• 8:30 – 9:00 Registration 

• 9:00 – 9:30 Welcome and Opening Remarks  
  • Dr. Andreas Kopton, President of IHK Schwaben 
  • Dr. Erwin Lohner, President of the District Government of Swabia (Schwaben) -tbc-
  • Hubert Gambs, Deputy Director General DG GROW, European Commission
  • Daniel Mullaney, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Europe and the Middle East 
  • William Czajkowski, Minister-Counselor for Commercial Affairs and Regional Senior Commercial Officer for Central Europe, U.S. Embassy Berlin

Moderator: Barbara Bonvissuto, Head of Unit, International Value Chains, DG GROW

• 9:30 – 10:00 Coffee Break with Networking 

• 10:00 – 11:30 Promoting SME Growth through EU-US Trade Opportunities
  This panel discussion will include a best practices exchange on SME-friendly tools and resources for exporting, as well as efforts to reach SMEs in underserved communities.
  • Kim Benson, President and CEO, Zenaida Global 
  • Rick Grana, President, Impex 
  • Herschell Hamilton, Chief Executive Officer, BLOC Global Group
  • Peter Berz, Head of Unit, Single entry point for enforcement, Market access and SMEs, DG TRADE 
  • Klemens Kober, Director Trade Policy, EU Customs, Transatlantic Relations, Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce     
  • Axel Sir, Director Customs and Foreign Law, IHK Schwaben

Moderator: Tricia Van Orden, Deputy Director, Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee, U.S. Department of Commerce

• 11:30 – 13:00 Empowering SMEs, Startups and Scale-ups
  This panel discussion will explore how green and digital transformations can drive innovative and resilient startups, scale-ups, and SMEs, including how the EU-US Trade and Technology Council can assist in promoting SMEs to adopt and benefit from digital technologies.  
  • Matthias Kuom, Policy Officer, Digital Transformation of Industrial Ecosystems, DG CNECT (by video) 
  • Sonja Angloher-Reichelt, Project Manager, Technology, Enterprise Europe Network Bayern, and Bayern Innovativ 
  • Alfred Mayr, Managing Director, Cluster of Environmental Technologies Bavaria
  • Dr. Stefanie Dukorn, Head of Quality Management and Regulatory Affairs, numares AG
  • Jamaica Gayle, National Foreign Trade Council Global Innovation Forum 
  • Laszlo Horvath, President, Active Media, ITAC-9 Small and Minority Business 
  • Jonathan Szucs, President, Advanced Superabrasives 

Moderator: Crispin Waymouth, Deputy Head of Unit, Industrial Forum, Alliances, Clusters, DG GROW

• 13:00 – 14:00 Lunch Break 

• 14:00 – 15:30 SME Access to Finance
  This panel discussion will include a best practices exchange on the deployment of innovative debt and equity financial instruments for SMEs to overcome the effects of the pandemic, as well as emerging alternative financing solutions.
  • Gabriel Esparza, Associate Administrator for International Trade, U.S. Small Business Administration 
  • Scott Stewart, CEO, Innovative Lending Platform Association 
  • Dr. Tim Thabe, CEO, Creditshelf 
  • Laurent Braun, Head of Business Development, Head of financial risk management, European Investment Fund 
  • Astrid Bartels, Access to Finance, DG GROW

Moderator: Rosalyn Steward, Assistant Chief Counsel for International Trade, U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy 

• 15:30 – 15:45 Coffee Break and Networking

• 15:45 – 17:15 Creating an Environment for SMEs to Succeed During the Post-Pandemic Transition
  This panel will include a discussion of economic development and workforce development strategies to create the conditions for SMEs, and their workers, to thrive.
  • The Honorable Greg Canfield, Alabama Secretary of Commerce
  • Dietmar Schneider, Deputy Head of Department, Policy Issues, International Cooperation, Handwerkskammer für München und Oberbayern
  • Peggy Sammon, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, Gene Capture
  • Markus Hell, SMEs, DG GROW (by video) 
  • Robert Stackpole, Director, Alabama District Office, US Export Assistance Center, US Department of Commerce 

Moderator: Eike Klapper, First Secretary, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Delegation of the European Union to the United States

• 17:15 – 17:30 Wrap-up and Closing Remarks
  • Dr. Christina Sevilla, Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Small Business​​​​​
  • Barbara Bonvissuto, Head of Unit, International Value Chains, DG GROW

• 17:30 Networking Reception