Goglobal

Mike Allocca
President, Allocca Enterprises, Inc.

Mike Allocca became interested in Logistics while a senior at Suny Albany. He interned at a local freight forwarding company after obtaining his bachelors in business administration, he then became a full-time employee handling international ocean exports and imports. He quickly worked his way up over 10 years from internal operations to vice-president of sales for the New York based company. He was part of the select few of the Presidents Team, (Accruing well over one-million dollars in gross sales in 12 consecutive months) for 6 years in a row.

Mike went through the accelerated executive MBA Program through the University at Albany. He has sat on the board of directors of the Global Business Network for two years. He has traveled abroad many times throughout Europe & China and has most recently returned from a 3rd Far East trip in October. He works on a daily basis with exporters and importers all over the United States, helping them with domestic and international compliance & logistics issues.

From 2004-2006 he was also a partner in an export/import consulting company. He created and conducted worldwide compliance & logistics training to many of the worlds leading companies. Due to the overwhelming response and need for public as well as in-house training programs, this has quickly become a full time business. In 2006 Mike started his own consulting company under Allocca Enterprises Inc. and has been working with companies across the United States ever since.

He continues to keep updated on export/import regulations by regularly attending and/or hosting programs, seminars and events with the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Customs & Border Protection , U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Industry and Security, NAFTA - office of Intra American Affairs and the TSA.

Marge Bevers
Greater Rockford Airport Authority, FTZ#176 Administrator

Marge Bevers has served as Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ) administrator for five years, supporting a growth in activity and the addition of partners (now 19 sites and four subzones). In August 2010, she received approval of 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).  A second expansion application (to include most of LaSalle and part of Putnam Counties) awaits approval from the FTZ Board in spring 2011.  With the expansion comes a new management structure, the Alternative Site Framework (ASF), which will expedite the process for interested businesses, making the FTZ program cheaper and faster to access.

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 participates on three NAFTZ committees, serving as founding co-chair of the Economic &.Business Development Task Force.  Prior to joining the airport staff, she worked in not-for-profit management for 25 years.   Bevers is also a partner of B&B Properties which renovated the Richardson Bldg. in Rockford and recently bought a face block in downtown Rockford.

Jan Blaho
Director Supply Chain Finance, Export-Import Bank of the U.S

Prior to joining the Export-Import Bank, Jan Blaho, a native of the Slovak Republic, most recently worked for VUB Bank in Slovakia, where he was a Member of the Board and the Executive Director responsible for the Corporate Banking Division.  While there, he directed a staff of over 200 employees and worked with Structured Trade Finance, Syndications, and Small and Medium Enterprises.

Jan also has experience with the largest Czech Bank in Prague, Czech Republic, where he managed the division responsible for Structured Finance and Corporate Banking.  During his days in Prague he represented CSOB on the Board of Supervisors of CSOB’s joint venture with MNR Rothschild.  In addition, he worked for various international banks in the U.S. and Australia, including Westpac Banking Corporation and Lloyds Bank International. 

During his spare time Jan is a visiting lecturer at Kellogg Business School; he has facilitated workshops at MSU, WCTC and Purdue University.

In October 2007 Jan received Ex-Im Bank’s Chairman Award for his increased effectiveness in servicing the small business community.

Robert C Chiu
Director, Crowe Horwath

Mr. Chiu has been with Crowe Horwath LLP (formerly Grobstein, Horwath & Company LLP) since 2001 in the Commercial Assurance Group. He is in charge of Pacific Rim Region clientele and practice development.

Mr. Chiu serves clients on both side of the Pacific Rim in the areas of accounting and auditing (including SEC reporting), business advisory, corporate financing and management, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, United States and International tax planning and compliance and investment advisory. His clients base range from the United States, People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, Singapore, Australia, Japan, and Thailand.

Mr. Chiu has represented clients in a number of industries, including software, computer, telecommunications and other technologically oriented business, manufacturing and other industrial sectors, real estate, other service industries, retail and wholesale consumer industries, marketing and distribution, publication, hospitality and entertainment industry, and transportation services. Some of these publicly traded entities have been listed on the New York Stock Exchange, American Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, OTC Bulletin Board in the United States, and on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Many of these public clients are from the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan and the United States.

Mr. Chiu has worked with publicly traded and closely-held business entities from emerging growth companies to listed micro-cap and mid-cap companies on ongoing basis, including public offerings, reverse mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt private placements and corporate reorganization. Mr. Chiu has also been assisting US companies on their China market entry and mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Chiu has established extensive relationships and contacts with first and second tier underwriters and investment bankers in the US and Asia.

