TAMIU Hosts 29th Annual Western Hemispheric Trade Conference April 9 - 11
The 29th Annual Western Hemispheric Trade Conference took center stage at Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) Wednesday-Friday, April 9 - 11, bringing together academic researchers, business leaders, and policymakers to discuss critical trade issues affecting the Western Hemisphere and globe.
This year's gathering delivered a total of 25 concurrent academic sessions in a combination of in-person and virtual presentations in English and Spanish. The Conference featured two keynote speakers and a fireside chat panel. The event is free and open to the public.
Hilary J. Allen, author of Driverless Finance: Fintech’s Impact on Financial Stability and law professor at American University’s Washington College of Law, presented “Crypto and Financial Crises” on Wednesday, April 9, from 6 - 7:30 p.m.
In her lecture, Professor Allen explored fragilities within the crypto ecosystem, with a focus on Decentralized Finance (DeFi). She explained how these fragilities mirror the fragilities of financial innovations developed in the run-up to the global financial crisis of 2008.
This presentation was sponsored by IBC Bank and Commerce Bank.
It was held in person at TAMIU's Student Center Ballroom (STC 203) and broadcast online live via Microsoft Teams Wednesday, April 9, from 6 - 7:30 p.m.
Also, Roberto A. Tohme, co-owner and CFO of ATI Jet, Inc., and Dr. Len J. Treviño, president of the Iberoamerican Academy of Management and SBA Communications Professor of International Business at Florida Atlantic University, were panelists for a fireside chat titled “Numbers, Engines, and Enterprise: Perspectives on Leadership from the Flight Deck to the Global Stage” Thursday, April 10, from 12:30 - 1:45 p.m. in an online event.
Dr. Luis Pérez-Batres, Dean of the A. R. Sanchez, Jr. School of Business, moderated.
The final keynote speaker was Dr. William L. Megginson, professor and Price Chair in Finance at The University of Oklahoma’s Michael F. Price College of Business. Dr. Megginson offered his keynote presentation, "The Financial Economics of Spaceflight" Friday, April 11, from 12:30 -1:30 p.m. in an online event.
This keynote presentation was sponsored by TAMIU’s Banking Academy which was made possible by the generous support of Texas Community Bank, the Rio-South Texas Education and Community Development Foundation, PNC Bank, the Matias De Llano Charitable Trust, and Falcon Bank.
This year’s Conference was co-sponsored by TAMIU’s A. R. Sanchez, Jr. School of Business and the Center for the Study of Western Hemispheric Trade (CSWHT) and was held in partnership with México’s Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas' College of Business, Administration and Social Sciences and Universidad Tecnológica de Tamaulipas Norte.
For more information, contact Amy Palacios, associate director, Center for the Study of Western Hemispheric Trade at 956.326.2820, email cswht@tamiu.edu, or visit offices in Western Hemispheric Trade Center, room 221.
