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CIBER Advisory Board Member Leads Export Development in Wisconsin
Mary Regel never planned a career in international business, but as director of the Wisconsin Department of Commerce Bureau of Export Development, this CIBER Advisory Board member helps the state’s small and medium-sized companies export their products around the world. In 2008, Wisconsin businesses exported almost $21 billion worth of goods to more than 200 countries.
When Regel joined Commerce in 1987, “it was fairly new for the state to be dabbling in international work,” she said. Former Governor Tommy Thompson, who took office that same year, greatly expanded the number of trade missions led by his office, a tradition Governor Jim Doyle continues today. Commerce organizes additional industry-specific trips to various markets.
Trade missions are only one of a broad range of services for Wisconsin exporters that Regel oversees. Her team, which includes export development managers in offices across the state, also provides one-on-one consulting for companies interested in starting to export or in expanding their export sales, runs a grant program for small and medium-sized companies working to enter new markets, and operates several overseas offices. The bureau’s newest program, Global Partnership Services (GPS), maximizes the reach of these services, and Regel welcomes the opportunity to do even more of what she loves: “getting out and meeting with companies around the state.” Through GPS, bureau staff train local groups such as economic development organizations, universities, technical colleges, and chambers of commerce to work with businesses in their communities; and provides other services, including customized analyses of export opportunities, and speakers for business events.
Another enjoyable part of Regel’s job is the chance to visit places she wouldn’t have otherwise, and to meet people from across the globe, including world leaders. Her travels have taken her to numerous countries, including Russia, India, and several African nations. She said she still gets excited when she thinks, “Wow, I’ve met every president of Mexico since I’ve had my job.”
Despite the foreign travel, Regel speaks no foreign language aside from a smattering of Spanish. Since most business is conducted in English, it typically is not a problem, she said, “but staff with language skills have an advantage,” and she encourages students interested in a career in international business to learn at least one additional language. Most important is the knowledge of another culture that comes with such training, she said, as it helps cultivate a cultural sensibility that is valuable no matter where one does business.
Another piece of advice Regel offered is to become familiar with the culture of your destination. “The challenge is to be able to respond to people in a manner where you can continue your relationship with them,” she said. In some cultures, women may need to be careful that their friendliness is not misinterpreted. However, Regel said women—especially those from the United States—are accepted within the business cultures of most countries. A good way for all students to gain international experience, she said, is to combine the study of international relations and business with an internship for an organization involved in the global marketplace.
For Regel, an internship with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture served as her entry into state government. She joined the department full time as an economist after graduating from UW-Madison with a degree in agricultural economics and business, and later headed its marketing division. In 1987 Regel moved to the Department of Development, which is now called Commerce, to serve as an international specialist working with companies looking to export to Canada and Mexico and recruiting European dairy companies to Wisconsin. She has served as the director of international development since 1992.