ATLANTA (May 18, 2006) – Organizers of the Sumaq Summit today announced that the two-day conference that is focused on creating trade and economic development opportunities for companies that are entering the triangulated Iberoamerican marketplace (Iberian Peninsula, North and South America) will return to Atlanta for the fourth consecutive year in the spring of 2007. Dates for the conference will be announced later this year.

“On behalf of Instituto de Empresa and the seven other deans of the Sumaq Alliance who vote on where the Sumaq Summit will be held each year, I am pleased to announce that we proudly accept Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue’s invitation for the Sumaq Summit to return to Atlanta in 2007,” said Santiago Iñiguez de Onzoño, Dean of IE - Instituto de Empresa Business School in Madrid, the Sumaq Summit’s founding school.

“Atlanta has been very welcoming to Sumaq and we look forward to returning next year and to once again experiencing Atlanta’s warm southern hospitality.”

Additionally, Patricio Donoso Ibañez, Academic Director, Sumaq Summit 2006 and Vice Dean, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, noted that this year’s Summit was “very successful. We were especially pleased with the good mixture of academics and practitioners, adding that every panel was chaired by two academics and two practitioners (top executives from Latin American companies and U.S. corporations). Trust, commitment and flexibility were just some of the common words that were heard during the exchanges in the sessions.

“While networking was also a key component of the Summit, it is the collaboration between the politicians, private sector and academic community that makes the event such a tremendous success.”

More than 400 business leaders and academic experts attended the 2006 Sumaq Summit that ended on Tuesday and was held in Atlanta at the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center.

Summit organizers estimate that the overall economic impact of this year’s Summit is approximately $500,000. Governor Sonny Perdue opened the conference on Monday and Mayor Shirley Franklin closed out the day with a reception that was held at Atlanta City Hall.

Craig Lesser, Commissioner for the Georgia Department of Economic Development, addressed the audience during the closing session of the Summit by first thanking the Sumaq Summit organizers on behalf of the Governor for voting in favor of returning to Atlanta next year. He also stressed the state’s position as a leader in the area of logistics and the importance of developing relationships one at a time.

“Atlanta is already a gateway to the world. And we’re pleased that Sumaq’s organizers have affirmed that when it comes to exploring even greater opportunities for global trade and economic development, there’s no better city to host that discussion than Atlanta,” said Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce President Sam A. Williams. “Not only do we offer international universities an opportunity to collaborate with their peers at Atlanta’s finest business schools, but we also offer a warm welcome from business and civic leaders that are committed to growing global trade and creating jobs.”

The audience was composed of CEOs and senior business executives from some of Latin America’s most respected companies, along with academics from some of the top business schools in Latin America and Spain. A number of senior level representatives of U.S.-based companies also attended, many of whom are considering entering the $4.5 trillion Latin American and Caribbean marketplace.

The Sumaq Summit is the only U.S.-based “Iberoamerican” (Spain, Latin America and North America) event of its kind, and this year focused on marketing and logistics/supply chain management in Latin America. In the Peruvian dialect Quechua, Sumaq means “excellence.”

Sumaq Summit 06 was sponsored by AIG, America Economia, AmericasMart Atlanta, CNN En Espa ñol, Delta Air Lines, Georgia Power, GE Powers Systems, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Hemisphere, Inc., Latin Business, Latin Trade, Manhattan Associates, Manheim, Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, State of Georgia, SunTrust, The Coca-Cola Company, The Georgia Ports Authority and Turner Broadcasting System Latin America, Inc.

ABOUT THE SUMAQ ALLIANCE:

The Sumaq Alliance is the leading global learning network providing executive education to business leaders worldwide through a consortium of eight of the leading business schools which was formed in 2001 by Instituto de Empresa in Madrid, Spain with the following member schools in Latin America: EGADE – Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico; FGV-EAESP – Brazil; IESA – Venezuela; INCAE Business School – Costa Rica; Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Universidad de los Andes – Colombia; and Universidad de San Andrés – Argentina.

Sumaq schools share more than 1,200 professors in executive education, 100,000 alumni in 90 different countries and nine operating campuses in Europe, Latin America and the U.S. Sumaq schools figure at the very top of major global ranking publications as the best business schools in their respective countries and regions. For more information, visit www.Sumaq.org.

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