporation Environments' on 8 November, 2006 at Hotel Royal Orchid Central, Bangalore.
New Horizons India P. Ltd. and Morgan International presented the premier session on: 'Training Solutions for Today's Dynamic Corporate Environments.’
The symposium offered the opportunity to learn about cutting edge training solutions, presented by experts in each field of knowledge and associations with the highest credentials in the area of vocational technical training from the US in addition to a brief comparison between the US GAAP and the Indian GAAP. These organizations offer extensive experience in preparing corporate candidates for elite US designations and providing them with the right tools to efficiently meet every day challenges in the workplace.

Workshop on Customer Value Management

Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, Karnataka, in co-ordination with Customer Value Foundation, organized a one-day workshop on "Customer Value Management" (CVM) by Gautam Mahajan on December 20, 2006 at Hotel Le-Meredien, Bangalore.
Gautam Mahajan, an internationally acclaimed expert on Strategy, General Management and Globalization and President of Inter-Link Services Pvt. Ltd., an International Consulting Firm addressed the participants at the workshop.
Soumitra Sana, Chairman, IACC Karnataka Branch, said "Workshops such as these would help companies understand the consumer behavior patterns and how they can create differentiation over their competitors. It helps clarify what goes into the purchasing decision of consumers”.
Billed as first organized effort in the city to put across the nuts and bolts of this innovative strategy across the corporates and other managerial talents, CVM has an expanding number of votaries across the world, IACC through CVM is trying to make companies understand that their customers purchase or re-purchase goods and services they perceive add more value than competitive offers. It is this embedded added value perception that is the 'Cause' that drives long-term customer loyalty.
Mahajan, who was also the faculty to the Orientation Program said, many companies attempted to measure the effect - Customer Loyalty - without adequate attention to the cause. The usual approach is to measure 'Customer Satisfaction' through 'C-SAT' studies. These are typically done in showrooms/ hotels/aircraft/ in homes at installation etc. However, there is no established connection between Customer Loyalty and Customer Satisfaction. A 'satisfied' customer need not necessarily be loyal, and a 'loyal' customer may not be 'satisfied’.
Mahajan listed some of the companies, which have used Customer Value Management and achieved outstanding results. These are: Disney, Coca Cola, Tata, Birla, Castrol, Key insurance companies and banks, energy companies, retail, lubricants, fertilizers, steel (SAIL), Whirlpool, HP etc.

SOUTH INDIA COUNCIL

Seminar on 'Doing Business with the US’

Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, Chennai, organized a one-day seminar on 24 November, 2006 in Chennai on the topic of "Doing Business with USA” where Michael Kraus, Attorney, M/s. Smith, Gambrel & Russell, Atlanta, USA, delivered the key note address on "Legal Aspects of Operating a Foreign Business in the US".
Michael Hartmann, Director - Corporate Development, Transatlantic Sales, LLC, Atlanta, was another important speaker who delved the subject of "Marketing and positioning your business in the US".
Promod Kumar, Partner, Ernst & Young, Bangalore, briefly explained the "Outbound investments from India into the US Market".
Representatives from Teledata Informatics Ltd, Land Marvel Animations Studios Ltd, Sundram Fasteners Ltd and OBSI Technologies Ltd. and other member companies of the Chamber shared their experiences of doing business in the US market.