Bernadette Terry always wanted to see the world and meet new people. Her passion for travel is what led her to one of her first jobs, working as part of a UK travel company’s marketing department to promote vacations in Europe. In this role, Bernadette had the opportunity to travel across Europe.

After joining the UK Government, Bernadette decided to shift the focus of her career to international trade. Bernadette was offered and subsequently took the role of International Trade Advisor with UK Trade & Investment. As a department of the federal government, UK Trade & Investment (now the UK Department for International Trade) specializes in international trade and foreign direct investment.

In this role, Bernadette worked with a wide variety of organizations to encourage new and existing exporters from the UK to build trade relationships around the world. She led various international trade delegations and also facilitated many inward international delegations and trade promotion events. Bernadette worked as part of a team to implement new pilot programs and initiatives to support international trade and investment and regional economic development.

As an international trade advisor, Bernadette provided strategic advice and support to companies at all stages of international trade, including those who had never exported internationally before and helped them to reach global markets. Thanks to her support, Bernadette’s clients won various regional and national awards in the UK, including ‘Best New Exporter.’

Building bridges for businesses on opposite sides of the Atlantic

In 2004, Bernadette emigrated to Canada. She worked in various roles in the private sector before taking a new role with UK Trade & Investment in Canada as a Trade Officer in 2006.

After all she had achieved, Bernadette still wanted to add onto her vast experience. She then decided to enroll into the FITTskills training program, which would put her on the path to earning the CITP®|FIBP® designation.

“It was very challenging at times to complete the online courses while working full-time and traveling on business. I was fortunate that I was already an experienced international trade professional and had the benefit of assisting hundreds of companies from different sectors with their international expansion, which gave me additional perspective.”

“I already had many years of training and experience in international trade from my work in the UK. When I emigrated to Canada, I felt it would be useful to obtain a professional qualification, especially one with a Canadian/North American perspective.”

Bernadette’s hard work paid off when she attained her CITP®|FIBP® designation.

By 2012, Bernadette had moved on from UK Trade & Investment to Invest Ottawa. There she acted as Senior Business Development Manager for the International Trade and Investment team. Bernadette supported local companies to explore new markets and expand internationally. She facilitated international trade opportunities, foreign direct investment and business expansion into Canada.

As part of her work, Bernadette organized and facilitated successful trade delegations and international trade events in Canada and all over the world.

She used these opportunities to build strategic partnerships. One such partnership included developing a Soft Landing exchange program to facilitate new business opportunities between Canada and Europe.

The Soft Landing program was developed to help start-ups and young businesses conduct international trade and develop their exports. Companies can utilize this program to open new markets, close international sales, secure investment, and connect with new partners abroad.

“I have worked on many international trade missions and international trade events over the last 16 years, and have been very proud to assist hundreds of companies and organizations with their international expansion,” said Bernadette

Branching out on her own as an expert trade practitioner

Bernadette’s exceptional skills and experience in international trade allowed her to start her own international consulting company in 2016, BTI Global Innovation Inc. Her company works with various international clients, both from individual companies and government organizations.

Being the client-focused trade practitioner she is, Bernadette focuses on how her designation benefits her clients.

The CITP professional designation was created to prove an individual’s level of competency and experience in international trade and is therefore a useful reference for potential clients.

Bernadette has always been and will always be a client-focused international trade professional. Since attaining her designation, Bernadette has continued to help companies to establish themselves on the global market and helped them to benefit from international trade. We look forward to seeing Bernadette continue to add to her incredibly extensive experience.

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Nicole Lauzon, CITP®|FIBP®, is a Trade Commissioner for the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada (DFATD). She works at the Canadian Consulate in Los Angeles, California, and has a specialization in digital media.

After completing her initial degree in film and minoring in business at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Nicole took a position as a Sales Representative for the Los Angeles area for a Nashville, TN based music production company, and then eventually started working part time as an International Consultant and Local Coordinator for Academic Year in America, again in the Los Angeles area.

Academic Year in America is an international exchange program that helps bring high school students from all over the world to America to encourage intercultural awareness and education.

The international aspect of the position, combined with her education and experience in the creative industries, made Nicole the perfect candidate for her next job as the Vice Consul, International Trade and Investment Office, Digital Media for UK Trade and Investment.

Nicole developed opportunities for British creative industries and digital media companies to export to the United States, and identified and assisted US companies seeking to invest in the UK.

“When working with the British Government, I led on a number of outward trade missions to the United States by connecting UK companies with US companies,” Nicole explains.

For example, I partnered UK game developers with US game publishers at some of the worlds’ most notable gaming conferences: E3 and the Game Developers Conference (GDC).

After spending over four and a half years working for the British government, Nicole took on her current role with the Canadian government.

Nicole helps many Canadian companies working on video games, animation, social media, web technologies, and 3D or visual effects enter the American market.

By developing, designing and implementing marketing strategies, and helping companies keep up to date on the latest trends through research and constant communication with industry leaders, she is able to provide expertise and support to her Canadian clients and her clients in local markets.

“I have also been responsible for several music showcases – highlighting Canada’s up and coming talent to Los Angeles based Music Supervisors,” she says.

“One of the most successful projects has been the annual Los Angeles – Canada Pitch where Canadian producers travel to Los Angeles and pitch their dramatic television series to the top US television networks and across digital platforms.”

Nicole also attracts foreign direct investment into Canada from American digital media companies, and assists these companies with the process.

In 2013, Nicole began taking FITTskills courses online, which gave her the flexibility to complete the courses while working around her full-time schedule, as well as earn her CITP®|FIBP® designation at an accelerated pace.

I’m proud that I was able to obtain my CITP®|FIBP® while working full-time and within an 8 month time frame.

Nicole is also currently working on her MBA from the Open University Business School in the UK. She expects to complete her degree in October 2015.

Nicole applied for her CITP®|FIBP® designation because she says it enhances her credibility within her current role as a Trade Commissioner for the Government of Canada, and will provide her with  future career opportunities in the international business space.

“I believe that this designation will be invaluable as I potentially seek career opportunities abroad in other international markets,” she says.

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