David B. Woodward
Seattle, United States

Professional Practice:
David Woodward has 26 years of experience, including 16 years of senior management roles, in international business and educational exchange programs and services involving clients from all major world markets. He is the President & CEO of Associates in Cultural Exchange (A.C.E.), which he first joined in 1980. Woodward has led in the development of various business startups and educational projects involving small businesses, universities, corporations, and government agencies. Clients Woodward has worked with include the Japanese Ministry of Education, the Yemeni Ministry of Oil and Mineral Resources, Samsung Corporation, World Learning, AMIDEAST, Academy for Educational Development, Kuwait University, Boeing, USAID and EPA. He has established contracts for services, branch offices and representative service arrangements with client organizations in United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, Oman, Russia, Switzerland, Japan, Korea, Australia, and six U.S. states, as well as managing for-profit and not-for-profit subsidiaries and spin-offs. Activities have included managing personnel in over 80 locations in the Pacific Northwest, marketing internationally, organizational development, and setting up strategic relationships worldwide. He has led in the formation of several key international marketing consortia, and collaborative initiatives across professional disciplines. Woodward currently provides consulting services for Quality Schools International headquartered in Slovenia, assisting with the development of its international K-12 school system now operating in 26 countries.

Middle East & Central Asia Expertise:
Woodward is experienced in developing business and educational ties between the Pacific Northwest and the Arabian Gulf region. Woodward was born in Teheran, Iran, and spent his early youth in Southern Iran. He received a National Resource Fellowship in Near Eastern Languages and Civilization while at the University of Washington, and taught ESL at Kuwait University (1982-83). Woodward provides recruiting, consulting and liaison services for the Chamber Training Institute of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Sultan Qaboos University (the national university of Oman), and the Kazakh-American Free University. He has taught Modern Middle East History at the university level, and has presented extensively in forums and conferences on Middle East issues. He has also contributed to preparing target market/regional survey reports on the Middle East and North Africa for the Trade Development Alliance of Seattle since 2001.