Speaker Bios - 2009 Asian Global Sourcing & Procurement Conference

Cecil R. House
Senior Vice President of Safety, Operations Support and Chief Procurement Officer
Southern California Edison

 

Prior to joining Edison in April 2006, House was vice president of Customer Operations at Public Service Electric & Gas Company (PSEG), New Jersey's largest electric and gas utility, in charge of revenue management, customer service, field operations, marketing, demand side management, account management, and energy acquisition settlement functions. Prior to that, House was vice president of Supply Chain Management at PSEG, responsible for managing $1.4 billion of non-fuel external expenditures, as well as process ownership of the inventory and logistics functions.

Prior to joining PSEG, House was vice president of Business Development at Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP). Earlier in his career with ADP, he was vice president and assistant general counsel. Before joining ADP, he was a partner at the law firm of McDermott, Will & Emery in New York and an associate in the law firm of Debevoise & Plimpton.

House is a member of the New York and Virginia bars and is a Certified Purchasing Manager. He earned his B.S. degree from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia, his J.D. degree from Harvard Law School and an M.B.A. from Columbia University.

 

Joe Alderete
Manager of Supplier Diversity
Southern California Edison Company

 

Joseph F. Alderete has been the Manager of the Supplier Diversity Program for Southern California Edison for over ten years. In this position, he oversees the Company’s Women and Minority Business Program. He insures compliance with all CPUC rules and regulations, and all public law relating to women and minority procurements.

During this time, Edison International was named by Fortune Magazine as one of the top 15 companies in the United States for Asians, Blacks, and Hispanics, having won the highest percentage of spending with minority vendors.

He has worked for Edison for over 33 years. Before his current position, he worked in Procurement and Material Management as a Senior Procurement Agent, and was involved in the company’s “Strategic Sourcing” effort. He has also worked in our Human Resources and Transmission and Distribution departments.

He is the past Chairman of the Edison Electric Institute Minority Business Development Committee. He is on the board of directors of the Southern California Regional Purchasing Council and the National Council of Minorities in Energy. And is a member of the Asian Business Association, the Black Business Association, the Latin Business Association, the California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and the California Black Chamber of Commerce, the California American Indian Chamber of Commerce, the California Latino Caucus Institute, and the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Rachel Baranick
Deputy District Director
US SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Santa Ana District
 

Ms Baranick is responsible for overseeing operations and the delivery of all SBA programs throughout the Southern California area of Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

Rachel joined the SBA in 1988 as a Business Development Specialist for the Inland Empire. She moved to the loan-servicing department in 1992 as a Loan Specialist, becoming Chief of Liquidation in 1995. She has served as the Deputy District Director since 1997 for the Santa Ana District and most recently as the Acting District Director for the New York City District Office.

Prior to coming to SBA, Rachel worked for the Internal Revenue Service in a professional position where she also coached trainees. She has worked in both the private and nonprofit sectors.

Rachel grew up in the Los Angeles area where her father owned a small business. She graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry and has subsequently done graduate work at California State University, Fullerton.


 

Karen Burgess
Lead Business Development Specialist
US SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Santa Ana District
 

Karen Burgess joined the SBA in September 1998 as a Loan Specialist in the Liquidation Loan Center, located at the Santa Ana District Office of the U.S. Small Business Administration. In January 2001, she transferred to the SBA Distinct Office and served in the Finance and Outreach Department before joining the 8(a) Business Development Division. She has worked in the 8(a) Business Development Department for 8 years, and, serves as the Lead Business Development Specialist. Her job is to assist socially and economically disadvantaged small business owners with an opportunity to sell their products and services to government agencies.

Prior to the SBA, Karen worked for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) for 11 1/2 years as a Loan Specialist.

She received a Bachelor's of Science degree in Business Management from the University of Redlands, Redlands, California.

 

Thomas J. Burr
International Trade Expert
Southern California Regional District Export Council

 

Mr. Burr is a recognized professional in international trade and structured finance community with over 27 years of experience in both commercial banks and as a private business owner. In his career Mr. Burr has been involved in all aspects of trade and structured trade finance beginning as an international trade finance officer with Mitsui Manufacturers Bank serving the import/export needs of middle market corporations to serving as a managing director at Bank of America’s prestigious Structured Trade Finance Division serving the Asian markets.

In the area of international trade finance, Mr. Burr has managed corporate lending relationships at Mitsui Manufactures Bank, Union Bank, and City National Bank with import and export companies across various business lines from garment, aviation, environmental, agricultural, manufacturing and technology firms. In this capacity he has managed credit relationships and acted as an advisor for the development of export strategies and procurement for factors of production for his clients. Additionally, Mr. Burr has been proactive in identifying and presenting new trade opportunities to clients through his personal network and through the US Foreign Commercial Service Officers both domestically in the United States and worldwide.

