Welcome to Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce in Austin! We’re excited to have you onboard!
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Thank you. I am very excited to become a part of SACC-Texas in Austin! My name is Felicia Anton, and I’m a B.A graduate from Uppsala University in Sweden. For the past three years, I have been working within sales, marketing and events in Sydney, Australia. I am an adventurous, creative and driven person who loves to travel, network and meet new people. Originally, I am from Mellerud, a small town on the Swedish west coast with five thousand inhabitants.
What made you interested in America, more specifically in Austin?
I’ve always been interested in international relations, networking and entrepreneurship. At the university I studied a semester of sales & marketing with focus on American businesses. Since then, I have been fascinated by the importance of bilateral cooperation between Swedish and American companies and organizations, and on how those cooperations are made, maintained and developed to create long-term and sustainable relations.
Austin is famous and recognized for its hot and vital startup and tech-scene, with several famous tech companies, such as my favorite vacation rental site, HomeAway. When studying favorable conditions for entrepreneurship and innovation, Austin is always mentioned together with cities like Stockholm. Therefore, I am very keen to know more about the successful companies and policies behind its reputation and economic growth.
I’ve never been to Texas before, and since Austin is the capital with a reputation of being a vibrant and welcoming city with a very interesting culture, I just felt drawn to it. I see this a fantastic opportunity to develop my skills as a professional, but also to be able to embrace the Texan culture and way of living.
How did you come in contact with the Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce?
I went to a seminar held by the SACC at Uppsala University during my student years. I signed up for the newsletter since I immediately felt that the mission of the SACC interested me. Since 2014, I’ve been frequently getting emails keeping me up-to-date with SACC activities. Once I decided to leave Australia, I remembered my interest in SACC and went to the website to check open vacancies. And here we are… I am super excited!
What will you bring to the Chamber as the new Marketing & Event Coordinator Intern for Austin Chapter?
I see myself as a curious and hardworking professional with a lot of energy and creativity. I believe that my background in hospitality, networking and events will come handy in the daily work of promoting and expand trade and relationships between Swedish and Texas businesses. I am sure that I will contribute with a strong team spirit and knowledge on digital development, marketing and events to drive improvement the best way forward.
And finally, what are you most excited about coming to Austin?
From what I heard, Austin is a city full of opportunities, young professionals and people of diversity, which sounds amazing to me. I can’t wait to settle in and live in the deep south, experience the people, culture, food and the music scene, and at the same time, get to know how the culture differs from other places in the U.S. and the world.
I’m just as excited to become a part of SACC in Austin. To be able to get the opportunity to promote and expand trade between our countries, encourage and facilitate new commercial relationships and to get a first-hand look into how business is made in America. As a fan of the drama television series, Friday Night Lights, I must confess that I am definitely very stoked on visiting my first football game.