Originally published in the Deseret News.

Editor’s Note: Natalie Gochnour, David Eccles School of Business Associate Dean and Deseret News contributor, traveled with a delegation of business and community leaders on a trade mission led by the World Trade Center Utah to Israel and United Arab Emirates (UAE). Here is an insider’s look at what occurred on the trade mission in the sixth of a six-part series.

I returned from Israel and the United Arab Emirates mentally and physically exhausted from the demanding schedule, 10-hour time difference, related sleep challenges and roughly 32 hours of flight time. It was an ambitious endeavor involving 64 people, five tracks, three countries (Utah Senate President Stuart Adams met with Utah companies in Qatar) and approximately 100 meetings as far as 7,800 miles away from Salt Lake City.

Thanks to a significant amount of advanced planning, the trade mission did all the important things extremely well. At the top of the list was delivering value for Utah businesses that seek to grow their presence in this region of the world. The third-party validation that comes from the “seal of Utah,” its leaders and the reputation of the United States is a model that works.

Originally published in the Deseret News.

Editor’s Note: Natalie Gochnour, David Eccles School of Business Associate Dean and Deseret News contributor, traveled with a delegation of business and community leaders on a trade mission led by the World Trade Center Utah to Israel and United Arab Emirates (UAE). Here is an insider’s look at what occurred on the trade mission in the fifth of a six-part series.

After graduating in 1960 from the University of Utah with an industrial design and sculpture degree, John Kaddas wasn’t sure what he would do to turn his passion for inventing things into a stable income for his family. Today, his son Jay and daughter-in-law Natalie are in Israel and the United Arab Emirates meeting with current and future customers. It’s a long journey from an industrial design class at the University of Utah to signing contracts with the Israeli Electric Company.

This is the magic of Utah entrepreneurship and the global reach of Utah trade missions.

Originally published in the Deseret News.

Editor’s Note: Natalie Gochnour, David Eccles School of Business Associate Dean and Deseret News contributor, traveled with a delegation of business and community leaders on a trade mission led by the World Trade Center Utah to Israel and United Arab Emirates (UAE). Here is an insider’s look at what occurred on the trade mission in the fourth of a six-part series.

Dubai proudly proclaims to all who will listen, “The future is here.” The Utah delegation’s first full day in Dubai was a journey into that future.

The delegation split into six groups, plus a few one-on-one business meetings and a side trip to Qatar. I traveled with Gov. Spencer Cox to the Dubai Future Foundation and its lab, a meeting with the minister of artificial intelligence and digital economy, a tour of the Museum of the Future, and then lunch with the deputy undersecretary of the ministry of the economy. In the evening, the U.S.-UAE Business Council hosted a reception with the Utah delegation.

That’s a lot to cover in one day. Here are my highlights and lessons learned for Utah leaders.

Originally published in the Deseret News.

Editor’s Note: Natalie Gochnour, David Eccles School of Business Associate Dean and Deseret News contributor, traveled with a delegation of business and community leaders on a trade mission led by the World Trade Center Utah to Israel and United Arab Emirates (UAE). Here is an insider’s look at what occurred on the trade mission in the second of a six-part series.

The Utah trade delegation to Israel and the United Arab Emirates spent their first full day on the ground visiting holy sites in and around Jerusalem and adjusting to the nine-hour time difference. Visits included the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and the old city of Jerusalem.

The real work of the trade mission began on Day 2. Gov. Spencer Cox, Utah Senate President Stuart Adams and Speaker Brad Wilson visited with Israeli president Isaac Herzog and had a separate meeting with Idan Roll, deputy minister of foreign affairs. Both meetings occurred on the 21st anniversary of September 11, a meaningful backdrop for diplomatic discussions in any part of the world.

Originally published in the Deseret News.

Editor’s Note: Natalie Gochnour, David Eccles School of Business Associate Dean and Deseret News contributor, traveled with a delegation of business and community leaders on a trade mission led by the World Trade Center Utah to Israel and United Arab Emirates (UAE). Here is an insider’s look at what occurred on the trade mission in the first of a six-part series. She was joined by Gov. Spencer Cox and others and here focuses on Utah’s emerging role as the Crossroads of the World.

People often describe Utah as the “Crossroads of the West.” It’s a fitting moniker given the state’s central location in the interior western United States. Utah lies halfway between Canada and Mexico and roughly equidistance from the Pacific Ocean and Continental Divide. U.S. Interstates 15, 70, 80 and 84 all pass through the state and the Salt Lake City International Airport serves as a major hub for one of the largest airlines in the world.