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SC, Global Trade, and the Pandemic

Gerald McDermott

Over the past decade or so, our state has certainly become an important cog in the engine of international trade with many large, foreign companies locating operations here.  How has the global pandemic affected our status on the world economic stage?

Mike Switzer interviews Gerald McDermott, a professor of international business in the Darla Moore School of Business at USC in Columbia, SC.  This is Part 8 in our weekly series entitled “Managerial Insights-Supporting Businesses During an Uncertain Time” as part of a partnership with the Moore School’s Executive Education department, which will be followed up with a live Zoom conference on this topic this coming Monday, June 15th at 3pm.

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After almost 20 years, Mike Switzer retired from Wells Fargo Securities in 2001 as Senior Vice President/Investment Officer and Certified Portfolio Manager. In 1999, he and his wife, Maggie, purchased and operated for eight years the Baskin Robbins ice cream store on Forest Drive in Columbia. They grew the store from a bottom-tier operation in the Baskin Robbins franchise system to one in the top 5% nationwide within three years, tripling sales along the way. While operating the ice cream store, Mike and Maggie received patents for a portable ice cream sink and fold-down sneezeguard they invented and in 2002 started Magnolia Carts, an ice cream cart manufacturing company, which they sold in 2013.