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Go Global III Speakers
Grant Aldonas holds the William M. Scholl Chair in International Business at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Previously, he had a distinguished career in law, business, and international economic policy, including service at senior levels in the U.S. government.
Choton Basu is currently an Associate Professor of Management Computer Systems (MCS) and Director of the Global Business Resource Center (GBRC), at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. He has a Ph.D. (MIS/Strategic Management) from the University of Memphis and MBA (Finance/MIS) from University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
Marge Bevers has served as FTZ administrator for four years, supporting the growth in activity (now at nearly $200 million in foreign merchandise moving through Zone sites/subzones) and the addition of partners (from nine to 22 sites, and from three to four subzones). In November 2009, she submitted an application to expand the service territory to include all or part of 9 counties (Boone, Bureau, DeKalb, Kane, Lee, McHenry, Ogle, Stephenson and Winnebago). With a new subzone set to activate in January 2010 and other prospects close behind, growth should accelerate in coming years. The Greater Rockford Airport Authority serves as Grantee (administrator) of FTZ #176 co-located with the Rockford Customs & Border Protection at the Chicago-Rockford International Airport. Ms. Bevers communicates clearly to FTZ “Boot Camp” neophytes. She also speaks regularly at National Association of FTZs (NAFTZ) meetings to her peers and co-chairs two NAFTZ committees (Grantee and Economic &.Business Development). Prior to joining the airport staff, she worked in not-for-profit management for 25 years.
Emma Briggs is responsible for 19 states in the central US and managing UK Trade & Investment’s (UKTI) teams in the British Consulates in Chicago and Houston. Prior to this she was head of the Latin America Unit at UKTI in London for three years. In this role she was responsible for developing strategies for the UK's trade support for UK companies in Brazil and Mexico, managing and monitoring UKTI's resources in Latin America and briefing Ministers and senior staff. Prior to that she served as Private Secretary to the Minister of State for Industry and the Regions at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for almost two years. Ms. Briggs joined the DTI in 2002 and has also undertaken postings covering competition policy, the EU Emissions Trading Scheme and the UK’s nuclear security programme in the Former Soviet Union.
With more than 30 years as a business owner, entrepreneur, and business management consultant, Dan Cataldi brings experience and an understanding of the challenges and opportunities faced by today’s entrepreneurs. His experience includes personally starting, expanding, merging, and selling companies. In addition, he has even had to close down failed companies. He understands the emotional and financial commitments of owning your own business and has knowledge and experience in planning, financing, marketing, sales and operations. For the past five years, he has directed the Rock River Valley Entrepreneurship Center (RRVEC) whose mission is to accelerate high-growth potential small and medium-sized enterprises and develop them into economically viable and sustainable companies that will grow and create jobs in Boone, Winnebago, Stephenson and Ogle Counties. The Center Director also helps promote innovation and entrepreneurship in our region and helps connect entrepreneurs with potential investors. Recently Dan assumed the responsibilities of Interim Director of the EIGERlab. Within these roles, the RRVEC and EIGERlab assist high-growth potential clients by providing them with advisory teams of seasoned business professionals, investors, and community resources in order to catapult business growth and create job growth and wealth in our Region. Whether it’s a location to house their business, engineering assistance, rapid prototyping of a new product, strategic business development, working with the U.S. Government or exporting, the EIGERlab is a one-stop shop for innovation and entrepreneurship services.
As President of the Rockford Area Economic Development Council, Janyce is responsible for managing all the organization’s efforts, including business retention and expansion, new business recruitment, and improving the business climate of our region. She serves on the City of Rockford Sister City Advisory Commission, the executive committee of Northern Illinois Commuter Transportation Initiative, and the steering committee of the Tri-State Alliance. Janyce also serves as Executive Director of the I-39 Logistics Corridor Association.
