British American Business Council of Greater Philadelphia

Speed networking was derived from the concept of speed dating, a practice that was started by Rabbi Yaacov Deyo. This process was a way for Jewish singles to meet. The activity was later introduced to the corporate world, and is still used today!

Trivia:

In what year was the concept of speed networking first introduced in the United States?

a) 2007                b) 1998                 c) 2003

The first person to submit the correct answer to babc@babcphl.com will receive one complimentary ticket to our Need for Speed event on April 25, 2019.

Club Level Member:

Citrin Cooperman
Leon Dutkiewicz
Partner, Practice Leader International Tax
1800 JFK Boulevard
20^th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19103
P: 215-545-4800
E: ldutkiewicz@citrincooperman.com

It’s not easy running a business — long hours, tough decisions and increasingly complex challenges fill your days. Citrin Cooperman understands this. We can help you examine your business’s financial structure and provide new perspectives on the strategies that will help you succeed.

We are a top-25 nationally recognized full-service assurance, tax, and advisory firm with offices conveniently located throughout the Northeast. Since 1979, we have steadily built our business by helping companies and high net worth individuals find smart solutions. Whether your operations and assets are located around the corner or across the globe, we can provide new perspectives on strategies that will help you achieve your short- and long-term goals.

Our daily mission is to enhance the businesses and personal lives of our clients through our services, guidance, and enthusiasm for building long-standing relationships. We’re driven to meet this mission by our passion for providing clients with an objective viewpoint and insightful advice on whatever challenges they bring to the table. Finding innovative solutions is what drives our professionals and helps our clients succeed.

Corporate Members:

DLA Piper LLP
Stuart Brown
Partner
1201 North Market Street
Suite 2100
Wilmington, DE 19801
P: 302-468-5640
E: stuart.brown@dlapiper.com
www.dlapiper.com

DLA Piper is a global law firm with lawyers located in more than 40 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, positioning us to help clients with their legal needs around the world.

We strive to be the leading global business law firm by delivering quality and value to our clients.

We achieve this through practical and innovative legal solutions that help our clients succeed. We deliver consistent services across our platform of practices and sectors in all matters we undertake.

Our clients range from multinational, Global 1000, and Fortune 500 enterprises to emerging companies developing industry-leading technologies. They include more than half of the Fortune 250 and nearly half of the FTSE 350 or their subsidiaries. We also advise governments and public sector bodies.

Miramar Global Executive Search
John R. Hodge
Managing Partner, US
1023 Baltimore Pike
Suite 215
Media, PA 19063
P: 484-442-8150 ext. 204
E: john.hodge@miramar.global

Miramar works with businesses around the world to identify and acquire the most qualified individuals for executive leadership positions. We have experienced executive search Consultants and practice Directors in energy, telecoms, media and technology, life sciences and the industrial sectors.

Since 2009 we have been performing transparent, efficient and solution focused executive searches to meet the individual requirements of modern business. Our strong track record in acquiring specialist skills for clients is bolstered by our reputation of challenging the status quo in order to get tangible results.

We combine specialist knowledge and global insight with an in-house research team, which allows us to streamline the search process and more quickly meet executive leadership requirements.

With the cutting edge online workspace technology, you’ll know how far through the hiring request we are, every step of the way.

With a team of sector Directors and executive search Consultants, Miramar has successfully partnered with a range of high profile clients and global businesses. From oil, gas and energy to chemicals, materials and biotech, we have provided researched-led executive search services across a wide variety of sectors.

We’ve helped to create relationships between influential businesses and the most qualified executives in order to fulfil leadership requirements.

Educational, Arts & Charitable Institution Member:

University of Delaware – Horn Entrepreneurship
Dan Freeman
Director
132 E. Delaware Avenue
Newark, DE 19711
P: 302-831-6158
E: freemand@udel.com

Horn Entrepreneurship is the creative engine for entrepreneurship education and advancement at UD.

Built and actively supported by successful entrepreneurs, Horn Entrepreneurship empowers aspiring innovators as they pursue new ideas for a better world.

Horn Entrepreneurship is committed to supporting student success and cultivating a lifelong community of collaboration, connections and impact.

Espionage and Endangerment: BABCPHL Member William (Bill) Wheatley Publishes First Novel

By Emma Silverstone, BABCPHL Coordinator and Senior at Temple University

Bill’s relationship with the BABCPHL dates back to 1998, when the company he was partnered with was expanding overseas. The company opened an office in London, creating Bill’s connection to the UK. In the late 1990s, Bill was concurrently working with the CIA along with British intelligence. Bill visited the London office and while he was there, he met with the MI5, an intelligence agency.  Later, when he left the company, Bill formed Wheatley UK Limited. In his new novel, The Man Who Was Never There, Bill tells the story of Arthur Cornwallis Harris III, a young man who joins the Navy and encounters great danger and adventure. Influenced by much of Bill’s personal experience, the character goes through the twists and turns of an exciting action packed life.

When Bill was a child, he read books that told stories of spies and naval officers. It was then that he decided he wanted to move in similar circles. He took classes to learn how to analyze aerial photos. That knowledge was particularly useful when Bill was sent to Guantanamo in his freshman year of college, where he did analysis for the Navy. He also had the chance to fly in a Navy jet to help with surveillance in Cambodia, even though there was no official record of him ever being there.

Bill currently works as an architect, but he wasn’t always in that line of work. He was inspired by his father, who was an engineer. Bill received a scholarship to the renowned Julliard School to focus on composition, but ultimately decided to study architecture at Rice University. Bill chose architecture as a way to combine engineering, which his parents wanted him to pursue, and art, which was his real passion.

Bill spent some time working for the Navy, and after his unit was downsized, he began a career as an architect. Bill requested the Navy send him to work under the CIA umbrella to continue the work that he had been doing during his time in the Navy.

Although the novel was recently published, Bill explained the writing process began 20 years ago while he was working on a project that uncovered crime and espionage. The information he discovered inspired him to write a total of approximately 500,000 words. Bill wrote enough to create at least five sequels, and he mapped out a series of seven books. Before seeking a publisher he had to send his manuscript to the government for permission to expose the details, since he was dealing with sensitive information. The Government told him he needed to change certain things, which led to a re-write of the entire novel. The main character was based on Bill’s experience, with some added details to make him “a little bit more of a hero.”

During the interview, Bill explains, “the BABCPHL has given me wonderful networking opportunities with companies that do work all over the world.” Attending events and meeting new people has helped Bill gain connections that lead to new work.

Bill is currently writing the sequel to his first novel, which is more fiction than it is influenced by his own life, dissimilar to the first book. However, Bill’s ties to the UK have some influence on the sequel. He says, “[the BABCPHL] has broadened my world tremendously.”

William Wheatley’s novel, The Man Who Was Never There, is published by W & B Publishers (Argus Books) and is available for purchase from the publisher or from Amazon.

GlobalConnect

A Musical Adventure with the British American Business Council and the Philadelphia Orchestra

Welsh Minister Visits Philadelphia

8th Annual New Jersey Networking Event & Dinner

Need for Speed – Around the World in 90 Minutes

Thursday, April 25, 2019
6:00-8:00 pm
The Trestle Inn, Philadelphia, PA

The Death of LIBOR Not SOFR Away…Are You Ready? Secured Overnight Financing Rate: The New Benchmark – Expectations & Implications

Thursday, May 16, 2019
8:00-10:00 am
Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA