Dr. Howard Whetzel

Chairman & CEO

The Whetzel Group

http://whetzelgroup.com

Dr. Whetzel has been involved in the Field of Intelligence for more than 35 years. His career included 24 years of military service in US Army, in the areas of SIGINT, HUMINT and IMINT.
In addition to his active duty service Dr. Whetzel was a Senior Intelligence Officer for the Defense Intelligence Agency in Command, Control and Communications, and Intelligence (C3I), supporting the National Command Authority as the Science Advisor for Collection Management. All of these lead to his current career in the Defense Contracting Arena. Before he decided to venture out and successfully build multiple Defense related companies, he worked for two of the top 5 Federal Contracting Companies.  He continues his success in different areas of the Intelligence Community.

Alliances are generally developed among people, businesses or countries as a way to share ideas, advance common goals and create a united framework for working together. They can offer great opportunities to do business around the world.
Political and economical alliances are continuously evolving globally and as your business grows, you may aspire to greater things beyond your current boundaries. During the past 50 years, many political and military alliances have struggled to create identities and develop worthwhile missions. In the past 20 years however, there has been a notable trend in the global development of economic alliances. Well known global alliances formed in the past 20 years include the Southern Cone Common Market, also known as MERCOSUR, the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Accord, the Hexagonal in central Europe and the Economic Cooperation Organization nicknamed the “Islamic Common Market”. The 20-member African alliance, known as the Preferential Trade Area, also expanded to include South Africa. LA Times staff writer, Robin Wright noted, “Because the arena of competition has changed, so too has the nature of alliances. While military and territorial blocs are not expected to disappear, experts agree that they will diminish in importance.” In recent years, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) established the Single Market and Economy (CSME) to, among other things, work toward a common currency. Closer to home, businesses in Connecticut inspired by the MetroHartford Alliance are seeking alliances with companies in France, Germany, Israel and the UK. Nationally, the US government formed a trilateral alliance with Japan and India shortly after the death of China’s leader, Kim Jong II to further shared values such as democracy, human rights, rule of law, transparency, open markets, freedom of navigation, and an interest in international development work. Alliances need to be transparent and need to communicate well in order to succeed and to promote innovation. Extensive research is needed to avoid disaster and long term strategic objectives must be in place. Remember, you are who you surround yourself with—you make your bed, you lie in it. If an alliance will help further your business, choose your bedfellows wisely. To turn these trends into an advantage for your organization, consider the following. First, monitor evolving global alliances. Global alliances can open opportunity. Of course, equally, global alliances can accelerate risk. Choose your alliances carefully. Lastly, recognize when to exit an unhealthy alliance.