VCU International Business Forum targets anti-Americanism

By Tom Gresham

A panel of experts will discuss strategies for reversing recent growth in anti-Americanism on Feb. 26 at the 14th Annual International Business Forum at Virginia Commonwealth University.

“Re-launching Brand America” will address the topic of anti-Americanism from the perspectives of global commerce, government policy, principles of positive branding and understanding and respecting the cultures of the world. The forum will begin at 3 p.m. in the VCU Student Commons Ballrooms, 907 Floyd Ave. Admission is free and open to the public.

Forum panelists include keynote speaker Keith Reinhard, president of Business for Diplomatic Action, an organization working to enlist the business community to improve the standing of the U.S. in the world, and the chairman emeritus of DDB Worldwide; Carola McGiffert, vice president and chief of staff for the Center for Strategic and International Studies; Peter Weedfald, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Circuit City Inc.; and Simcha Ronen, Ph.D., professor of organizational psychology and comparative management at Tel Aviv University. 

Van Wood, Ph.D., Philip Morris Chair of International Business and professor of global marketing at VCU, will moderate.

Wood said a diverse range of indicators demonstrate that attitudes toward the United States have worsened considerably in recent years. For instance, he cites a Pew Center poll of 18 countries that shows a majority of residents in those countries believe the United States is a bad influence on the world.

“The international reputation of the United States can have a major impact on how successful its citizens and businesses are,” Wood said. “The forum will take a look at just what the business environment is abroad right now for U.S. businesses, and it will address what can be done to improve the American brand.”

The forum is sponsored this year by the VCU School of Business and the VCU Brandcenter. After the forum, the VCU Brandcenter will host a reception at its new home at 103 S Jefferson St.

The VCU School of Business established the International Business Forum in conjunction with a number of Richmond organizations in 1994. The purpose of the forum is to raise awareness among students, faculty and the business community of the global nature of commerce and how this links to events both at home and abroad.

For more information about this year’s forum, contact Van Wood at 804-828-1746 or vrwood@vcu.edu.