Bringing the World to the Upstate

Speakers and Panelists of International Note

From ambassadors to Foreign Service officials to presidential speechwriters, the Global Upstate Conference is bringing movers and shakers with worldwide impact to the Upstate of South Carolina to share their insights, tell their stories, and shed light on international trends. Giving you details and context and personal experience which can’t be gleaned from newspaper headlines or cable news talking heads, the conference speakers and panelists listed below will give you a front seat to the most important trends, deals, and conflicts taking place in the world today.

Robert Blake

Senior Director, McLarty Associates; Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia (2006–09; 2014–16)

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Jennifer started her career in Human Resources shortly after graduating from Clemson University with a BS in Marketing. After spending two years in sales and figuring out her passion was elsewhere, she accepted a role in recruiting with an international search firm. Immediately drawn to employment law issues, Jennifer spent the next few years helping companies of all sizes find needed talent in finance, accounting and administrative positions. Her recruitment experience led her to a manufacturer in the Northeast as a Human Resources Generalist supporting union and non-union employees across the US. After relocating back home in 2001, she joined Canal Insurance Company and spent the next 13 years. In her role as VP, Human Resources, Jennifer oversaw all aspects of HR including talent acquisition, total rewards, employee benefits, organizational development and employee relations as well as serving as a member of Canal’s Executive team and working with their Board of Directors. She has also served as HR Director at ScanSource, Inc., and as VP, HR for MidCountry Financial Corp., a consumer finance and banking institution. Her specialties are strategic and business planning, corporate/business coaching, benefit plan management, talent management, organizational development, compliance and investigative work. Jennifer received her RCCTM (Registered Corporate Coach) certification in 2020 and has operated as owner and President of HR Experts on Demand, a full-service HR Consulting firm since 2017.

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John Herbst

Director Atlantic Council; US Ambassador to Ukraine and Uzbekistan (2003–06; 2000–03)

Ambassador John E. Herbst is senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center and served for thirty-one years as a foreign service officer in the US Department of State, retiring at the rank of career minister. He was US ambassador to Ukraine from 2003 to 2006, when he worked to enhance US-Ukrainian relations, help ensure the conduct of a fair Ukrainian presidential election, and prevent violence during the Orange Revolution. Prior to that, he was ambassador to Uzbekistan (2000-03), where he played a critical role in the establishment of an American base to help conduct Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. He also promoted improved US-Uzbek relations, in part by encouraging the government in Tashkent to improve its human rights record.

In his last four years at the State Department, he served as the coordinator for reconstruction and stabilization, leading the US government’s civilian capacity in societies in transition from conflict or civil strife, and to provide support to countries at risk of instability. He oversaw the establishment of the Civilian Response Corps of the United States, the US civilian rapid response force for reconstruction and stabilization operations overseas.

Ambassador Herbst previously served as US consul general in Jerusalem; principal deputy to the Ambassador-at-Large for the Newly Independent States; the director of the office of independent states and commonwealth affairs; director of regional affairs in the Near East Bureau; and at the embassies in Tel Aviv, Moscow, and Saudi Arabia.

He most recently served as director of the center for complex operations at National Defense University. He has received the Presidential Distinguished Service Award, the Secretary of State’s Career Achievement Award, and the State Department’s Distinguished Honor Award. Ambassador Herbst has written book chapters, articles, and op-eds on stability operations in Central Asia, Ukraine, and Russia. His writings have appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Atlantic, the National Interest, and Foreign Policy. He has been a frequent guest discussing the Ukraine crisis on television and radio.
Ambassador Herbst earned a bachelor of science in foreign service from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, Phi Beta Kappa, and a master of law and diplomacy, with distinction, from the Fletcher School at Tufts University. He also attended the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies Bologna Center.

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Ambassador (ret) W. Robert Pearson, of Tennessee, is a Fellow at Duke University’s Center for International and Global Studies Rethinking Diplomacy Program, a non-resident Scholar at The Middle East Institute in Washington, President of American Publishers Inc., a digital journal on American foreign policy published in cooperation with the University of North Carolina, and a partner at Spectrum Group, a Washington consulting firm. He is a local leader for the Equal Justice Initiative in North Carolina.

