Chilean & American Chamber of Commerce

Chilean and American Chamber of Commerce
21st Annual “Friend of Chile” Awards Luncheon
Friday, November 30th, 2018
The Union League of Philadelphia

On Friday, November 30th, 2018, members and distinguished guests gathered in the historic Union League of Philadelphia for the Chilean and American Chamber of Commerce (CACC) 21st Annual “Friend of Chile” Awards Luncheon to honor individuals who have demonstrated great commitment in the trade partnership between Chile and the United States.

The event kicked off with networking and a Chilean wine reception. Shortly after, guests were escorted to their seats in Lincoln Hall to begin the luncheon and awards ceremony. CACC and Delaware River Stevedores President, Robert Palaima, was the first to take the podium. He began by complimenting the CACC and saying that it was the largest, most dynamic chamber in the tri-state region. He welcomed Delaware Secretary of State Jeffery Bullock and William H. Kopke Jr., Inc.’s Paul Wigand, the two award recipients of the day, Chile’s new Trade Commissioner, Matías Pinto Pimentel, and the luncheon’s sponsors before introducing Benjamin Leavenworth, the Honorary Consul of Chile here in Philadelphia.

Leavenworth started off his remarks by thanking the CACC for organizing the event and congratulating the award winners on the day for their great work in trade between Chile and the Greater Philadelphia Region. Leavenworth then gave an anecdote about a recent visit of his to Chile where he visited farms and was impressed by how much Chile has grown through agriculture—this of course being relevant due to the large amount of Chilean fresh fruit that comes into the United States through the ports of the tri-state region.

Following Leavenworth, Palaima stepped back up to the podium to introduce CACC Treasurer Miriam Borja-Fisher of Western Fumigation and Barbara Hunter of BHA Consults. Borja-Fisher thanked everyone for coming and then presented Hunter, who gave remarks in memory of the late Albert S. Marulli for the dedication of CACC Lifetime Achievement Award in his honor. Hunter thanked the guests in attendance and the members of the Marulli family, many of whom were present at the event. Hunter described “Al,” as everyone referred to him, as a “giant” of a man despite his small stature. She said, “I could write a book about Al,” as the two had worked closely for many years. Marulli is considered by many to the “father” of the Chilean fresh fruit here in the U.S. According to Hunter, he was a man who fought for what he believed in… and he believed in Chile. To receive the plaque, made to show the award’s dedication to Marulli, was his eldest son, Tony.

Tony made his way up to the podium and spoke powerful words about the man his father was. Marulli was a man who did not like recognition. He had turned down, on numerous occasions, the opportunity to be honored throughout his life. Therefore, Tony said that the way the CACC chose to honor his father was perfect, and thanked the Chamber for honoring him in this manner.

Next to the podium was Leo Holt of Holt Logistics. Leo gave a brief introduction to Peter Kopke Sr. of William H. Kopke Jr., Inc., the man who was to present Paul Wigand, also of William H. Kopke Jr., Inc., with the first Albert S. Marulli Lifetime Achievement Award. Kopke spoke very highly of Wigand, saying that he has always been a determined worker, becoming Kopke’s right-hand man. The two have traveled to Chile together every year for the last 38 years, giving them a tremendous amount of experience in the fresh fruit trade.

In his acceptance speech, Wigand mentioned how honored he was to be receiving the first Albert S. Marulli Lifetime Achievement Award because he had a tremendous respect for Marulli. Wigand went on to thank the CACC for their recognition of his work and said that the Philadelphia region is a tremendous home for the Chilean fresh fruit trade, and he hopes to see the business flourish in the coming years. Wigand finished on a touching note, thanking his own family and the Kopke family for the opportunity they had given him and walked off the stage to a standing ovation.

Following Wigand, guests enjoyed a delicious entrée and dessert, complimented by Chilean wine. Palaima then took the stage to introduce Eric Casey, CEO of GT USA Wilmington, to present Jeffery S. Bullock, Secretary of State of Delaware, with the “Friend of Chile” Award. Casey is fairly new to the area, but he said it did not take him long to realize the important work that Bullock has done and is continuing to do for the Delaware ports. He spoke of Secretary Bullock’s excitement about returning to Chile in the near future, and thanked Bullock for all that he has done.

