Perry B. Newman is president and founder of Atlantica Group.

Prior to founding Atlantica Group in 2000, Newman served as the state of Maine's first Director of International Trade and first President of the Maine International Trade Center. During his tenure as president the National Association of State Development Agencies named the Trade Center the "most innovative economic development organization" in the country.

Building upon more than a decade of legal and international business experience, Newman assisted in growing Maine’s annual exports from $1.47 billion to $2.2 billion in four years. Mr. Newman has organized and coordinated trade missions to Western Europe, Russia, Asia, Canada, the United States and Latin America, and has assisted technology-driven businesses in their market entry and strategic development efforts in both established and emerging markets.

Selected by the European Union Delegation in Washington, D.C. to study cross-border infrastructure development in Brussels and Copenhagen, Mr. Newman formed Atlantica Group in order to serve clients with international business and development objectives. In 2004 he was appointed Canada's first Honorary Consul to the State of Maine.

Prior to his government service, Mr. Newman was partner and Chair of the International Business Practice at the Cleveland-based international law firm of Hahn Loeser & Parks.

Recognized as an expert in export development and international trade development initiatives, Mr. Newman is an established author and sought-after speaker on many issues, including cross-border economic development, foreign investment attraction, the impacts of globalization and creative cluster development. He has been nominated by the United States Secretary of Commerce in two presidential administrations to serve on the Maine District Export Council. In 2008, he was selected by MaineBiz to its "Next" list, comprised of individuals likely to impact the Maine economy in the coming years.

Mr. Newman currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Atlantic Institute of Market Studies ("AIMS"), the Port Authority of Maine, the Board of Directors of the French American Chamber of Commerce for New England, and the Board of Directors of the New England Canada Business Council. He is the author of Atlantica: Re-Mapping Maine for the New Economy, and is at work on two separate volumes related to international trade and development, The Ten Commandments of International Trade, and Transformational Development: How Communities, Clusters and Companies Can Prosper in the Global Economy.