He is a frequent speaker on American diplomacy and foreign affairs,Turkey and its place in the world, the Middle East, and international development. He has published numerous articles and opinion pieces and has appeared on BBC, CNBC, MSNBC, NPR, Voice of America, Al-Jazeera, I24 TV, and TNT Global among other networks.

He served from 2008 to 2014 as president of IREX, an international development NGO based in Washington focused on education, civil society development and independent media, spearheading its expansion to 125 countries worldwide.

His last assignment on active duty was as Director General of the Foreign Service winning two national awards for the Department of State. He was the United States Ambassador to Turkey in Ankara from 2000 to 2003. He served as Deputy Chief of Mission to France and served twice at NATO – once as Deputy Permanent Representative to the U.S. Mission during the Balkan crisis and NATO’s enlargement – and once as chair of NATO’s Political Committee. He was the Executive Secretary of the Department of State under Secretary James Baker and Deputy Executive Secretary of the National Security Council. He served in Beijing, China as a political officer and began his Foreign Service career with a 2-year assignment in Auckland, New Zealand in 1976.

He is a graduate of Vanderbilt University (B.A) and the University of Virginia Law School (LLB), where he was Editor in Chief of the Virginia Journal of International Law. He speaks French, Chinese and Turkish.

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Ann Morrison

Writer, Retired editor of TIME Magazine, Lecturer of the Global Business Journalism Program at Tsinghua University

In the first 15 years of her career, Ann Morrison rose from fact-checker to executive editor of FORTUNE magazine, a Time Inc. magazine. In 1994, the company named her chief editorial executive of its Asiaweek magazine in Hong Kong, where she remained until 2000. That year Time Inc. transferred her to London, where she became co-editor (with her husband Donald Morrison) of the European edition of TIME. In 2008 and 2009, she was a lecturer in the Global Business Journalism Program at Tsinghua University in Beijing. In 2011 and 2012, she taught media management at Sciences-Po in Paris, in addition to freelancing for various publications. She now serves on the Advisory Committee of the American Library in Paris and continues to freelance as a writer and an editor on subjects ranging from French beauty secrets to Chinese culture. A graduate of the College of New Rochelle, she holds graduate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and the London School of Economics.

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Donald Morrison is an author, journalist and educator. In a long career at TIME magazine, he served as editor of its World section in New York, its Asian edition in Hong Kong and its European edition in London. He has taught at New York University’s London Center, Tsinghua University in Beijing and the Institut d’etudes politiques (Sciences Po) in Paris.

Mr. Morrison is the author, co-author or editor of books on subjects as diverse as Chinese democracy, the Obama presidency and photojournalism. His “The Death of French Culture,” a 2009 French best-seller, was published in the U.S. and the U.K. in 2010. He is currently Europe Editor of the London-based magazine PORT, as well as a columnist and advisory board member at The Berkshire Eagle. His weekly podcast commentary is featured on NPR’s Robin Hood Radio, Podcasts.com and other news outlets. He has written for The New York Times, The Financial Times, Le Monde, Le Point, The New Republic, Smithsonian and Quartz. Mr. Morrison holds degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and the London School of Economics. He is married to Ann Morrison, former Executive Editor of Fortune magazine and Editor of Asiaweek.

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Brian Dill

Principal, Tax Services at Cherry Bekaert

Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Brian D. Dill, JD, LLM is an international tax expert with Cherry Bekaert.

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Paul Berg, a distinguished member of the U.S. Foreign Service since 1983, served in important positions in Vietnam, Italy, Mexico, Colombia, New Guinea, Belgium, Afghanistan and Washington DC. He is excited to share his insights as a newly retired Foreign Service officer

Paul Berg, a member of the U.S. Foreign Service since 1983, most recently served overseas as Minister-Counselor for Political Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Rome; prior to that, he was Senior Civilian Representative at the Regional Platform Southwest at Camp Leatherneck, Helmand Province, Afghanistan. He was promoted into the Senior Foreign Service (SFS) Fall 2011, following a tour as Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) of the U.S. Embassy in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, also accredited to Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. From 2007 to April 2009, he was Deputy Director of the Western Hemisphere Bureau’s Office of Policy, Planning and Regional Coordination. From 2003-2006, he was Principal Officer of the U.S. Consulate General in Medan, which he reopened. During his three years there, he was the U.S. government’s point man on the insurgency in Aceh and oversaw USG response to the December 2004 Aceh tsunami and March 2005 Nias earthquake. In March 2007, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice issued him a Distinguished Honor Award for his achievements there. He has also received four individual Superior Honor Awards.

