Speaker Bios - 2008 India Trade Seminar

Claudio Lilienfeld, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

Mr. Lilienfeld is the Acting Assistant U.S Trade Representative for South and Southwest Asia in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. He oversees the development of U.S. trade policy and negotiation strategies for the South Asia region (which includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) and Iraq.

Prior to this position, Mr. Lilienfeld served as Director, South Asian Affairs, in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. During this period (1999-2006), his responsibilities included managing the development and implementation of the Administration's significant new initiatives and with India and Pakistan, as well as policy oversight for operations in Afghanistan.

From 2003-2004, Mr. Lilienfeld was on an Office of the Secretary of Defense fellowship as a visiting scholar at Johns Hopkins University's School for Advanced International Studies, where he focused on examining U.S. strategy in South Asia.

Prior to his South Asia work, Mr. Lilienfeld oversaw the Department of Defense's humanitarian relief operations worldwide (1993-1999), and also served in positions handling military assistance and sales programs and legislative relations in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (1989-1993).

Mr. Lilienfeld received a Bachelors degree in Geophysics in 1984 and a Master's degree in International Relations in 1987, both from the University of Chicago.
 

Paul Tambakis, Director, Newport Beach Export Assistance Center, U.S. Commercial Service, US Department of Commerce

Paul is the current Director of the Newport Beach Export Assistance Center within the U.S. Commercial Service, US Department of Commerce. His Center is an integral part of a Worldwide Network established to help U.S. businesses succeed in global markets. His team works together to help Orange County businesses export more products and services to expand our local economy and create more international trade-related jobs. Paul is also an active member of the Commercial Service Tourism Team where he helps promote in-bound business and leisure travel to the US.

Prior to his return to Newport Beach in December, 2007, Paul completed a four-year assignment for the Commercial Service as Director for the Pacific Islands in Honolulu, Hawaii. He started his government career in Washington, D.C. working on unfair trade cases at the International Trade Administration. He has traveled extensively throughout the World with the Commerce Department leading trade delegations and resolving over twenty-five trade disputes on behalf of U.S. industries. His private sector experience includes positions in the travel & tourism industry and numerous cooperative education assignments.

He holds an M.B.A. Degree in International Business from George Washington University and a B.S.B.A. Undergraduate Degree in Business Management from Northeastern University in Boston. He is also a graduate of the Executive Development Institute for Tourism at the University of Hawaii's School of Travel Industry Management.
 

Ravi Tilak, President, Almex USA

Mr. Ravi Tilak is President and CEO of Almex USA, Inc, an aluminum equipment supply company with worldwide customer base. Almex specializes in high end aluminum manufacturing including recycling and pollution control technologies. Mr. Tilak has 25 years of experience in the aluminum processing industries in Executive Management, Manufacturing and Technology positions. He has earned the distinction as a "value creator" in the aluminum industry worldwide. He has been instrumental from conceptualization to completion of several green field aluminum projects in China, Russia, Poland and India.

Mr. Tilak holds a Master of Science Degree in Materials Science and has 15 Patents to his credit in the field of molten metal purification and continuous casting of aluminum alloys. He enjoys a track record of successfully commercializing technical innovations. All of the companies Mr. Tilak has been associated with over the past 20 years, have demonstrated continuous growth with significantly higher profit margins than prevalent in the metals industry.

Mr. Tilak is an art benefactor, an avid mountaineer and has been the National Co-Chair for the Fund Raising Committee of US-India Friendship Council. He also serves on the Executive Leadership Committee of America India Foundation chaired by President Bill Clinton.

ABOUT ALMEX USA
ALMEX USA of Buena Park, CA, is a leading global supplier of aerospace and hard alloy aluminum billet casting technology and equipment. The company provides end to end cast house technology, from custom furnaces to lab instruments for manufacturing. Their focus is on the entire melting and casting processes. Almex's patented equipment coupled with significant experience in the day-to-day casthouse operations has proven to be of unique value to it's customers throughout the World in aerospace, automotive and metal/alloy production. Company CEO, Ravi Tilak, and Director Strategy, Subu Arumugam, have worked closely with the U.S. Commercial Service since 2005 to penetrate the Indian market. ALMEX consulted with the Commercial Service in Newport Beach, CA and Chennai, India about their interest in the Indian market. The Commercial Service helped to arrange high-level in-country meetings for ALMEX with Indian firms who would be interested in manufacturing specialty aluminum castings, using ALMEX equipment. As a result of these efforts, Almex won a multi-million dollar order from a major Indian non-ferrous metals powerhouse to supply equipment to manufacture aluminum castings. This also resulted in the establishment of a joint venture between ALMEX and their Indian partner. ALMEX received strong advocacy support from the Commercial Service throughout the negotiations since they faced stiff competition from European competitors.

