Nevada’s interim trade director lacks experience, knows protocol

Thursday, March 26, 1998 | 9:36 a.m.

Nevada's Commission on Economic Development is used to finding the silver lining amid the gray clouds with its comparatively low budget for international trade.

The state agency trying to diversify Nevada's economy through the development of international trade partners has a budget of just more than $3 million. That not only covers international trade, it's dedicated to promoting tourism and selling Nevada as a motion picture shooting location.

Meanwhile, neighboring states have big budgets dedicated exclusively to international trade -- California spends $11.6 million a year and has 10 full-time staffers. The small budget was one of the reasons Peter Cunningham, Nevada's international trade director, left Nevada this year for a state job in Pennsylvania, where he, too, will have a big staff to manage.

Bob Shriver, executive director of the Commission on Economic Development, says Gayle Anderson is the silver lining on the gray horizon. Anderson, who four months ago began working as a volunteer on international protocol matters for the state office, is now overseeing international trade on an interim basis until a permanent replacement can be found.

Because a national search is being conducted, Shriver said he doesn't expect the slot to be filled for several months. But because Nevada is attempting to build steam on the trade front, Shriver felt it necessary to have someone overseeing that area until Cunningham's successor is found.

"She was named acting director for the department and she'll probably be in that position at least through the next legislative session," Shriver said. "Because of our budget situation, we have to be a little more creative with funds available. We have to work outside the box with what we have."

Working outside of the box in this case represents a philosophical shift. Instead of a traditional trade director, Shriver is looking to Anderson's experience as a protocol officer to develop international rapport. It means greater contact with representatives of heads of state -- the consular corps -- than with foreign business executives.

But Anderson is comfortable talking to business people making an initial contact and knows the best course often is to refer them to the Nevada Development Authority or representatives of the many chambers of commerce in operation in Southern Nevada.

Anderson, who served as chief of protocol in Orange County, Calif., seemed the likely choice in a department where volunteers and college interns have many responsibilities.

She moved to Las Vegas last year, following her husband, Robert, who is in the furniture manufacturing business.

Anderson doesn't have a vast amount of experience in trade issues, but her enthusiasm for fostering international relations has put her on the front line for promoting the diversification most analysts say is essential to a state dominated by one industry.

Today, she and Shriver are in Los Angeles, meeting with the consuls general of 48 nations, making presentations about opportunities to establish businesses in Nevada. For Shriver, it's a golden opportunity to tell Nevada's story to top representatives of governments stationed in the western United States. For Anderson, it's a return to her former home and a chance to renew old acquaintances -- this time representing Nevada instead of Southern California.

"With one phone call, she was able to get me in as a speaker for a gathering of the consuls general," Shriver said. "Gayle has a lot of great contacts."

"I'm anxious to tell some of the people I used to work with about what Nevada has to offer," Anderson said before her planned departure to Los Angeles. "We have so much here. I find it really exciting that you can get on the phone and talk to Somer Hollingsworth (president of the NDA) and get information immediately on how to get set up in this state."

What Anderson lacks in experience in trade issues she makes up for in diplomacy.

"She's very much a people person," said Pearl Warren, consul general of Belize and the dean of the Los Angeles Consular Corps. "One can sense her warmth when you meet her. She always had a taste for bringing things together and she always made everyone in the consular corps feel at ease.

Anderson is already making contacts within the city with various chamber representatives. She worked behind the scenes for an upcoming visit by the Chinese consul general with the Southern Nevada International Business Council next month.

Anderson also is helping get speakers for the first Nevada-Latin American Business Forum on May 8 at the MGM Grand. Sponsored by the commission and the Latin Chamber of Commerce, it will feature appearances by representatives of Argentina, Chile, Peru, Uruguay and Paraguay as well as a keynote speech by Raul Urteaga Trani, economic counselor of the North American Free Trade Agreement office.

She's already begun planning for a major trade gathering in Nevada next year. She hopes to bring several representatives to the state so that local businesses can learn about opportunities to export or market products overseas.

"It's a terrific idea," said Shriver. "And because she already has the contacts, it looks like it's something that can be put together.

"She's a real asset to the office, someone who can help recharge our international trade efforts."