ABOUT US
William Billeaud is Managing Partner of Lombard Global, Incorporated. He is an accomplished senior executive, real estate consultant and investor who possesses over 23 years of experience helping U.S. and international firms grow and expand their businesses globally, regionally and locally. Bill, with help from his partners and clients, has developed Lombard Global into a high value added provider of world class market research, strategy and execution. His  diverse entrepreneurial and senior management background in sales and marketing, finance and operations is highly prized equally by his long-term clients and one transaction clients. Bill focused his career in the consulting/technology and finance/real estate industries and has further broadened his business knowledge through consulting and entrepreneurial engagements in technology, retail, consumer goods, professional services, healthcare, manufacturing and many others. This combination of diversity and discipline has provided him with a growing reputation as a creative and strategic dealmaker and leader who creates immediate impact and results.
While Bill's client list include multinationals such as Wal-Mart, Maytag, Ericsson and Anderson Merchandisers, he has a wealth of experience helping small to medium sized businesses, including his own, grow rapidly while building efficiency. For example, he developed and grew sales distribution channels and consulting delivery operations in Latin America, the Middle East and Europe for Hanson PLC, a FTSE 100 firm (London stock exchange) while he directed their joint venture with the principals of Pepsi De Mexico and Industrias Bochoco, Mexico's largest poultry concern. With The Highland Group, an international management consultancy, he developed and grew their international practice, which continues to thrive today. Bill managed a capital equipment manufacturer and two financial companies for a private equity firm, founded and grew two successful high tech (wireless and internet) and international business consultancies and served in regional senior sales management positions for Sun Microsystems and Oracle systems integrators and business consultants. One of these firms, Technologent, is a CRN Fast-Growth 100 firm. Bill has conducted business throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia and is currently working on projects in China, Italy, Latin America and nationally/regionally. Of value to his inbound (non-USA clients), he has traveled to nearly all of the 50 states in the USA. Bill grew up near St. Louis, has lived in Texas for 15 years and also lived for shorter time periods in Denver, New Orleans and Philadelphia. He speaks Spanish fluently and studies several others, including Italian, French and German. Bill speaks and is published consistently on topics related to international business and real estate. He was Chairman of the DFW Third Annual International Business Summit, holds the TRC or Transnational Referral Certification in real estate, serves as an original member of the International Commercial Real Estate Virtual E-Group for the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and serves on the China Task Force for the Dallas Chamber of Commerce.
He has a Global MBA from The Boeing Institute of International Business at the John Cook School of Business-SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY and a Bachelors in Political Science with emphasis on international political economy and history from THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN. Bill resides in Plano, TX USA (near Dallas) with his family. He can be reached at .
Saint Louis University EMIB Alumni newsletter June 2007
Team
Julie Wenker is our operations manager and is a highly successful real estate veteran. She is involved with all aspects of the enterprise, including the management of the majority of our real estate investments. Besides her duties with Lombard Global, Julie is also a successful mom. She spends the rest of her available time explaining her last name to our non-North American English-speaking friends. Julie is an overly proud graduate of The University of Wisconsin.
Aaron Mabry is an intern for Lombard Global. She helps with global research, proposals, international marketing and sales. She is a senior at Saint Louis University with a dual major in International Business and Spanish. In addition to her commitments at Lombard Global, she has several other part time jobs and still maintains a high GPA. Aaron is a hard worker, a perfect fit for Lombard Global and there is no doubt that she will have a tremendous career in international business.
Strategic Partners and Advisors
Ralph Capio
Colonel Ralph J. Capio, USAF (Ret.), is an attorney specializing in contract law and international law. He also has teaching experience that spans more than 30 years. Presently, he is the President of International and Business Consultants, Las Vegas, NV.