Mr. Chiu also has acted as the acting chief operating officer and assistant to Chairman for his client who has operation in the United States, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Mr. Chiu’s has extensive experience in the business advisory services in these regions.

Mr. Chiu assists Crowe Horwath LLP and Crowe Horwath International in their Asian member firms affairs in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and South East Asia.

Mr. Chiu is also very active in local community where he is a reserve deputy sheriff (Sergeant rank) for the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department. He also serves as an advisory council member for the Los Angeles Chinese-American Sheriff Advisory Committee. Mr. Chiu was named as the Reserve Deputy of the Year 2003 for the area he served.

Russell L. Dennis Jr.
Vice President & Chief Technical Officer, Leading Edge Hydraulics

Technology…Vision…Innovation… 

Three words that best describe Russell L. Dennis Jr and the company he helps guide, Leading Edge Hydraulics.  Currently the VP and Chief Technical Officer, Russ is spearheading company growth through the purchase of a 63,000 square foot research and development center (Harrison Tech Center) on Rockford’s southeast side, along with the recent partnership with several European companies to enhance the company’s worldwide global market share.

Russ excels, and enjoys sharing his knowledge of value assessment and improvement, hydraulic fluid conveyance systems, business process improvements and information technology with his coworkers, and other local companies.  Growth in American companies, through innovation and a dedicated focus on the international market place has been, and will continue to be a major priority for Russ.

Russ received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Illinois State University.  While attending ISU he was very active in the Entrepreneurship program, was an Active Core Executive Counselor (ACE) for the SBA and actively assisted Small Businesses in the development of Business Plans.  Upon graduation, he then began his career with Sherwin Williams in a sales management role. In 1996 he moved on to the Director of Sales and Marketing with Lorine Manufacturing, which became Leading Edge Hydraulics in 2003.  Along the way, Russ earned the title of General Manager in 2001, Vice President in 2003, and finally Chief Technical Officer in 2007.

Giving back to the community is a large part of Russ’s philanthropic activities.  He has been involved with the Rockford Cosmopolitan Club for over 10 years.  Winning the following awards along the way:  Cosmopolitan International - President of the Year (first in history of Rockford Club since 1949), and the Cosmopolitan International - 3 time "Website of the Year".  Russ was also honored to receive the inaugural Rock River Valley (Rockford, IL Region) 2008 40 Leaders under 40 Award Recipient.

Russ is married to Cheryl Dennis, and has two beautiful daughters Kate and Sara.

Janyce Fadden
President, Rockford Area Economic Development Council

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. In her role for the RAEDC, Janyce serves on the boards of the Rockford Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Rockford Area Ventures, Rockford Chamber of Commerce, Rockford Local Development Corporation, and Stateline Angels. She also 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.

Hikaru "Koh" Fujimoto, CPA, MBA, JD
Principal-in-Charge of International Practice, Corbett, Duncan & Hubly, P.C.

Koh concentrates his practice in the areas of financial statement audits, transfer pricing and internal audit services.With the firm since 1997, Koh leads CDH's International practice and has established service lines in transfer pricing and internal audits.

A native of Japan, Koh has mastered the English language and western customs. He speaks, reads, and writes fluently in English and Japanese. As Principal in Charge of the International Group, his goal is to proactively help foreign companies doing business in the United States and U.S. companies doing business in Asia Pacific. He is highly regarded in the international business community throughout the Midwest.

Koh first worked as a hotelier in the Republic of Vanuatu, an island country of the South Pacific. He moved to the U.S. to study hotel management at Michigan State University. Koh discovered his talent as an accountant when he took the hotel accounting course in the hotel management curriculum. He subsequently changed his major to finance and graduated from Michigan State University.

After MSU, Koh worked for Arthur Andersen's audit practice for six and a half years. Koh believes in an old Arthur Andersen philosophy of “think straight, talk straight.” He wants to make himself the best he can be. At the same time, he makes efforts to continuously improve services to our clients. He also believes that the value of accounting services is in speed and accuracy. He is passionate about finding ideas to help his clients improve their operations.

John Goodrich
Principal, JD Goodrich & Associates

Founder John Goodrich has spent his 25-year career developing all facets of international trade expertise. A licensed Customhouse Broker since 1987, Mr. Goodrich has worked for carrier, third party logistics, trading, retail, direct marketing and technology firms.

His generalist approach to trade and transportation provides clients of JD Goodrich & Associates a unique opportunity to review their international and domestic supply chains with little intrusion into their day-to-day operations.

