Speaker's Bios

Kurt Doelling
VP Supply Management
Sun Microsystems

Kurt Doelling leads the development of Sun's worldwide operations strategy and oversees the entire spectrum of the company's supplier management activities, from strategy development to supplier engineering and quality management, and procurement.

He played a pivotal role in pioneering Sun's innovative "eOperations" initiative leveraging internet technologies to reduce planning cycles, slash raw material inventory, and create a seamless, build-to-order environment that benefits the company, its suppliers, and most importantly - Sun customers.  Prior to Sun, Doelling held positions with AT&T, Pacific Telephone, Arthur D. Little and Data Resources Inc.

Chris Holmes
Head of Global Sourcing Capabilities
Novartis  

Chris moved to the US in February of 2008 to become the Global Head of Sourcing for the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research.

In his prior roles in Novartis Chris has been responsible for Global Sourcing Operations and most recently was the Head of Global Sourcing Capabilities. In this role Chris was responsible for building up capabilities in Low Cost Sourcing (LCS) and providing sourcing support for Business Process Offshoring & Outsourcing (BPO). This role also included the responsibility for the Novartis Global Sourcing Offices (GSOs) in India, Singapore and China.

The majority of Chris' career has been in Procurement in a number of different sectors, including: automotive (Valeo), electronics (Xerox), fmcg (Nestle) and building products (Caradon). Prior to joining Novartis in 2002 as Head of Category Management, Chris worked for QP Group, a consultancy specialising in procurement.

Chris has an MBA from Birmingham University/UK and has been a full member of Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply for over ten years.

Kees Gerretse
CPO
Corus

Kees Gerretse started his career in the Royal Navy and Royal Marines.  After 13 years service, Kees took up a position in the private sector working for Total oil & gas company.

In 1997 Kees joined Hoogovens and held various directorships across the Company in Logistics and Transport, Commercial and Business Development, and Research and Development.

Kees was appointed Group Director Supplies and Transport for Corus, in 2005 and is responsible for purchasing, incl transport  across the Corus Company, with an annual budget of €11 billion.
Since 2008 Kees is also responsible for the integration of the purchasing function within the Tata Steel Group and appointing/managing the lead buyers of the main categories across the Tata Steel group.

He has an MBA and an Executive MBA qualification in Strategy and Business Development.

Company Profile

Kinnar Ghiya
Director Procurement Asia
Microsoft

Biog pending...

Craig Mc Monigle
VP Global Procurement
Hallmark

Current responsibilities are to lead Corporate Procurement efforts of all finshed goods, production materials, and indirect categories in support of Hallmark’s worldwide family of companies.   Management responsibilities include Kansas City based procurement teams as well as Hallmark’s Asia buying organization, which has 375+ employees across 4 countries, and the Litho-Krome Company based in Columbus, Georgia.

Craig has worked at Hallmark for 24 years and has had a wide variety of assignments in Procurement, Human Resources, Product Management, and Inventory Control during his career.  He has worked extensively in the Asia-Pacific region, including two Hong Kong based assignments  (1993-1997 and 2001-2003).

Education:
MBA – Marketing Emphasis -  University of Missouri- Kansas City
BS – Accounting and Business Administration – University of Kansas

Family: Married – Two Children ages 10 and 7

Joseph Youssef
Director of Global Technology, Supplier Management
McDonalds

Biog pending...

Marcio Lemos
Strategic Sourcing Manager
Intel 

Márcio Lemos has 21 years of exprience in the Supply Chain and Managerial Costs areas; currently, he is Global Strategic Sourcing Manager for Intel, supporting Marketing negotiations related to Print, Design, Fulfillment, Logo’d Merchandise and Co-Marketing Solutions. He also is part of the Diversity Committee of Intel, and his professional experience also includes:

• Unilever Group – managing the Purchasing and Planning of Ingredients and Packaging for its Foods Division in Brazil, including Import / Export Department.
• NET São Paulo – managing the Purchasing / Importing Dept for all materials and equipments that were used to build the majority of the existing cable network of São Paulo.
• PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting Division – Responsible for the Supply Chain strategies within the Strategic Practice, Márcio has developed several projects for the Telecom and Pharmaceutical industries in Brazil.

