Ivan Barrios, President & CEO, World Trade Center Miami
The World Trade Center Miami has a very clear goal and that is to help local businesses to grow, President and CEO Ivan Barrios said. “One of our key priorities is creating those business opportunities for small and medium-sized companies.” In an interview with Invest:, Barrios also discussed the organization’s milestones from the past year and the challenges facing the Miami business community.
What is the World Trade Center Miami’s purpose?
The World Trade Center Miami facilitates international business connections for the companies in our Miami community. We do that in several ways, but one of the best ways is through our trade shows and events. Our largest event is called the American Food and Beverage Show. Last year, we had over 750 exhibitors, and over 10,000 people attended this show. This year, we moved into three halls at the Miami Beach Convention Center. We’re excited to announce our new partnership with Informa Markets for their event, Food Hospitality LATAM. Together, we’re hosting a major food and beverage showcase, taking over the entire Miami Beach Convention Center for what promises to be an incredible event.
What were the organization’s major milestones during the last year?
Last year, we had 20 country pavilions at the Americas Food & Beverage Show & Conference, with the United States being the largest country pavilion with over 180 companies. Then we had Spain, which is our second largest, and so forth. We had new pavilions from Morocco, Trinidad and Tobago, Germany, the Netherlands and other countries. This year, we introduced a new Center-Stage area where companies could showcase and demonstrate their products. Additionally, we launched a new dynamic feature last year by incorporating B2B meetings into the event. We’ve been collaborating closely with our exhibitors to connect them with the right buyers and purchasers, ensuring meaningful and productive interactions during the show.
We also have another show called Air Cargo Americas, which has been around since 1991. The host of that show is Miami International Airport, along with other sponsors. Last year, we sold the show to Messe M¼nchen which organizes Transport Logistic, the largest transportation and logistics in the world held in Munich, Germany.
The World Trade Center Miami also started a membership program, and we’re growing our membership base through things like networking events for our members. The mission of the World Trade Center Miami is to facilitate international business connections for Miami companies. The essence of our organization is to help small and medium-sized companies find their global business partners.
What are the most important challenges for the Miami business community?
The No. 1 challenge is climate resilience. Many younger people care deeply about the climate, and that’s become really important right now in Miami. It’s so important that the Greater Miami Chamber has a committee on resilience. I’m glad they’ve taken the lead on that. The rising sea levels, the extreme weather, the flooding that goes on — it puts our trade infrastructure at risk, including the Port of Miami.
The other challenge is global trade disruptions. If Brazil has a bad year, Florida and Miami most likely are going to have a bad year as well. There are also geopolitical tensions and shifting trade policies. Miami, however, has always been able to weather those global trade disruptions because of our geographic location, our trade infrastructure, and the cultural dynamic we have in our city. Everybody adapts to the trade reality.
To combat those challenges, we’re strengthening our trade networks. My team will be traveling, building relationships, promoting what we’re doing at the World Trade Center, and promoting our members. Last year, we traveled over 275,000 miles to build new programs. We’re going to be doing a new event called Aerospace Defense Americas Show, which is going to be focused on bringing the aerospace industry not only to Miami but to Cape Canaveral. We’re going to connect Miami’s aviation sector with Cape Canaveral and the space sector.
What are the key priorities for the World Trade Center Miami over the next few years?
One of our key priorities is creating business opportunities for small and medium-sized companies. The American Food and Beverage Show is expanding. The Air Cargo Americas, alongside Transport Logistic, will provide a lot of opportunities for the trade and logistics industry. We’re also looking forward to the Aerospace Defense Americas Show. It’s going to be held sometime in May 2025 in Miami and in Cape Canaveral. That’s going to bring together space, defense, and security. We will talk about challenges and opportunities in the industry. Then we’ll go to Cape Canaveral and do the same thing over there for the space industry.
That’s what we’re doing. We’re increasing our membership base. We are providing more networking opportunities, with educational and informative workshops and seminars along the way.
