Leveraging the Trade Commissioner Service for FDI
Trade and investment play a critical role in enhancing Canada’s prosperity. With a presence in over 160 cities around the world and a network of over one thousand business-savvy experts, Canada’s Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) can help Canadian businesses and organizations trade, grow and succeed by providing on-the-ground service to support export sales, attract foreign direct investments (FDI) and other commercial activities.
The TCS leverages Canada’s competitive advantages to attract and expand FDI in Canada, resulting in job creation, opportunities for Canadians and spurring economic growth. Gillianne Beaulieu, Deputy Director of Global Affairs Canada’s Investment Promotion Division and Detlef Engler, Trade Commissioner for investment in Berlin will provide an overview of the services offered by the TCS while highlighting the resources that economic development organizations can leverage to support their capacity and ability to attract, retain and expand FDI.
How can economic developers profit from this network, while setting a realistic framework of expectations? Examples from Canada’s investment team in Germany will illustrate successful collaboration with Canadian economic developers.
About the Speakers
Detlef Engler
Detlef Engler
As Trade Commissioner and Senior Investment Counsellor at the Embassy of Canada to Germany, Mr. Engler looks back at 25 years of advising German investment prospects on all aspects of site selection in Canada, from providing value propositions, cost analyses, to counselling on financing options and incentive packages.
An award-winning Canadian Trade Commissioner, Mr. Engler is a well-known strategist combining theoretical concepts of foreign direct investment attraction with the experience of counselling senior executives of thousands of German investors. Global Affairs Canada has been using him as a mentor, coaching trade commissioners around the globe and economic developers in Canada on how to convince senior company executives to locate and expand their investments in Canada.
Since 2009, Mr. Engler has held various university teaching assignments in international business, foreign direct investment attraction and site selection management, most notably at the Berlin University of Technology and Business Administration (HTW Berlin).
Mr. Engler was born in Germany and went to Canada in 1988. He graduated in Canadian Studies at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario. He then obtained post-grad degrees in political science, economic history, public law and EU business administration in Freiburg and Frankfurt, Germany.
Prior to his current position, Mr. Engler held executive positions at private-sector consulting institutions, focusing on regional economic development.
Gillianne Beaulieu
Gillianne Beaulieu
Gillianne has over 13 years of experience with the federal government, including working in International Business Development and Investment Promotion at Global Affairs Canada (GAC). Responsible for Partnerships within Investment Promotion, Gillianne works directly with Canadian Provinces, Territories, and Municipalities to attract foreign investment into Canada.
Gillianne holds a Master of Arts in Political Science from Memorial University of Newfoundland.
