Corporate and Financial
03.13.2007
Brunswick Explores Opportunities in the Gulf Region
Brunswick Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dusty McCoy recently hosted His Highness Shaikh Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, Crown Prince of Bahrain, and leading members of the Chicago community for a special luncheon at The Chicago Club. His Highness was joined by a number of other representatives from the American Chamber of Commerce of Bahrain delegation, including Shaikh Mohammed bin Isa Al-Khalifa, chief executive of the Bahrain Economic Development Board.
As Brunswick continues its focus on “being more global” – one of the Company’s primary strategic platforms – this event offered an opportunity to learn more about the Gulf Region. Co-hosting the event with McCoy was Lt. Gen. Brent Scowcroft, USAF (Ret.), former National Security Advisor to Presidents Ford and George H. Bush.
The event served as an opportunity for Brunswick and the Chicago business community to learn about future economic opportunities and partnerships between the U.S. and Bahrain. In his well-received remarks to the more than 125 Chicago business and civic leaders in attendance, His Highness described the importance of Bahrain’s long-term friendship with the United States and provided valuable insight into current developments in the Gulf Region.
Bahrain is located at the center of the Gulf region with excellent road, air and sea connections to the rest of the area. Because of its geographic location, the country is the ideal gateway to the Middle East and North African (MENA) region for U.S. investors, according to Bahrain officials. They also indicated that domestic companies in the region are exponentially becoming more sophisticated as it relates to technology and production capacity. The MENA region has a population of some 400 million and a gross domestic product in excess of $3 trillion annually.
About His Highness Shaikh Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa
His Highness is the Crown Prince of Bahrain and Commander-in-Chief of the Bahrain Defense Force, and was appointed in 1999. Previously, His Highness was appointed Vice-Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Bahrain Centre for Studies and Research (BCSR) in 1992, then chairman in 1995. That same year, His Highness was also appointed Defense Under-Secretary.
The Crown Prince holds a bachelor’s degree from American University in Washington, D.C., and a master’s degree from Cambridge University in the United Kingdom.
About Bahrain
Bahrain has long been a commercial and cultural center for the Arab Gulf region. Its free markets, transparent economy, and dependable court system has led the United States to sign a free trade agreement with Bahrain, the only such free trade agreement in the Arab world. The free trade agreement enhances Bahrain as the gateway to the vast economic potential of the free trade zone created by the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, Bahrain is a borderless island country in the Persian Gulf and is the smallest Arab nation. Saudi Arabia lies to the west and is connected to Bahrain by the King Fahd Causeway. Qatar is to the south across the Persian Gulf. The future Qatar-Bahrain Friendship Bridge will link Bahrain to Qatar as the soon-to-be longest fixed link in the world.
