Forum Brasil Presentation and Reception with Luciano Galvão Coutinho, President, Brazilian National Development Bank (BNDES)

The Brazil-U.S. Business Council and The Brazil Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars invite you to a discussion on

Challenges of Industrial Policy, Innovation and Competitiveness in Brazil

Featuring

Luciano Galvão Coutinho
President, Brazilian National Development Bank (BNDES)

Thursday, July 15, 2010
5:00 p.m.
Reception to follow

Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars
6th Floor Flom Auditorium
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20004

RSVP TO: renata.johnson@wilsoncenter.org

Since assuming the presidency of BNDES in 2007, economist Luciano Coutinho has placed innovation and international competitiveness at the center of Brazil's national development bank strategy to foster faster, sustainable and equitable growth. A tenured professor at Unicamp with a PhD from Cornell University, Dr. Coutinho is a public servant highly respected by all sides of the Brazilian political spectrum. On Thursday July 15, the Brazil Institute of the Wilson Center and the Brazil-U.S. Business Council of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce will host a discussion with Dr. Coutinho on the Challenges of Industrial Policy, Innovation and Competitiveness in Brazil. It is a subject he has studied all his academic life and dealt with continuously as government official since the reinstatement of democracy, a quarter century ago. A specialist in industrial and international economics, between 1985 and 1988, he was involved in structuring the Ministry of Science and Technology and in the conception of national policies addressing high-complexity areas such as biotechnology, information technology, fine chemistry, precision mechanics and new materials. In 1994, Dr. Coutinho coordinated the first in-depth Study on the Competitiveness of Brazilian Industry, a research conducted by close to one hundred specialists that mapped out the country's industrial sector with unprecedented thoroughness.

If you are interested in sponsorship opportunities, or wish to learn how to become a Brazil-U.S. Business Council member, please contact Katayoun Shahrokhi at kshahrokhi@uschamber.com.

We hope you will be able to join us for this unique opportunity.