BY MARK B. SOLOMON, SENIOR EDITOR
THE DC VELOCITY Q&A
thoughtleaders
ADVOCATES OF PANAMANIAN TRADE AND BUSiness interests won’t have much idle time over the next
year or two. The opening of the expanded Panama
Canal, now slated for June 2015 after weather and
construction delays pushed it beyond its original
October 2014 launch date, will be a watershed event for
intercontinental trade. The expanded canal, which will
accommodate ships nearly three times the size of what
sails through today, carries with it a nation’s dreams
of becoming to its region what Singapore and Dubai
became to theirs: a dominant hub of production, distribution, and trans-shipping.
John W. Wallace Jr. is at the forefront of the U.S.
advocacy efforts. The Atlanta-based Wallace, who
has spent most of his career in the financial services
industry, is the founder and chairman of the Panama
Gateway International Association Inc., a national
organization tasked with marketing Panama’s budding
logistics network and the commercial opportunities
that flow from it. Wallace’s objective is to differentiate
Panama from other countries in the region in what
is shaping up to be a hotly competitive fight for the
hearts, minds, and wallets of global producers and
distributors interested in setting up shop in Latin
America.
Wallace recently spoke with Senior Editor Mark B.
Solomon about his mission that, if successful, will give
Panama a “seat at the table to compete for business
anywhere in the U.S.”
Panama is poised for unprecedented visibility and activity as the Panama Canal
expansion project nears completion. It’s John W. Wallace Jr.’s job to enlighten U.S.
businesses about the opportunities that abound in doing business there.
“Digging” the expanded
Panama Canal’s potential
INTERVIEW WITH JOHN W. WALLACE JR.