Prior to his service in Indonesia, Mr. Berg served as Plan Colombia Director at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia 2001-2002. He was Deputy Chief of the Political Section at the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, Vietnam 1998-2001. Before that, he oversaw law enforcement and political-military affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City 1994-1997. He has also served in Rome, Brussels, Bombay and Washington, DC. Mr. Berg’s languages are French, Italian, Arabic, Spanish, Vietnamese, Bahasa Indonesia and Pashto.

Mr. Berg is a 2007 graduate of the National War College in Fort McNair, Washington DC, with a Masters in Strategic Studies. He has Juris Doctor and Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of Wisconsin in Madison and a Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University in the City of New York. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, he was Acting Executive Director of International House in New York City, and before that was a local politician in Wisconsin

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Bill Clifford

President and CEO of World Affairs Council

Bill Clifford is President and CEO of the World Affairs Councils of America in Washington, DC, where he leads WACA’s national office and represents its nonpartisan nonprofit network of more than 90 World Affairs Councils across the United States. In March 2017, he was appointed nonresident senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute of the Johns Hopkins University’s Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

Before joining WACA in September 2013, Bill spearheaded the revitalization and growth of WorldBoston, a WACA member Council known for innovative programming, access to leaders, and a tradition of advancing public learning about critical international issues. Previously, Bill served as Asia bureau chief for the pioneering multimedia venture CBS MarketWatch, where he launched and directed news bureaus in Japan and Hong Kong. He got his start In broadcast news with Asia Business News TV and was senior correspondent in Tokyo for CNBC Asia after its merger with ABN. Bill began his work in journalism reporting on international economics, finance, and politics for several newspapers.

In 2019, Bill was appointed as a member of the Korea Economic Institute of America’s advisory council. Bill holds an M.A. from Johns Hopkins SAIS, a B.A. summa cum laude in international relations and French literature from Tufts University, and a C.E.P from Sciences Po in Paris.

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As a successful business executive and entrepreneur, Lohr’s professional career includes COO of a major franchise corporation, Senior Team Leader for Fortune 500 mergers and reorganizations, Advisor to the Dept of State and Senior Military leaders on Civil-Military Transitions and Economic Development initiatives, and Consultant for Private Business ventures and Emerging Market investor groups.

This background gave him broad experience in International Development, Socioeconomic Improvements, and Foreign Affairs in high-profile, complex environments. Most recent work has included spearheading Franchise Initiatives in developing countries and leading teams focused on i) Economic and Operational Transitions, ii) Multinational Engagements and Competency, and iii) Situational Assessments and Resiliency in conflict and post-conflict regions.

He has worked in over 33 countries and various regions, including the Middle East, Africa, Europe, East Asia, South Asia, and North and Central America, and the former Soviet Union. Interconnected issues such as socioeconomic inclusion, trade and investment, and organizational development were significant concerns in these diverse environments.

Working at the ground level with Senior Government leaders, Private Businesses, and NGOs (U.S. and foreign) engagements focused on decision support, conflict management, strategic direction and tactical implementation, and oversight. Results have included building ‘strategic’ relationships and addressing broader issues from a systemic perspective.

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Dorette Coetsee

Director, South Carolina U.S. Commercial Service

As Director for the Commercial Service in South Carolina, Dorette coordinates and leads efforts to develop and executive strategic initiatives in the State. Dorette focuses on developing new markets for small to medium sized companies (SME) and is also responsible for developing and maintaining relationships with statewide partner organizations and manages the Export Assistant Centers in South Carolina.

Prior to joining the Commercial Service in June 2008 Dorette served as Director of Trade Development and Operations for ECI-Find New Markets. Here she focused on SME sector development and international trade strategy and cluster development for economic development agencies.

Dorette has experience in the European market and has conducted seminars at the invitation of local development agencies and trade associations on marketing, finding new markets and doing business in the United States.

