On Exporting and Globalization: Continuation of the Book Author Series

We spoke with members of Global Chamber® who are authors to gain insights from them on their information, inspiration and leadership. In this globinar we focused on one of the most important topics for members... Exporting + Globalization, moderated by Jacqueline Wales.

Jacqueline spoke with three book authors and experts who discussed the topic and their books.

Watch the discussion HERE.

Our experts are here, and see their biographies below.

• Zach Selch
• Lothar Soliwon
• Erika (Ofori-Kyei) Amoako-Agyei

Biographies

Zach Selch

Zach Selch is the VP Global Sales for a high tech medical company and coaches and mentors Global Sales Leaders. Over 30 years he has sold in more than 135 countries, lived in 6 countries and has driven 4 digit sales growth multiple times while adding hundreds of millions of dollars to the value of companies by building their international footprint. Zach is an ex-paratrooper, a father of 3 and boxes, smokes brisket, and runs a soup kitchen when he isn’t on the road. Zach was in Germany when the wall went down, Jordan when peace with Israel was signed, has breakfasted with the Dalai Lama, and has been in the right place for a surprising number of right times.

Zach wrote the book on global sales, and more specifically, he wrote and published Global Sales. Generally Zach discusses how to build revenue and the value of a company by growing the international footprint systemically. Zach is a firm believer in the sales process, and that sales is an art and a science and isn’t something to be acted on impulsively or emotionally. Growing the international sales footprint is one of the very best ways to grow the value of a company, but when done poorly can also be one of the best ways to sink a small company or cripple a midmarket company. Zach will discuss how to avoid the common mistakes while navigating towards success.

Lothar Soliwon

Lothar Ernst Soliwon is President and CEO of ZG Worldwide Consultants, headquartered in Springfield, Illinois, USA. The firm serves the needs of many companies that are accelerating the use of on-demand professionals whenever possible rather than hiring full time. ZG Worldwide provides a single source for solutions and subject matter experts in technology, business, healthcare and marketing in 15 states and over 30 countries.

ZG Worldwide was founded in 2013 after identifying a void in diversified, global consulting in Illinois outside of Chicago. Its ZG Afrika subsidiary has diverse human capital in many countries and offers a variety of African forest and agricultural products. The ZG India partnership provides accounting, business consulting, mergers & acquisitions, audit and related experts. Many software development and engineering services are also available in India. ZG Worldwide is a hybrid traditional consultancy/platform company that has developed partnerships with great companies. This has enabled ZG Worldwide to amass a broad range of specialized services more comprehensive than those of its competitors. More details can be found in its Roster of Associates e-Pamphlet, which gives an expertise summary for each consultant in its global network. Contact us at info@zgworldwide.com.

Lothar started his career at Standard Educational Corporation in Chicago where he edited and wrote geography articles about cities, countries and geographic features for New Standard Encyclopedia. Then he worked for the Illinois Department of Transportation in Chicago and Springfield as the marketing manager for the Illinois Department of Transportation Amtrak system, an aviation planner, public transportation planner, project manager and grant administrator. Fascinated by economics, history and global trade, he characterizes himself as a business generalist. In his spare time he enjoys fitness and reading.

Lothar was born in Germany, where his father was with the Polish government in exile and British occupation forces and mother was an accountant. He grew up in Springfield, Illinois. At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign he received a bachelor’s degree in geography and a Master of Social Sciences in geography and urban and regional planning. He also holds an MBA from the University of Illinois at Springfield.

Publications: Business Adviser’s Consulting and Coaching, Coeditors Christian Aguirre and Donji Montes. Available in paperback and ebook from Amazon. ISBN 9781092564496. Many people want to know more about business consulting and coaching. Both consulting and coaching play an increasingly prominent role in the business world in the US and globally. Business Adviser's Consulting & Coaching addresses the confusion about what business consultants and coaches actually do and how they overlap. The Spanish version A**ssesor De Negocios: Consultor Y Coach is also available with the translation by members Christian Aguirre and Donaji Montes. Available in paperback and ebook from Amazon. ISBN 9798600828001.

In addition... Looking Beyond the Business, Coauthor Hayley M. Payne. Available in paperback and ebook from Amazon. ISBN 9798594283527. This book provides specific strategies for finding, hiring, and benefiting from business consultants and coaches. The overlap and differences in the services that consultants and coaches provide are explained. A fresh take on social media marketing and how it can improve your business is also included. ZG Worldwide’s Roster of Associates E-Pamphlet is an addition to this book as it provides an expertise summary for each of their consultants in the US and globally.

Erika (Ofori-Kyei) Amoako-Agyei

Erika Amoako-Agyei is an experienced international business executive with extensive marketing, management, and executive coaching experience.

In 2016, she was selected by Stanford University for an extended international assignment in Ghana as a business coach to help advance economic opportunities across West Africa. As part of the Stanford Institute for Innovation in Developing Economies (Seed), Erika brings the expertise of the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Innovation of Silicon Valley to CEOs in East & West Africa. As a Business Coach, Erika has been working side by side with high-potential entrepreneurs in Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, and Ghana to help scale and grow their business.

Erika has prior experience working internationally. For nearly a decade, she worked for the US tech giant, the IBM Corporation, starting in the US, and then multiple years in West Africa as the Country General Manager for IBM Ghana operations. Upon returning to the United States, Erika became the Director of Corporate Relations for the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona. She later went into business for herself, founding Africa Intercultural Consulting, a management and cross-cultural training firm in the US that services global companies and organizations expanding into Africa. From her experience, she delivers cross-cultural training programs for executives, multicultural teams, expatriate families, and international students. As a visiting professor, she also teaches a global business course called, “Conducting Business in Africa” to graduate and undergraduate students at the University of Arkansas in the Sam Walton College of Business.

Drawing from her experience, she has authored Cross-Cultural Management and Organizational Behavior in Africa published by John Wiley & Sons (2009) for the Thunderbird International Business Review. She has also written a businessperson’s guide to the social and professional cultures in sub-Saharan Africa for multinational oil & gas companies.

Jacqueline Wales

Jacqueline Wales is the author of three books including The Fearless Factor and The Fearless Factor @ Work. Her books are guides to acquiring the skills toward greater self-awareness, effective communication, and better decision-making to enhance career and life. Her website is www.thefearlessfactoratwork.com and her books can be found on Amazon here.

Global Chamber® is a growing and collaborating community of CEOs, executives and leaders in over 525 metro regions around the world, connecting member businesses to new opportunities for advancing growth and success. It's the only chamber of commerce in the world operating in hundreds of locations that helps exporting, importing and investing for members to connect through warm introductions to clients, partners, projects and resources.