Márcio Lemos has received his MBA degree from the Business School São Paulo and University of Toronto in 1998, and is specialized in Materials Management, Negotiations and Services. He is 41 years old, lives in São Paulo / Brazil, with his wife Patrícia and two children, Nick and Laura.

Anthony Barone
Director Global Logistics Policy
Pfizer

Biog pending...

Wong Yimei
Manager Global Procurement
Trina Solar

Biog pending...

Shariar Shaghafi
VP Global Supply Chain & Materials Operation
Novellus 

Biog pending...

Vivek Kamran
Global Program Manager Cargo & Sensor Systems
Goodrich

Biog pending...

Bob Belshaw
Senior VP
GE Commercial Finance Trade Distribution Services

Biog pending...

Kirk Eberhart
Global Director of Supply
Material Sciences Corporation

Biog pending...

Alisha Mowbray
VP Supply Chain
Newark Electronics

Biog pending...

Helmig Daniel
Senior VP Purchasing
Qimonda

Biog pending...

Gladys Gabriel
Global Director of Purchasing
International Flavors and Fragrance

Biog pending...

Alan Salter
Global Sourcing Manager
CR Bard Medical & Urological Divisions

Biog pending...

Robert McCullough
Director of Global Sourcing
Lajobi Industries

Robert McCullough has over 30 years experience in sourcing and distribution of products from low cost countries as VP of Operations, Managing Director of ABC Sourcing Asia, and Director of Global Sourcing and Quality Assurance. He specializes in sourcing a variety of products from lighting to textiles, rugs, tents, upholstered furniture, bedroom furniture, nursery furniture, tables and chairs and others. The majority of his sources are from China, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Malaysia. Robert has developed and sourced a large number of licensed products for Time Warner’s Harry Potter, Mattel Barbie, Sesame Street, and Disney. Products sold at major outlets Wal-Mart, Target, Sears, Toys R Us, Babies R Us, Ross Stores, as well as specialty stores and Full Line Furniture stores.

Fred Engelberger
VP Corporate Support Transistor Devices
TDI Power

Biog pending...

John F. Di Leo
Import-Export Compliance Manager
Pentair

Biog pending...

Leslie Madigan
Technical Leader/Global Sourcing Team
Invitrogen

Leslie Madigan has more than 25 years experience in the biotechnology/pharmaceutical industry, working for Invitrogen.  Invitrogen is a California based biotechnology company that provides products and services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, as well as academic and government research institutions.  She currently holds the position of Technical Leader on the Global Sourcing Team supporting GIBCOTM brand products.  Her primary responsibilities include global sourcing, supplier consolidation, and supply chain management.  GIBCOTM brand products are used in the Life Science field,  manufactured following ISO13485 standards and produced under cGMP requirements.  Adherence to these strict industry standards is often the challenge when evaluating new supplier options;  and working with existing suppliers.  In her role, Leslie  has been a integral leader in development of various policies within the supply chain organization.  Some of these activates include : development of a non animal origin policy; establishing supplier scorecards; supply risk mitigation; developing, conducting and maintaining supplier surveys and supplier audits; development of supplier contracts.

Prior to Leslie’s current job function, she held the positions of Quality Assurance Engineer; Management of the incoming (raw material) QC lab, Purchasing Buyer/Planner.  In these roles, highlights include: developing functional specifications and test methods in compliance with compendia monographs; conducting supplier audits; hosting and managing on-site customer audits;  manager of Material Review Board; establishing CAPA team.  Leslie has been a member of ACS; APICs and ISM., and is currently pursuing 6-SIGMA Green Belt training..

