George Willy to Lead Mayor’s International Trade and Development Council – South Asia

SUGAR LAND: George Willy, a well-known voice in our communities as an immigration lawyer and a leader, has taken over as the Chairman of the (Houston) Mayor’s International Trade and Development Council – South Asia (MITDC) beginning May of this year. The MITDC is a body created by Mayor Annise Parker out of an older body to aggressively promote trade between Houston and other countries. Willy has had extensive experience in this area, first as Governor Ann Richards’ Co-Chair of her International Task force and then as a leader in several trade organizations. He was also an integral part of President Clinton’s trade strategy in South Asia.

Asked what his priorities are going to be under his Chairmanship, he said, “in the past year Jagdip, our past Chair and I developed a new strategy to accelerate trade by organizing video conferencing between foreign businesses and trade organizations with US businesses, using the Mayor’s office and the Greater Houston Partnership (GHP). This strategy collapses foreign contact by the city to a mere half hour as opposed to expensive and sometimes unfocused delegations that can take days or weeks. I am also going to increase the interaction between all of the MITDC’s. But most of all connect South Asian economies to Houston in as many ways as we can. We are going to reach out to the community to give us suggestions and ideas to push forward these endeavors.”

The executive committee for the current year is as follows.

George R. Willy – Chairman

Nishan Khan – Vice-Chairman

Rachel Varghese – Secretary

George Willy recently visited India and Sri Lanka, representing Mayor Parker and the City of Houston, meeting with various large corporations and trade associations and introducing them to the benefits of doing business in Houston.

If you would like more information about George Willy or to schedule an interview, please contact Marketing Manager Jodi Jablonski at 281-690-5110 or via email at jjablonski@grwpc.com.