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Noel Nevshehir is the director of Automation Alley’s International Business Services. His
responsibilities include enhancing the global competitiveness of Michigan companies
doing business overseas. This consists of developing international trade assistance
programs for new-to-export companies, organizing international business conferences
on the opportunities and challenges of globalization, and coordinating trade missions to
Brazil, China, EU, India, Russia, and Vietnam.
Under Nevshehir’s leadership, Automation Alley recently received the President’s E
Award from President George W. Bush and the U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos
Gutierrez. This is the highest and most prestigious trade award granted to organizations
in recognition of their accomplishments in promoting international trade and economic
development. The award was directly attributed to the success Automation Alley trade
missions overseas that resulted in the creation of nearly 200 local jobs while generating
$131 million in U.S. exports, new business development, and investment for company
participants and the region as a whole.
Nevshehir’s responsibilities also includes marketing and promoting Michigan as a
diverse high-tech powerhouse and global center for innovation to investors worldwide
who are interested in establishing a presence in Michigan. In addition, he is involved in
initiatives designed to transform and diversify the state’s economy into the emerging
industries of advanced manufacturing, biotechnology/life sciences, nanotechnology, and
renewable energy where global demand in these industry sectors are especially strong.
This includes assisting automotive suppliers diversify into the aerospace, defense, and
medical industries.
Prior to joining Automation Alley, Nevshehir was program manager for Emerging
Technologies and manager of Corporate Relations for the Society of Manufacturing
Engineers (SME). He led and supported major manufacturing trade shows, conferences,
and expositions around the world. He also headed new product development initiatives
and created programs focused on alternative energy systems, biotechnology/life
sciences and nanotechnology. Nevshehir also formed strategic alliances and
collaborative partnerships with business organizations that broadened the SME’s
product line by 12 percent while increasing net revenues by $1.2 million within 13
months.
Nevshehir’s career has also focused on assisting companies create results-orientated
business plans and marketing strategies aimed at increasing their sales and profits while
accelerating the speed to market of innovative technologies, products and services. His
almost 20 years of experience in international business and economic development
includes positions at the Detroit Regional Chamber where he served as manager of the
World Trade Club and manager of International Trade and Economic Development.
While there, he planned and organized trade missions to Asia, Europe, and Middle East.
In addition, he drafted international business plans and developed market-entry
strategies for new-to-export companies that resulted in their first sales overseas. He was
then recruited by Consulate General of Mexico in Detroit where he created the U.S.-
Mexico Chamber of Commerce Great Lakes Chapter. He established the chapter as the
Midwest's leading trade and economic development organization for U.S. companies
doing business in Mexico. He also developed new products and services that resulted in
a 315 percent increase in membership, 260 percent growth in revenues, and 198
percent in profits within 18 months. Furthermore, he organized and lead trade missions
to Mexico that resulted in more than $250 million in trade and investment between
Michigan and Mexico. Nevshehir also managed a task force that developed public
policies aimed at improving the flow of three-way trade and investment between the
NAFTA countries. Additionally, he arranged the visit of the Honorable Vicente Fox,
president of Mexico, to Michigan.
Other work experience includes serving as the director of Logistics for F.W. Myer’s &
Company, and international customhouse brokerage firm. He was also project director
and research analyst at the Royale Institute of International Trade and Commerce in
London where he performed cost-benefit analyses for economic development projects
financed by the World Bank and conducted basic research for UN-sponsored programs
designed to lift developing nations out of poverty.
Nevshehir graduated with distinction from the University of Michigan with a bachelor
degree in economics and Russian studies. He also received his master’s degree with
honors from the London School of Economics and Political Science with a concentration
in international relations and economics. Nevshehir’s cross-cultural experience includes
having worked, studied, lived, and/or traveled to 70 countries. Language skills include
Russian and working knowledge of Spanish. | 