A native of South Africa, Dorette has over fifteen years of consulting experience. Prior to joining ECI –Find New Markets, she served as business analyst and account manager for the Industrial Development Corporation in Johannesburg, South Africa. She has a BSc-Agric and a BSc Agric – Hons. degree from the University of Pretoria, and an MBA from the University of South Carolina.

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Dr. Chung-Yean Chiang is an assistant professor of Logistics and Supply Chain Management at the George Dean Johnson, Jr. College of Business and Economics (JCBE) at the University of South Carolina Upstate. Dr. Chiang holds a Ph.D. degree in Operations Management from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and an MBA degree in Supply Chain Management from Rutgers University.

He was a research associate in the department of automotive study at the Industrial Technology Research Institute, a major think tank in Taiwan. His research interests are supply chain inventory dynamics, user’s acceptance, and inter-organizational collaboration. His research has been published in major premier international journals, such as International Journal of Operations and Production Management and International Journal of Production Economics. Dr. Chiang teaches Operations Management, Supply Chain Management, and Transportation at USC Upstate.

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Alison Kosnett

Development and Governance Consultant

Alison Kosnett is an international development expert with over two decades of public and private sector experience in designing, implementing, and managing international development initiatives to support governance and economic renewal in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Central/South Asia.

She has worked on the ground in Poland, Turkey, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan with the U.S. Labor Department, State Department, and USAID, developing an extensive knowledge of public-private partnerships and U.S. Government contracting. She is respected for her cultural adaptability and her commitment to women’s rights and to developing local capacity and empowering local leadership. A graduate of Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in Virginia with dual degrees in Russian Studies and International Relations, Alison Kosnett has studied Russian in St. Petersburg and Tashkent. She is a recipient of four Department of State Meritorious Honor Awards, the Department of State Expeditionary Service Award, and the USAID Meritorious Honor Award.

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Mike Ungar is a FocalPoint Business Coach and Executive Coach helping business leaders improve their profitability and achieve their personal and professional goals.  

After graduating from the United States Military Academy, he served as an Infantry Officer in the United States Army.  Upon completion of his military service, Mike joined Michelin North America.  He started his 35-year career with Michelin as an Industrial Engineer advancing to lead Industrial Engineer teams and several tire manufacturing operations teams.  Mike managed capital investments and then transitioned to help deploy Michelin Manufacturing Way in North America.  

Mike’s Human Resource experience at Michelin includes roles as the North American Director of Corporate Recruiting and University Relations and the Competency Director for the Progress Profession for North and South America.  He also spent nearly two years working at Michelin’s Corporate Headquarters in Clermont-Ferrand, France deploying Lean to non-manufacturing teams around the world.  While at Michelin, Mike earned his MBA from Clemson University.    

In addition to his work as a FocalPoint Business Coach, Mike is on the Board of the Upstate Veteran’s Business Network and helps Veterans Transitioning to Civilian life.  He is a member of the Workplace Advisory Council to the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding and is co-chair of the Greenville Society of Human Resource Management’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee.  He is also a Founder of the Industry 4.0 Club whose purpose is to engage the power of diverse worldwide talent to accelerate the global evolution to Industry 4.0.

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Rhonda Gibby

Founder of Talent Advantage LLC

Harnessing her professional passion and experience as a Chief Human Resource Officer, Rhonda Gibby partners with CEOs and other business leaders helping them leverage their one true advantage in the marketplace – their talent. 

In response to demands for her expertise, she founded and serves as the principal of Talent Advantage LLC, crafting customer talent solutions that drive competitive advantage. 

Prior to launching Talent Advantage, Rhonda held the role of Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at Avanos Medical and, previously, Halyard Health. In both roles, she oversaw global talent management, total rewards initiatives, employee and labor relations, corporate communications, and citizenship. 

Rhonda’s background includes numerous leadership roles in human resources, operations, and sales. After serving as the Vice President – Talent Management, Organizational Effectiveness and Diversity, as well as Vice President – Human Resources and Organizational Effectiveness for Kimberly-Clark, she joined Halyard Health in 2014. Before accepting her first CHRO role, Rhonda was Vice President, Global Human Resources and Global Labor Relations where she was responsible for managing human capital strategy and ensuring the robust leadership succession for global business units and labor relations.

Rhonda holds a bachelor’s degree in management from Southern Wesleyan University and a master’s degree in human resource development and business administration from Clemson University.

