CANADA: THE GATEWAY TO GLOBAL BUSINESS - BOSTON EDITION

Canada has the fastest growing economy of all the G7 nations. Its strength lies in its strong geographic and sectoral clusters including aerospace, automotive, biomedical, digital media, and agrifood. Canada has one of the soundest banking systems in the world and a diverse and talented work force. It has low statutory and marginal effective tax rates and is known for its ease to start and operate a business.The trade relationship among the United States, Canada, and Mexico is governed by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which promotes freer markets, fair trade, and economic growth in North America. These three nations collaborate closely due to their geographic proximity and complementary economies.

If you are considering expanding your business, join us on Tuesday, June 25, 2024 at the Fairmont Copley Plaza in Boston, MA to hear about the implication and advantages of doing business in Canada and the US, Canada, Mexico trade releationship.

Speakers: Isabella Bertani, FCPA, FCA, Founder and Chief Client Strategist at BERTANI AND Oscar Conde, Managing Partner, Legem Attorneys at Law, SC with special opening remarks from Aaron Pinto, Consul and Senior Economic Officer and Head of Ontario's International Trade & Investment Office in New York.

* *Note: Those who register will be asked to confirm their name and company details via email prior to being confirmed as an attendee.

8:00 AM - 9:00AM Breakfast and Registration

9 :00AM - 9:25 AM Canada, US and Mexico Trade Relationship

9 :30AM - 10:15 AM Doing Business in Canada

1 0:15AM - 11: 00 AM Doing Business in Mexcio

1 1: 00 AM - 11:30 AM Questions and Networking

Named by Practice Ignition as one of the Top 50 Women in Accounting globally for two consecutive years in 2021 and 2022, Isabella Bertani is the Founder and Chief Client Strategist at BERTANI located in Toronto, Canada.

With over 25 years of experience, Isabella has worked extensively with both private and public companies in numerous industry sectors including manufacturing, food processing, technology, telecommunications, biotech, and retail and distribution.

Isabella's practice focuses on inbound foreign investment and Canadian domestic companies with global interests. A recognized leader in foreign direct investment, Isabella routinely advises global corporations with regards to expansion into the North American market and clients include numerous foreign subsidiaries of significant global entities. Isabella is a frequent speaker on topics relating to globalization including doing business in Canada, trade agreements, global trade and migration, and the impact of geopolitical trends on global foreign direct investment and global trade. She has a particular interest in FDI and its impact on global sustainability.

Isabella is a passionate advocate for women in business and women in economic development and has held several roles in women’s leadership. In 2019, she was the recipient of the Joanna Townsend Excellence Award for Leadership in International Trade by the Organization of Women in International Trade in Toronto.

In 2017, Isabella was bestowed the honour of Fellow of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario, the highest distinction conferred on its members that have brought prestige to the profession through significant achievements in their professional careers, volunteer involvement in the affairs of the accounting profession, and contributions to the community.

Isabella is a graduate of York University's prestigious Schulich School of Business holding both a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting and a Master of Business Administration with a focus in policy and finance.

Education

• Master of Business Administration, Schulich School of Business, York University
• Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario - FCPA, FCA
• Bachelor of Business Administration, Schulich School of Business, York University

BERTANI is a boutique audit, tax, and advisory firm in Toronto, Canada. Founded in 2001, BERTANI specializes in both inbound and outbound foreign direct investment and Canadian companies with global interests. Through our soft-landing program, we routinely advise foreign corporations with their investment into and continuing operations in the North American market. Our clients include numerous foreign subsidiaries of significant global entities. Our Founder, Isabella Bertani, is a recognized leader in the area of foreign direct investment and is a frequent speaker on topics relating to globalization including doing business in Canada, global trade and migration, and the impact of geopolitical trends on global trade and investment.

As a member firm of IR Global, BERTANI is connected to over 1300 collaborative member firms in over 155 countries covering 70 practices areas across the globe, allowing our clients to be ideally positioned for their outward global expansion strategy.

GLOBAL BRANDS • LOCAL MARKETS reflects our goal that our clients, whether foreign or domestic, are able expand their brand globally, yet take a localized approach to the markets they expand to and adapt as needed to the changing geo-political landscape in which companies must operate.