More recently in the area of structured trade finance, Mr. Burr has been both an innovator bringing new export finance capabilities and products to financial institutions as well as being a highly respected deal team member on important projects. In terms of innovation, while at Union Bank, Mr. Burr originated, structured and won the mandate for the bank’s first Ex-Im Bank cross-border Credit Guarantee Facility with Banco Nacional de Comercio Exterior, S.N.C. in Mexico City. While at Bank of America he proactively initiated the capability for the Ex-Im Bank Financial Instruction Buyer Credit short-term trade facility to capitalize on opportunities resulting from the 1997 Asian Debt Crisis. Also, he designed a medium-term insurance program for funding smaller insured export finance transactions to serve the bank’s lower end market. In addition while serving as the Export Finance Manager at City National Bank, Mr. Burr created an Export Finance Division as part of the International Department and originated, structured and led to the closing of a groundbreaking solar energy 15-year Ex-Im Bank Environmental Export Loan. This loan was honored as a “Deal of the Year’ in 2006 by Trade Finance Magazine.

In his career Mr. Burr has been a structured trade finance team member financing over $2.5 billion in structured trade finance transactions to emerging markets including air pollution control systems for China, food processing plants, water purification and desalinization facilities in the Middle East as well as Boeing aircraft sales and photovoltaic systems to Asia . Mr. Burr is very experienced with the Export Import Bank of the United States, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, United States Defense Export Loan Guarantee Program, foreign military sales financing to Malaysia and Israel, the World Bank and International Finance Corporation, and other multi-lateral institutions as well as other global export credit agencies and the US Small Business Administration.

Mr. Burr is a graduate from the University of California in Los Angeles with B.A (Economics). He has served at the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce as Chairman of the Middle East/Africa Committee of the International Trade and Investment Committee. Mr. Burr is a past member of the board of the Foreign Trade Association of Southern California and the Asia Pacific-USA Chamber of Commerce. Currently Mr. Burr is an active member of the US Commercial Service Southern California Regional District Export Council

Tom and his family reside in Pasadena, California.

Jaideep Chauhan
Regional Manager, International Corporate
Fedex




 

Jaideep Chauhan has been with FedEx for 12 years and currently is Regional Manager-International Corp Sales. He and his team are responsible for managing large accounts based in Western Region and bring expertise from a Global perspective. He manages an International business plan of about $ 300 Million.

Jaideep joined FedEx in India in 1997 when FedEx made a direct entry in the Indian market; Jaideep was based in New Delhi after which he was given the responsibility of developing North & East India markets. Jaideep then moved to Brussels as the Sales Facilitator for Europe, Middle East and Africa where he had the responsibility to develop new Sales professionals. In 2000, he was given the responsibility to manage Western India Sales and was based in Mumbai. Jaideep moved into his current position in 2005 and is now based in Irvine, California.

Jaideep has been awarded with the Federal Express Five Star Award in 2007 for his work with United States Commercial services (USCS) & California Fashion Association (CFA) in the understanding of the growing competencies of US Exporters in emerging markets. Mr. Chauhan has also been awarded the Federal Express President’s Club Award, and other recognitions for his achievements.

Jaideep received his Bachelor of Commerce degree in India from the University of Delhi as well as the Diploma in Sales & Marketing from the National Institute of Sales in New Delhi.

Shekhar Chitnis
CEO
Chisk, Inc.




 

An accomplished business executive with diverse experiences and a global perspective. Experience ranges from executive position in a Fortune 5 company (Ford) to Board Member, CEO, COO and CFO roles in start-ups (several), services (outsourced services for legal, construction, medical and business professionals; Consulting) and products (Automobiles, Electronics, Golf Clubs, Hi-tech nano-technology materials, Industrial Goods, Magazines). Import and Exports. Worked on 4 continents (North America, Europe, Asia and Australia), lived in 4 countries (USA, U.K., Japan and India). Diverse background (British-born, Naturalized American of Indian origin). Experience ranges from managing large multinational/multi-company teams to working alone as a consultant. Board Member of several companies, including a public company.

Education includes Mechanical and Electrical (Power) Engineering from MANIT, India and MBA in Marketing and Finance from University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business.

Click here for Shekhar's resume.

Joe Chow
Manager, Diverse Business Enterprise
San Diego Gas & Electric and Southern California Gas Company
Sempra Energy Utilities

Joseph Chow is currently manager of the Diverse Business Enterprise organization for San Diego Gas & Electric and Southern California Gas Company commonly known as Sempra Energy Utilities. Mr. Chow is responsible for bringing DBE solutions and content into Southern California Gas and San Diego Gas & Electric Company’s gas operations. Mr. Chow played an integral part of the Sempra DBE team in 2008 by helping the company achieve their 30 percent aspiration goals two years earlier than planned. Mr. Chow has worked hard to achieve high DBE results in an industry that has traditionally been difficult to achieve high results. He was recognized for his outstanding work by the Greater Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce in 2009 receiving the Small Business Advocate of the Year Award. Mr. Chow works to develop relationships both inside and outside the organization by identifying and matching woman owned, minority and service disabled veteran businesses that specialize in natural gas operations, such as pipeline construction and maintenance of natural gas transmission and distribution systems. Mr. Chow also works with a number of national pipeline construction companies and suppliers to assists these prime companies in finding Diverse Business Enterprise (dbe) companies to sub-contract work to.

Mr. Chow has been with Sempra Energy for 19 years and has held a number of responsible positions within Sempra Energy and its predecessor company, Pacific Enterprises. He has held positions in finance and accounting, legal, public policy and government and public affairs.

