Thomas Young, President and CEO, World Trade Center Greater Philadelphia

In an interview with Invest:, Thomas Young, president and CEO of World Trade Center Greater Philadelphia, discussed the region’s global visibility, export growth, international partnerships, and support for companies entering overseas markets. “The business community should experience one connected region rather than separate organizations,” Young said.

What did the past year demonstrate about Greater Philadelphia’s global business environment?

The past 12 months were extraordinary for the World Trade Center Greater Philadelphia and the region. One of our biggest highlights was hosting the World Trade Centers Association Global Business Forum. It brought together more than 500 participants from over 50 countries and territories and placed the Greater Philadelphia business community in front of an international audience. Participants held more than 500 business-to-business matchmaking meetings, and our focus was turning those relationships into customers, partnerships, and investment opportunities for the region.

The forum reinforced why our work matters. Businesses need trusted relationships and practical guidance when making international decisions. Philadelphia also hosted the FIFA World Cup and the MLB All-Star Game, and the city was in the spotlight for America’s 250th anniversary on July 4. It was a demanding year, and I was grateful to be part of moving the region forward.

How did the Global Business Forum shape your priorities?

If international participants did not know Philadelphia before, they now know what the region has to offer. One of my priorities was also ensuring that local businesses looking outward understood that international growth is accessible. We focused on helping more companies export, using a network of more than 300 World Trade Centers in over 90 countries to support business attraction, and strengthening coordination among regional partners.

We need to make international growth easier for regional companies. Success is measured by what companies achieve: new sales, stronger partnerships, and opportunities to expand at home. Regional partners also need to remain coordinated. The business community should experience one connected region rather than separate organizations, especially when a company is deciding where to invest, whom to meet, or how to reach an international customer.

How are you building on the connections made during the Global Business Forum?

We are helping companies continue the conversations that began at the forum by connecting them with businesses, distributors, and investors on the ground in particular markets. Moving those conversations into the next phase of a relationship is important, and we help that happen.

What are companies asking for as trade uncertainty increases?

Many companies are asking for diversification. Operating in multiple markets can create new revenue opportunities and reduce dependence on a single source of demand, but they must be the right markets. We start by examining where demand exists for a particular product or service, whether the economics work, and whether a market can benefit the specific company. Diversification is not simply entering more places; it is identifying the locations that fit the business.

What does recent export growth reveal about international opportunities?

As part of Pennsylvania’s Regional Export Network (REN), we help companies across Greater Philadelphia access the expertise and resources they need to expand internationally. In fiscal year 2026, companies working with us reported $137.4 million in increased export sales, compared with $121 million in fiscal year 2025. That growth shows the value of helping companies identify and act on international opportunities.

 Through the REN and our connection to the World Trade Centers Association network, we can reach more than 90 countries and help identify where a product belongs or where a service is needed. We connect companies with people in those markets and help those relationships mature.

 Greater Philadelphia has opportunities across several industries, and each requires a focused approach. In life sciences, that can include research collaboration, licensing, medical technology and specialized services. In advanced manufacturing, it can mean connecting a supplier with an international customer. Technology and professional services companies can also reach overseas clients through their expertise.

 Our role is to understand where Greater Philadelphia has capabilities that match a specific international need, identify the right market and connections, and help companies act on that opportunity.

What is the biggest barrier for smaller companies entering international markets?

For a small business, the biggest barrier is often knowing where to begin. An owner may have a competitive product but limited time or staff to research another country, identify a distributor, or understand market requirements. We make the process more manageable through individual trade consultations, market research, international business education, and connections to buyers and partners.

We also connect companies with specialized resources for international finance, logistics, and compliance. We are a regional partner of the Export-Import Bank of the United States. My goal is for more companies, including those that have never considered exporting, to see international growth as something they can prepare for and pursue.

What does it mean to serve as a bridge between opportunity and action?

The current trade environment has shown that trusted relationships are essential. Our network of more than 300 World Trade Centers in over 90 countries gives companies access to people who understand conditions on the ground. Just as we understand Greater Philadelphia’s business climate, our partners understand Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, Cameroon, Southeast Asia, and other markets.

