Day two of the Orange County World Trade Week program will feature a keynote from Mark O'Connell, CEO, OCO Global on the topic of Globalization: Pandemic, Populism, & Power.

Mark O'Connell, CEO, OCO Global

O’Connell’s work in international trade and investment spans more than 20 years, initially in the private sector for a Saudi investment fund, before moving on to Enterprise Ireland, the Irish government export agency. He spent six years in the management consulting division at PricewaterhouseCoopers specializing in trade and investment advisory work.

In 2001 O’Connell established OCO Global, a leading boutique consultancy firm which specialises in foreign direct investment (FDI) and international trade. OCO Global employs 100 full-time professional staff and has offices in the leading FDI and trade hubs of New York, London, Paris, Dubai, Frankfurt, Shanghai, and Tokyo, supported by an analytics and back-office research team in Belfast. OCO works with private clients to support international expansion as well as with government agencies and international organizations to advise on both FDI and trade issues, and as a trusted delivery partner.

Key government clients include U.K. Department of International Trade, JETRO, Invest Hong Kong, Bahrain EDB, Italian Trade Commission, and Business Sweden as well as numerous regional agencies.

O’Connell has worked on several private client engagements between the U.S., Middle East, and Europe advising on site selection, incentives, and export/distribution. In the Gulf region OCO Global has worked with development agencies such as Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority, Bahrain Economic Development Board, Ras al Khaimah, Sharjah, and Jordan Investment Board to develop and implement policies of inward investment attraction, helping to build pipeline and facilitate investment projects.