Peter Kim
Director Global Purchasing
Littelfuse

Peter has corporate wide responsibility for all Purchasing related activities for Littelfuse supporting 11 manufacturing sites and customer needs worldwide.  Areas of responsibility includes strategic sourcing, supplier development, spend management, and supplier management.  Organizational footprint including corporate HQ in the Chicago area spans IPOs in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Philippines, Mexico and Germany.

Peter has spent the last 5 years at Littelfuse building a global organization and talent base to drive key Purchasing strategies and objectives.  He has also improved Purchasing infrastructure (processes, systems, and communication) to drive success and align the Global Purchasing team with its internal / external customers and supplier partners.  This helped drive our global network of supply base and strategic sourcing efforts in the changing economy.

Littelfuse has supplier partners throughout Americas, Europe, and Asia in over 20 countries within those regions.  Key areas of emphasis include emerging markets in Mainland China, Greater Asia, East Europe, Mexico, and South America.  Global network of supplier partners enables Littelfuse to optimize its global manufacturing base by leveraging key technologies, cost competitiveness, and regional capabilities.

Prior to joining Littelfuse, Peter was in management consulting helping clients from various industries within manufacturing, supply chain, and logistics.  In addition, he worked for a Fortune 500 electronics manufacture of automation controls with manufacturing responsibility of a $30M product line.

Peter has a BS from Purdue University, School of Technology.

Andrew Personette
Executive Director
EcoSystem

Biog pending...

Ramil Yaldaei
Managing Director of Global Supply Chain Organization
Applied Materials

Biog pending...

Julio Gesklin
President & CEO
Craftsman Customs Metal

Biog pending...

Marc Ensig
Strategic Sourcing Director
Sonoco

Biog pending...

Minister Ernesto Paz
Consul General of the
Republic of Argentina in Chicago

Biog pending...

Julia Pan
Deputy Consul General of the
Republic of Argentina in Chicago

Argentine Diplomate – Counsellor since 2004
Deputy Consul General of Argentina in Chicago, USA, since Dec 2006.
Personal Data: Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Married, two children.

Educational Background:

1985 -Bachelor´s Degree  in International Relations with a concentration in Political Science; University of Salvador, Buenos Aires, Argentina

1997 -Master´s Degree in International Economy; University of Montevideo, Uruguay.

Special Assignments:

1993-1995: Argentine Negotiator of Bilateral Investment Guarantee Agreements between Argentina and other countries.

1995-2000: Argentine Officer before the Latin-American Integration Association (ALADI). Montevideo, Uruguay.

2000 – 2006: Deputy Director of the Dispute Settlement Department at the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Head officer for several official missions representing Argentina before the World Trade Organization in Geneva, Switzerland.

2007 - Present:  Deputy Consul General of Argentina. Chicago, USA.

Workshop Keynote Speaker: for topics related to Argentina’s intervention in the Dispute Settlement System of the World Trade Organization (WTO):

• Ministry of Economy and Production, National Commission for External Trade August 2005.
• Los Grobo Group  (Grupo Los Grobo) , Carlos Casares, Argentina,

September  2005.

• Universidad Nacional del Sur, Bahía Blanca, Argentina, October 2005.
• Unión Industrial de Bahía Blanca, Argentina, October 2005.
• International Association for International Law -  Mar del Plata, Argentina, November  2005.

Publications:

• “The Industry of Services: A challenge to Latin America"). Published in: Temas Económicos. Edited by: la Universidad. Buenos Aires. 1989.
• “The claim against US Subsidies to cotton: The Argentine intervention before the WTO". Published in: Revista de la Cámara Algodonera Argentina, Buenos Aires, December  2004.
• "Argentina´s application of WTO Dispute Settlement System: The possibility to claim against the agricultural subsidies". Publishedin:Temas Económicos. Edited by: La Universidad. Buenos Aires. 2005.  Original Version in Spanish.

