Director of Business Development - Michelle Messina

Michelle E. Messina is a market entry strategist providing revenue-focused consulting services to international companies expanding into the US. She has worked with hundreds of entrepreneurs from dozens of countries optimizing their expansion success and traction in new markets while overcoming cross-cultural obstacles. Clients include small and medium-sized companies, international governments, incubators, universities, and US federal government foreign aid programs (USAID). Michelle is also part of the U.S. Department of State’s program Pathways to Prosperity in the Americas for Women Entrepreneurs.

Prior to becoming a consultant 8 years ago, Michelle’s background includes strong revenue-focused operational expertise as a VP Sales, VP Marketing, Business Development Director, and Business Unit General Manager in both public and private technology companies. Today, Michelle leads entrepreneur training workshops and boot camps throughout the world, with an emphasis on improving their readiness for growth and expansion. She also presents at conferences on the topics of business acceleration, market preparedness, and innovation ecosystems.

As a published photographer and author based in Silicon Valley, California, Michelle speaks English and Spanish.

Managing Partner - Christopher Surdi

Christopher Surdi is a serial entrepreneur with a passion for entrepreneurship. Mr. Surdi’s top three professional interests are: innovative entrepreneurship, travel and education. As such, GEP is the perfect combination of interest and desire.

As part of a program offered by the College of Engineering at San Jose State University, Mr. Surdi spent two weeks in China engaging in the exact same activities GEP offers. As a result of that program, he started a similar domestic program at San Jose State University (SJSU). He was the founder and administrator of the Silicon Valley Connections (SVC) program at SJSU from 2005 to 2006. See SVC website. From these two experiences, Mr. Surdi co-founded Global Educational Program.

Mr. Surdi has extensive knowledge in the start up environment, has many entrepreneurial achievements and a great deal of experience in leadership. In 2002, Mr. Surdi launched an internet company called Phastcash.com which returned its investment in nine months. He has also won a number of awards in entrepreneurship at both the local and national level.

Inbound Program Manager - Kathy Grant

Kathy Grant has had a lifelong passion for cutting edge technology and international business and culture. Her academic training includes a B.A. in Sociology/Anthropology from Carleton College, fieldwork at the Universite d’Abidjan in West Africa, graduate work at Columbia University’s School of International Affairs, and a M.S. in International Economics from Cleveland State University.

Her professional career includes work as an economist for the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of International Economic Research, professional staff work for McKinsey & Co. Inc. and a Foreign Exchange trader with a major commercial bank.

Kathy pioneered many innovations in high technology in corporate business. As a sales representative for Computer Sciences Corporation’s Infonet Division, she introduced basic business application to corporate executives on a timesharing network before PC’s and the Internet were introduced. As an entrepreneur, she promoted computer applications in the magazine publishing industry and then participated in a startup company offering fax broadcasting services and desktop publishing in the early 1990’s. To deepen her knowledge of high technology, she became a successful recruiter and branch manager in the New York City marketplace in the late 1980’s.

For the last 15 years, Kathy has managed her own company that offers Internet sales and marketing services to organizations that promote a deeper understanding of our human potential. During this time, she has traveled widely spending time in New Zealand, India, Sri Lanka, Western Europe, Tunisia and Nova Scotia, Canada. In addition, she has traveled extensively in the United States participating in workshops and conferences working to understand the issues of globalization.