Brad Buchholz is Vice President of Edge International. He was previously Vice President of the Orange County World Trade Center Association and assistant manager for LA Trade in Riverside County. Mr. Buchholz has many years of experience in sales, market development, information systems management, strategic planning and as a circuit speaker. Mr. Buchholz widely praised course “Doing Business on the Internet” has made him a recognized Internet marketing expert among Fortune 500 companies and client companies of the Orange County District Export Counsel, where he is a member. Mr. Buchholz holds a MBA degree from Webster University, Irvine, California.

Mr. Paul Duncan is the Business Development Officer for the Western Regional Office of the Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank) of the United States. Mr. Duncan assists exporters and financial institutions in securing export finance through political and commercial risk coverage available through Ex-Imp Bank. Mr. Duncan oversees a variety of programs designed to help exporters make sales when other sources of assistance are unavailable or inadequate, including working capital guarantees, credit insurance, medium and long term guarantees for capital good exports and project finance. Prior to his assignment in Los Angeles, Mr. Duncan was assigned to the Ex-Im Bank’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.. Mr. Duncan holds a B.A. degree from the University of Oklahoma.

Ms. Britta Eriksson, is the founder and President of EuroVAT, Inc.. EuroVAT has built a reputation for excellence in helping Fortune 1000 companies develop a winning strategy for doing business in Europe, Canada and Japan. Among their clients are 3Com Corporation, DreamWorks, General Mills, Infonet Services Corporation, Johnson Controls, Inc., Kingston Technology, Kinko’s International, National Semiconductor, NEC, the Rand Corporation and Volvo. EuroVAT headquarter’s in Culver City, California is a center for VAT information, training and consulting for international VAT account managers. EuroVAT offers solutions regarding VAT activities for companies participating in global projects and joint ventures. Ms. Eriksson is Swedish born and educated in Europe. Her many years of first hand experience handling VAT solutions give her a powerful perspective in VAT management and strategic planning.

Sandy Espinoza has been involved with new technology for over fifteen years and is currently the Director of Web Development for the Entertainment Technology Center at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. In addition to being the Los Angeles Chapter Director for the World Organization of Webmasters, Sandy is also involved in many new technology organizations including the Association of Internet Professionals, Webgrrls, SoftAware and the Association of Macintosh Trainers. She is a frequent trainer as well as a Board member for the Los Angeles Macintosh Group in Santa Monica. Sandy is the owner of “The Web Lady” (http://www.theweblady.com), a web development company that specializes in web site design, e-commerce and internet marketing. She is currently working on an Internet commerce book for Moonlake Media in Los Angeles. Sandy can be reached by phone at 818.589.1603 or by e-mail at [email protected]

Branch Manager and Search Director for Montgomery West in the Torrance, California. Ms. Fafard has close to 20 years of search, sales, financial and customer service experience. Prior to joining Montgomery West, Ms. Fafard held the position of partner in The Partners, LLC, one of Southern California’s largest information technology recruiting firms. Lina also held the position of Controller for a sales and distribution company for several years prior to opening her own accounting firm. She joined the technical recruiting search industry in 1980 and soon thereafter founded Profiles, her own firm. In 1994 Lina initiated the merger of five software placement firms, creating The Partners, LLC. She’s also a columnist for Computer World magazine.

Dawn D. Fleming is an attorney specializing in international law and international business transactions. She acquired ten years of experience dealing with secured transactions, finance and lending prior to practicing law. Ms. Fleming has extensive experience in recommending a critical path for legal decisions to satisfy both short and long-term goals. She is also adept at identifying legal pitfalls and suggesting practical strategies for their prevention. In addition, Ms. Fleming offers her clients advice on foreign investment and registration requirements of host countries, documentation assistance with letters of credit, contract negotiation and purchase orders for worldwide procurement.

Founder and president of AmTrade International Corporation. Michael R. Granat has, for over 25 years, provided international trade and finance services for both American and foreign-based companies and governments. Mr. Granat has served as president of StanChart Trading Company of the United Kingdom, International Sales Manager of Purex Corp. and Trade Advisor for the Korean and British Government. Mr. Granat is past president of the Export Managers Association and the International Marketing Association and was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to the Southern California District Export Council where he currently serves as Chairman. Mr. Granat holds an MBA from CSU Long Beach and has published a celebrated book entitled “Real World Trade.” Mr. Granat is the senior consultant and presenter for the CITD.

Mr. Richard Hatfield is one of the founding members of Centra Worldwide, Inc.’s International Trade Show Division where he now serves as Manager. Mr. Hatfield has many years of experience in international trade show planning and implementation both from a marketing and a logistics point of view. Prior to his current position, Mr. Hatfield was the manager for TWI Exhibition and Logistics, the world largest firm of its type. Mr. Hatfield has an impressive portfolio of well known firms. After many years of providing cost effective and knowledgeable advise to small and corporate giants, he is now able to help CITD clients become successful trade show participants.

