Speaker Profile: George Abraham

George Abraham is the Chairman and M.D. of The GA Group Pte Ltd comprising:

- George Abraham & Associates Pte Ltd, an international business consultancy company that assists local companies in business linkages in the region and works with UN Agencies in SME development and private sector institutional capacity building in developing countries;

- East & Asia Pacific Trade & Industry Publications Pte Ltd, involved in trade and business related publications, seminars and conferences, and

- Global Indian Business Network Pte Ltd, involved in promoting trade and investment between India and the region.

As part of the networking across the global Indian diaspora, the company co-organised the Distinguished Technopreneurs Forum in the Global Entrepolis Singapore 2005 and the First Global Indian Business Summit (GIBS) in the Global Entrepolis Singapore 2006. GIBS was again held in November 2007, when the first Global Indian Business Awards were conferred upon distinguished businesspersons jointly with the launch of India's NDTV channels in Singapore with SingTel.The company was awarded the LEAP Partner (Locally-Based Enterprise Advancement Programme) Award at the Global Entrepolis Singapore on 28 September 2005 by the Economic Development Board of Singapore.

Mr George Abraham has a M.A. Degree in Political Science from Aligarh University in India, a Master of Social Science Degree from the University of Singapore and a Master of Arts Degree in Human Resource Development from the George Washington University in U.S.A. He has done advanced management programmes with INSEAD, Australian Administrative Staff College, International Trade Centre (UNCTAD / WTO) and Asian Productivity Organisation.

Mr. Abraham has, for over 25 years, worked extensively in the region in various capacities as Executive Director of the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Secretary General of the Singapore Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Secretary General of the ASEAN Chambers of Commerce and Industry, articulating the views of the private sector, forging links and enhancing business prospects of companies and representing these organizations at international fora. He is also a consultant to various UN Agencies (ILO, ESCAP, UNDP and World Bank's MIGA) in SME development and private

sector capacity building in the Asia Pacific, SAARC, Africa and Eastern European countries. Mr Abraham is the Regional Representative (ASEAN) of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) which is the apex chamber in India for over 500 Chambers of Commerce, Trade Associations and Industry Bodies with over 250,000 corporates as members. He is also the Regional Representative of the Georgian Chamber of Commerce and Industry which is the apex business body for the State of Georgia in Eastern Europe.

He currently holds the position as Director of The Indus Entrepreneurs Limited, Singapore (TiE Singapore), an organisation for effective networking and mentoring of budding entrepreneurs linked to the parent body TiE in Silicon Valley, USA. He is also Chairman of the SME Development Council of the Confederation of Asia-Pacific Chambers of Commerce & Industry (CACCI) and serves on the Resource Panel of the Singapore Government Parliamentary Council for Trade & Industry. He served as Chairman of the Feedback Group on Economic Development, of Singapore's Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports from 2000-2007."