Secretary Bullock was very gracious in his acceptance speech, thanking Gene Bailey of the Diamond State Port Corporation, the CACC and President Palaima, and Consul Leavenworth for their work promoting Chile in the region. Bullock said that he is very honored to have been part of the success between Chile and the Philadelphia region and is eager to see the continuation of great business between the two.

The 21st Annual “Friend of Chile” Awards Luncheon would not have been possible without the help of its sponsors. The CACC would like to thank Visionary Sponsors: GT USA Wilmington, Holt Logistics and William H. Kopke Jr., Inc.; Presenting Sponsors: Western Fumigation and Diamond State Port Corporation; and Corporate Table Sponsors: Aramark, Dayka & Hackett, Dole, Delaware River Stevedores, GEODIS USA, Giumarra International Marketing, J&K Fresh East, Manfredi Cold Storage, Murphy Marine Services, PhilaPort, Pilots’ Association for Bay & River Delaware, RPS / Royal Fumigation, Sbrocco International and Tastyfrutti International.

Additionally, the CACC would like to extend its thanks to the Union League of Philadelphia for the outstanding venue and delicious food.

To see more photos from the event, visit our Flickr page.

Philly X Chile: Meet the Tech Innovators of Chile
A Chile Week USA Event
Wednesday, October 26^th, 2016

On Wednesday, October 26^th the Chilean and American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia was proud to hold a successful and informative program entitled Philly X Chile: Meet the Tech Innovators of Chile as part of Chile Week USA. Throughout the evening, guests savored Chilean wine and a variety of hors d’oeuvres and were engaged by the presentations of the Chilean Tech Executives from Chile: Ulbaldo Taladriz, Cristian Ferrer and Martin Lewit.

Honorary Consul of Chile for Philadelphia, Benjamin Leavenworth, opened the program to welcome all of the esteemed guests and made special note that the visiting Chilean tech companies were not start-ups, but stable and mature tech companies located in Latin America’s innovation hub- Santiago, Chile. The tech innovators introduced each of their unique tech companies and described many important aspects of Chile’s growth as an important international destination for the tech industry. Chile’s fastest growing outsourcing market, high quality performance at competitive costs, and the similar business culture shared between our two regions were just a handful of the points discussed through the evening.

The first tech representative to present was Ulbaldo Taladriz, who is the CEO of EXE, an IT innovative solutions company, and the Vice President of Chiletec, a group of companies developing technology with the mission to grow the technology industry in Chile.  Martin Lewit, CEO of KI Teknology, an innovative digital development company that offers services including software, web and mobile design for enhanced user experience, immediately followed.  Lastly,Cristian Ferrer, the marketing development manager of Tecnova, a company dedicated to consulting, custom software development and integration of IT solutions described his company to guests.

Robert Palaima, President & Chairman of the Chilean & American Chamber of Commerce, ended the program portion of the evening with great thanks to the Chilean tech innovators for partnering with the Chilean Chamber and sponsoring the event.

The evening continued with networking and discussion graciously stimulated by the delicious Chilean wines of Viña Santa Carolina. This slice of Chile Week was revered as eye opening for the potential tech relationship between Philadelphia and Chile by not only the attendees, but also all of the Chilean Tech Innovators that look forward to continuing their partnership with the CACC.

By Wynne Alexander, Chilean & American Chamber of Commerce

After a string of stellar successes, The Chilean & American Chamber of Commerce (CACC) managed to scale new heights, presenting one of its most powerful and internationally connected awards ceremonies.

This year’s celebration at the Bellevue Hyatt crystalized the Chamber’s mission, spotlighting business superstars Aramark and the Oppenheimer Group, coupled with an outpouring of hearty congratulations from over 300 movers and shakers from the maritime, diplomatic and business sectors, attending the Chilean & American Chamber of Commerce 2014 Friend of Chile Awards ceremonies.