Ric Frantz is currently the CEO and co-founder of LR INTERNATIONAL, INC., an international freight forwarding and consulting firm located near Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. A native of Chicago, Mr. Frantz studied Business Administration and Marketing at DePaul University and holds an International Trade Executive Certificate from the University of Illinois at Chicago. His professional career spans several years as a banker, an export manager for a major multinational corporation and more than 35 years in logistics. Mr. Frantz has been appointed four times to the Illinois District Export Council by four secretaries of commerce; is the current Vice President of the International Trade Club of Chicago; and serves on the NAFTA Advisory Board for NORBIC/International Trade Center-Chicago.
Founder and President of Global Data Mining (GDM) and co-owner of CUSTOMS Info, Matt Gersperhelps businesses optimize Global Trade applications and streamline global trade automation. Matt has more than 20 years experience turning unorganized data into corporate assets managers and executives use to improve bottom-line performance. His vision and expertise has lead to innovations that enormously increase a trade professional’s effectiveness and productivity providing a direct return-on-investment. Matt is an enthusiastic contributor to the global trade industry as an author and frequent speaker at industry conferences and events.
Jacalyn Ross Gronek represents the Commercial Banking Department of US Bank as vice president of Global Trade Services in the states of Illinois and Michigan. She has more than 20 years of experience in trade finance within the banking industry, having also worked at Bank of America and Bank of Montreal. Her responsibilities include providing creative solutions to both clients and prospects on how to import and export more expeditiously and economically, as well as partnering with the commercial lenders in developing new international prospects and increasing business of existing international customers. She has a Master of Arts degree in International Relations from the University of Southern California, where she studied at the Graduate Institute of International Relations and the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland and the London School of Economics in London, England.
Mr. Hahn joined SupplyCore in 1998 as a Director of Project Management and Supplier Development, became the Director of Sales in 2001, Vice President of Sales in 2003 and assumed his current role in 2006. With SupplyCore, Mr. Hahn has completed bid responses and overseen successful implementation of multiple international Defense Logistics Agency, and Army Sustainment Command Prime Vendor contracts. With a Bachelor’s degree in accounting and graduate work in international business, Mr. Hahn has built a foundation to support various organizational structures both domestically and internationally. Mr. Hahn is a member of the Institute of Managerial Accountants, the National Contract Management Association, the National Defense Industry Association’s (NDIA) Small Business Executive Committee and is on the Board of Directors for the NDIA IL/WI Chapter.
Bill Hughes is a partner of the law firm of Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek, and chairs the firm’s Government Contract practice. He has extensive experience in the award, protest and litigation of competitively bid and publicly awarded contracts. He counsels clients on all aspects of government contacts including audits, bids, contract negotiations and awards, set asides, changes, costs, claims, intellectual property rights, terminations and disputes. Bill has extensive experience with the application and interpretation of the Federal Acquisition Regulations and regularly assists clients in complying with export control and Internal Traffic in Arms Regulations requirements. He also represents clients on protests before the Government Accountability Office and contract disputes before the various boards of contract appeals and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. In addition, Bill counsels clients on a variety of business and corporate matters. Prior to joining WHD, Bill was an attorney for the U.S. Air Force at the Air Force Contract Law Center where he served as a senior legal counsel for a number of major procurement programs and represented the Government on bid protests before the Government Accountability Office and contract disputes before the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals. He is the founder and past president of the Wisconsin Chapter of the National Contract Management Association. He serves as a member of the Board of Directors as a General Counsel for the Wisconsin Procurement Institute and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Illinois/Wisconsin Chapter of the National Defense Industrial Association.
