November/December 2007
5-minute interview: Dr. Piero Piccardi, Chairman of the Committee on Trade Fairs and Trade Marts, World Trade Centers Association
Well-known in international trade circles for more than 40 years, Dr. Piero Piccardi is Chairman of the Committee on Trade Fairs and Trade Marts for the World Trade Centers Association, based in New York. He is a former member of the advisory committee for commerce and distribution in the European Union. He also served 12 years as Vice President and member of the board of directors for Ente Fiera Milano, the Italian state agency that owns and operates trade show facilities in Italy. From 1979 to 1994, Dr. Piccardi was a member of the board of the Italian Trade Commission, the state agency responsible for exports. He is also a professor and published author on issues of international trade.
EXPO: What makes exhibition space at a World Trade Center different from exhibition space at any other type of facility?
Dr. Piccardi: A World Trade Center offers a lot more than square footage or a lot of meeting rooms. There are now more than 300 World Trade Centers in 80 countries around the world, and each of them serves its local business community by promoting international trade. Often a World Trade Center can offer not only a great location for an international event with world-class exhibition space, but also the support of people who know the area. World Trade Centers offer a variety of services that can help a show organizer reach the local business market to find
exhibitors and attendees.
EXPO: What types of resources or services can World Trade Centers offer exhibition organizers?
Dr. Piccardi: It’s going to vary from center to center as not all of them offer the exact same things. Show organizers can go to the World Trade Center Association Web site (www.wtca.org) and find contact information for the World Trade Center in the area
they wish to investigate.
In general, however, World Trade Centers are a central part of the business communities they serve. They can help show organizers
develop networks within those communities to promote an event, and reach out to local business associations
and government agencies. Also, all of the World Trade Centers are networked together, so by working with one to develop, say, an international
component of your show, you can thereby work with all the World Trade Centers around the globe. Many centers offer research services
and, to facilitate networking, educational seminars related to trade and social functions.
EXPO: The World Trade Centers Association’s mission is to help overcome obstacles to trade. How is this mission being achieved? What issuesare you working on now?
Dr. Piccardi: Our President, Guy Tozzoli, co-invented a fully paperless solution for international transactions called TradeCard. It’s a way to manage procurement to payment for worldwide buyers, sellers and partners connected to a paperless platform. Our members in 40 countries use it, and it’s something we’ve been working to promote. But, of course, our mission extends beyond that. Our ultimate mission is to promote peace through world
trade. Countries that have healthy trading relationships don’t start wars with one another. So, we work to promote policies that support
international trade.
We’ve been particularly involved in the travel visa issue in the United States, which has had a detrimental impact on trade. In fact, several delegates to our recent meeting in New Orleans were unable to attend because of trouble securing visas. Obviously, this is an issue that has had a major impact on American show organizers and their ability to grow international participation in their events.
Exclusive Web-only content from this month’s 5-minute interview:
EXPO: How will your group’s meeting in New Orleans, a port city central to trade, help it further develop its role post-Katrina?
Dr. Piccardi: We were very proud to have our meeting in New Orleans. A week after the storm, we called the World Trade Center in New Orleans and told them that as soon as they were ready, we’d bring our meeting there. We also developed a special program so that our members could meet with the people responsible for ongoing reconstruction and redevelopment projects. The face-to-face meetings allowed our members to identify what still needs to be done and connect those needs with resources they can help obtain.
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