ALMEX continues to partner with the Commercial Service as the company expands its international presence with five major orders from China and three major sales from Russia and Poland over the past 15 months. For these accomplishments in the international marketplace, the Newport Beach Export Assistance Center has nominated ALMEX USA for the Director General's Export Achievement Certificate.
 

R Sampath, Director, Global Sourcing, Quanta Consulting, Inc

Sampath heads up Global Sourcing at Quanta Consulting, Inc. Spending a significant part of his time in India & Asia, he provides comprehensive guidance to US companies on their global marketing and sourcing initiatives. He is also Adjunct Professor for Global Business & Marketing at the University of California, Irvine.

Sampath has advised US Corporations & private equity firms on their India strategy, marketing, sourcing, partnerships, acquisitions and investments.

Prior to Quanta Consulting, Sampath held senior management, marketing & technology positions at Capital One, Reuters, and start-ups. His speaking engagements and interactive seminars span globalization, public policy, sourcing, and marketing strategy.

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

Bio at http://www.merage.uci.edu/Faculty/FacultyDirectory/FacultyProfiles.aspx?FacultyID=8212
 

Dr. K. Ravi Kumar, Professor, USC Marshall School of Business

Professor of Information and Operations Management
Executive Director, International Experiential Learning Programs
Marshall School of Business University of Southern California

Ravi Kumar received his PhD in Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences in 1981 from Northwestern University

He is widely known for his research on Global Operations, particularly in improving operational performance through cellular design and integrated decision-making with marketing and information technology.

Companies that have funded his research include TRW, Fidelity Investments, Caterpillar, Bourns Instrument, Southern California Edison as well as the National Science Foundation.

Ravi has won several awards for teaching excellence at both the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and University of Southern California, including Outstanding Educator Award (twice) and the Golden Apple Teaching Award.

He serves as a Member of Substantive Change Committee for the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, an organization that accredits schools, colleges and universities in the West Coast of the US.

Ravi has extensive international consulting experience, including projects with companies such as Rolls Royce, BMW, Daimler Benz Aerospace, ABB, Ericsson, BAX Global, Motorola, Reuters, Du Pont, Sanwa Bank, Korea First Bank, Korean Air, Infosys, Acer, and Shell Hong Kong.

Detailed bio at http://mymarshall.usc.edu/portal/subapps/digitalmeasures/facultyBio.jsp?surveyId=48801
 

Julie Anne Hennessy, Director, U.S. Commercial Service, U.S. Department of Commerce

Julie Anne Hennessy joined the U.S. Commercial Service, U.S. Department of Commerce in May 1995 and became the director of the West Los Angeles office in 1999. In addition to her role as director, Ms. Hennessy assists small-to-medium sized companies with their international marketing efforts. Ms. Hennessy began her career in international trade at the Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C. where she worked for six years investigating whether foreign governments or companies were engaging in unfair trade practices. As a U.S. government official, Ms. Hennessy has traveled to Asia, Canada, Europe and South Africa. She holds a Master's Degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from the University of Southern California.
 

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 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. 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 (2008) and the California Council for International Trade (which was merged in 2007 with the California Chamber of Commerce).
 

Roger Clarke, President, LA Customs Brokers & Freight Forwarders Association.

Mr. Roger Clarke was born in Long Beach, CA and grew up in the South Bay area of Los Angeles County. He attended Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Production Management. After pursuing a career in Industrial Engineering in the Chicago, Illinois area, Mr. Clarke returned to the Los Angeles and joined Williams Clarke Company, Inc., an 87-year-old full service family owned customs brokerage business. He has been a licensed Customs Brokers since 1967, is a licensed Ocean Transportation Intermediary and NCBFAA Certified Customs Specialist. As President of Williams Clarke Company, Inc. he has the opportunity to offer his many years of experience in international trade to the importing and exporting community.

Mr. Clarke is presently serving as President of The Los Angeles Customs Broker and Freight Forwarders Association, Inc. In his position as President of the LACBFFA he also serves as a Board Director of the Pacific Coast Council of Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Assns. (PCC). He is a Board Director of the National Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association and also serves on its Other Regulatory Agencies committee. He is a member of the National Fisheries Institute, California Fisheries & Seafood Institute, and the Foreign Trade Association of Southern California.

