Eddie Resende Interviews Peter Bowe & Barbara Stewart

Celebrating 10 Years of the Bowe Fellowship for Global Executives

Over the past decade, the Bowe Fellowship — awarded to rising midlevel executives to enhance the international reputation of Baltimore — has produced a few hundred leaders that occupy leading positions across corporate America. On the 10th anniversary of the program, which is run in partnership with the World Trade Center Institute, WTCI CEO Eddie Resende interviewed the founders of the fellowship, Peter Bowe and his wife Barbara Stewart, who together have run the Bowe-Stewart Foundation since 2012.

Bowe, who has degrees from Yale and the Harvard Business School, worked for the predecessor bank of JPMorgan before rising to become the CEO of Baltimore-based Ellicott Dredges, the world’s leading manufacturer of portable dredging equipment, for over three decades until its 2009 acquisition by Markel Ventures. Bowe has also served on the presidents’ councils in the United States and Egypt, and held seats on the boards of IHC Holland in the Netherlands, an Israeli salt mining company, a U.S.-based SaaS company, and the Bank of Maryland.

Stewart, an alumnus of Northwestern University, has held leadership roles in state and federal government, as well as in the private sector, serving JPMorgan Chase as a managing director. In 2018, she was nominated by the president to a three-year term as CEO of AmeriCorps, a $1.1 billion federal agency that supports service and volunteerism. Stewart also served on the board of ZeroFox, a Nasdaq-listed cybersecurity company. Recently, Stewart was appointed to the Maryland Governor’s Commission on Service and Volunteerism.

In the interview with citybiz.co, Bowe and Stewart spoke on a range of subjects including the Bowe Fellowship, philanthropy, and the key goals of the Bowe-Stewart Foundation — civic education, dialogue and engagement, and closing the opportunity gap for urban residents of Baltimore and Chicago.

Bowe said the sale of Elllicott brought him the resources to act on a “long-felt desire” to help the community, and that he drew inspiration from a fellowship model at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

“Our goals were to highlight Baltimore, strengthen the Baltimore business community and provide opportunities for mid-level executives…strengthen again the Baltimore business community as well as the civic community,” said Stewart.

Interview questions:

Q1: Could you tell us a little about yourselves, your professional backgrounds, and what you’ve been up to?

Q2: What inspired you to launch the Bowe Fellowship for Global Executives (formerly known as EDGE)? How is this different from the Chicago one?

Q3: From your perspective, what have been some of the most impactful outcomes that have come out of the programs?

Q4: What makes you feel hopeful, and how do you see the fellowship playing a part in that?

Eddie Resende, CEO of World Trade Center Institute

With 20 years of experience in the global business sector, an MBA from Georgetown University, and expertise serving on non-profit boards, Eddie serves as the CEO of the World Trade Center Institute (WTCI), one of the largest international business networking organizations in the mid-Atlantic region. During his 17-year tenure at WTCI, Eddie has been instrumental in launching and growing many new initiatives for the organization, including several international business and diplomacy fellowships and conferences, the annual Global Economic Outlook Report, World-Lens Podcast, and the Maryland Innovation Lab – a first-in-the-nation initiative that connects corporations with startups from around the world. Prior to WTCI, Eddie worked with TESSCO Technologies Inc., a leading global supplier of wireless communications products. He also played a central role in the development of Gems of the Earth, a nonprofit organization that promotes social and economic development in the rural communities of Brazil, making modern technology accessible to all. Eddie and his family migrated to the United States from Brazil when he was 11. He is an advocate for human rights issues, and today serves as the chairman of the board at New American Careers, a social enterprise that connects immigrant professionals to employment opportunities in the U.S. He previously served as vice chair of the board of its parent company, Global Refuge. In 2023, Eddie was recognized as one of Maryland’s Most Influential Leaders by the Daily Record.

Connect with Eddie on LinkedIn

The Peter Bowe and Barbara Stewart Foundation supports strengthening civic education and civil dialogue, as well as closing the opportunity gap. The Foundation’s primary focus is increasing understanding and appreciation of American civic heritage, which creates more engaged citizens. The Foundation’s secondary focus is closing the opportunity gap by supporting organizations that emphasize education, training and work experience.