Mr. Chow is a native from the state of Kansas where he attended high school and college. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from St. Mary’s University and holds a CPA certification. Mr. Chow is married to Tracy and has a two year old daughter, Kennedy. His family resides in Northridge, California.

Michael Cooper
Director, Sourcing & Procurement
Walt Disney Company, Disneyland Resort




 

Michael Cooper is the Director of Sourcing & Procurement for Disney Worldwide Services, supporting the Disneyland Resort.

Michael leads the Disneyland Resort Sourcing & Procurement team consisting of 24 professional Cast Members in various roles supporting the Resort in the areas of Design, Construction & Professional Services, Facilities & Operations Services, Food & Beverage, Marketing and Entertainment.

Michael joined the Disneyland Resort team as the Manager of Food & Beverage Sourcing & Procurement in May 2004. In 2005, Michael’s responsibilities were expanded to encompass the sourcing support for Marketing, Entertainment and Operations where he and his team were responsible for driving cost reduction initiatives while simultaneously identifying supplier capabilities and technologies that ensure outstanding show production, value and service for the Resort.

Prior to joining Disney, Michael held various positions in Strategic Sourcing, Manufacturing and Human Resources for divisions of Nestlé, Heinz and Kraft at locations throughout the US. Michael earned Bachelors of Science Degrees in Management and Finance from the University of Utah.

Michael currently serves on the board of the Cypress College Foundation and has formerly served on the boards of United Cerebral Palsy of Utah and the Tea Association of the United States.

Carolina Coppolo
Department Manager, Contracts & Procurement
Contracts Administration and Materials Management
ORANGE COUNTY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY
 

Carolina worked in contracts since November 1996. She started working in the Aerospace industry on contracts with Boeing, McDonnell Douglas, Sikorsky and the US Air Force. She transitioned to JPL/NASA and managed software/hardware and non-flight research and development contracts. She was promoted to Supervisor at JPL and managed staff with various procurements for fabrication, test and lab supplies, as well as task services and labor hour contracts.

Her career at OCTA began in January 2006 where she managed the Procurement team for general goods and services, and professional and consultant services. She is a Department Manager, Contracts and Procurement and oversee the Procurement, Maintenance Procurement, and Inventory Sections of the Contracts Administration and Materials Management Department.

Paul  Duncan
Business Development Officer, Western Region
Export-Import Bank

 

Paul Duncan is a Business Development Officer for the Western Regional office of the Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank) of the United States located in Newport Beach, CA
 
Mr. Duncan assists U.S. exporters, financial institutions and other export related entities in securing export financing through political and commercial risks coverage available through Ex-Im Bank.  Mr. Duncan’s regional responsibilities are the Los Angeles Basin, and Washington State.
 
The Western Regional office of the Ex-Im Bank, is responsible for business development in the western states.  Ex-Im Bank offers a variety of programs designed to help exporters make sales when other sources of assistance are unavailable or inadequate.  The focus of the office is to assist small firms in their efforts to fund overseas purchase orders through working capital guarantees, as well as protecting exporters against foreign political and commercial credit risks.
 
Mr. Duncan holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Oklahoma, and is married with two young children.

Rossina Gallegos
Vice President
Union Bank

 

Rossina Gallegos is Vice President of Union Bank of California.  During her 28 years experience at Union Bank of California, Rossina has held a variety of positions that include Commercial Lender, Hispanic Segment Manager and currently Community Development Officer.
 
During her long career with Union Bank, Rossina developed expertise in working with ethnic markets, providing commercial credit facilities and other bank products and services to minority and women-owned business in California.  From 2000 to 2006, Rossina was responsible for marketing, brand awareness, and delivery of Union Bank promotional products and campaigns targeting the Hispanic market in Southern California.
 
She is also very active in building partnerships with key professional and educational community-based organizations.  She serves as member of the Corporate Advisory Board for the Asian Business Association in Los Angeles, and the Asian Business Association in Orange County, the National Hispanic Business Women Association, and the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts. Rossina currently serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Weingart YMCA, MOMS of Orange County, and The HeArt Project.  
 
Rossina has received the following recognitions:
Medal of Excellence Award by the organization Women at Work in 2003.
Business Woman Mother of the Year in 2004 by the non profit organization MOMS (Maternal Outreach Management System).
Community Leader for Financial Literacy by the Boyle Heights College Institute in 2005.
Corporate Service Award from Union Hispana Newspaper of Orange County in 2006.
Business Woman of the Year by the National Hispanic Business Women Association in 2007.
2009 Dulcinea Award by the ELLAS (Embracing Latinas Leadership Alliances)

William Tolin Gay
Attorney and Head, Corporate Practice
Luce Forward Hamilton & Scripps LLP

 





William Tolin Gay is the head of the corporate practice in the Orange County office of Luce Forward Hamilton & Scripps LLP.  He graduated from the University of Washington, where he received his J.D. in 1982, his MBA in 1983 and his LL.M. in Japanese law in 1984.   

From 1984 to 1988, he practiced law in Tokyo, where he represented U.S. companies in their Japanese operations, and Japanese issuers and underwriters in Eurobond securities issues.  He speaks and reads Japanese.  