She has served on non-profit boards, including the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association’s Advisory Group, Children’s Development Academy, and Mission Joint Venture International.

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Steve Nail is currently the Dean, College of Business, at Anderson University, where he also teaches Business Law and Strategic HR. He is a labor and employment attorney who began his career with the National Labor Relations Board. Thereafter, he served as Assistant General Counsel for Michelin, including two stints in France, where he worked on the structuring of the European Economic Community and served in the HR and Legal Departments. Later he served as the Vice President of Labor and Employee Relations before moving on to Hubbell where he served as the Vice President of Human Resources. 

In 2020, and again in 2021, Steve was named as one of the 50 most influential people in the Upstate business community. Governor Nikki Haley appointed him to serve on the SC Healthcare Planning Committee and Governor McMaster reappointed him in 2018. Steve was named the 2012 South Carolina HR Professional of the Year by South Carolina SHRM and the SC Chamber of Commerce.  In 2016, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Greenville SHRM chapter. He is a frequent speaker, a published author, co-host of the Survive HR podcast, and mentor to many in the HR profession. He often coaches individuals and consults organizations on strategic matters. He is a Registered Corporate Coach, certified by the Worldwide Association of Business Coaches and holds SPHR and SHRM-SCP certifications.

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Robyn Grable

Founder and CEO of Veterans ASCEND and Ability ASCEND

Robyn Grable is the Founder and CEO of Veterans ASCEND and Ability ASCEND, which she created to help employers invest in a talent acquisition strategy that is an intentional model of inclusivity for military talent and talented people with disabilities.

Her unwavering commitment to inclusive employment is well-served by her corporate and military experience, including more than 30 years of private sector human resources after nine years of service in the U.S. Navy. Her ongoing study of America’s workforce have made her a leading voice on advocacy, removing barriers and providing connections to successful employment for our underserved talent pools.

In the private sector she focused primarily on workforce management, human capital planning, recruitment, process and procedure evaluation, strategic alignment and relationship management. She created skills assessment programs at blue chip companies McDonald’s Corporation and McGraw-Hill and during her tenure as a Strategic Client Partner at ADP, a leading human capital management firm, Robyn successfully managed and grew the largest client portfolio of Fortune 100 companies.

Robyn enlisted in the United States Navy immediately after high school in 1979, serving for nine years at the height of the Cold War. She received a Meritorious Unit Commendation while deployed to Keflavik, Iceland and the Navy Achievement Medal while stationed at the U.S. Command Center for the Pacific Fleet Pearl Harbor. For dedication to her profession and civilian community service, Robyn was awarded the Navy League Award.

A native of Richmond, Indiana, Robyn holds a master’s in psychology focused on Leadership Coaching. Her capstone project during her graduate studies emphasized coaching military veterans during their transition back to the civilian workforce. Committed to giving back, Robyn has volunteered for American Red Cross, The MS Society, United Way, March of Dimes, Upstate Warrior Solution, IVMF Mentor Program, STRIVE Mentor, Veterans Treatment Court and Vantage Point Foundation. She is a member of SHRM and advises the Workforce Readiness Council of the Greenville SHRM chapter. Robyn also serves on the SCDVA Employment committee and the Workforce Council with the Skilled Trades Alliance. She regularly speaks as a Workforce subject matter expert.

Today she is focused entirely on ensuring veterans, military spouses and people who happen to have a disability are recognized for their skills, valued for their talent and that America’s employers realize the full value of great talent in the workforce to truly ascend.

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Grant Burns serves as executive vice president and general counsel of America Fujikura Ltd. – a global fiber optics manufacturer and solutions provider based in Duncan, South Carolina. In this role, Grant oversees all legal matters, as well as human resources, international trade, corporate governance, compliance, and government affairs. In addition, Grant is also involved in the strategic, legal and compliance activities of several other Fujikura group companies in North and South America.

Prior to joining AFL, Grant was in private practice for over twenty years, first with Ogletree Deakins and later with Nexsen Pruet, LLC. During that time, he was recognized for excellence by publications such as The Best Lawyers in America, Super Lawyers and Martindale-Hubbell (AV).

Grant is a graduate of Clemson University and the Washington and Lee University School of Law. 

