According to the 2017 Global Entrepreneurship and Development Index, the United States ranks first out of 138 countries for the best environment for cultivating entrepreneurship.

This is just one of the many facts and figures that highlights the US as the place to be if you’re an entrepreneur. But, what exactly makes it such a great place for businesses? Is it the culture? Is it the American Dream? Is it the robust and competitive American markets?

Whatever it is, how can other countries replicate our entrepreneurial ecosystem?

Join WorldChicago on Thursday, May 13, 2021 at Noon (CST) as we welcome WorldChicago’s Program Manager, Mary Sancibrian, the facilitator of the prestigious Young Transatlantic Innovation Leaders Initiative, the U.S. Department of State’s flagship program for emerging entrepreneurs from Europe, Bruce Leech, Director of the Coleman Entrepreneurship Center, Department of Management & Entrepreneurship at DePaul University, and an international entrepreneur for a discussion on entrepreneurship and why the barrier to entry is different globally.

Register HERE.

PANELISTS

Bruce Leech, Director of the Coleman Entrepreneurship Center, Department of Management & Entrepreneurship at DePaul University

Bruce Leech leads the Coleman Entrepreneurship at DePaul, which helps students and alumni develop their entrepreneurial skills, launch and grow ventures, and network with Chicago’s vibrant entrepreneur community. The center’s robust programming encompasses workshops, speakers and entrepreneurship competitions, as well as DePaul’s memberships in local business incubators, including 1871, Chicago’s premier business and technology start-up hub. As a faculty member, he teaches courses in strategic entrepreneurship and business plan development.

An experienced entrepreneur, Leech is the founder of CrossCom National, an information technology data/voice company, and co-founder of Evolve USA, a membership organization for business owners. He has been inducted into the Chicago Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame. Leech earned an MBA in finance from DePaul and a bachelor’s degree in finance from Michigan State University. He completed the Owner/President Management Program at Harvard Business School.

Mary Sancibrian Mary is a Program Manager at WorldChicago, primarily working on the Young Transatlantic Innovation Leaders Initiative (YTILI) Fellowship Program.

Mary received her B.A. in Global Studies and Communication Studies from UNC-Chapel Hill and her M.Ed. in Education Policy with a focus in Global Studies from the University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign. She worked in Ireland as an au pair and then became an elementary school teacher once she returned to North Carolina. After relocating to Chicago, Mary worked as a Program Assistant at WorldChicago and then became a Customized Study Abroad Program Coordinator at IES Abroad. She is excited to return to WorldChicago as a Program Manager. In her free time, Mary enjoys traveling, cooking, watching college sports – especially when she gets to cheer on her Tar Heels!

When:Thursday, May 13, 2021 at Noon (CST) -> Register HERE!

WorldChicago
Founded as the Hospitality Center of Greater Chicago in 1952, and founded as a 501 C3 in 1956, the International Visitors Center of Chicago, we became WorldChicago in 2010. WorldChicago visitors explore their fields of interest through meetings with our extensive network of Chicago-area citizen diplomats, who are leading voices in the public, private, nonprofit, and tech sectors. Recent exchanges have centered on topics such as green technology and climate change, public health, government accountability, combating domestic violence, and preservation of cultural heritage.