Since 1988, he has worked in Southern California, where his practice focuses on corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, and technology transfers.  He is a California certified mediator.  Earlier this year, he took a small wind power company public in the U.S.  His is currently working with a gold mining company with operations in Colombia, a Major League Baseball player from Japan, a high end audio manufacturer, and the Government of Mongolia, in its wind power and water purification initiatives.  

He has served on the Executive Committee of the Business Law Section of the State Bar of California, and is a former Chair of its Committee on Cyberspace Law, as well as a former Board Member and President of the Corporate and Business Law Section of the Orange County Bar Association, and has served on the International and Software & Technology Committees of the Orange County chapter of the AEA.  He has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© for 2006 through 2010, and in 2009 he was named the Best Lawyers “Corporate Lawyer of the Year” for Orange County.

Archimedes C. Gomez
Trade Representative
Philippine Trade and Investment Center, Los Angeles

 





Hon. Archimedes C. Gomez currently serves as the Trade Representative (TR) of the Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC) in Los Angeles City – an international arm of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) of the Republic of the Philippines. PTIC LA is an attached agency of the Consulate and it has been in operation for 28 months.

Prior to his posting in USA, TR Gomez served as the Commercial Attaché of PTIC Guangzhou in China for 5½ years. Among his major accomplishments include the realization of a positive balance of trade in favor of the Philippines, substantial increase in trade volume, increase in export of traditional products, promotion and export of non-traditional products and the organization of the first Philippines-China Chamber of Commerce – one of the 19 accredited Chambers of Commerce in China and the only one with office outside of Beijing.

Prior to joining the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), TR Gomez has worked with Land Bank of the Philippines for 11 years holding the position of Bank Executive Officer. His main responsibility was to evaluate and determine the feasibility of agribusiness loans prior to its approval.

TR Gomez has a short stint as plant supervisor at SEA Commercial Company, an agricultural machinery and spare part trading and manufacturing firm, where he supervised 10 technical staff responsible in manufacturing single-pass and multi-pass rice mill, power tiller and repair of single piston engines. He also handled the design, application for warranty and conduct of feasibility study on the development of new agricultural machineries.

He obtained his Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Engineering (BSAEng’g) degree from Benguet State University, La Trinidad, Benguet, Philippines graduating at the top of his class (Cum Laude) in 1985. He took and passed the Professional Agricultural Engineering Licensure Examination on the same year landing among the top 20 examinees.

To prepare himself for supervisory and managerial level position, he pursued and finished his Master in Business Administration (MBA) from Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) – one of the known Universities in the Philippines – as government scholar in 1993. He was among the first Local Scholarship Program grantee of the Philippine government.

A year later, he pursued and finished his Master in Applied Business Economics Program (ABEP) from the University of Asia and the Pacific (formerly known as the Center for Research and Communication). In his batch of 25 students, he was one of the three (3) who finished the program. He wrote and defended his thesis entitled "Evaluating Credit Worthiness of a Universal Bank’s SME Borrowers using Multivariate Discriminant Analysis".

(For info: PTIC LA holds office at 3250 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 602, Los Angeles, CA 90010 and TR Gomez can be contacted via (213) 822-4479 and (213) 572-7204. His office e-mail address is ptic-la@earthlink.net.)


 

Monica Heredia
Manager, Supplier Diversity
Verizon

 

Monica Heredia is a California native who has lived in Southern California her entire life.

She began her career over 25 years ago at Verizon, formerly GTE, in the Supply Operations organization and was involved with planning and purchasing telecommunications material. She served as a Sr. Project Manager for Major Network Construction Projects for over 8 years prior to becoming a Supplier Diversity Manager. She has worked in the Supplier Diversity organization for the last 5 years.

Monica holds a Bachelors’ Degree in Business Administration from the University of LaVerne, a Project Management Certificate from George Washington University and a Master’s Degree in Business Management from the University of Redlands.

 

 

Steve Jones
Air Service Development
Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA)

 

Steve Jones joined the Air Service Marketing Division of Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) in May 2008. During his short tenure, he has worked with local businesses, travel partners, local officials, and international consulates to promote and support new air service at LAX and LA/Ontario airports. In the past year Steve has assisted in the coordination of launch activities for Alitalia Airlines, Emirates, V Australia, JetBlue, and Volaris. These efforts over time will result in millions of dollars or incremental annual revenue to LAWA, and billions of dollars of incremental economic impact to the Southern California economy. Steve has also worked closely with Webber Air Cargo, Inc. on the LAX Cargo Assessment Project to create rationalized guidelines for leasing decisions pertaining to cargo carriers and ground handlers at LAX.

Prior to joining Air Service Development, he served as the contract manager for the LAX Shuttle, which provides on-site and off-site shuttle services for over 12M passengers and employees annually.

In 2003, Steve also oversaw the Air Carrier Operating Permits of all air passenger and air cargo carries at LAX. Steve began his career at LAWA in 2001 with Airport Police and oversaw the Airport Security Program post 9/11.

Steve earned a B.A. degree in political science from the University of California at Berkeley in 1990, as well as a juris doctorate from Loyola Law School in 1999.

