William (Bill) Edwards Brief Bio – August 2023 William Edwards, CEO and Chief Global Advisor of Edwards Global Services, Inc. (EGS), has 4+ decades of international operations, development, executive, consulting, and entrepreneurial experience. Outside the USA, he has lived in China, the Czech Republic, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran and Turkey and has worked on projects in more than 50 countries in the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East. After a 20-year technical and executive career in international oil & gas exploration, Mr. Edwards was Master Franchisee for a U.S. franchisor in China, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Turkey. He was also Senior Vice President of international operations and development for the AlphaGraphics® taking the brand into 20 new countries. Since founding EGS in 2001, he and his team based in more than 25 countries have helped 44 companies enter 30+ countries. EGS provides a complete international solution for U.S. companies going global, from the initial global market research and country prioritization to developing new international markets and providing operational support around the world. EGS has worked with Fortune 50, INC 5000, and private companies in the auto service, business services, education, software, auto service centers, beauty, property management, medical, fitness, home care, food & beverage, and pet care sectors. EGS has twice received the U.S. Presidential award for export excellence. He is also currently Chairman of the Board of the World Affairs Council of Orange County, California. Bill was recently appointed to the Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Services as the U.S. franchise industry’s international trade advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce and to the U.S. Trade Representative. He is active on the International Franchise Association’s International Committee and Education Advisory Council. He is Vice Chairman of the District Export Council of Southern California, appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce. Mr. Edwards speaks around the world at conferences and universities on taking businesses international successfully. He has authored more than 50 articles on global business development. Bill publishes a biweekly global business update newsletter – Geowizard.biz – that goes to over 1,400 subscribers in 20 countries and has quarterly published the well known GlobalVue™ country-ranking tool since 2001. “To his many clients who are going global, Bill oversees overseas.” — Franchise Times
