Q&A with Greg Wolf executive director, World Trade Center Alaska.

• Author: Cutler, Debbie
• Position: Interview

Greg Wolf is well versed in trade. On Jan. 1, he began his position as executive director of the World Trade Center Alaska after serving nearly five years as director of the State Division of International Trade and Market Development. Prior to becoming the state's trade director, he was vice president and director of overseas projects for the Anchorage Economic Development Corp. Before joining the AEDC, he served as the State of Alaska's trade representative in Tokyo.

He received a bachelor's degree in business administration from Antioch College in Ohio. He also spent two years at the University of Colorado in Boulder and one year at the American College in Paris. In addition, he attended the Osaka University of Foreign Studies in Osaka, Japan, where he completed a six-month-long Japanese language immersion program. He also spent a year in Tokyo studying the management and marketing practices of American companies doing business in Japan.

ABM: What is your philosophy on trade?

Wolf: There are two adages about trade in which I believe: first, "trade is transportation." In others words, trade cannot occur unless you can get the product to market. Efficient transportation from source to market is absolutely essential for trade to take place. There are stranded resources all across our state. Minerals, coal, gas, you name it. Having said that, just because you can get the product to market doesn't guarantee there will be a customer. You have to be competitive on quality and price, always.

The other adage is that "trade follows tourism." What this means is that people are more likely to make an investment or consider a trade opportunity once they have seen the project or product with their own eyes. "Seeing is believing" is another way to say the same thing. We know from experience that once a person has visited Alaska, whether on business or vacation, they almost always go away with a more positive and much more realistic impression about the state and the opportunities that exist here. It is, therefore, important for us to deliver the message about Alaska to potential customers overseas and then work to have them visit Alaska to see for themselves.

ABM: Alaska currently exports about $2.5 billion worth of commodities, which represents approximately 10 percent of all the goods and services produced in the state. What types of things are being exported? Where to? Where is our top export market? What is our top export commodity?

Wolf: Alaska is...