Ted W. Lieu
Assemblymember, 53rd Assembly District
State of California




 

Assemblymember Ted W. Lieu represents the 53rd Assembly District, which stretches from Venice and parts of Los Angeles to Torrance and Lomita along the coast. He was elected in September 2005, re-elected in November 2006, and re-elected again in November 2008. Assemblymember Lieu has led the fight in California against Wall Street’s excesses and fought to reform the subprime mortgage system and reduce home foreclosures. As an activist legislator, he has taken on special interests and successfully authored laws in the areas of public safety, child sex offenders, domestic violence, the environment, education, health care, veterans issues, and transportation. Numerous law enforcement, civic, and community groups have recognized Ted for his accomplishments.

Some of his legislative achievements include the following:

• AB 1900 prevents convicted child sex offenders from working with children, (Chapter 340, Statutes of 2006);
• AB 2052 allows a victim of domestic violence to break a rental lease if the victim provides a police report or temporary restraining order to the landlord, (Chapter 440, Statutes of 2008);
• AB 86 gives school districts the ability to discipline students who engage in cyberbullying, (Chapter 646, Statutes of 2008);
• AB 800 requires reporting of sewage spills thereby allowing the local public safety official to close down beaches and public areas affected by such spills, (Chapter 371, Statutes of 2007);
• AB 236 mandates the state to prioritize the purchase of fleet cars to enhance fuel efficiency and carbon reduction, and requires alternative fuel capable vehicles to use alternative fuels, (Chapter 593, Statutes of 2007);
• AB 392 requires employers to give spouses of armed forces members returning from deployment two weeks of unpaid leave if requested by the spouse, (Chapter 361, Statutes of 2007); and
• AB 1150 bans health insurance companies from providing financial incentives to their employees for terminating health care coverage of patients, (Chapter 188, Statutes of 2008).

Dedicated to his country, Assemblymember Lieu currently holds the rank of Major in the United States Air Force Reserves. He served on active duty for four years as a member of the JAG Corps. As a military prosecutor and adviser to commanders, he has received numerous awards and medals for his service and dedication to men and women in our Armed Forces, both abroad and locally.

Prior to his election to the State Assembly, Assemblymember Lieu served on the Torrance City Council, as well as the City's Environmental Quality & Energy Conservation Commission. While on the City Council he worked with the Friends of Torrance Animals to improve the quality of animal control services and reduce the unnecessary euthanization of animals.

He also served on the Rampart Independent Review Panel, which conducted a review of the Los Angeles Police Department after the Rampart scandal and issued strong recommendations for reform.

Assemblymember Lieu has experience in the private sector as well and worked in the field of civil law. He also served as a judicial clerk to the late Honorable Thomas Tang of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Assemblymember Lieu graduated from Stanford University in 1991 earning a bachelor's of science in computer science and a bachelor of arts in political science. In 1994, he graduated magna cum laude with a juris doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center. He served as Editorin- Chief of the Law Review and received four American Jurisprudence awards.

Assemblymember Lieu is Chair of the Assembly Rules Committee. He is also a member of the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee, Assembly Judiciary Committee and Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee. He is also the Chair of the Asian Pacific American Legislative Caucus.

The love of his life, his wife Betty, is a former California Deputy Attorney General. They reside in the City of Torrance with their two sons – Brennan and Austin.

Jim MacLellan
Director of Trade Services
Port of Los Angeles




 

As Director of Trade Services for the Port of Los Angeles, Jim MacLellan is responsible for the direction and management of outreach to beneficial cargo owners and their professional associations. He is also responsible for trade promotion programs to encourage increased trade through the Port of Los Angeles and the Southern California Gateway. This includes outreach efforts to encourage local small to medium size business to consider export markets. Additional outreach includes local and national customs brokers and freight forwarder associations, as well as major commodity sectors.

MacLellan has held this position since January 2007, and previously was Director of Marketing, at which time he directed marketing programs, coordinated the activities of the Port's ten international offices and worked with both customers and service providers to help build the Port's long-term clientele. Prior to joining the Port of Los Angeles in 1992, he spent more than 20 years working in the international shipping industry.

MacLellan holds a bachelor's degree in economics and political science from Sir George Williams University. For a number of years he taught a course on International Shipping at UCLA Extension as well as for a special international MBA program at the Anderson Business School. In 2008 he conducted a course on trade and shipping at the Monterey Institute of International Studies (The Graduate School of International Policy Studies). He is a Director of the U.S. - Mexico Chamber of Commerce (Southern California), the Foreign Trade Association (Southern California), the French - American Chamber of Commerce, the Southern California District Export Council of the U.S. Department of Commerce (2008) and the California Council for International Trade (merged in 2007 with the California Chamber of Commerce).

