CFAA Chinese New Year Reception – A Good Time was Had by All
On February 23, 2010, the Chinese Finance Association of America (CFAA) met at the Union League Club of Chicago for its first annual Chinese New Year event. The Deputy Consulate General Mr. Chu Maoming and the keynote speaker Mr. Russell Wasendorf, Chairman and CEO of PFGBEST, were in attendance. Overall, more than 60 members and guests gathered at the Union League Club to enjoy an extended registration and social period before the formal portion of the evening began.
Vivian Lin, President of CFAA, welcomed the attendees and provided an overview of the CFAA organization’s growth since inception and future plans. Following her remarks, Mr. Chu Mao Ming shared his thoughts on the CFAA organization and wished everyone a happy Chinese New Year. Mr. Chu then talked about the important economic relationship between China and the United States in terms of mutual trade and business opportunities.
Following the Deputy General Counsel’s remarks, Vivian Lin formally introduced Mr. Russell Wasendorf, the featured speaker for the event. Mr. Wasendorf is a very successful entrepreneur who has built his company into one of the largest U.S. non-clearing futures and forex brokerage firms over the past 35 years. He spoke about his background and experiences prior to founding PFGBEST.
The next portion of Mr. Wasendorf’s remarks focused on his opinions of the primary challenges facing the United States in the months and years ahead, primarily the current political environment and decision makers’ motivations for their decisions. He gave a brief summary of the political policies of both political parties in the years leading up to the current recession and drew conclusions that those behaviors caused the current economic environment. He then compared and contrasted the response to the global recession by China and the United States. Mr. Wasendorf completed his remarks and answered questions posed by the attendees for an additional 20 minutes.
The attendees found Mr. Wasendorf to be an entertaining, knowledgeable, and well-informed speaker.
Reporters from World Journal and SingTao Daily as well as leaders from other professional organizations including Chicago Taiwanese American Professionals and Greater China Club at the University of Chicago also attended the reception.
The event received wide media coverage. Reports include but not limited to: