William Owens, international business leader and former vice-chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, challenged students and staff at a Sept. 21 seminar to think beyond conventional wisdom and traditional strategies in today's global economy.
"The next 15 years will be the most radical and interesting time the world has ever seen,” Owens said. “We have never seen the kind of growth of in the number of middle income families that we will see during that time period." He noted most of the growth will occur in China and India. As a result, Owens said, much of the world's productivity will shift from the United States and traditional Western nations to those rapidly growing nations. China and India and surrounding nations also will see a dramatic growth in demand for goods, services and energy, placing them in competition with U.S. consumers.
Owens said because of the United States' history with China and its distrust of Communism, the U.S. will be inclined to build up its military against a perceived Chinese threat. The Chinese will interpret this as a threat to its own security, prompting a military build-up there as well. "From Congress' view, we are natural enemies," he said. "But the only real answer is that we have to get real close to them. Our relationship should be based in a great friendship. These are wonderful societies and we ought to put our arms around each other and figure out what's going on between people and figure out how to resolve some of these issues. In the end we'll all be better off."
Owens has been a partner and served as CEO of AEA Holdings in Hong Kong, a U.S. private equity firm. He will serve as chair of the newly merged CenturyLink-Qwest Communications, the third-largest telecommunications company in the nation. Owens is a co-founder of Flow Mobile, an emerging wireless company in North Dakota, and has served on the board of directors or in other leadership positions with numerous Fortune 500 companies. He served as vice chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the second-ranking officer in the U.S. military, from 1994 to 1996. Owens is a native of Bismarck, N.D., and received the state's highest honor, the Roughrider Award, in 1996.
The Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute sponsored the seminar.