He is active in several civic and philanthropic organizations across South Carolina in addition to serving by gubernatorial appointment on the State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education, which governs the South Carolina Technical College System and administers the state’s readySC™ workforce and economic development program. Grant is also on the board of the South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance and is a graduate of Leadership South Carolina.

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Christian Tschurtschenthaler

Head of Series Luxury Class, BMW Group

Christian Tschurtschenthaler is the Head of Series Luxury Class in BMW Group in Munich, Germany and the Vice President Project Lead Life Cycle Impulse (LCI) X5, X6, X7 BMW in the Plant Spartanburg in South Carolina, USA.

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Ambassador Philip S. Kosnett retired from the State Department in 2021 following a career representing the United States in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. In senior assignments including Ambassador to Kosovo and acting/deputy ambassador in Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Iceland, he developed a record of success as a strategist, negotiator, and leader. Since leaving federal service, he has taken on roles in consulting, policy analysis, higher education, and humanitarian crisis response. He has also recently re-embraced his first career, from his student days, as a boardgame designer.

Phil and his wife Alison, a development expert with extensive international experience, are also involved in the humanitarian effort to evacuate and resettle endangered Afghans. The Kosnetts have an adult son and daughter and share their North Carolina home with rescue dogs from Kosovo and Uzbekistan.

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Brian Kirk

Director of Cybersecurity, Elliott Davis

As Director of the Cybersecurity team, Brian helps clients assess and improve their security posture through security assessments, penetration testing and technology implementations. His diverse background and industry experience provides clients with a holistic view of their security program and visibility into the proper areas to invest in for improvement.

Brian has more than 25 years of experience in Information Technology with the last 15 years focused on cybersecurity. His diverse background includes roles as global network manager, infrastructure manager, enterprise architect, vice president of technology and Chief Information Security Officer. Prior to joining Elliott Davis Brian was the Chief Information Security Officer at a Fortune 500 engineering, design and construction firm.

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Dr. Burkhard Jaeger is a business professor at the University of Applied Sciences Landshut, Germany, where he teaches restructuring management, negotiation management, human resources, and business organization courses. He is a visiting professor at University of South Carolina Upstate, a former Vice President of Husqvarna, and an independent management consultant. Dr. Jaeger is a graduate of the Helmut Schmidt University (the German Armed Force University).

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Ben Cubitt

Senior Vice President, Consulting and Strategy Services

With more than 30 years of industry and consulting experience in freight optimization, Mr. Cubitt has a deep familiarity with the freight optimization for consulting firms and multiple Fortune 500 companies in the consumer products, paper and manufacturing industries. Mr. Cubitt has led and supported procurement, network optimization and supply chain assessments for companies such as Unilever, Eaton, Campbell’s, BASF, Cummins, Nestle Waters, The Home Depot, Eaton, Colgate-Palmolive, WestRock, P&G, Coke, and AutoZone. Mr. Cubitt leads teams that help shippers plan and execute over 200 + procurement events per year and over 50 Network Optimization Projects. He joined Transplace in July 2010, prior to Transplace, he served as the VP Supply Chain and Procurement at WestRock, a leading publicly traded paper and packaging company, where he led the company’s transportation, procurement and distribution activities.

At Transplace, Mr. Cubitt leads the consulting and network solutions teams. He has been a CSCMP member for more than 20 years and has served on the CSCMP Board of Directors as Global Roundtable Chair and has also served as a track chairman at the CSCMP Annual Global Conference. Additionally, he has served two years as President of the Atlanta Roundtable.

Mr. Cubitt is frequently quoted and has published articles in these leading industry and business publications: Wall Street Journal, Industry Week, USA Today, Inbound Logistics, Transport Topics, APICs magazine, Logistics Quarterly, DC Velocity and Traffic World. He also authored the chapter “Transportation Operations and Optimization” in the Supply Chain Handbook.

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Seán Adam is Vice President of Market Strategy and Innovation at AFL. Seán holds a master’s degree in Electric Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has over 25 years of experience in the Semiconductor and Telecom industry with a focus on system-based solutions and architectures. Seán holds over 15 patents across software and hardware systems and products. Today, Seán is focused on developing and guiding AFL’s overall growth strategy in AFL’s key markets.