Mr. Clarke has worked many years with the Los Angeles Customs and Border Protection, Food and Drug Administration, Department of Agriculture, and Fish & Wildlife Service offices to foster better understanding and communications between the agency's and the many industries they regulate.
 

Jay Patel, Westcoast Warehousing, LLC

Westcoast has established a reputation for providing prompt, reliable services to the importing community. By utilizing experienced technology and continuous improvement of our services, the Westcoast name is recognized as a leading provider of third party warehouse, order-fulfillment, retail compliance and E.D.I. services. These core foundations have enabled Westcoast to thrive as a market leader in today's competitive transportation industry..

With 120,000 sq. ft. and growing facilities, we are in the heart of the Alameda Corridor, located next to 710 and 91 freeways. (Main facility in Rancho Dominguez, CA. Branch facility in Carson, CA. Branch Facility in Montebello, CA.)
 

Art Stern, Desk Officer for India, US Department of Commerce

Since 1995, Art Stern has been desk officer for India in the U.S. Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration. His responsibilities include market access, trade agreements compliance, and other bilateral trade issues between the United States and India. From 1995 through 2002, Mr. Stern was also desk officer for Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

During 1985-1995, Mr. Stern was a steel trade specialist in the Commerce Department's Import Administration. He was part of a unit that negotiated and administered steel trade arrangements with several countries, especially the European Union. Mr. Stern also conducted antidumping and countervailing duty investigations and administrative reviews on steel and other products.

Mr. Stern earned an M.A. in International Affairs from The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, and a B.A. in International Relations from the University of California, Los Angeles.
 

Scott Kaiser, Vice President, Wells Fargo HSBC Trade Bank

Scott Kaiser is a Vice President with the Wells Fargo HSBC Trade Bank, in the Irvine regional office. Scott is responsible for developing new business relationships with companies that have large international needs.

Scott has been with the Trade Bank since its inception in 1995 and with Wells Fargo International Group since 1989. Prior to joining the Bank, Scott was with the California Almond Growers Exchange in their export credit department.

Scott has a degree in International Finance from California State University San Francisco.
 

Brian Peck, Counsel for International Trade & IP, Crowell & Moring LLP

Brian K. Peck is a counsel with an international trade practice in the firm's Irvine, California office. Brian's main areas of expertise include international trade law and remedies, trade-related intellectual property matters, international negotiations, and international trade policy.

Before joining Crowell & Moring Brian was Senior Director for Intellectual Property at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative from 2003-2005, and Director of Japanese Affairs from 2001-2003. In his work for the U.S. Trade Representative, Brian was responsible for developing and implementing policies to protect and enforce the copyrights, patents, trademarks and trade secrets of U.S. companies in Latin America, Japan, Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia. Brian was the lead negotiator for the intellectual property chapters in the U.S.-Andean Free Trade Agreement and U.S.-Panama Free Trade Agreement negotiations; and was responsible for overseeing U.S. trading partners' compliance with bilateral and international obligations for the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights. As Director for Japanese Affairs, Brian co-chaired the U.S.-Japan Information Technologies Working Group, and was responsible for regulatory reform initiatives in Japan's legal regime for intellectual property rights, as well as in the IT, e-commerce, and telecommunications sectors. Brian also led bilateral talks with several Asian countries under the WTO negotiations to liberalize international markets for services.

Prior to his work for the U.S. Trade Representative, Brian was an attorney-advisor with the Office of the Chief Counsel for Import Administration at the Department of Commerce from 1998-2001, where he participated in a number of antidumping and countervailing duty cases. Brian also participated in litigation before the Court of International Trade and international dispute settlement panels, including an appearance before a WTO Panel in Geneva.

Before earning his law degree in 1998, Brian lived and worked in Tokyo, Japan for over nine years and held management positions with both U.S. and Japanese companies.

Brian graduated Order of the Coif and received his law degree, cum laude, from the University of San Diego School of Law, where he served as a member of the San Diego Law Review. He received his B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley. Brian is a member of the California Bar and the U.S. Court of International Trade and is fluent in Japanese.

Education
University of California at Berkeley, B.A.
University of San Diego, J.D., 1998 - cum laude, Order of the Coif

Affiliations: Admitted to practice: California, U.S. Court of International Trade
 

David Josephson, Western Regional Director, Export-Import Bank

Western Regional Director of the Export-Import Bank of the United States. Responsible for development of export finance transactions with exporters, banks, commercial lenders and the Ex-Im Bank, utilizing the export risk insurance and guarantees of Ex-Im Bank. Coverage: three offices covering eleven western U.S. States.