The world is changing, and the role of the advisor is becoming more and more important.

Oscar Conde Medina was born in Mexico City in 1973. He has a Law Degree (1994) and is bilingual (spanish and english). Oscar Conde Medina has more than 20 years of experience dedicated to attracting, consulting and assisting the direct foreign investment in Mexico with the highest ethical, professional and commercial standards. From 1998 to 2005 he was part of the experts that supported and participated in the acquisitions of financial institutions in Mexico, as well as participated in the most relevant credit restructuring operations in the north of Mexico, including the merger and the public stock sale of the Coca-Cola bottling company (Arca). From 2005 as of today, Oscar Conde Medina has been implementing strategies of businesses expansion in Mexico, helping the clients´ grow by providing them with opportune legal services oriented towards protecting the clients’ personal, economic and commercial interests. He is the founder and Managing Director of Legem Attorneys at Law, SC, a law firm that assists clients from all the globe.

In 2009 he participated in the special program (ACE) at Georgetown University in Washington, DC.

In 2019 Oscar Conde Medina was awarded as the Foreign Direct Investment Lawyer of the year in Mexico by ACQ5 and recently he has been awarded as the Foreign Direct Investment Expert of the year in Mexico (2020 Global Award) by Leaders in Law.

Legem Attorneys at Law, SC. was founded in 2006 to continue supporting foreign direct investment in Mexico.

Since its inception, Legem Attorneys at Law has focused on providing excellent legal consulting services, which is why international consulting firms (Mazars, Plante & Moran, Salles, Sainz-Grand Thornton) have selected it to jointly support them in the business structure in Mexico, as well as to protect the legal interests of these consulting firms.

Legem Attorneys at Law is the exclusive Foreign Direct Investment member for IR Global in Mexico, a strategic alliance based in London that provides legal, accountancy and financial services in 155 jurisdictions worldwide.

Since 2019, Legem Attorneys at Law has been awarded by several organizations including, among others, ACQ5, Lawyers International – Legal 100, Leaders in Law and recently by Latin America Quality Institute as Mexico - Foreing Direct Investment Law Firm.

Currently, Legem Attorneys at Law provides services to its clients who are located mainly in North, Central and South America, Europe and Asia. The firm’s areas of practice include Litigation in civil, commercial, criminal, family, administrative, amparo law and tax law; Counseling which includes corporate, banking, immigration and real estate law, among others; as well as Compliance covering topics such as money laundering prevention, protection of personal data, anticorruption, evaluation and management of legal and regulatory risks programs, among others.

Legem Attorneys at Law, SC is a law firm comprised of professionals who specialize in a variety of legal disciplines with offices in the north, bajio and central Mexico, ensuring the highest ethical, professional and commercial standards are maintained.

Our commitment is to help our clients grow by providing them with opportune legal services oriented towards protecting the clients’ personal, economic and commercial interests.

The immediacy and the excellence in our services distinguish us.

Aaron Joshua Pinto, a Canadian diplomat, currently serves as the Government of Ontario's Trade & Investment Representative in New York. Here, he leads the international presence of Canada’s largest economy in the northeastern US market. With a focus on commercial diplomacy, Aaron actively promotes Ontario’s economic interests, cultivates cross-border partnerships, and advises companies on global expansion strategies.

Before this, Aaron worked as a Trade Commissioner at the Consulate General of Canada in New York, helping tech companies navigate international growth.

Aaron's diverse interests have taken him across the globe, engaging in a myriad of initiatives from promoting good governance to tackling socioeconomic issues. He’s been deployed to various regions such as post-Apartheid townships in Cape Town, polling stations in Ukraine and Malawi, and remote villages in Colombia. He’s also been part of trade and development missions in Central and South America, and Canada’s Arctic.
Notably, Aaron was Canada’s Youth Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and a member of Canada’s Volunteer Awards National Advisory Committee.
After completing his Honors BA in International Relations at Western University in Canada, Aaron graduated cum laude with a Master’s in Politics and Security from the Academy of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, based in Kyrgyzstan.

Recognized as one of Canada’s Future Foreign Policymakers, Aaron also received the Queen’s Young Leaders Award from HM Queen Elizabeth II for his outstanding contributions.

Host or Publisher Isabella Bertani