Reports found pumps abandoned, broken, unmaintained. Of the more than 1,500 pumps that had been installed with the initial burst of grant money, one-quarter already needed repair. It’s not surprising that cultural differences lead a great idea from one location to quick scaling and then failure. This failure, and other stories like this are based in learning how to best navigate the culture where ideas are implemented.

Good relationships make for good work. These bonds are the conduits of culture, and while they don’t guarantee success, you can be sure it won’t happen without them. Without culture business would just be a pile of old laptops and financial documents.

VFF USA and USEC are proud to provide insight from our specialized panelists on how to avoid these classic cultural mistakes to make your next venture a true success.  On June 8th, 2017 a panel discussion and networking opportunity will bring together people interested in investing in different cultures both in the profit and non-profit sectors.

“VFF USA’s work is run by the community, they are the leaders of the projects from design, to implementation, to monitoring and evaluation. Partnering with community leaders has allowed us to navigate cultural barriers in India and help more than 3.6 million people escape extreme poverty”, VFF USA Executive Director, Angelina Klouthis says , “Ensuring that culturally appropriate activities drive decision making is at the heart of our organization. Bringing together panelists with first hand experience in a variety of cultures to share their best practices is an amazing opportunity”.

“The goals of this open event are fully aligned with the mission of our US Spain Executives Community (USEC). Learning from the experience of international leaders from a wide variety of backgrounds and getting high value networking opportunities will make this a very attractive evening for our members”, says Gonzalo Garcia, Executive Director of USEC. “We are honored to partner with VFF USA in the organization of this event”.

Moderator: Maria Rozman:  Maria is a journalist from Tenerife, Spain, recipient of the prestigious Emmy Award from the National Television Academy of Arts and Sciences.  Maria has over 16 years experience in news. Before her current position as head of the news department for Telemundo Washington, Rozman worked at CNN Español in the nation’s capital. Previously, in Telemundo Denver, Maria was also the News Director and main News Anchor, responsible for launching two new daily newscasts in association with NBC KUSA. Among her achievements, Maria interviewed in exclusive in two occasions President Barack Obama during his last term. She also worked as News anchor and Executive Producer for Univision Colorado.

Panelists:

Venkatesh Raghavendra: Venky is a social entrepreneur with nearly three decades of philanthropy, CSR and development experience. He has successfully built global partnerships and mobilized significant resources for a number of international and national organizations. Venky works as consultant in the areas of philanthropy, fundraising and social entrepreneurship. His current and recent clients include the UK based Common Purpose [www.commonpurpose.org], New York based American India Foundation [www.aif.org], Open Society Foundations and Washington DC based Ashoka: Innovators for the Public [www.ashoka.org].

Cecilia Neher: Cecilia has experience working with people from a broad range of cultures and countries in both the corporate and non-profit sector. Currently she leads the MICP Engineering Corporate Social Responsibility department. In her previous experience she headed  the World Bank Family Network social media team to provide support to new staff and their families, among other notable volunteer positions.  Her experience has allowed her to scale from her own business to collaborating with huge teams as a volunteer, entrepreneur, and philanthropist.

Blanca Moreno: Blanca is an experienced development macroeconomist with over twenty five years of World Bank service, including operational and analytical work worldwide, with deeper regional expertise in Africa and Latin America. She is accomplished in macroeconomics and fiscal policy for developing countries, with a focus on growth, inequality and poverty reduction. She is skilled in public expenditure analysis, fiscal sustainability, public finance, tax policy reforms and transfer pricing. She has published four World Bank books as well as numerous papers. She has been a guest lecturer at the Universities of Duke and John Hopkins (USA) and other institutions in France and Spain, as well as a frequent speaker in international conferences.

Alfredo Escriba: Alfredo  is a seasoned executive with a broad international experience in the Intelligent Transportation Technology sector. He has spent his more than 20 years of professional experience leading multicultural and diverse teams. He has lived in Spain, Argentina, Brazil and the US,  having managed teams and leading business units in China, Europe, Latam and the US. He’s got a Masters degree in engineering from the Polytechnic University in Madrid, MBA from IAE ( Argentina ) and a MS in Data Analytics from Texas A&M ( US). Alfredo lives in the US and has a global function in Kapsch Trafficom as head of the Urban and Mobility Solution Center.

Welcome: Jonathan Mansfield is the Community Manager at WeWork,  an international company which provides shared workspace, community, and services for entrepreneurs, freelancers, startups and small businesses. The reception will be hosted by WeWork.

About USEC: National Association of Business people, Executives and Entrepreneurs from the US and Spain. A highly connected and collaborative community of leaders that promotes effectively the professional goals of its members and proactively encourages business activity between both countries. For more information, please visit www.usspainexecutives.org/.

About VFF USA: Vicente Ferrer Foundation USA (VFF USA) is a non-profit organization committed to eliminating poverty in rural India. The organization works to empower the most marginalized communities by focusing on six major areas of interest in rural India including: Health Equity, Education for Empowerment, Rural Infrastructure, Sustainable Environment, Women’s Development and People with Disabilities. For more information, please visit www.vffusa.org.