Dan Ikenson
Associate Director, Cato's Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies

As associate director of Cato's Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies, Ikeson focuses on WTO disputes, regional trade agreements, U.S.-China trade issues, steel and textile trade policies, and antidumping reform. Ikenson has been involved in international trade since 1990.

Before joining Cato in 2000, Ikenson was director of international trade planning for an international accounting and business advisory firm. Before that, he co-founded the Library of International Trade Resources (LITR), a consulting firm providing interactive information access and international trade consulting. And before that, he was a trade policy and antidumping analyst at a few different international trade law practices in Washington, DC.

Ikenson is the author of many studies and articles on trade policy and is the coauthor of Antidumping Exposed: The Devilish Details of Unfair Trade Law. He has appeared on The Newshour with Jim Lehrer, CNN, CNBC, Bloomberg TV, MSNBC, ABC News, and NPR. His articles have been published in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Times, the Detroit News, National Review Online, and elsewhere.

Ikenson holds a M.A. in economics from George Washington University.

Jeffrey J. Kaney, Sr.
Founder and CEO, Kaney Group, LLC

Jeffrey J. Kaney, Sr., is the founder and CEO of the Kaney Group, LLC. The Kaney Group is a collection of interrelated companies which includes commercial Real Estate (Kaney Aviation Properties), Aerospace Engineering (Kaney Aerospace), Precision Manufacturing (Ardekin Precision) and Capital Funding (Kaney Capital). Prior to forming the Kaney Group, Mr. Kaney’s background includes being a military veteran, he served as a USAF pilot for 10 years including combat in Desert Storm and also as former pilot for a major international airline. Mr. Kaney is very supportive of his community and to that end serves on several Boards such as Spectrum Progressive School and as a committee member for the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois. Mr. Kaney also serves as the Chairman of the Rockford Area Aerospace Network, a part of Rockford Area Economic Development Council where he serves on the Board of Directors.  Mr. Kaney is an active member of the Young President Organization, serving in numerous international and local leadership roles as well as the Aspen Institute.  Outside of work, Mr. Kaney enjoys performing in regional Airshows as a Pilot. Mr. Kaney is married to Mrs. Nancy J. (Woods) Kaney and they have two children, Jared and Henry plus two Golden Retrievers, Maisey and Daisey. Mr. Kaney grew up in Northern Illinois and the Kaney family are residents of Rockford IL.

Dr. Chris Kuehl
Managing Director, Armada Corporate Intelligence

Chris Kuehl is the co-founder and Managing Director of Armada Corporate Intelligence, a company created in 1999 to provide strategy foundation, competitive intelligence, business analysis and economic forecasting for corporate clients.  He is the editor and primary writer for several publications including “Business Intelligence Briefs,” a daily distributed through Chambers; “Strategic Intelligence Briefs,” a daily distributed through World Trade Centers and international business organizations; and “Fabrinomics,” a bi-weekly industry analysis produced by the Fabricators and Manufacturers Association, where he also serves as the chief economist.
He holds a Masters Degree in Soviet and East European Studies, a Masters in East Asian Studies and a Ph.D. in Political Economics from the University of Kansas. He has been on the faculty of universities in the US, Hungary, Estonia, Russia, Singapore and Taiwan.  He has been on the local steering committee for the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals and has been active with a number of business and finance organizations.

Congressman Don Manzullo
16th District of Illinois, U.S. House of Representatives

Congressman Don Manzullo is a proven, conservative leader in the U.S. House of Representatives focused on cutting wasteful spending, shrinking the role of government in people’s lives, and leading efforts to strengthen U.S. manufacturing to help put Americans back to work.

Manzullo was first elected in 1992 to serve the people of the 16th Congressional District of Illinois. In the 112h Congress, Manzullo continues to pursue his agenda to bolster job creation in northern Illinois and strengthen manufacturing in America. He is Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific where he works to identify wasteful foreign aid spending and level the playing field for American manufacturers trying to compete overseas. He is also a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee, sitting on the two most important subcommittees dealing with our economic recovery, capital markets, banks, and Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac reforms.

STRENGTHENING MANUFACTURING IN AMERICA

In 2012, Congressman Manzullo is continuing his mission to strengthen manufacturing in America and create good-paying jobs for the people of northern Illinois and throughout our nation. As Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, Manzullo is focusing his efforts on increasing export opportunities for American business owners while pressuring China and other Asian nations to play by the rules of fair trade. The Asia-Pacific region accounts for more than 40 percent of world population, over 50 percent of world trade, and 60 percent of the world’s gross domestic product. As Chairman of the U.S.-China Interparliamentary Exchange from 1999 to 2006, Manzullo continually engaged China’s leaders on the country’s unfair trade practices, including currency manipulation, piracy and illegal business subsidies. Manzullo continues to co-chair the 80-member House Manufacturing Caucus, which he founded in 2003. Manzullo is also co-Chair of the House Auto Caucus, chair of the U.S. -Canada Interparliamentary Exchange, and a commissioner on the Congressional-Executive Commission on China.

As Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Small Business from 2001 to 2006, Manzullo held more than 60 hearings on the state of manufacturing in America and introduced numerous pieces of legislation to make U.S. companies more competitive so they can expand and create jobs. Manzullo earned the reputation as Congress’ champion of manufacturing and a fierce advocate for job creation in northern Illinois. His “American Jobs Agenda” is an ongoing action plan focused on helping employers survive, expand and create jobs..

One of the priorities in the plan, encouraging job creation in America, was accomplished in October 2004 when President Bush signed into law the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, which provides a 9 percent tax deduction for manufacturing production in the United States. Manzullo led the fight in Congress to include the domestic manufacturing benefits, which keep jobs in America, and to share them with small businesses. In 2008, Manzullo helped broker an agreement between the U.S. Depts. of State and Commerce over a disputed export control issue that allows U.S. aerospace companies to sell billions of dollars in extra products overseas. For his efforts, Manzullo was awarded prestigious Wings of Liberty Award by the Aerospace Industries Association.

Sagar Patel
President, Woodward - Aircraft Turbine Systems

Sagar Patel joined Woodward on June 27, 2011 as President, Aircraft Turbine Systems. Patel is responsible for managing future growth, supporting current business opportunities, and enhancing customer support and service. He joined Woodward from General Electric, where he served most recently as President, Mechanical Systems, GE Aviation. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Controls and Instrumentation from Gujarat University in India and a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh.

Seth Reatherford
Vice President of Newstead Credit & Political Risk, Inc.

Seth Reatherford is Vice President of Newstead Credit & Political Risk, Inc., an independent broker of Trade Credit & Political Risk Insurance. He joined Newstead in 2003 after a successful career with the world’s largest privately-held IT leasing company, where he was Global Vendor Finance Programs Manager and responsible for cross-border lease finance for several F-500 technology manufacturers. Since joining Newstead, he has helped negotiate and place trade credit & political risk insurance programs for small business customers as well as publicly traded multinationals. He also has substantial experience with Ex-Im Bank programs, insurance-backed, medium term cross-border finance, and A/R PUT products for distressed credits. He is frequently asked to speak on the trade credit insurance market for a variety of industry credit and risk management groups. He is a graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN. He lives in Chicago with his wife, a middle school band director, and two young children.

Lisa Spano
Executive Director, Global Trade Services, JPMorgan Chase

Lisa Spano is an Executive Director on JPMorgan’s Global Trade Services Team. JPMorgan Chase is a global financial services firm with assets of $2.0 trillion, clients in more than 100 countries and has one of the most comprehensive global platforms available.

During her twenty year tenor at the Bank, Lisa has held various international positions within the Firm.  Her career has been varied. In addition to developing an expertise for assessing economic and political risk focusing primarily on the emerging markets of Latin America and Southeast Asia, she has significant experience across a variety of industries structuring trade transactions which employ Export Credit Agency and private insurance enhancements.

Most recently, Lisa’s primary focus has been on providing trade finance solutions to the Commercial Bank’s corporate clients in the area of classical trade to include letters of credit, supply chain finance as well as structuring and advising on complex cross boarder trade transactions. Additionally, she works with clients providing expert advice on integrating their international financial and physical supply chain by providing solutions that enable cost reduction, working capital optimization and improve efficiencies including compliance and risk management.

Mrs. Spano holds an MBA in International Finance and Marketing from DePaul University and resides in Naperville with her husband and three sons.

Carrie Zethmayr
Manager, IL SBDC International Trade Center

As the Manager of the IL SBDC International Trade Center, Carrie coordinates one-on-one consulting to increase the total value of goods exported from the Rockford Area of Illinois. Services are provided to companies to walk them through the process of establishing and growing an export program. With expertise in international trade, as well as having an expansive network of specific content experts, Carrie is responsible for identifying solutions for any company seeking international trade growth. This includes connecting local companies to trade organizations, international consulates and government export promotion agencies. Carrie also supports business attraction initiatives, focusing on foreign direct investment. With a focus on China, this includes developing and managing relationships with Chinese government and business contacts both in China and in the United States.