Languages:
Native: Spanish.

Jaime Rojking
President
Argentine Chamber of Commerce in the Midwest

Biog pending...

Bohuslav Frelich
Director
CzechInvest Chicago

Biog pending...

Miklos Martin-Kovacs
Trade & Investment Commissioner
Hungarian Consulate General

Trade & Investment Commissioner, Hungarian Consulate Chicago, prior to that Bureau Chief  ITDH  Chicago Office. ITDH is the Hungarian Government's Investment and Trade Development Agency, which is the information and consultation center for foreign investments in Hungary.
Mr. Martin-Kovacs graduated from the Budapest University of Economics and during his career he held several corporate management positions and has a strong background in  broadcast journalism, as well.

Among other positions he was founding architect, Editor in Chief and Anchor for the first Hungarian Business Radio Network, Managing Editor in Chief Hungarian Public Radio, New York Correspondent & Bureau Chief Hungarian Public Radio, Vice President PSINet Hungary, the second largest national ISP, founding CEO, Member of the Board WEBIGEN Inc., a major Hungarian ASP, E-business and portal technology development company, Member of the Board Infostart Inc., the new media arm of the first privately held Hungarian news radio Inforadio.

Uldis Salenieks
Counselor of Economic and Commercial Affairs
Commercial office of the Embassy of Latvia Director of Investment and Development Agency of Latvia representative office in USA

Biog pending...

Hector Marquez
Director Trade and NAFTA Office
Embassy of Mexico

Mr Marquez studied and taught Economics at the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León in Monterrey, Mexico and at the University of Rochester in New York State. He joined the Ministry of Economy since 1991 as Member of Mexico negotiation team under the North American Free Trade Agreement, he also has been part of the negotiation of other trade agreements that Mexico has signed. He initiated his international trade experience in the areas of antidumping, rules of origin and custom procedures as well as particular sectors such as automotive, textile, steel, and electronics. Since 1995 he conducted the monitoring and implementation of trade agreements, designed export promotion strategies and performed the respective analysis of international trade agreements to promote the full utilization by the Mexican export sector. Since August 2002 to date he became the Director of Trade and NAFTA Office that the Ministry of Economy holds in Washington. D.C.

Siva Yam
President
US-China Chamber of Commerce

Biog pending...

Glenn Penaranda
Special Trade Representative for the Midwest Philippine Trade & Investment Center
Consulate General of the Philippines in Chicago

Biog pending...

Lucyna Jaremczuk
Consul Head of Economic Division
Consulate General of Poland in Chicago

She is currently serving a 4-year tour as Consul for Economic Affairs  at  Consulate General of  Poland in Chicago (from August 2005).

Prior to her assignment  to Chicago, she  worked as  Commercial Attaché  at the  Economic and Commercial  Division  of Embassy of Poland  located in New York, US  from 1995 to 2001 .
She is one of few Economic and Commercial Officers to have spend  considerable time working both  in the domestic field  and  overseas.

From  Nov  2001 to  Aug  2005 she worked  at  the Ministry of Economic  Affairs and Labour  in Warsaw  as  Chief  Adviser  responsible  for  bilateral  Polish–American economic cooperation  and commercial affairs  as well as  well as  Transatlantic  matters.  Her duty during that  time covers  all  array  of  economic cooperation  between Poland and  the United States .  She  also  supervised   activity  of  Polish  four   Economic  and Commercial Offices   located in the U.S.  ( Washington D.C.,  New York, Chicago and Los Angeles). During that time  she  was working very closely with the Commercial Service and Economic Section of the U. S. Embassy in Warsaw,  as well  as  Polish American Chamber of Commerce in  Warsaw. 

