Scottish Chambers of Commerce took a senior business delegation to New York on Wednesday 8 April, timing the trip to coincide with the city’s annual Tartan Week and, this year, with the 250th anniversary of the United States.
The group brought together chamber leaders, businesses and partners from across Scotland. The programme was built around commercial meetings rather than ceremony, with export growth and longer-term collaboration between Scotland and the US as the stated aims.
Three days of meetings
A business reception with the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce, hosted by its president Mark Jaffe, put senior US and Scottish figures in the same room to look at trade and investment prospects. The two organisations signed a Memorandum of Understanding during last year’s Tartan Week, so part of the value this time was picking up that thread and working out where it leads next.
The delegation also sat in on a fireside chat with Joseph Gadaleta, chief executive of Walker’s USA, billed as From Speyside to Stateside. The session dealt with the practical side of trading in the US and what it takes to scale Scottish food and drink in that market. It was held at the CliftonLarsonAllen offices, 40 floors up and overlooking Grand Central.
The annual Scottish Chambers Business Reception closed out the programme, delivered with Internova Leisure Group through Jacqueline Dobson, who is also vice-president of Scottish Chambers of Commerce.
Down Sixth Avenue
After the business programme came the New York City Tartan Week Parade, with the delegation walking Sixth Avenue, the Avenue of the Americas. Actor Sam Heughan led this year’s parade as Grand Marshal.
What the delegates said
Charandeep Singh BEM, chief executive of Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said he was pleased to be back in New York with a business delegation, describing the city as one of the great commercial capitals and a way in for Scottish companies looking to grow and build partnerships in the US. Making the trip during the anniversary year, he said, was a reminder of how deep the Scottish-American relationship runs. He was direct about what he wanted out of it: connecting Scottish businesses with US partners, backing export growth and keeping Scotland credible as a trading partner for New York and the wider US economy.
Sarah Medcraf, chief executive of Moray Chamber of Commerce, said New York gives Scottish businesses a strong platform for engaging US partners and that the delegation builds momentum for the year ahead. She carried on to Boston afterwards to keep developing relationships there, with World Cup planning stepping up. For Moray firms in food and drink, tourism and related sectors, she sees a lot on offer across the US over the next few years.
Richard Muir, deputy chief executive of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, said the trip reflects Glasgow’s outlook and the case for closer US connections. He went on to Pittsburgh after New York to expand links between Glasgow and Pennsylvania, arguing that city-to-city relationships matter for attracting investment, supporting innovation and growth on both sides.
Gadaleta said the Walker’s move from Speyside into the US rests on heritage, quality and a sense of place, and that he found it interesting to be part of a broader conversation about how Scottish brands can do well abroad without losing what they came from.
Who travelled
The delegation spanned several sectors. AGS Airports, which runs Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton airports, was among the participants, alongside Burns Gym, a Scottish health and fitness business moving into the US. Also on the trip were TetheredApp, a digital wellbeing platform that uses Scottish landscapes to support mental health, and NeuroBite, a medtech firm working on dissolvable neurotechnology for epilepsy and post-stroke treatment.
