Leading Swedish banking consultants, Conceptor International Consulting AB announced the opening of a regional office in Santo Domingo. Aventis, a local consultant firm, will be representing the firm in the DR and for the Caribbean region. Conceptor has been working with the Dominican financial sector since 1995 when it began consulting with the Central Bank. Management training programs implemented were so successful, what was initially a local program turned regional with the participation of 14 regional countries. Virginia Hernandez and Olga Diaz (hermes@aacr.net, Tel. 809 540-9020), both former Central Bank officers, are the new Dominican partners as the company seeks to expand its successful experience working with the Dominican market. In a company presentation which took place at the Salon Americo Lugo of the Central Bank, Virginia Hernandez urged banking to turn proactive and not reactive to changes. While most banking institutions continue to operate as before, traditional banking is condemned to disappear with radical change ahead, she alerted. She stressed the forces of change (technology, competition, clients and markets, regulations and the regulatory structure of the business) will alter the way of operating. Thus the importance of anticipating the changes. Per-Erik Berglund, New York-based partner of the firm, says the company wants to share the Swedish experience with financial deregulation and new technologies with Dominican companies, so the latter can be better prepared for the changes. In addition to the areas of banking and finance, Aventis/Conceptor seeks to share their experience in foreign investment, national accounts and statistics, information technology, tourism and human resources. The strength of the company is in combining simulation and training exercises with consulting on management development, strategic development, human resources development, and information technology strategies.