Has worked with international technology venture capitalists, on South American investments; and consulted with Latin American financial institutions for their international trade and merchant banking strategy and operations.

For a decade in the 90's he was the Commercial Director of ARBI Transnational, Inc., a Brazilian transnational investment company. Responsible for international sales, finance, and global strategic partnerships for ARBI's twenty-two Brazilian and Chilean companies that operated in copper metallurgy, telecommunications, precision manufacturing, avionics, merchant banking, and international trade.

For twelve years he was a senior international banker heading structured finance and trade banking offices for Union Bank of California and Standard Chartered Bank Limited in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, London, Brazil, and Hong Kong. Responsible for corporate banking relationships with foreign governments, banks, and multi-national corporations.

Mr. Josephson served as a Lieutenant (j.g.) in the U.S. Navy, aboard deep-draft vessels in the Western Pacific and in coastal surveillance and riverine warfare operations in Vietnam.

He has a M.A. in International Management from The Garvin School of International Management (formerly The American Graduate School - Thunderbird), Glendale, AZ, and a B.S. in Engineering from the United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD.
 

Jehil Thakkar, Director, Emerging Markets Practice, KPMG International

Director
Emerging Markets Practice
Business Performance Services

Jehil is a Director in KPMG's BPS practice and is based in the Los Angeles office. He has worked on strategic advisory, business planning, location selection, sourcing and financial advisory engagements in the US and internationally. He is also a member of the Emerging Markets Practice focused on India and China. As part of this practice, he has assisted companies establish US companies establish business relationships with companies in India and China as well as establish a presence in these countries. He has also led teams to work with the Indian government to study foreign markets as well as helped Indian companies develop market entry and business development strategies. Jehil's industry experience includes Industrial Markets, Technology, Investment Management, and Media. Jehil has contributed to several thought leadership pieces on business planning, emerging markets and sourcing and is also a KPMG certified Business Planning Professional

Prior to KPMG, Jehil worked in International Finance and Distribution at 20th Century Fox and in Strategic Planning at Dreamworks SKG . He has also worked as a securities analyst at a large equity research firm in Mumbai. He holds a Masters in Business Administration from the Anderson School at UCLA and a Bachelor in Commerce from the Sydenham college of Commerce and Economics in Mumbai, India.
 

Jeff Jankowiak, Partner, International Risk Consultants, Inc.

Jeff Jankowiak is a Partner in the firm of International Risk Consultants, Inc. headquartered in Columbus, Ohio and Glasgow, Scotland. The firm specializes in credit and political risk insurance, credit risk mitigation and trade finance structuring. Previous to joining IRC, Jeff was Vice President of Marketing, Finance and Administration at Cozzini, Inc., a capital equipment manufacturer for the food industry. Jeff also serves on FCIB's North American Advisory Board.
 

Frank J. Quevedo, Vice President, Equal Opportunity, Southern California Edison

Frank J. Quevedo is vice president of Equal Opportunity for Southern California Edison (SCE), responsible for guiding an organization focused on supporting a strong commitment to work-force diversity and equal opportunity for all employees while fostering a nondiscriminatory work environment that ensures the company benefits from the skills and experiences of employees.

For its diversity efforts in and outside the workplace, SCE has won a host of awards over the past decade, among them being selected several times by Fortune magazine as one of the top 50 companies in America for ethnic minorities.

Quevedo originally joined SCE in 1971 as a representative of Equal Opportunity. He left the company to work at Hunt-Wesson Foods in Orange County, but returned to SCE in 1992. He was named a vice president in 1996.

Quevedo was appointed by President Richard Nixon in 1972 to a local draft board, being one of the youngest - and few - Vietnam veterans appointed during the Vietnam conflict. He served in Washington, D.C., during the Reagan administration as chief of staff to Commissioner Tony Gallegos at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He also was appointed by former California Gov. Jerry Brown in 1979 to State Bar of Governors.

Selected by Hispanic Business magazine for its annual "100 Influentials" listing on four separate occasions, Quevedo belongs to several boards and advisory committees, among them the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, the Tom and Ethel Bradley Foundation, the Women's Foundation of California, and the Brotherhood Crusade.

Quevedo earned a bachelor¹s degree in political science from the University of California, Riverside.
More info at http://www.edison.com/ourcompany/mgmt_bios_sce.asp?id=5237
 

Dr. Subhash Sharma, Dean, Indian Business Academy, Bangalore, India.

Bio at http://www.wwedsubhashsharma.com/BioNote.htm
Past books can be found at http://www.amazon.com/Management-New-Age-Western-Windows/dp/812240944X/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211737726&sr=8-4