Col. Capio, a former US Air Force judge advocate, held numerous responsible positions at home and abroad. He was the legal advisor at the United States Transportation Command, Scott Air Force Base; Director of the Contract, International and Aviation Law Division at Headquarters, Air Mobility Command, Scott Air Force Base; and, Chief Counsel and Staff Judge Advocate at the headquarters for the United States Training Mission to The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh. He was also a previous Staff Judge Advocate at Sembach Air Base, Germany, Staff Judge Advocate at Misawa Air Base, Japan, and directed the US Sending State Office at the US Embassy, Rome, Italy. He also had extensive experience in the private practice of law. He was Of Counsel at Armstrong Teasdale, LLP, St. Louis, Missouri, one of the oldest and largest law firms in the Midwest, where he specialized in Government Contract Law. He recently completed an extended assignment in Afghanistan for the World Bank.
Col. Capio has been a member of the adjunct faculty at Saint Louis University, where he taught The Legal Environment of Business and International Negotiations. He has also held teaching positions at the University of Maryland's European and Asian Divisions, McKendree College, Boston University, the University of Tampa, and Webster University, where he taught various legal and contracting related courses. Col. Capio is the author of numerous published articles, including "The Nature of Contracting in a Global Environment," presented at the Annual Meeting of the International Academy of Business Disciplines.
Col. Capio has a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration (BA) from Rutgers University, a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from the University of New York at Albany, a Juris Doctor (JD) from Union University, Albany Law School, a Master of Laws (LLM) from George Washington University, and a Master of International Business (EMIB) from Saint Louis University. He holds a Professional Designation in Contract Management (PDCM) from the Air Force Institute of Technology, and a Masters Certificate in Commercial Contract Management from George Washington University. He is admitted to practice law before the United States Supreme Court, the New York Court of Appeals, the United States District Court (NDNY), the United States Court of Federal Claims, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.
Nitish Singh
Nitish Singh is a leading and globally renowned expert in the emerging field of website globalization. He is also one of the pioneers in the development of educational programs in localization/international e-business and has raised significant financial contributions to support such initiatives. Dr. Singh is Assistant Professor of International Business at the Boeing Institute of International Business at Saint Louis University. Prior to it he was a Professor at California State University Chico and headed the localization certification program there. His educational efforts in the field of localization have been supported by US Department of Education, CSU, Google, HP, IBM, Microsoft and other companies. Dr. Singh is also the co-author of the critically acclaimed book: "The Culturally Customized Web Site: CustomizingWebsites for the Global Marketplace," which is highly recommended by ChoiceReviews Online. He holds a Ph.D. in Marketing and International Business from Saint Louis University, an MBA from Pune University-India and an MA in Marketing from University of Glamorgan UK.
Dr. Singh also has been active in training and consulting in the field of localization for websites, international e-business strategy, doing business in China and India, and marketing to Hispanics online. He has provided such training and consulting now to more than 200 individuals and corporations across the globe. Some of the organization he has provided training and consulting for include HP, IBM, Yahoo, Globalization Partners, Canon, Lionbridge, and FedEx. He is currently working on several new books in the area of localization and is continuing to develop new training programs in the field of localization.
Dr. Singh is the recipient of research excellence awards from CSU and Saint Louis University and was named one of the top 10 reviewers for International Marketing Review. He has published a series of journal articles exploring the issue of website localization, and is continuously expanding on this research stream to website adaptation issues across Europe, Asia and Latin America. His research has appeared in top academic journals such as the Journal of International Business Studies (JIBS), Journal of Business Research (JBR), Psychology & Marketing, International Marketing Review, Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, Thunderbird International Business Review, Journal of Advertising Research, Multinational Business Review, Journal of Consumer Behavior and others. He has also presented his research and spoken at more than 50 academic and business conferences.