 

Patrick D Mulcahy
Founder \ President
Team China/California LLC

 

 * Recipient: "International Energy Fund" Grant Award (2002) from the California Energy Commission for development of the clean air power plant in Luoyang, Henan, China
* Recipient: "International Energy Fund" Grand Award (2003) for the "energy-efficient" wastewater treatment projects in Sichuan and Jilin Provinces, China
* Appointed to the Southern California District Export Council by Secretary of Commerce Don Evans (2003); reappointed under Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez (2005-2009).
* Active in the export of California & USA equipment and technology to service the water remediation sector in China; Recipient of "Success Story" from USA Consulate, Shenyang, China (2004)
* Delegate to the "Environmental Roundtable" between the California EPA & the Beijing EPB as part of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's 2005 Trade Mission to China
* Member, District Export Council, U.S. Dept. of Commerce; Board of Directors American-Chinese CEO Society (www.americanchineseceo.org); Advisory Board Member, Professional Assoc. for China’s Environment (PACE)
* Keynote Speaker or Panelist at more than 20 Sino-USA Trade Conferences

Mr. Mulcahy has more than two decades of experience in China in the management of joint venture agreements, international finance, and engineering of infrastructure projects, import/export and China market expansion strategies for USA equipment and technologies. Through his many associations, he has developed strategic partners in Beijing, Jilin Province, Shanghai, Shenyang and Chengdu, Sichuan. Team China/California has a China Country Manager, located in Beijing. The company is currently in development of three 100 MW Wind Power projects in China.

Mr. Mulcahy has spoken at numerous international forums for the U.S. Department of Commerce, California Energy Commission, U.S. Department of Energy, Asian Development Bank (Shanghai), Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, American Marketing Assoc., American Water Works Assoc., the Asia Now Conference (Florida), the Southern California International Trade Conference, the Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce and many others.

He has received numerous awards for outstanding contribution, including the State of California Senate and the California State Assembly; City of Santa Barbara for the International Film Festival, China Film Bureau; "Torch Award" from the State Science & Technology Bureau (Beijing, China), and a Special Award from the "Chinese Entrepreneur Society" (Shanghai, China). He was a founding member of the National Fitness Academy and was nominated to the President's Council on Physical Fitness & Health by Coach George Allen. He is the recipient of numerous awards for marketing and introduction of new consumer and industrial products and special event promotion in the American and international marketplace.

CONTACT DATA:
patrick@teamchinausa.com
www.teamchinausa.com
3138 Madeira Avenue
Costa Mesa, California 92626
714-424-9999 (USA)




 

Dwight Nakata, CPA, CFP
Yamada & Nakata CPA's and Advisors



 




ABAOC Board Member



 

Nguyen X Nguyen
CEO
Cosemi Technologies Inc.




 

Dr. Nguyen is a leading expert in the field of compound semiconductor device technologies. Dr. Nguyen has over 17 years experience in both compound semiconductor product development and foundry operations management. His expertise ranges from specialized high power electronic devices (HFET, HBT, etc) to high speed, optical communication, integrated circuits (InP HBT ICs). Dr. Nguyen began his career at HRL Laboratories where he pioneered several key innovations using GaN HFET for applications in high-power electronics. Dr. Nguyen has over 25 publications in referred journals and 3 awarded patents. He received his Ph. D. from the University at Santa Barbara.

Cosemi Technologies Inc.
17110 Armstrong Avenue
Irvine, CA 92614, USA
www.cosemi.com

 

Erica L. Opstad
Vice President
National Partnerships & West Region Manager, Community Affairs Division
U.S. Bank



 

Erica Opstad is the National Partnerships and West Region Manager for Community Affairs at U.S. Bank, the 6th largest commercial bank in the United States. As the National Partnerships Manager, Erica works with the national offices of nonprofit and community development organizations in order to advance U.S. Bank’s economic development, philanthropic, and business strategies. Her responsibilities as the West Region Manager involve managing a team of nine Community Development Managers located in and around western states from California to Missouri. The Community Development team is responsible for managing U.S. Bank’s performance under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA).

Prior to joining U.S. Bank, Erica worked as a legislative advisor for a California State Assembly member and later for the City of San Diego Mayor and Council. Her start in banking came in 1997 when she joined Peninsula Bank which was acquired by U.S. Bank in 1999.

Erica Opstad is a graduate of San Diego State University with a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies and a master’s degree in Public Administration. Erica is also a graduate of Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington.


 

Lily Otieno, MSc., PMP
Certified Project Management Professional


 

Lily brings over 20 years of international management experience to Infinity Business Solutions. A native of Kenya, Lily graduated from California State University of Fullerton with a Masters degree in Policy & Planning. She is also a certified project management professional by the project management institute of America. She has had extensive training in business and entrepreneurship development from various organizations such as USAID, World Bank and other local organizations.

In the past twenty years, she has worked with various governmental and non governmental agencies in securing grants and contracts. She worked in the corporate environment for over ten years and rose to executive management. While working in the corporate arena, she was a recipient of the “Manager of the year Award.”- The most coveted award among managers and directors. This award recognizes the exceptional members of the management team, and voted for by employees as well as managers. With these experiences she decided to take her experience and build businesses to help other businesses owners develop and become raising stars. Her passion for service and knowledge sharing led her to the consulting environment where she could help other businesses owners excel in their industries.

In her present capacity, she works with business owners to facilitate business design, operational, management, small business certifications, compliance, and strategy matters. Over the past several years she has worked with over 100 progressive businesses and propelled them to the next step in business growth and development.
Lily is married and lives in Fullerton with her family.

