Laurel J. Delaney is founder and president of Chicago-based GlobeTrade.com, a management consulting company that helps entrepreneurs and small businesses go global. The United States Small Business Administration has recognized Ms. Delaney as a world-renowned global small business expert by naming her the Illinois Exporter of the Year.

She is the author of Start and Run a Profitable Exporting Business, Exporting: The Definitive Guide to Selling Abroad Profitably, and Exporting Essentials: Selling Products and Services to the World Successfully. She oversees the ExportingGuide.com publication. In addition, she has written numerous articles that have appeared in international and scholarly publications such as The Wall Street Journal and The Conference Board.

She is the creator of The Global Small Business Blog, which is ranked No. 1 in the world for entrepreneurs and small businesses interested in going global, director of the Global Small Business Forum, and President of Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®. She formerly served as the About.com Import & Export Expert, is a charter member and a board member by appointment of the World Entrepreneurship Forum, and is a member of the International Council for Small Business. She also serves as the Chicago Chapter Chair for the Women Presidents’ Organization. Ms. Delaney’s passion for going global goes back to 1985 when she first started her business. Since then, she has devoted more than 70,000 hours of work in the area –from consulting to writing to teaching.

Ms. Delaney holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Advertising from Columbia College Chicago and a Master’s in Business Administration from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management.