Manny A. Mencia

Senior Vice President

International Trade & Business Development

Enterprise Florida

Tel. 305.808.3660

Fax. 305.808.3586

Email: mmencia@eflorida.com

Manuel (Manny) A. Mencia, is Sr. Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the International Trade and Business Development unit of Enterprise Florida, Inc.  Enterprise Florida, Inc. (EFI) is a not-for-profit government business partnership established to guide the development of Florida's economy. 

The mission of EFI is to support business growth and assist companies in the creation of jobs by coordinating the State of Florida's economic development and international trade programs and by promoting Florida as a competitive global business center.

The International Trade and Business Development unit is headquartered in Miami and maintains offices in six Florida cities as well as fourteen countries around the world.

In 1999, Export Magazine and the Council for Urban Economic Development (CUED) conferred their Gold Award to EFI's Division of International Trade, as the best statewide export development organization in the country. In 2001, EFI received the prestigious Presidential E-Award for Export Development in its first year of eligibility.

Mr. Mencia joined Enterprise Florida in 1996. Prior to that he served as Vice President of World Marketing at The Beacon Council between 1992 and 1996. 

He has acquired extensive international trade expertise, having served in various executive positions at the Florida Department of Commerce between 1977 and 1991.

He serves on the Board of Directors of the National States' International Development Organization (SIDO), Florida Export Finance Corporation, World Trade Center-Miami, Florida Trade Partners Alliance, Southeast U.S.- Japan and the Florida District Export Council.

In 1990, the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce selected Mr. Mencia as Government Hispanic Business Advocate of the Year. In 2003, the International Business Council of South Florida named him International Businessman of the Year.

Mr. Mencia obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from Florida International University in Education and a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Thomas University in Political Science.

Thomas A. Strauss

Southern Regional Director

U.S. Commercial Service

U.S. Department of Commerce

Tel. 404.897.6080

Fax. 404.933.1200

Thomas “Tom” A. Strauss is the Southern Network Director overseeing the U.S. Commercial Service operations in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Puerto Rico.  As Network Director, Tom leads a group of 35 International Trade Specialists to assist U.S. companies to succeed in international markets through export counseling, seminars, and market research. He is involved in expanding trade promotion partnerships, professional development of the network staff, facilitating concrete results for exporting companies, as well as communicating organizational objectives and leading change.

Tom was one of 35 selected from over 200 applicants to the Commerce Department Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program. During the program he  completed developmental assignments with the Foreign Agricultural Service and the Commerce Department Office of Budget.  He also completed a course on Leading Change at the Eastern Management Development Center and a team project to make recommendations on knowledge management for Federal agency budget managers.

Prior to moving to Atlanta, Tom was a National Director in Washington, D.C. overseeing 48 Export Assistance Centers in the Eastern part of the country.  In that capacity he facilitated a field restructuring that resulted in fewer layers of management, an increase in field personnel directly serving the exporting community and more even distribution of resources throughout the country as well as greater transparency in budget and hiring processes of the organization.

Preceding his position in Washington, D.C., Tom directed the Export Assistance Center in Kansas City, Missouri for three years and was a Trade Specialist in Tulsa, Oklahoma for twelve years.  Tom also worked as the Acting U.S. Export Assistance Center Director in St. Louis and New Orleans for short periods and completed a temporary duty assignment in the Commercial Section of the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City. His work in these field offices revolved primarily around direct client support as well as building coalitions with partners who shared the objective of expanding U.S. exports.

He received his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Drury University in Springfield, Missouri and holds a Master of Business Administration degree, emphasizing International Management and Marketing from the  Thunderbird School of Global Management, in Phoenix, Arizona. 

Tom has lived and studied in Colombia and Mexico and has traveled for business and pleasure on six continents.  He started his career working in the international divisions of Sherwood Medical Company and Alco Controls Division of Emerson Electric Company in St. Louis.