We are pleased to provide our readers with this First Half 2012 edition of the CDI Global Newsletter. In this edition, we highlight the chemicals industry sector with three feature articles. Chemicals is one of CDI Global's major designated industry practice areas. Additionally, we have introduced a new feature profiling key partners in our professional network. We call this "Who's News" and have selected four partners from our Southern Cone affiliate (Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay) to pilot the feature.

In future editions of the newsletter, we will profile our senior partners in other major country markets, regions and industry practices. In this edition, we also introduce the Marshall-Teichert Group (MTG) which has joined CDI Global North America. MTG adds significant capability and resources to our oil and gas, and chemicals sector practices. Operating from two offices - Houston (USA) and Calgary (Canada) - MTG extends our geographic footprint as well as adds to our industry depth.

In terms of thought leadership, we provide features in this edition on presentations made by CDI Global partners at the VIA Conference held in Helsinki, Finland, in February. CDI Global is one of the sponsors for this prestigious management event. Another feature in this edition provides information about the use of electronic data rooms for sell-side processes. Finally, as has been our customary practice, we include a feature on a BRIC country in this edition that discusses operating subsidiaries in China.

We hope our readers find the content of this newsletter both informative and worthwhile. CDI Global welcomes comments and inquiries from our readers, and we appreciate the interest in our organization from clients and practitioners alike.

Jeff Schmidt