Ted Johnson is highly recognized in the Southern California foreign trade community where he has been a leader for over 40 years. Mr. Johnson established First Interstate Bank (FIB) first international Banking Office and served there for 35 years. By the mid 1980s, his Trade Finance portfolio had already exceeded $200 Million. Concurrent with other assignment with FIB, Mr. Johnson also was named the Canadian and Mexican Regional Manager. In 1990, Mr. Johnson established the Trade Finance Operation for Pacific Bank and rose to the position of Senior Vice President. Ted has taught International business and finance at UCLA and USC for many years. Mr. Johnson was a founder of the International Marketing Association of Orange County and the Export Managers Association where he served as President. He was also elected President of the Foreign Trade Association. Mr. Johnson received his undergraduate degree from Berkeley and his graduate degree from Thunderbird Graduate School in Phoenix.

Alex Lightman graduated with a Masters degree in Civil Engineering from MIT in 1983 and has worked on pioneering sales of high technology ever since. He has produced over 50 Internet projects as the founder of two Internet companies, more than half in 3-D, and is currently producing www.neuromancer.org, the largest 3-D marketing site to date. He has conducted business throughout Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, generating sales of over 300 million dollars, and was among the first visionaries to sell artificial intelligence software, financial engineering workstations, and Internet Virtual Reality. He is currently president of S2COM, a LEO satellite start-up. He is a contributing writer of information technology and entrepreneurship celebrated magazines such as Red Herring and The Futurist.

Craig Mitchell is an attorney at law with the firm of Horton, Whiteley & Cooper and has served in the U.S. District Court, the U.S. Court of International Trade, the U.S. Court of Appeals and has been a licensed Customhouse Broker since 1983. Mr. Mitchell has more than 10 years experience as an import specialist.

In addition, he was the District and Regional Import Manager for a major international airfreight forwarder and customhouse broker. As Import Manager he was responsible for the firm’s import activities into eight gateway cities in the United States. Mr. Mitchell advises domestic and international firms on U.S. import & export control and licensing regulations plus a full range of other important legal aspects of conducting international business. Mr. Mitchell received his Bachelors degree from CSU Dominguez Hills. He studied for one year at the Université d‘Aix-Marseille in France and received his Doctor of Law degree at Western State University College of Law, Fullerton, California.

Beth Siapkas is a Sales Executive for Centra Worldwide, a distinguished freight forwarder. Ms. Siapkas has more than twenty years experience in international business, specializing in transportation and cost effective shipping. She is International Air Transportation Association (IATA), hazardous material, and U.S. Customs Compliance certified. Ms. Siapkas holds office in several international organizations and serves on the Board of Directors for the International Marketing Association (IMA). Having owned her own import/export business, combined with her years of logistics experience, she is able to quickly identify the transportation needs of everyone from the first timer to the largest corporation.

Farid Tahbaz holds a BA degree in International Business from CSU Fullerton and has decades of business experience in Asia and the Middle East. Farid served as International Marketing Manager for AmTrade International Corporation and more recently was named to a Marketing and Sales position with the International Division of WESCO Distribution, Inc.. Farid Tahbaz is a member of the International Marketing Association of Orange County (IMA) and the Mexico Business Networking Group.

Mr. Peter Tam is First Vice President of Trade Finance at Far East National Bank. For over 25 years, Mr. Tam has negotiated trade finance and consulted bank clients on trade financing and international banking. He helps eligible export clients gain access to alternative financing and government export credit programs. Prior to his current position, Mr. Tam held management assignments in Asia and the United States with major banks. Mr. Tam was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to the District Export Council of Southern California where he serves as Treasurer and Director. Mr. Tam has served the international trade community for many years in the California Central Coast World Trade Association, the Ventura County Economic Development Association and the Center for International Trade Development. He holds a Diploma in Banking from the London Institute of Bankers and a graduate study Management certificate from the University of Southern California.

Mr. Weston is President of Export Compliance Systems in El Segundo, California. Mr. Weston has over 20 years experience in export and import regulation compliance for major corporations. He served as Corporate Manager of Export Licensing for Hughes Electronics Corporation. Among Mr. Weston’s current clients are the law firm of McKenna & Cuneo and major aerospace, defense and Fortune 1000 companies from California to Washington, D.C..

Mr. Weston is a retired Commander of United States Navy Reserve, and has served in number of military intelligence leadership posts in a number of Asian countries. He concluded his military career as Officer-in-Charge of the Defense Attaché Detachment in San Diego. Mr. Weston received his Bachelors degree from the University of Missouri and his Master degree from Claremont Graduate University. Mr. Weston is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and has taught modern Chinese history at the University of Maryland and La Verne University.