CHAMBER WELCOMES PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CHILE AND CHILEAN TRADE DELEGATION. In his first presidential visit to Los Angeles, President of the Republic of Chile Sebastian Piñera E. joined the L.A. Area Chamber, various trade representatives and hundreds of local business leaders for a roundtable discussion about trade opportunities between California and Chile. President Piñera — joined by key trade representatives from Chile including Minister of Agriculture Jose Antonio Galilea, Minister of Economy Juan Andres Fontaine and Minister of Culture Luciano Cruz Coke — highlighted Chile's recent economic strides and openness to global trade. After his remarks, business leaders had a chance to meet with trade representatives from Chile during breakout sessions that focused on agribusiness partnerships, innovation and building bridges between Chile and Hollywood. President Piñera used the event as a platform to officially launch the Chile-California Council, which will promote, support and provide guidance to public and private Chilean initiatives to be developed in California. L.A. Area Chamber Senior Vice President of Global Initiatives Carlos Valderrama was appointed to the council. Above, Chamber First Vice Chair Joseph Czyzyk of Mercury Air Group, Inc. presents President Piñera with a basket of Chilean fruit. Contact Jasmin Sakai-Gonzalez, 213.580.7569.

Chamber-sponsored education bills get Gov. Schwarzenegger's signature
Gov. Schwarzenegger signed two Chamber sponsored bills, AB 2211 (Fuentes) and SB 1143 (Liu). AB 2211 will establish quality work-based learning opportunities for students by promoting more partnerships between local education agencies and employers across the state. SB 1143 requires the California Community Colleges Board of Governors to adopt a plan for improving student success based on recommendations of a task force created to examine best practices throughout the nation. A focus of the task force will be the use of multiple measures to evaluate student success, including attaining college-level skills, accumulating college-level course credits, earning a degree or certificate, or transferring to a four-year institution. Contact Sonia Campos Rivera, 213.580.7538.

Chamber hosts L.A. City solar power discussion with First Deputy Mayor Beutner
Los Angeles First Deputy Mayor and interim L.A. Department of Water and Power General Manager Austin Beutner partnered with the Chamber this week on a solar power business forum.  More than 60 business and civic leaders participated in a conversation about the future of solar power in L.A. and abroad. A delegation of German electric utility officials were also on hand to discuss their experiences and lessons learned in solar power development, particularly the country’s feed-in tariff policy. “Germany is a world leader in renewable energy through their solar power program,” Beutner stated. “We want to learn from their experience—what worked and what didn’t, potential problems to avoid and effective policies that perhaps we can apply here in Los Angeles.” Beutner will continue to partner with the Chamber on business forums, with an upcoming discussion about the City’s efforts to completely reinvent L.A.’s permitting and planning process. Contact Jessica Duboff, 213.580.7558.

SCLN alumni discuss leadership in today's global California with Abraham Lowenthal
Southern California Leadership Network alumni and friends joined Abraham Lowenthal, founding president, Pacific Council on International Policy, for a Conversations with Leaders event on Sept. 29 at the L.A. Area Chamber. Lowenthal addressed the need for renewed leadership in today's global California, touching on issues such as cosmopolitan capacity, trade and commerce, immigration and policy influence. Lowenthal's book Global California argues that while California is at the cutting edge of technological change, demographic transformation and international engagement, the State lacks ideas, institutions and policies commensurate with its global stakes and clout. "I challenge each of you to map the linkages—economic, cultural, political, social—between California and two countries that are typically overlooked, not the Pacific Rim or Latin America. You will be amazed by the substantive connections California has to all parts of the world. Then, how would you grow those connections and make them part of California's mainstream network?" Contact Kevin Cottrell, 213.580.7577.

Global Marketing Partners to host compliementary seminar about exporting to Europe Learn how to export to Europe at a complimentary breakfast seminar, Export to Europe, on Wednesday, Oct. 6, from 8:30 - 10:30 a.m., at the JW Marriott Los Angeles. This informative breakfast seminar about the EU market will cover how to get there, what to expect and how the government can help. This event is presented by the State of California, U.S. Department of Commerce, CeBit - the EU's largest technology marketplace and Global Marketing Partners. For details, contact Maryam Lahiji, 818.793.9948 or register now. Pelican Products' Don Jordan named CFO Of the Year Pelican Products, Inc. recently announced that Chief Financial Officer Don Jordan was named CFO of the year in the large private company category in the 4th Annual CFO of the Year awards presented by the Los Angeles Business Journal. The award honors L.A. area CFOs for their successful corporate leadership, as well as their important contributions to the L.A. financial community as a whole. This comes on the heels of Pelican Products being named to the Inc. 5000 List of Fastest Growing Companies in America for the third year in a row. Read more. Want your good news featured here? Click here to learn more.