“CACC and the entire community of those involved with the enriching interchange between Chile and the United States are indeed fortunate to hold up Marty Welch and John Anderson as their guests of honor this year,” said Leo A. Holt, President of Holt Logistics Corp. “Their accomplishments and respective areas of excellence within their unique industries are widely celebrated. Their commitment to Chile and business excellence made their election choice an easy one.”

Visionary business leader John Anderson, President, Chairman and CEO of The Oppenheimer Group received the Chamber’s Lifetime Achievement Award. For almost forty years, John Anderson’s finely-honed business instincts have left an indelible mark on a global industry, while building ‘Oppy’ into one of Canada’s strongest and most successful produce-marketing enterprises. The Oppenheimer Group currently utilizes all four major facilities on the Delaware River: Holt Terminal in Gloucester City, New Jersey; Tioga Marine Terminal and Packer Avenue Marine Terminal in Philadelphia, and the Port of Wilmington, Delaware, importing an assortment of fruits and berries. In a typical year, the Oppenheimer Group brings 4.5 to 5 million cartons of Chilean produce through the Ports of the Delaware River.

“It is truly an honor to be personally recognized in this way, though much of the credit must be given to the strong working relationships built over many years between The Oppenheimer Group locally and the network of service providers that have long supported and grown with the Chilean industry along the Delaware River,” said John Anderson, Chairman and CEO of The Oppenheimer Group.

The Friend of Chile Award went to Aramark and was received by their dynamic Chief Operating Officer of Emerging Markets, Martin Welch, accepting the award on behalf of his entire team at the company. Welch is one of the leaders responsible for helping expand the global frontiers of Philadelphia’s international powerhouse. Aramark has operated in Chile for the past 13 years. With headquarters in Santiago, Chile and approximately 20,000 employees in the country, the company is the largest employer in Chile, serving the country’s mining, education, healthcare and business and industry sectors. Through its Chilean operations, Aramark also serves customers in Argentina, Colombia and Peru.

Welch’s 32 years with Aramark gives him an engaging ease and eloquence in discussing his team’s achievements, especially Aramark’s role in the life-saving rescue of the 33 Chilean miners, who were trapped over 700 yards underground for the 68 days it took to rescue them. Normally it was not thought anyone could survive that amount of time in a collapsed mine. “We were contacted,” Welch said, “and our legal department was concerned about liabilities and this is where the spirit of our people came shining through. We said we’re not going to worry about that. We’re going to bring our people together to get food and nutrition down there to those people and make them as comfortable as possible. That’s the spirit of Aramark. It’s always about what you can do for the community, here and worldwide.”

Aramark’s President for Latin American Operations Pablo Achurra was in town for the ceremonies and also represented the company at the White House, receiving appreciation and congratulations from the Obama administration for Aramark’s life-saving engineering success in feeding the Chilean miners.

“We were called in by Chile’s Association of Safety, Achurra said, “the mine was not our client.” The Association said, ‘can you figure out how to get food to those miners?’ We said, ‘Yes we can.’” Aramark then rigged up special tubes and designed a way to get hot meals to the men, keeping them alive and very well fed for 68 days. Except for the last days, when the miners had to fit into the recue tubes that would propel them to safety. Achurra says Aramark worked with NASA to calculate the calories needed to keep them safe but small enough to fit in the extremely tight rescue capsule for the almost half mile ride through rock to actual daylight.

“The Chilean rescue story is what our relationship with Chile is all about,” said CACC Executive Director, Ricardo Maldonado. “We succeed together; from our mutual economic growth, to the mine rescue, all the way back to helping Chile irrigate the desert that gives us some of the best grapes and produce in the world. One achievement after another show we can count on each other and together, the world can count on us to succeed.”

Pennsylvania’s Lieutenant Governor-elect, Mike Stack summed it all up quite neatly:
“This is the number-one international chamber in the world. Our sister nation is the Republic of Chile and people don’t know what a world-class, warm, important relationship we have and how much economic activity takes place between our two nations along the Delaware River. We in this room know it. We need to talk about it more. This team has great success from the Delaware River to Santiago. Look at this awards lunch, it’s always packed, always sold-out and it’s a story we need to continue to tell and we’re gonna’ do it.”