Pictured above: Glenis Poletti
Glenis Poletti, Executive Director of the Midlands World Trade
Forum (MWTF), has announced that she is to leave the forum this
month (June) after four years in the role.
Glenis took over the running of the forum after a career in
international sales spanning more than 30 years.
During her early career in the private sector she worked in the
traditional metalworking sector of the West Midlands industry with
hand and garden tool manufacturer, Spear & Jackson. Before
taking over at MWTF she had spent 10 years working for the Caparo
group supplying the automotive industry.
Glenis said she had enjoyed running MWTF, which is a business to
business networking organisation supporting the international trade
efforts of West Midlands companies.
She added: "When I started my career in international
sales with Spear & Jackson they had three export managers
looking after different parts of the world - they were great
mentors for me as I developed my skills.
"These days many companies don't see the need for, or don't have
the resources to employ, dedicated export personnel so the
responsibility for developing export markets is often given to
sales people who don't have the experience in that field.
"That's where organisations like MWTF really come to the fore by
enabling companies to tap into the wealth of experience that exists
around the region."
After a career spent travelling around the globe, Glenis will be
pursuing other interests in a different arena, working on a part
time basis. Recruitment is underway to find Glenis'
successor.
With more than 700 members, MWTF is the region's largest
networking organisation in the West Midlands for companies involved
in international trade, facilitating opportunities for businesses
to share experiences and improve knowledge. It is supported by UK
Trade & Investment and the West Midlands Chambers of Commerce
and is partly funded by the European Regional Development Fund.