I.C.E. Conference offers executive education and accommodations.(international: FCIB)

Some of the sharpest minds in the world of international credit management recently gathered at the Drake Hotel in Chicago, IL for FCIB's International Credit Executives (I.C.E.) Conference. Attendees were treated to a wealth of rich networking opportunities in the Drake's elegant facilities as well as the top-grade educational opportunities FCIB is known for.

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This year's keynote speaker was John Caslione, president, founder and CEO of GCS Business Capital LLC and co-author of Chaotics: The Business of Managing and Marketing in the Age of Turbulence, released last month. In his presentation, which was named after his highly anticipated book, Caslione discussed why the effects of the current recession will be felt for years alter it officially ends. "These trends are converging and the rules are changing dramatically in ways that a lot of us may not realize yet," he said. "The world economy has entered a new economic stage: from normality to turbulence. This turbulence is going to beget something called chaos and what we're going to have now is chaos punctuated by normality."

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As far as the causes for this noted shift away from normal economic cycles, Caslione pointed to global economic interconnectivity, short-sighted management policies and a noted rise in protectionist sentiment. "After the G20 meeting, within a matter of three or four days, 17 out of the 20 countries enacted protectionist policies," he said. "There's going to be a greater pushback in terms of nationalism and protectionism."

Other presentations reiterated, and questioned, some of Caslione's suggestions, giving the conference's ...