You never know what brings 15 minutes of fame halfway around the globe.
Windy Zou proved that Tuesday when she posed this question to a room of Tampa Bay area business folks keen on learning ways to export their services to foreign markets.
Why is Tampa most famous in Asia?
Hey, that's not so hard to answer. Right? It must be our former Super Bowl-winning Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Nope. How about our sunny climate and vacation proximity to Disney World?
Not a chance. Zou (rhymes with no) should know. (You will, too. Read on.) Born in China, and later a student protester in the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations-turned-massacre, Zou is now the Asia sales manager for Tampa's TSI Telecommunication Services Inc. TSI sells the database and network services that help support cell phone systems and allow customers to make calls via international roaming.
What world events, Zou challenged her audience, generate the most international cell phone calls?
This time, her listeners had a clue. The Olympics is the No. 1 world event to spur global cell phone calling. And No. 2? World Cup Soccer.
Zou was one of several Tampa Bay business managers at a Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce event to offer up some insights into how to sell overseas. International attorney Richard Jacobson of Tampa's Fowler White Boggs Banker law firm encouraged businesses testing international markets that the first client is the toughest. But he also warned that exporting services can have hidden costs. And language and cultural barriers raise the "risk of miscommunication."
Anne LaMaire of Sea Sub Systems in Indian Rocks Beach, a 25-year-old commercial diving and underwater ship repair company, advised small firms to share their enthusiasm for what they do and try to partner with larger international businesses. That strategy worked at Sea Subs, which now handles overflow work for foreign competitors. LaMaire's husband was originally slated to speak Tuesday, but was delayed at Pearl Harbor to complete a ship repair job.
John Ranon, who handles engineering and environmental consulting for giant URS Corp. in Tampa, praised the abundant work opportunities in Latin America. But URS has limited its Latin business to avoid overexposure in one part of the world, he said. And the tougher business climate and concerns for security since the 9/11 terrorist attacks have also slowed the pace of projects.
The bottom line? To sell overseas, bring a unique service and some foreign expertise. It's who you know, not just what you know, in international business, the experts said.
And the reason for Tampa's fame in Asia? The answer, Zou says, is Hideki Matsui. He's the New York Yankees outfielder and former Japanese superstar - affectionately known as "Godzilla" - who plays the spring baseball training season in Tampa.
BB&T chief John Allison obviously did not choose to buy St. Petersburg's Republic Bancshares, the parent of Republic Bank, for the institution's bottom line. Republic has struggled for years and, though improving recently, still operates below the typical financial norms of a well run bank.
No, Allison is buying a fixer-upper that happens to have a strong management team.
"It's got high quality people and a performance potential superior to actual results," said Allison, whose Winston-Salem corporation announced in December it will purchase Republic.
But the decision to sell Republic really began months earlier, according to a recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing. In September, Republic's board hired Wall Street banking specialists Keefe, Bruyette & Woods to shop the St. Petersburg institution and see who was interested. Several potential buyers took a look at Republic. But BB&T - by its reputation and desire to expand in Florida - stood out. Allison met with Republic CEO Bill Klich in November.
Republic accepted BB&T's purchase offer, though BB&T gets a $17-million fee if the St. Petersburg bank backs out of the deal. That's' not likely, since Republic's biggest investor, William R. Hough, wants to sell.
And Klich seems unlikely to protest. He is one of 13 Republic executives promised jobs with BB&T. Klich will be paid a salary of at least $432,000 a year. And once the BB&T deal is completed - probably in March - Klich gets $1.36-million under his employment agreement. And that does not even count the bucket of unvested stock options that Klich can claim at the same time.
It's almost like having your cake and eating it, too.
