G20 Ministers vs Global Business Leaders

ATCHINSON, KS (03/31/2009)(readMedia)-- As the Group of 20 gathers in England to discuss the global economic downturn, another financial summit is taking place in the heartland of America. Corporate leaders from around the world will converge on Benedictine College in Atchison, Kan. on April 4, 2009, for the Global Financial Summit (GFS). Sponsored by the College's School of Business, the Summit will bring together corporate executives and leading decision-makers for critical, solution-oriented discussions on the global financial crisis, as well as international business and corporate security. The gathering will also include the presentation of the International Business Achievement Award to Rudy Beserra, vice president of Corporate & Latin Affairs for the Coca-Cola Company, and Graham Bell, managing director of Grosvenor Gulf Capital in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and UAE.

"The Summit will not only serve as a platform to discuss and debate the current financial crisis, but will also be the catalyst by which to propose a number of solutions to the economic challenges the world now faces," said Antonio J. Soave, executive director of the Benedictine School of Business.

Featured speakers at the Summit include Bell and Beserra, along with Dr. James Bruce, senior political analyst for the Rand Corporation; Ambassador Cris Arcos, former U.S. Ambassador to Honduras and former Assistant Secretary of State; Leila Gasserud, area expert for Global Intelligence Alliance in Dubai; Chuck Morris of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City; Bob Atwell, chairman and CEO of Nicolet National Bank; and Marcus Tan, managing director of Roth Capital in Shanghai.

The GFS will have four sessions: International Finance; Banking, Bailouts and Tarp Funds; New Technology; and Global Security and International Risk Analysis. Results of the Summit will be officially submitted to global financial leaders and politicians and will be published in Benedictine's forthcoming Journal of International Business.

The GFS also includes several networking events: a cocktail reception Friday night (honoring Beserra and Bell), a networking breakfast on Saturday morning, and a networking luncheon that afternoon. Cost for the entire event is $195, which includes admission to all the receptions, networking events and business sessions. Registration for the Saturday conference alone is $150 and attendance for the Friday cocktail reception is $50. Academics and students receive a 50% discount. For more information or to register, go to www.benedictine.edu/business or call the Benedictine School of Business at 913.360.7302.