Marcus Miller
Marcus is Chairman of the AdWise Group of companies, which includes FoodWise Group, VideoWise Group and SearchWise Group. Marcus is an expert in non-traditional media with special emphasis in Search Engine Marketing (SEM). Whether it’s Search Engine Optimization (SEO), pay per click (he is a Google-certified professional) or organic search marketing, Marcus is a leader in developing and executing strategies that get his clients high placement in the various search engines. Marcus began his marketing career in pharmaceuticals, working for such companies as Eli Lilly and Dura Pharmaceuticals. He was Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the publicly-traded International Isotopes. Over the years, Marcus has served the needs of a variety of retail/consumer and business-to-business clients, including Mr. Jim’s Pizza, Ace Cash Express, Motel 6, Trinity Rail, JCPenney, Compound Stock Earnings and Mapsco. Marcus received a bachelors degree from the University of North Texas and an MBA from San DiegoStateUniversity.
Hongxin John Zhao
Dr. Zhao is the David Orthwein Professor of International Business at Boeing Institute of International Business, John Cook School of Business at Saint Louis University. He is also Editor of the Multinational Business Review and recognized globally as a one of the world's premier China business experts. Prior to Saint Louis University, he was Assistant Professor at The National University of Singapore. Dr. Zhao, having grown up in Beijing, is well-connected at the national government level. He held various positions with the Dept. of International Cooperation, Ministry of Science and Technology and at the Dept. of International Business & Technology Exchange, Ministry of Commerce (then Ministry of Foreign Trade) in Beijing.
Dr. Zhao's long-term consulting clients include TCL Corporation in China, Emerson Electric and Boeing. Some of his notable articles are the following: Magnusson, P. and Zhao, H. (forthcoming). A branding strategy for emerging market firms entering developed markets, Journal of International Consumer Marketing; Zhao, Hongxin and Vincent Hsu. (forthcoming issue 6, 2007). Social ties and foreign market entry: An empirical inquiry. Management International Review; Zhao, Hongxin, Taewon Suh and Seung Kim. (2006). On the determinants of global internet diffusion: Across-country analysis. Journal of Global Information Management; Sing Natish and Hongxin Zhao (2004) Analysing the Cultural Content of Websites: A Cross National Comparison of China, India, Japan, and US, International Marketing Review. Research in Progress includes Zhao, H. and Kim, S. A note on the effects of social capital and quality of regulatory environment on FDI: A cross-country study (under review). Management International Review. Books & book chapters include: Sing, N., Hongxin Zhao, and Hu, Sherry (2005). Cultural adaptation on the web: A study of American companies domestic and Chinese web sites, in Gordon Hunter and Felix Tan (eds.)
Dr. Zhao John is ranked by the Asia Pacific Journal of Management as one of the world's most productive researchers on China business and management (13th). As a co-principal investigator, he was awarded a Strategic Research Grant of HK$153,000 by the City University of Hong Kong 2006. Finally, Dr. Zhao is identified by the research project of Michigan State University as one of the 89 most prolific researchers in international business (the entire world).
Gene Dillard
Gene is a specialist in strategic planning and marketing communications. A veteran of major national and regional advertising agencies, he has provided account planning and creative direction for numerous international, national, regional and local marketers. His insights into the value of brand fidelity combined with strong sales motivation are key to his successes on behalf of advertisers and marketers. He studied art at BaylorUniversity and completed a degree in advertising art at the University of Texas at Austin. He then studied at California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles and completed an advanced degree at Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles. He has been an instructor at Southern Methodist University and The University of North Texas. Major ad agencies served include McCann-Erickson, Tracy-Locke, Bozell Jacobs (Now TM), Price Communications and BRSG Advertising. He has been a principal in his own successful marketing communications firms including Dillard-Lavine, Oracle Group, Food For Thought and FoodWise Group. Notable accounts served include Exxon, American Airlines, Borden, Phillips Petroleum, Sara Lee, Texas Instruments, Frito Lay, Dr. Pepper, Kraft Foods, Lennox, Halilburton, and many others. His campaigns have been published and broadcast in media throughout the U.S.