Mark Roeske
Director/Principal, ChangeOut Consulting
Adjunct Professor, Paul Merage School of Business, UC Irvine







Mark is an adjunct professor at the UC Irvine Merage School of Business and Chapman University Business School. He currently is Principal/Owner of ChangeOut Consulting, a turnaround, business development and interim management organization located in Southern California and formerly Tokyo. Mark worked in ten countries outside of the United States, and mainly in Japan, Hong Kong and China. His original overseas assignments were to establish startup managed services outsourcing businesses for Xerox (and FujiXerox) overseas. His industry experience covers solutions and services, high tech, branding/corporate identity, telecom and hospitality in both US-based and traditional Japanese companies.

Mark has held senior headquarters positions within Xerox, and for nine years he was the leader in many business improvement, business development and critical turnaround efforts within the US in both sales/marketing and production operations. He was a divisional guru/advisor in process management and design, leading efforts in profit and performance improvement across the division. Prior to moving to Asia, he directed teams or individually performed turnarounds. The number of employees directly reporting to him varied from few to hundreds.

Mark has been quite active, in the past, in the American Chamber of Commerce Japan, Turnaround Management Association, Association of Corporate Growth and the Japan America Society. Mark has participated in US/Japan Foreign Direct Investment events and supported the American Chamber's policy efforts within the Japanese Diet. He has been quoted/called upon by Bloomberg News for discussion regarding events relative to the market and turnarounds.

Mark is originally from Southern California and is a graduate of the University of California at Irvine. While he has spent a great deal of time inside technology companies - his expertise is found mainly focusing on management, strategy, process, organizational learning and people, an area that transcends all industries. Mark T. Roeske Adjunct Professor, 714-553-2124 Global Strategy, New Business Ventures UC Irvine Paul Merage School of Business www.ChangeOutConsulting.com

 

 

R Sampath
Director, Global Sourcing
Quanta Consulting, Inc.




 

Sampath is Director at Quanta Consulting, Inc., a US management consulting firm specializing in global markets, sourcing, trade and risk mitigation. Based in Los Angeles, he is a huge proponent of globalization and provides comprehensive guidance to corporations on global & India business strategy. Sampath’s passions include public policy, efforts in rural India and enabling technologies. He speaks extensively on these topics at conferences and in the media.

Backed by over 2 decades of experience, knowledge, and strong networks in India and California, he brings a unique perspective to corporations and new ventures. Prior to Quanta Consulting, Sampath held senior management, marketing & technology positions at Capital One, Reuters, and technology start-ups.

Sampath’s activities include:
IEEE-USA Professional Leadership Award for public policy initiatives in education & engineering in California.
Texas Workforce Commission, Job Creation & Economic Development Grant Partner.
Steering Committee, California Governor’s Career Technical Education Initiative, Orange County.
Adjunct Professor for Global Business at the University of California Irvine’s Merage School of Business.
Chairman, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Orange County, California.

Sampath holds an MBA from the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business.

 

Jay Skolnick, CMFC, CLTC, LUTCF
Managing Director, Greater Orange Coast Agency
Prudential Insurance Company of America


 

Jay joined The Prudential Insurance Company of America in April 1992 in the San Diego office. He was a producer for 3 years and qualified for Conference all 3 years.

In 1995, he was promoted to Manager, Financial Services in the San Diego office. He received 5 consecutive President’s Citation awards and his staff finished #2 in the country in 2000.

In 2001 he was promoted to Associate Managing Director (AMD) and was immediately activated as the Acting Managing Director for the Fresno office. He stayed in that position for approximately 5 months, but eventually declined the position. Jay returned to San Diego as the AMD and assisted the San Diego Agency to finish #1 in the country in 2001.

In Mid 2002, Jay was promoted to the Managing Director position in Salt Lake City, Utah. At his arrival, the Salt Lake City office was one of the lowest ranking offices in the Western Region. That year he not only achieved 3 consecutive quarters at Triple Crown, but also kept the Salt Lake City office consistently in the top 25 of the Company.

In September 2003, Jay relocated to the Greater Orange Coast Agency as Managing Director. With Jay’s assistance, the Greater Orange Coast Agency has been an award winning office for the past 5 years and is consistently one of the leading agencies in the country. His office is currently ranked 4th out of 51 agencies.

Jay graduated from San Diego State University in 1991 as an Economics Major. He has 11 consecutive Conference Qualifying years with Prudential. He has won numerous GAMA awards. He earned his Life Underwriters Training Council Fellow (LUTCF) in 1996, his Charter Mutual Fund Counselor (CMFC) in 2000 and his Certified in Long Term Care (CLTC) in 2001. He is currently working on his Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) designation.

Jay is married, his wife’s name is Tammy and he has two children, Danielle 13 years old and Jordon 10 years old.

Erlinda R. Stone
President & CEO
APR Consulting, Inc.




 

Linda Stone is the President and CEO of APR Consulting, Inc. (APR) a “Staffing Solutions” providing recruitment, payroll and vendor managed services to clients throughout the U.S. APR started out as an Information Technology solutions and consulting service provider to large aerospace and utility companies. In the early 1990s, APR expanded and added Staffing Services to its service offerings. From there it further expanded to providing Recruitment services (temporary staffing, temp-to-hire, direct hire), Employment and Human Resource Outsourcing such as hiring client’s referred personnel and retirees (some refers to as Payrolling) and performing all or part of the clients HR functions; and had just recently added Vendor Managed Services to its service offering. APR customizes its staffing services and recommends the solutions that make business sense to its clients.

