MIBA Forges Connections at AUSA
Written by Bernard Bourgeois, MIBA Managing Director and Michigan Ecosystem Leader
The MIBA attended the AUSA Conference in Washington, DC this month. AUSA is one of the largest defense conferences in the US and Israeli defense companies typically have a strong presence there. Scott Hiipakka, Bernard Bourgeois, and Dan Ryan spent three days at the conference connecting with Israeli companies and creating connections between them and Michigan companies and stakeholders.
In addition to brokering meetings between Israel’s ‘Big 3’ defense companies and Michigan leaders, the MIBA was able to sit down with no fewer than three smaller companies who are currently evaluating locations for their US headquarters.
In all, there were more than 30 Israeli companies in attendance and the MIBA team was busy catching up with current contacts, rekindling old relationships, and creating new ones.
The conference was especially meaningful this year as last year’s conference kicked off the Monday after the tragic events of October 7th and most Israeli companies returned to Israel and had to skip the conference. Their return to DC held a special significance for many.
