Trena Blair will be the first to admit, she didn’t want to come home from New York. In her two and half years in the city that never sleeps, she had met all three of her New York goals – to volunteer at the Met, to study at NYU and to secure a role. And she was happy. Very happy. But a career opportunity back home in Sydney for her husband, meant their New York dream had to come to an end. Well, at least for him. For Trena, coming home with a job and a NY-based boss, meant she was able to jet back to her home away from home every three months. However, after three years in this role, it was time for a new challenge, and this meant leaving the company and her regular work trips to New York. Despite this, New York never strayed too far from her consciousness. Trena took three months off to contemplate her next move and to complete the Australian Institute of Company Directors course. At the course graduation event, she had a 30 second conversation with the person sitting beside her who had asked her ‘so, what’s your pitch?’ She said, ‘payments, travel and lived and worked in New York.’ The stranger told her to call him the next day and so began the start of her next career chapter. Trena is the founder and CEO of FD Global Connections, specialists in US market entry strategies for Australian companies. Using her experience of the US market, particularly New York, she has created a niche service for Australian businesses and a new legitimate excuse to regularly travel to her favourite city outside of Australia.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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