Momentum and Knowledge@Wharton's Second Cuba Opportunity Summit Announces Keynote Speaker Howard Zemsky President, CEO and Commissioner, Empire State Development

New York, NY, March 15, 2016 (Newswire.com) - ​Howard Zemsky, President, CEO and Commissioner, of Empire State Development, was announced today as Keynote presenter at the Second Annual Cuba Opportunity Summit hosted by the Wharton School’s Knowledge@Wharton, Lauder Institute and Momentum. The Summit takes place on March 17th at the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square, New York City. 

Empire State Development is the chief economic development agency of New York State and. Mr. Zemsky and his colleagues manage a broad range of programs, incentives and services designed to increase private sector investment and job creation in New York.  The organization has a staff of over 450 people located in 12 offices across the State. For more information about Empire State Development, please visit www.esd.ny.gov. 

"It is an honor to represent Governor Cuomo and the State as we continue our efforts to help businesses enter the Cuban market, and I look forward to kicking-off what promises to be an exciting day."

Howard Zemsky, President, CEO & Commissioner of Empire State Development

The inaugural Cuba Opportunity Summit took place on April 1, 2015 and convened a sold-out audience of 250+ attendees, a wait-list of more than 100 executives and international media coverage from more than 30 outlets. 

Mr. Zemsky will be speaking at this year’s event from 8:15-8:30AM on March 17th kicking off the event and the Welcome Address.

“The new business opportunities presented by the ongoing normalization of relations between the U.S. and Cuba have the potential to be a boon for a wide range of New York State companies and industries,” Commissioner Zemsky said. “It is an honor to represent Governor Cuomo and the State as we continue our efforts to help businesses enter the Cuban market, and I look forward to kicking-off what promises to be an exciting day.”

Cuba Opportunity Summit co-founder and Momentum Co-CEO Ben Greenzweig said, “Having the support of Empire State Development underscores the extent of opportunities for New York businesses with respect to the ongoing normalization of relations between the U.S. and Cuba. We welcome Mr. Zemsky’s participation and look forward to gaining his latest insight."

Also recently announced was the Summit’s first Keynote presenter, Jillian Manus, Managing Partner, Structure Capital who will be participating in the “Calibrating the Investment Climate” session alongside Juan Triana, Professor, Center for the Study of the Cuban Economy, University of Havana (Invited), Mark Entwistle, Partner, Acasta Capital, Faquiry Diaz, President / CEO, Tres Mares, and Stephen Kobrin, William Wurster Professor of Multinational Management, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Other speakers at the event include Hugo Cancio, President, Editor In Chief, Fuego Media Group (OnCuba Magazine); Richard Feinberg , Senior Fellow (Non-Resident), Brookings Institution, Professor, University of California, San Diego; William White, President and Owner, Emerging Market Solutions (Havana); Dave Seleski, President/CEO, Stonegate Bank; Ramiro Fernandez, Chief Financial Officer, Mars Caribbean & Central America; Hiram Centelles, Co-Founder, Revolico.com & Fonoma.com and Ubaldo Huerta, Co-Founder, Fonoma.com.

More details can be found at http://knowledge.whartonevents.com/cuba/

About the Wharton School and Knowledge@Wharton

Founded in 1881 as the first collegiate business school, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is recognized globally for intellectual leadership and ongoing innovation across every major discipline of business education. With a broad global community and one of the most published business school faculties, Wharton creates economic and social value around the world. The School has 5,000 undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, and doctoral students; more than 9,000 participants in executive education programs annually and a powerful alumni network of 94,000 graduates.

Knowledge@Wharton is the online business analysis journal of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. The site, which is free, captures relevant knowledge generated at Wharton and beyond by offering articles and videos based on research, conferences, speakers, books and interviews with faculty and other experts on current business topics. Knowledge@Wharton offers content in Chinese, Spanish and Portuguese and has a separate site for high school educators and students.

About the Lauder Institute

Founded in 1983 by brothers Leonard and Ronald Lauder in honor of their father, Joseph, the Joseph H. Lauder Institute for Management & International Studies provides a fully integrated business education to a new generation of leaders coming of age in a rapidly globalizing world. The program combines an MA in International Studies with an MBA from the Wharton School or a JD from Penn Law. This unique MBA/MA or JD/MA joint degree program was the first of its kind and it has remained in a class by itself. Lauder’s rigorous academic program integrates excellent teaching in tailored arts and sciences coursework with advanced language study and cultural immersion experiences, preparing each class of 70 students to become leaders in international management and global business.

About Momentum

Momentum is a leading international event creation and execution specialist working with numerous partners in order to bring their brands to life through customized live-event experiences. With an emphasis on rigorous research and world-class customer service, its team comprises many of the leading names in event creation and execution. For more information about Momentum, visit http://momentumevents.com.

Momentum contact:

Misha Shah
Marketing Director
Momentum
[email protected]