Q&A: interview with Greg Wolf Executive Director World Trade Center Alaska.

• Author: Cutler, Debbie
• Position: WORLD TRADE CENTER SPECIAL SECTION - Interview

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Greg Wolf is a seasoned veteran of Alaska's international trade business. Since 2002, he has served as the executive director of World Trade Center Alaska. He came to this post following nearly five years as the 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 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 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.

A lifelong Alaskan, born and raised in Anchorage, he has spent most of his adult career involved with promoting and assisting Alaska's business interests in the Pacific Rim and in other overseas markets. He is an active member in a number of civic groups, including the Alaska World Affairs Council, the Japan-America Society of Alaska and the Royal Asiatic Society in Hong Kong.

ABM: How has trade from Alaska changed over the years and what new trends are we seeing?

Wolf: Let me start by saying that exports from Alaska have steadily grown in value as the current global boom in commodities has driven prices for natural resources to all-time record or multi-year record levels. For the past several years in particular, Alaska has been in something of a "sweet spot" where prices for some of our minerals and metals, for example, have more than doubled. Zinc and gold are great examples. Most of the new incremental demand for commodities and other natural resources is being driven by the dramatic economic growth and modernization of countries like China and India. Alaska's rapidly growing trade with China reflects the economic acceleration occurring in that country. But it is important to note that whether or not Alaska exports directly to these countries, we still benefit as their demand serves to push prices higher globally. Alaska is fortunate to be in the right place, at the right time, with the natural resources the world requires for growth.

There are two trends I'd like to mention. First, we...