The 10th World Summit for Young Entrepreneurs was held in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The three day event brought entrepreneurs from around the world with the average age being 37 and with average gross sales of U$42M. The programs comprised in-depth case analysis, panel discussions and presentations from leading executives and world leaders. The topics ranged from entrepreneurship, commercial diplomacy, globalization, women and entrepreneurship, to networking and partnering under the theme of Let’s make a new deal. Some of the leading partners were United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Organization of American States (OAS) and European Union (EU).

Sujit Chowdhury, Secretary General, 10th World Summit of Young Entrepreneurs-Brazil / President & CEO World Trade University Global Secretariat, Canada heard of me through our friend, Ralph Richardson in Bermuda, and invited Darlene and I to speak at the Summit. It was an honor I could not decline as I would be sharing the stage with world leaders, and little did we know that we could also impact their lives. Darlene met me in Sao Paulo after my trip to South Africa. On the first day of the conference we met astronaut Mae Jamison, the first woman of color to go to outer space. Her story was about a young girl who at age 11, in South Side Chicago, dreamed of reaching for the stars. She has become many things from scientist, medical doctor, businesswoman, but she, like me, does not do dishes.

Silken Laumann, Neal, Mae JamisonDarlene made her debut as a speaker. We did a joint program, Branding of a CEO Image. Darlene spoke about the traditional progression of CEO’s asking what certain CEO’s had in common. We discussed the erosion of the brand with the demise of Enron, World Com and Omni Media through the greed and corruption of its leadership, to the establishment of giants such as Richard Branson, Brian du Pru and Hans Snook who have taken brand development to untold heights. The discussion led to the ethics of success, and that there is no separation between the values of a CEO in the office and in his or her private life. Many CEO’s of small to medium international companies were in the audience. They shared their stories and their frustrations, and sought help. Darlene shared her experience as CEO of Kristi Executive Search, a head hunting firm she started 16 ago. I shared the story of building my own office in the trees as a tree house or as we call it “the branch office” and this got many people thinking about alternatives. One CEO from Canada hung out with us afterwards and as the friendship solidified, he shared with us the profound positive impact we had on him and that he was returning to make major changes in his life, especially how he looked at his office life. Then Ralph Richardson made a comment about Darlene and I. He shared how we became friends in Bermuda, visiting us in our home, and spending time with us now in the third country. He paid us a great compliment by telling the audience that what they were witnessing was us in our every day life, that this was not a show, but real people on and off the platform.

A new dimension evolved. We also shared that as our relationship developed early on – communication about our individual goals, philosophies, values were expressed. When we were to move forward together we would share a similar path. The audience was very intrigued and wanted to know about us as business partners – as husband and wife – how did it work? We shared how important communication was to us, and how from day one together we did not separate business interests, but instead embraced it to support each other. Every major decision is a joint agreement, yet we operate with certain levels of autonomy, but with huge quantities of trust and respect for each other. The session was a huge success, with days of questions and discussions that followed.

Sujit Chowdhury, Neal, Silken Laumann, Sandra Hamilton, Darlene and Ching-Kuo Wu from the International Olympic CommitteeThe second day session had Canadian Silken Laumann, three time Olympic medalist in rowing speak. Her story was about following the dream that was nearly shattered in 1992 ten weeks before the Barcelona Olympics when a German rower collided with her, breaking her ankle and severing muscles and ligaments. She recovered and still won the bronze medal, which Darlene and I got to hold.

I was the featured speaker on the last day. My message was to set an example of what an individual can achieve with limited or no resources, bringing hope, but most importantly, daring to dream the impossible dream and striving to achieve it. A long thunderous applause and standing ovation followed.

In the afternoon I participated on a panel In Defense of Globalization: The Way Must Be Tried. Special presentations were delivered by Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi, Secretary General, UNCTAD and former Vice President of Thailand and Chairman of the World Trade Organization,

and Samuel Nyambi, Senior WTU Development Coordinator-Africa and African Regional coordinator for the UNDP.

Samuel Nyambi, Neal, Ambassador Kumalo and Dr. Supachai PanitchpakdiAlso participating was Dumisani Shadrack Kumalo, Chairman of the Group of 77 and South Africa Ambassador to the United Nations and Abdel-Hamid Mamdouh, from the World Trade Organisation, Switzerland. During this panel discussion I raised questions on the presevation and respect of cultural diversity and was also regarded as the conscience of the group constantly challenging them to focus on what was the right thing to do.

Out of the experience one of the relationships Darlene and I came to enjoy the most was with Dr. Awni Benham, President of the International Ocean Institute. As a non-governmental body with consultative status at the United Nations, the International Ocean Institute works to uphold and expand the principles enshrined in the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea – namely that the seabed and the oceans are the common heritage of humankind, for the benefit of humankind as a whole, with particular consideration of the poor. We are hoping to be a part of their summit in Malta next year.

Dr. Awni Benham with Darlene and NealI have been invited to return to Brazil to speak and possibly launch my book in Portuguese. Invites from China and Surinam have also been extended but details still need to be worked on.

Peter Greenberg from the Today Show and Neal