The annual International DEC Conference will be hosted for the first time in Detroit at the Renaissance Center Marriot from October 24 to 27, 2010. This year's Conference is entitled "Capitalizing on America's Export Advantages: Green and Innovation" and will feature world-renowned businesspersons and high-level government officials. Billed as the largest North America conference in 2010 devoted to exporting, the Conference is expected to attract in excess of 500 attendees. Among the unique aspects of the conference will be a private briefing in Windsor, Canada to attendees by the Canada Border Services Agency as well as opportunities to meet with Canadian businesses.

Tom Nickels, senior vice president of Federal Relations, American Hospital Association, will speak.

Dr. Tom Linsmeier, Member of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, will present a research seminar on the Economics, Politics, and Accounting Standard Setting in the Midst of the Global Financial Crisis. The seminar will take place Friday November 5, 2010, 2:45-4:15pm, N100, Business College Complex.

Attendees will leave the conference with valuable insights like: how to use Port Lansing for your international freight shipments, how to finance your international efforts, and what mistakes to avoid while pursuing global opportunities.

The increasing interconnectedness of the Western Hemisphere has made it easier for us to do business, exchange ideas, and share knowledge in a cooperative effort to improve the standard of living for millions of people. This year ACF IV will highlight the successes of our region's businesses and governments during this period of economic uncertainty. We will focus on those best practices and most useful ideas that have improved competitiveness so that our countries and businesses may learn and grow. At the ACF, all participants have a chance to make a contribution and to learn how to improve the way we do business in the Americas. This year, we have selected four key topics: green technologies; education and workforce development; entrepreneurship and small business development; and trade facilitation, border clearance, and supply chain logistics. In addition to plenary sessions and breakout panels, participants may choose from a variety of additional ACF IV events and services, including market opportunity sessions, export counseling sessions, business-to-government meetings, and business-to-business meetings.

Christine Todd Whitman, former governor of New Jersey and administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency during the Bush administration, will speak.

Are you interested in the future of economic relations between the 2 largest economic powers: the US and China? Are you curious to find out more about issues like currency manipulation and possible trade war? Are you tired of media bias and would you like to learn more about how these issues actually affect the US economy and your life? If you answered yes to any of these questions you should come to the Broad China Business Society's economic debate panel. We will have experts from academia and business discuss the current state of US-China economic relations, its importance, and the possible effects if trade war begins. They will also field audience questions at the end. This event will take place Wednesday evening, November 17 at 7 pm in room 303 of the International Center. Please come and bring friends; it will be a great educational and networking opportunity for those interested in the subject. The event is free and open to everyone and refreshments will be provided.

Dr. Richard Chapas is a Board member for the Center for Sustainable Enterprise at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina. He has worked with academic and industrial experts to develop products directed at the needs of the developing world. He has presented papers throughout the world on sustainable development and innovation. He is on the Executive Committee for the U.S. Business Council for Sustainable Development which leads U.S. businesses in developing projects to drive sustainable solutions, including industrial ecology and ecosystems restoration. He currently serves on the faculty of the University of Delaware, Lerner Business School, where he teaches courses on sustainability and green business.

Robert Shuster, CFO, Independent Bank, and president and CEO, Mepco Finance Corporation, will speak.

Don LeDuc is President, Dean, and Professor at Thomas M. Cooley Law School.