Asian business forum plans topics of wider interest

Now in its fifth year, the Asian American Chambers of Commerce of Tampa Bay will host its annual Business Forum Feb. 28.

The forum, titled Movers & Shakers, will include speakers with expertise in communication, change and networking, a release said.

The event is scheduled to feature an entrepreneurial success panel to include Jose Valiente, a CPA and former Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce chairman; Dr. Kiran Patel, the cardiologist-turned-entrepreneur responsible for founding WellCare Health Plans Inc. and now a philanthropist and the owner of Freedom Health Inc.; Sidney Morgan, Humana Inc. president of Central Florida operations; and Trudy Cooper, co-founder of Outback Steakhouse and now senior vice president of training and development at Tampa-based OSI Restaurant Partners Inc.

As director of training for Outback, Cooper “created the training systems that have greatly contributed to the success of the company,” the company’s Web site reads.

Other elements include a networking skills session facilitated by Kari Goetz, audience development manager for the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, and a session on communication skills facilitated by Barron Johnson, a trainer with Dale Carnegie Training.

The AACC an umbrella organization representing local chambers of commerce that consist of joint membership of more than 2,500 people of Asian heritage living in the Tampa Bay area, its Web site shows. Its members include the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Philippine American Chamber of Commerce, Indo-US Chamber of Commerce and others.

Topics were chosen to appeal to a broader segment of the Tampa Bay business community, said event organizers.

“We are providing the forum for business owners and professionals to learn from current business leaders on how they build their network,” said AACC president Hongling Han-Ralston in a prepared statement.

The AACC Business Forum is open to the public. It starts at 8:30 a.m. Saturday and goes until 2 p.m. at the Philippine Bayanihan Arts & Events Center at 14301 Nine Eagles Drive in Tampa. Cost is $20 and includes breakfast, lunch, networking and participation in all discussion panels.