Meet your host, Doug Barry, and today's guests: Senior Commercial Officer Johnny Brown, Senior Commercial Specialist Luisa dos Santos, Commercial Specialist Bheki Ndimande, Johan van Rensburg. 

Johnny Brown

Senior Commercial Officer

Johannesburg, South Africa

Minister Counselor for Southern Africa, Johnny Brown, has made a career of promoting U.S. business and investment around the world.  He has been with the U.S. Department of Commerce for 31 years.  Prior to his arrival in Johannesburg in January 2001, he served in several senior management positions for the U.S. Commercial Service throughout Africa and the Middle East, including Kuwait, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria.  As part of the U.S. Commercial Service on the domestic front, Brown served as National Director for Field Operations for 48 domestic offices in the United States.  He also directed offices in South Carolina and Wisconsin.

Minister Counselor Brown is committed to the increased realization of trade goals and opportunities for the mutual benefit of the U.S., South Africa, and its neighboring countries.  With responsibility for the 14 countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, Brown hopes to capitalize on South Africa's position as the economic powerhouse of the continent and a logical stepping stone to the sub-Saharan market.   With approximately 185 million people, the SADC region represents a significant growing market for US trade and investment and will be the focus of the Commercial Service over the coming years.

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Luisa dos Santos

Senior Commercial Specialist

Johannesburg, South Africa

With almost 15 years experience, Luisa dos Santos is the senior commercial specialist in the office of the Commercial Service in Johannesburg, South Africa.  As the ranking commercial specialist, she has been assigned responsibility for many of the critical sectors affecting U.S. interests in Southern Africa, including financial services, transportation and information, communications and technology.  In addition to her core activities, dos Santos has been a key member of numerous trade delegations of U.S. companies.

Before joining the Commercial Service, dos Santos was the Trade Promotion Officer at the Portuguese Embassy in South Africa. She has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in psychology and communications from the University of South Africa. 

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Bheki Ndimande
Commercial Specialist
Johannesburg, South Africa
Bheki Ndimande has been a commercial specialist at Commercial Service Johannesburg, South Africa, for the past 8 years. He is assigned to the Health Technology, Medical Equipment, and Drugs and Pharmaceuticals sectors. Additional responsibilities include providing International Partner Search and Gold Key Services to U.S. companies seeking representation in the SADC region.
 
Bheki studied towards a Bachelor of Commerce Degree, majoring in accounting and economics at the University of the North (Turfloop) in South Africa. Of the 11 official South African languages, Bheki is fluent in English, Afrikaans, Zulu, SeSotho, SiSwati and isiXhosa.

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Johan van Rensburg

Johan van Rensburg covers the sectors of Aerospace and Defense, as well as Safety and Security. He has served three postings in the South African Foreign Service as Third, Second and First Secretary. He has also served in the South African Military Intelligence. He holds hold a post-graduate degree in international relations from Pretoria University and a Higher Diploma in French Business Management from the Paris CCIP. He speaks French, German and Dutch.

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Doug Barry
Director of Communications
U.S. Commercial Service
Doug Barry joined the U.S. Commercial Service, the global business solutions unit of the Department of Commerce, in 1998. Barry has served as an international trade specialist, helping U.S. companies enter emerging markets in Russia and elsewhere in the former Soviet Union. He earned his undergraduate degree from San Francisco State University and has graduate degrees from New York University and Columbia University.

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Market Briefs -- a combination of videoconference and streaming media technologies -- brings you real-time Commercial Service global market insights and opportunities from around the world. The China Market Brief, taped in July 2004, is brought to you by the International Trade Administration, Commercial Service, U.S. Department of Commerce.

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