EACC Florida Hosts Very Large Tech Delegation from Belgium

Left to right: Scott Bettridge (Cozen O’Connor – Treasurer EACC Florida), H.E. Michel Gerebtzoff, Consul General of Belgium, Alan Sutin (Greenberg Traurig, President EACC Florida), Bart Steuker (CEO AGORIA), Isabel Michiels, Julie de Bergeyck, Frederick Tibau (Team AGORIA), Manuel Molina (Honorary Consul of Belgium in Miami)

On December 13, EACC Florida welcomed to Miami 50 of Belgium’s most forward-looking tech companies with a seminar titled “Introduction to South Florida’s Tech Ecosystem” and a well-attended Networking Reception. Both were hosted by Greenberg Traurig.

This was probably the largest official delegation of European tech companies coming to Miami – and certainly from a small (but mighty) country like Belgium.

These Invitation-Only events were part of a 6-day official Future of Digital Mission to Atlanta and Miami led by AGORIA, the Belgian Tech Federation. The purpose was for some 60 high-level executives and founders from some of the most forward-looking tech companies in Belgium, to learn about two of the most important emerging tech hubs in the US – Atlanta and Miami. Who are their exciting digital innovators? Where lies the next evolution of the Internet and its related digital technologies? How will they disrupt our businesses in the years to come?

Left to right: Ivan Rapin-Smith, Leigh-Ann Buchanan, Melissa Medina, Jaret Davis, Alan Sutin.

H.E. Consul General of Belgium Michel Gerebtzoff graced the events with his presence and offered a few words at the start of the seminar.

The panelists, which each have played essential roles in the development of the Miami tech ecosystem which in recent years has been the fastest growing technology hub in the United States, spoke to a packed room of Belgian delegates, EACC Florida Members and Friends. They included: Leigh-Ann Buchanan – President of the Miami Dade Innovation Authority, Jaret Davis – Senior Vice-President & Co-Managing Shareholder at Greenberg Traurig, Melissa Medina – CEO & President of eMerge Americas, and Ivan Rapin-Smith, Managing Director at Watsco Ventures

Alan Sutin, President of EACC Florida and Chair Technology, Media & Telecommunications Practice and Senior Chair Global Intellectual Property & Technology Practice at Greenberg Traurig, moderated the session and fielded the many questions from the audience.

The seminar was followed by a Networking Reception where Belgian delegates, EACC Florida Members, local guests and officials mingled around tasty bites and drinks – which unsurprisingly included a fair amount of beer.

Other parts of the mission program included an event at Mana Tech, the visit of Artech House in Miami Beach and a session titled “WatsonX.ai and Hugging Face: a Fruitful Partnership?” and the link between Quantum Computing and Web3 organized by IBM and hosted by the AI Center at Miami Dade College.

Below is the list of Belgian companies in the delegation:

Program kindly hosted by