In the years  1989  to  1995  she worked  at the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations  as  Chief  Adviser   covered  bilateral  economic and commercial  cooperation between Poland and  Central European Countries: Slovenia,  Croatia, Yugoslavia, FYROM, Romania,  Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Albania . During that transitions  period to democracy and free market economy in Poland, she was  a part of  Polish delegation renegotiating  our trade agreements with Romania, Albania as well as negotiating Poland’s  first trade  agreements with  Slovenia and Croatia .

She obtained  master degree in economics  (major econometrics  and foreign trade)  from the Economy  Faculty at  the Warsaw School of Economics (the leading economic university in Poland and one of the largest economic universities in Central and Eastern Europe,).

Recently she ended  two  postgraduate studies at Warsaw University to upgrade her knowledge on international business relations  and economy  as well as mediation and diplomacy.

She is a member of the Polish Civil Service Corpus.

She is  married  to Jan Jaremczuk(lawyer  and diplomat),  has two children.

Andrus Viirg
Director
Enterprise Estonia, Silicon Valley

Andrus Viirg (48), is the Director of Enterprise Estonia, Silicon Valley, which is the representative office of Enterprise Estonia, a state foundation for business support and development. Mr. Viirg has also served as the Director of Foreign Investments and Trade Promotion at Enterprise Estonia; and the Director of Estonian Investment Agency (EIA) before the Agency dissolevd into Enterprise Estonia.

During the 1990s Andrus Viirg followed an international career with the World Bank Group (IBRD and IFC) heading the Bank Group Office in Tallinn, Estonia (1995-2001); and with the International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC, as an Assistant to the Executive Director (1992-1994). Andrus Viirg has also worked for the Bank of Estonia (central bank) on relations with international financial institutions.

Andrus Viirg has graduated from the Tallinn Technical University (1983) as dipl.engineer on automation and software engineering (Automaatika Teaduskond, LS) and the Estonian School of Diplomacy (1992) in foreign trade relations. He combines technical and economical knowledge with hands on experience in software development and electronics.

As the Director of Enterprise Estonia, Silicon Valley, Andrus Viirg is responsible for building up the network of contacts enabling Estonian tech companies to access the US market as well as promoting Estonia for foreign direct investment.

Mickey North
Rizza Director
AMR Research

Biog pending...

Reid Wilk
Senior Executive Advisor
Booz Allen Hamilton

Biog pending...

Pierre Mitchell
Director
The Hackett Group

Biog pending...

Anthony Cambas
NAFTA Trade Specialist
NAFTA Opportunity Center at Bradley University

Anthony Cambas is the NAFTA Trade Specialist at the International Trade Center / NAFTA Opportunity Center located at Bradley University in Peoria, IL.  Mr. Cambas received a B.A. in International Relations and a certificate in Latin American and Caribbean studies from Florida International University and a Graduate Certificate in International Customs Law and Administration from the University of Canberra. Tony is a licensed Customs Broker (LCB) and a Certified Customs Specialist (CCS) and has more than 20 years of experience in international trade in both the private and public sectors.

He began his international trade career in the late 1980’s as an export manager in Miami, Florida and worked extensively with different Latin American markets. He has also worked for the Port Import Export Reporting Service (PIERS) and in international trade and Customs automation with Editrade.

Anthony was employed by U.S. Customs in Miami, Florida from 1992 to 1999 as an Import Specialist, reaching the position of Team Leader.  As an Import Specialist, he specialized in Harmonized System (HS) classification, GATT/WTO valuation, antidumping and countervailing and IPR enforcement and participated in compliance assessment audits and NAFTA and other preferential tariff program verifications.

Tony has also worked as an international trade and Customs consultant on a variety of Customs and trade matters including participating on USAID, USTR and European Union funded projects and events in Latin America and Asia. Anthony has provided technical assistance to both foreign governments and private sectors and has been a frequent speaker at  international conferences on trade matters including CAFTA implementation, Free Trade Agreement (FTA) rules of origin, and Customs risk management in Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Nepal.

Brad Blonkvist
Director
Archstone Consulting

Biog pending...