Linda Stone has been an active officer and member of various business organizations. She is serving as a Board Member of Southern California Minority Business Development Councils (SCMBDC) and serves as the Chairperson of the Minority Business Enterprise Input Committee (SCMBDC-MBEIC). She was one of the founders, Past President and Current President of Asian Business Association of Orange County (ABAOC). Linda is also an active member and served as a Board Member of Asian Business Association (ABALA) and Filipino-American Chamber of Commerce of Orange County (FACCOC).

APR, through her leadership, has received many awards and recognition from its clients. For five (5) consecutive years, APR has been receiving the GOLD Supplier Award from Northrop Grumman. APR also received Strategic Sourcing Partner from VOLT Services for filling SCE’s staffing needs. In 2007, APR was the SCMBDC Supplier of the Year, Class III. In 2008, APR was the runner-up of the SCMBDC Supplier of the Year, Class IV; and in 2009, APR was the SCMBDC Supplier of the Year, Class IV. APR also had received several awards and recognition from NAWBO-OC and NAWBO-LA; Asian Business Association of Orange County (ABAOC), and Filipino-Americans Chamber of Commerce of Orange County (FACCOC).

Linda Stone never stops learning. She always takes advantage of management training programs and scholarships awarded to her by various companies. She attended the UCLA MDE Certification Program sponsored by Sempra Energy; Growing Your Business to Scale at Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth sponsored by Bank of America; Strategic Planning sponsored by NAWBO through CitiBank; and CapGemini ASE program through SCMBDC. She applies the knowledge she gained in growing her company into what it is today. Linda came to the U.S. with a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education at Philippine Normal College (now a University); and attended graduate studies at Claremont Graduate School in Montclair towards her Master Degree in MIS.

Other community involvement:
* Mentorship program – mentor for minority businesses in California through Sandia National Laboratory’s Mentor/Protégé Program (4 years)
* Orange County Children’s Foundation – provide mentorship thru APR’s Orange County Branch under Aaron Stone’s leadership.

Grace Whitcomb
Diversity Manager
Southern California Edison




 

Grace Whitcomb is a Diversity Manager with Southern California Edison, one of the nation’s largest investor-owned electric utilities, based in Rosemead, California. Grace began her career with Edison in 1983. During her tenure with the company, she worked as a stenographer, office supervisor, and a productivity improvement program administrator. The main focus of Grace’s job entails connecting diverse suppliers with Edison business opportunities and entrepreneurial development programs.

Born in Macau and educated in Hong Kong, Grace moved to California in 1974. She attended school at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising where she earned an Associate Degree in Fashion Design.

Representing Edison, Grace serves on the Corporate Advisory Councils of the Asian Business Association, Los Angeles and Orange County chapters, and the Chinese-American Construction Professionals. She is a board member of the Asian Business Association (L.A. Chapter) and the Orange County Chinese-American Chamber of Commerce. Grace also serves as the utility’s liaison with the National Association of Women Business Owners, (Los Angeles, Orange County and Inland Empire Chapters), the Filipino American Chamber of Commerce of Orange County, and the South Asian Business Alliance Network. She is a member of the Asian Pacific American Legal Center’s Executive Advisory Board.

Grace is a recipient of the Women’s Enterprise Development Corporation’s 1991-2001 Award for Service to the Community of Entrepreneurial Women, past recipient of Asian Business Association’s (both Los Angeles and Orange County Chapters) Special Advocate of the Year Awards, the Asian Business Association of Orange County’s Eagle Award, the Chinese-American Construction Professionals’ President’s Award. In 2005, Grace was recognized by the National Association of Women Business Owners’ (Inland Empire Chapter) with the Amazing Woman of the Year Award. In 2006, Grace was the recipient of Asian Business Association of Orange County’s Corporate Advocate of the Year Award and was on the Women’s Enterprise USA magazine’s List of 100 Women Impacting Supplier Diversity. In 2007, Grace was one of the 50 women in Los Angeles honored at the Big Thinking Women’s 50 @ 50 Awards for success in her field and in community involvement. In July of 2009, Grace received the Public Service Award from the Chinese American Construction Professionals.

Grace serves on the Honorary Board of the Center for the Pacific Asian Family, a nonprofit organization that provides shelter for survivors of domestic violence and abused children. She is an active board member and mentor of the Asian American Professionals Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of Asian Americans in Corporate America through career and leadership development. She is a volunteering Big Sister to the Big Brother Big Sister organization’s community-based mentoring program. She believes in utilizing her knowledge, experience, and resources to encourage other Asian Americans to realize and develop their full potential. Grace is the past president of Edison’s Chinese American employee’s affinity group. She is a supporter of the United Negro College Fund and participates in their Walk for Education event annually. Grace is also a long-time supporter of the Guide Dogs for the Blind San Rafael in California. She contributes women and minority business-related articles to trade association newsletters and business journals.

Grace enjoys attending the theater, music, sketching, reading, traveling, calligraphy artwork and glass painting. She resides with her husband Gene in the City of Montebello.