World Trade Center Greater Philadelphia has helped companies grow internationally for 24 years. During the last three years, our work has generated almost half a billion dollars in economic impact through that trusted network. Companies are not relying on a new organization or an unfamiliar path into global markets. They are working with proven partners with experience in those markets.

What resources will businesses need over the next three to five years?

Companies want the highest level of information about where their products and services should go. I want international engagement to become a more consistent part of how Philadelphia businesses grow. That means more small businesses entering their first overseas market and more established exporters expanding their customer bases. Business owners should see global growth as a practical option and know where to start. They should also know which market fits their product or service before committing time and resources to expansion.

 That is where the power of the World Trade Center network becomes important. Our partnership with World Trade Center Denver is one example. We’ve partnered to make Denver’s business education and market expansion modules available to companies in Greater Philadelphia through WTCGP. If a company is interested in those resources, its WTCGP membership gives it access to discounted on-demand training, as well as live training as they become available. It’s another way we can bring expertise from across the network directly to businesses here.

 We’re also building more tools to make that support accessible. Our on-demand resource library gives companies a place to start when they’re exploring growth opportunities, while resources from other World Trade Centers can help businesses navigate specific challenges. For example, our partners at World Trade Center Utah have developed a tariff tracker that gives companies a useful way to stay informed as the trade policy landscape continues to shift.

 From soup to nuts, our goal is to work with companies throughout the growth process: helping them identify an opportunity, understand the market, prepare to enter it, make the right connections, and ultimately scale. The network gives us the ability to bring resources, expertise, and relationships to the table that we could never build alone.

 For our own growth, we need companies and public-sector leaders across Greater Philadelphia and Pennsylvania to understand the power of the network, the value of having a World Trade Center, Philadelphia’s position as a global city, and its strategic location. Most importantly, we need companies to know that they can come to us at any stage of their growth and that we can help connect them to the right information, people, and opportunities to move forward.

How can regional collaboration attract investment and expand international business?

Regional collaboration will be critical to international partnerships and economic development. Relationships are fundamental to international business. A trusted introduction can help a company understand a market, find the right people, and move a conversation forward.

Our role is to make sure Greater Philadelphia is connected to the broader resources available across Pennsylvania and the global network. Through BusinessPA’s Regional Export Network, WTCGP serves as the regional partner helping companies access export counseling, market research, market-entry strategy, technical support, and connections to international opportunities.

That same connectivity works in both directions. BusinessPA’s Strategic Partnerships Program, for example, creates opportunities for international companies to partner with Pennsylvania businesses through joint ventures, licensing, contract manufacturing, strategic alliances, and other arrangements. As a regional partner, WTCGP can help identify Pennsylvania companies that may be a fit and facilitate those connections.

We should be thinking about that same model more broadly. When an international delegation comes to Philadelphia, we should know which industries it represents, which local companies should participate, and what both sides want to accomplish. The Port of Philadelphia, the Chamber of Commerce, the Consular Corps Association of Philadelphia, country-specific chambers, and other economic development organizations should all be part of that ecosystem. Visitors should see that our public- and private-sector organizations work together, while local companies expanding outward should encounter a coordinated system rather than competing organizations.

The opportunity is to leverage those connections to strengthen both inbound investment and outbound growth. An international company looking for a Pennsylvania partner should be able to find one. A Greater Philadelphia company looking for an international customer, supplier, investor or strategic partner should know where to turn. Our interconnectivity across the World Trade Center network, BusinessPA, the Port, and the region’s broader business ecosystem gives us the ability to make those connections more intentionally.

International economic development must ultimately connect to opportunities in local communities. When a business wins an overseas customer, it can expand production, increase hiring, and purchase more from regional suppliers. When an international company chooses Pennsylvania for an investment or partnership, it can bring capital, expertise, and new market opportunities into the region. Philadelphia needs to tell those success stories, including the stories of local businesses growing abroad and international companies choosing to grow here.