EXPORT SEMINAR & LUNCHEON
John Holman currently serves as the Director of the Pacific for the U.S. Commercial Service, a division of the U.S. Department of Commerce. In this capacity, John manages the Hawaii Export Assistance Center, which is located at the Foreign Trade Zone at Pier 2 in downtown Honolulu. The mission of the Commercial Service is to assist local companies in selling their products or services in international markets. Since arriving in Honolulu in 2008, John is responsible for facilitating over $850 million in new Hawaii exports to global markets.
Prior to his current position in Honolulu, John served at Commerce headquarters in Washington D.C. where he helped facilitate the largest trade mission in U.S. history to India, participated in events at the White House to promote U.S. exports, and helped to ensure that foreign firms were competing fairly in the United States. John has also served overseas as a Foreign Service Officer in Beijing, China; Budapest, Hungary; and Singapore during temporary assignments.
John has done business all over the world and on all seven continents – most recently in Antarctica. He really enjoys a good challenge. In 2005, he traveled to East Africa and climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, the world’s tallest freestanding mountain. More recently, he spent time in the Himalayas climbing to Everest Base Camp in Nepal and in the Andes trekking to Machu Picchu in Peru.
The Commercial Service has over 100 offices throughout the United States and in over 80 countries at U.S. Embassies abroad. The local Commercial Service office, also known as the Hawaii Export Assistance Center, can help local companies by assisting them in developing their export strategy, conducting market research to target the best potential markets, identifying overseas buyers or distributors, and navigating issues relating to international logistics, regulations, and standards.
You can find out more about selling to international markets by visiting www.export.gov, www.hawaiiexportsupport.com, or by contacting the Hawaii Export Assistance Center at 808.522.8040.