The Utah Legislature awarded a contract to World Trade Center Utah to help it accomplish its international relations duties and responsibilities.
To accomplish the new tasks outlined in the contract, World Trade Center Utah is hiring a government relations manager. This individual will act as a dedicated liaison between the Utah State Legislature and WTC Utah. The government relations manager will facilitate legislators’ work with state and international partners, both in Utah and around the world.
“We are honored to be selected to represent the Utah legislature on international business-related matters,” said Derek B. Miller, president and CEO of WTC Utah. “The awarding of this contract, as well as the one we recently received from the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, will lead to increased efficiency and effectiveness as international trade promotion efforts will be housed under one roof.”
The contract was awarded through an open request for proposal. Each proposal submitted was evaluated by a committee on several factors such as experience in international relations, coordination ability and capacity of the organization. WTC Utah’s proposal was given the highest number of points and thus awarded the contract.
“The leadership of WTC Utah will be instrumental in continuing to develop and strengthen international trade relations for Utah,” said Speaker of the Utah House of Representatives Greg Hughes. “I look forward to working with their team to maximize our global presence, attract new business, increase educational partnerships, promote tourism and expand trade in this great state.”
“Utah is not only the Crossroads of the West, we are increasingly the right place for international trade, tourism and partnerships in education. We are eager to join forces with the governor’s office and business owners to promote our incredible state. Legislators can often open doors with colleagues in other nations that are difficult for individual businesses, or even executive branch employees,” said Utah Senate President Wayne Niederhauser.
He continues, “However, we are a part-time citizen legislature and our current staff is already fully engaged. We need someone to work through the logistics and diplomacy of hosting international visitors, staffing missions abroad, and shepherding all the follow-up work necessary to build strong international partnerships. Through a robust RFP process, we found that Derek Miller and the staff at the WTC Utah are an ideal fit to make this happen.”