Jianning Li is a representative with the Tianjin Economic-technological Development Area’s U.S. office, TEDA International, Inc. TEDA is China’s biggest economic zone with more than 4,600 overseas companies and 9,000 domestic companies. Mr. Li is responsible for making investment and trade promotions for TEDA and providing consulting service to American companies that want to do business in China. He also helps Chinese companies, particularly companies from Tianjin, to do business in the U.S. Donald Lloyd Donald Lloyd is a Senior Vice President responsible for the Capital Markets Group at Associated Bank. Mr. Lloyd has been involved in the Capital Markets for over 25 years primarily within the Foreign Exchange markets. He formerly was Managing Director of North American Trading for a top 10 foreign exchange provider, President of Forex USA, formerly a Member of the Federal Reserve Foreign Exchange Committee, and an expert witness for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Jeffery Makeever is a shareholder and chair of Reinhart Law’s Intellectual Property Practice and a managing partner of the firm’s Rockford office. He serves a wide range of corporate clients and a variety of industries including aerospace, consumer products and components, industrial equipment, medical research and equipment, C4ISR and warfare systems and consumer software. Mr. Makeever’s clientele includes multinational clients headquartered in both the United States and Europe. He frequently functions as a trusted advisor to senior management and as part of his client’s in-house counsel team, providing services such as forward planning and the training of engineering and marketing personnel. His own significant experience as a design and research engineer in the aerospace industry, together with his background as in-house counsel, has given him a special understanding of the needs and challenges of his corporate clients.
Congressman Don Manzullo was first elected in 1992 to serve the people of the 16th Congressional District of Illinois, which includes the counties of Winnebago, Boone, Stephenson, JoDaviess, Ogle, Carroll, the majority of McHenry County and parts of DeKalb and Whiteside counties. In the 111th Congress, he sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, where he is the top Republican on the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment and a member of the Subcommittee on International Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade. He continues to serve on the Financial Services Committee, where he sits on the Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises and the Subcommittee on International Monetary Policy and Trade.
Stacy McCaskill has more than 20 years global experience and is considered an expert in cross-cultural communications and global team building. As fulltime faculty at Rock Valley College, Stacy teaches courses in International Business, Organization Development, and facilitates the Global Small Business Incubator program, which imports fair trade products from Africa and India. As Executive Director for Diversity Performance Associates, Stacy developed a wide variety of development programs to improve cultural competency and reduce cross-cultural barriers. Stacy has facilitated graduate courses in intercultural communications, intercultural ethics, and global operations. Stacy holds a MBA from the renowned Thunderbird School of Global Management and a Master of Arts in Human Resource Development from the University of St. Thomas.
Dirk Mourar, a 15-year veteran of Navistar, has directed the Navistar Defense military and government parts sales team for the past 5 years. Mr. Mourar uses his extensive experience in vehicle supply chain management to lead this multi-disciplinary team managing Navistar Defense delivery of spares and services for military and non-armored vehicles both in-theater and domestically. A veteran strategist, Mr. Mourar identifies new business opportunities, forging strong relationships with potential business partners, and maximizing Navistar’s commercial strengths to deliver consummate customer service. Prior to his leadership with government and military business development, Mr. Mourar served as Director of Government, Military and Export Sales and as Director of National Accounts Sales for Navistar Parts. His development of his sales teams and their consequent abilities to exceed goals earned Navistar recognition for his exemplary leadership. Navistar Defense, LLC is a business unit of Navistar International Corporation. With more than 100 years of experience in the commercial and services industry, Navistar has supported the warfighter and the needs of the military since World War I. Navistar Defense robust truck spares program includes more than 700,000 OEM aftermarket parts and private label products across 160 full product programs, managed through 10 global parts distribution centers and a worldwide network of more than 1,100 locations.
Ken Muellner is a Supervisory Import Specialist with 24 years of experience at the Port of Chicago. He currently supervises the textiles, furniture, and antiques team, but has extensive prior experience in chemicals, pharmaceuticals, machine tools, metals and electronics. Prior to becoming an Import Specialist, Mr. Muellner was a legacy Customs Inspector, and was also detailed as an Intelligence Analyst working with both U.S. Customs and Canada Customs in Toronto. Prior to joining USCBP, Mr. Muellner was employed in the freight forwarding, steamship and airline industries in Chicago and New York, NY.