Nicola Innocentin
Nick is one of the most talented and prolific marketing and brand-building practitioners in Italy. His reputation throughout the world continues to grow. A former professional soccer (global football) player in Italy, Germany Scotland and the USA, Nick speaks five languages, including Italian, English, Spanish, German and French. Nick's current efforts are focused on market development of Germany and Austria for the Italian uniform manufacturer Macron SRL. His other clients include: PIZ BUIN, Adidas Italia, Ducati, Giorgio Armani, Roberto Cavalli, L'Oreal, Datch, Nestle Italia, Coca Cola Italia, Slamball, Dondisalotti/Sofa and Demax SRL. Nick's education includes studies in tourism management at the University of Economy Bologna and the Masters program in marketing and management at Boston College. Nick offices and resides in Bologna and Rimini, Italy and in San Marino.
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicola_Innocentin#Usa
Paula Asinof
Paula is a broadly experienced career management executive who provides expert career coaching, transition services and talent management consulting. Paula has been a catalyst for positively accelerating or redirecting numerous careers as she works with individuals and companies to help successful executives who are moving up or moving on to their next career opportunities.She has also led innovative initiatives,including several with international impact, to build top performing organizations with staying power.
Paula is the founder of career coaching and consulting firm, Yellow Brick Path. Her background includes serving as a Director of Career Services for Sanford-Brown Institute, ten years of executive search experience, and corporate leadership roles with GTE (now Verizon), Rand McNally, Brunswick, and the Midwest Stock Exchange. She began her career with Laventhol & Horwath CPAs. Paula has authored articles in the business and local press on interviewing women and on ever evolving job markets. She is a Certified NLP Practitioner and Certified NLP Coach. She is a member of the International Coach Federation (ICF) and a charter member of the International Association of Career Coaches (IACC). Paula holds a BA from Washington University St. Louis, an MA from Columbia University, and an MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
Fu Yixiang
Mr. Fu, best known to all as Gianni, was born in China and immigrated to Italy with his family very early on in his life. He picked up the Italian language and an international way of conducting business. As a seventh generation entrepreneur, Mr. Fu conducts business at some of the highest levels of Chinese government and business. His charisma and salesmanship should only be experienced . Gianni is an unbelievable asset to Lombard Global, our clients and his firm, www.passiongroup.eu and clients.
Mr. Fu has started and runs several businesses globally in furniture, fashion, real estate and selected import/export. He resides in Parma, Italy with his family when he is not in China or elsewhere in the world.
Dr. Yan Zhongming
Dr. Yan Zhongming is one of China's top 10 real estate and strategic planning consultants. The three well-known cornerstones of his theory are entitled The Real Problem Analysis, The Globalization and Adoption of Ideas and the Project Profit Pattern Study. As an expert on Macao urban development research, Dr. Yan wrote a book named as "A City Brought by Monsoon Winds: Early Macao City History Research ". Besides this, another monograph book "Real Estate Concept And Ideas Adoption" which presents his main theory explore the development and progress of Chinese real estate.
Dr. Zhongming and his firm, Yansplan work for some of the most prolific and important developers in China. Their work includes residential and mixed-use development throughout China, particularly in Guangdong Province and Macao. These areas, concentrated in the Pearl River region of China are the fastest developing and richest in terms of trade, GDP per capita and real estate in the world's fastest-growing and fourth largest economy.
Why the name Lombard?
Prosperous as a result of trade with the far east, the Lombards of Italy set their sites on intra-European trade. As such, they became the drivers of economic growth for continental Europe. After the introduction in northern Italy of double-entry bookkeeping, modern banks and innovative financial institutions developed in the few other major commercial centers of Europe such as Barcelona and London. In fact, world-famous Lombard Street, the heart of the "City" or financial district in London, got its name from the large number of Italian bankers who kept office there.
Today, Lombardy is one of the engines of the global economy with a GDP at €400 billion euro. The region is one of the three richest regions in Europe, with a per capita gross domestic product that is 30 percent higher than the rest of Italy. In fact the latest Eurostat figures shows that Lombardy in 2003 had the highest GDP for a region in the whole of the EU.
global growth |