Tom Murphy oversees RSM McGladrey’s largest industry practice – manufacturing and wholesale distribution. As industry practice leader, Murphy ensures delivery of high quality service offerings that respond to the changing needs of midsized manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors. Murphy’s 25 years of manufacturing experience include strategy development and implementation, new product innovations, international operations and sourcing, company restructurings, production rationalization and implementation of new technologies. Recognized as an advocate for the industry, Murphy is sought after as a speaker on the challenges facing manufacturers and wholesale distributors, and as a resource for solutions to these challenges.
Rana Roy, a graduate in Mechanical Engineering, joined Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) INDIA in 1984. Since then he has served the organization in various capacities and was also in-charge of its regional office in Kolkata, India and its overseas offices in Sydney, Dusseldorf and Chicago. Having a wide knowledge of international trade, he has been directly associated with various promotional activities of EEPC INDIA for furthering engineering exports from the country. He was also in-charge of Trade Policy matters in India prior to his second assignment in its office in the Chicago area, since August 2006. Herman Ruiz, Jr. Herman Ruiz has been in the transportation industry for more than 44 years. His experience working for the airlines and several bonded warehouses helped the Port of Chicago and Detroit standardize the report of General Order Cargo to U.S. Customs. He works closely with all the airlines, steamship lines, rail yards and bonded warehouses in the Port of Chicago.
Sidney Salvadori is responsible for trade promotion and development between Canada and the U.S. Midwestern region (IL, MO, Quad Cities IA, NW IN, WI) with a sector focus on aerospace & defence, advanced manufacturing, IT, telecom, advanced materials/nanotechnology, and wind energy.
Bringing more than 25 years experience in the transportation industry, Ms. Sample is the director of trade relations for Avalon Risk Management. She is also the assistant editor of “The Quest,” Avalon’s industry newsletter and maintains involvement in several transportation related associations, including the National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones, Transportation Intermediaries Association and is a member of the board for the Air & Expedited Motor Carriers Association. In addition, Ms. Sample is a secretary of the International Trade Association of Greater Chicago.
Richard Todd has been active in the transportation industry since 1967. He attended Carthage College, Kenosha, Wis. and the College of Advanced Traffic, Chicago, Ill. He was employed as an import-export agent by Emery Air Freight in Chicago prior to taking a sales position in Rockford. He and his wife, Linda, founded Todd Transit, Inc. in 1973, which serves air forwarders, airlines and industrial customers in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. Todd Transit became Rockford’s acting CES in 1990. Todd Special Services, Inc. began in 1994 and was officially designated CES in 2007. Lisa Waller
Ms. Wheeler began her career as an Army Materiel Command Procurement Intern in 1987 and has worked in various offices within the government. She is Contracting Level III certified. In her current position she trains contract specialists on the Small Business Program, participates on acquisition strategy panels and works with contractors wanting to learn how to do business with the government. Ms. Wheeler has a Bachelors Degree from Western Illinois University. Ms. Wheeler is currently the President of the Iowa-Illinois Chapter of Women in Defense and has been a member since 2003. She is also on the board of the Iowa-Illinois Chapter of the National Defense Industrial Association. |
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| Go Global 100 Park Avenue, Suite 100, Rockford, Illinois 61101 Phone 815-987-1740 Fax 815-987-8129 |
Grant Aldonas
Steve Barnhart
Choton Basu
Tommy Berry
Marge Bevers
Emma Briggs
Dan Cataldi
Janet Chihocky
John Dickson
Janyce Fadden
Ric Frantz
Matt Gersper
Jacalyn Gronek
David Hahn
Brandi Hanback
William Hughes
Martine Leclercq
Jianning Li
Jeffery Makeever
Don Manzullo
Stacy McCaskill
Dirk W. Mourar
Ken Muellner
Tom Murphy
Rana Roy
Sidney Salvadori
Wanda Sample
Darryl A. Scott
Richard Todd
Dianne Wheeler