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Daniel Cutts

Special Agent with the Department of Homeland Security

Special Agent Daniel Cutts is a federal agent with the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), currently assigned to Greenville, South Carolina since 2002. As an agency, HSI investigates criminal activity, as mandated in over 600 federal statutes, that has a nexus to the United States border, including narcotics smuggling, money laundering, transnational gangs and organized crime, human trafficking and smuggling, child exploitation, export control violations and intellectual property rights crimes. Special Agent Cutts primarily focuses on the cyber components as they pertain to these jurisdictional areas. Special Agent Cutts is a certified computer forensics agent within HSI and as such is responsible for the highly technical recovery and analyzation of digital evidence from electronic devices.

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Special Agent J. Blackmon joined Homeland Security Investigations in 2007, in the Financial Group in Atlanta, GA. Since 2013, J. has been assigned to Greenville, SC. J. has primarily focused his career on financial investigations, and his casework involves money laundering, narcotics smuggling, illicit proceeds, gambling operations, synthetic drugs, Unlicensed Money Remitters, Black Market Peso Exchanges, bulk cash smuggling, T-iii wire investigations and Certified Undercover Ops. J. was just released back in to the wild from a super-secret government lab in the DC area where his primary function is to be the Big, Dumb Agent filter for a bunch of folks way smarter than himself. Before this, J. worked for a great lil’ bank called Wachovia.

J’s largest single forfeiture (to date) has been $4.88 million in cash and accounts million, plus another $5 million in real property, which was made during a synthetic drug case. J’s largest BitCoin forfeiture (to date) has been $983,000.00, during a dark web MDMA (ecstasy) investigation. J. very recently swore out a federal search warrant on the phone while sitting in an Arby’s drive thru.

J. holds a Bachelor’s and a Master’s, both from the University of South Carolina.

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Katherine Palmer Kaup

James B. Duke Professor of Asian Studies and Politics and International Affairs, Furman University

Dr. Katherine “Kate” Palmer Kaup’s (白荷婷) research focuses on ethnic minorities, rule of law, and human rights developments in China. In her most recent publication “Controlling Law: Legal Developments in China’s Southwest Minority Regions,” in The China Quarterly she examines how conflicts between customary minority law and state law are resolved. She is the author of Creating the Zhuang: Ethnic Politics in China, several articles and chapters on ethnic minorities, and editor and contributor to the textbook Understanding Contemporary Asia (2nd edition 2021). She is a National Committee on United States China Relations (NCUSCR) Public Intellectual Fellow and serves on the NCUSCR Board of Directors. Kaup has served as special adviser for Minority Nationalities Affairs at the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, Chair of Furman’s Asian Studies Department and of the Furman Faculty, Director of the Riley Institute’s China Programs, Distinguished Visiting Professor at Yunnan Nationalities University, Visiting Scholar at the Guangxi Ethnic Affairs Commission, and PI/Program Director for several federally-funded Chinese language programs and for the Luce Initiative on Asian Studies and the Environment. She regularly leads groups to China, including student/faculty/alumni/government groups.

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Dr. Trevor Rubenzer earned his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee in 2007, and is currently the chair of the Department of History, Political Science, Philosophy, and American Studies at the University of South Carolina Upstate.  His primary research interest is U.S. foreign policy, specifically the impact of ethnic diasporas in the United States on U.S. foreign policy decision-making, and he has authored numerous journal articles on this subject. Dr. Rubenzer also has an interest in African defense policy; he has authored book chapters on South African and Nigerian Defense policy. He has also authored work on the Nigerian Civil War as well as the conflict between the Apartheid government of South Africa and various insurgent groups. Dr.  Rubenzer currently conducts research on the use of social media by ethnic diasporic groups to influence U.S. foreign policy and by the U.S. government as parts of its renewed emphasis on public diplomacy.

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Akan Malici

Professor, Politics and International Affairs, Furman University

Akan Malici is from a Turkish and North Macedonian/Albanian family. He grew up in Germany and received his undergraduate education in Literature and Political Science at the University of Tuebingen. He came to the United States for graduate school in 2000 and he received his Ph.D. from Arizona State University in 2004. Dr. Malici has been teaching at Furman University since 2005. His scholarly interests are in the areas of American Foreign Policy and International Security and he has authored or co-authored various books here, including “When Leaders Learn and When They Don’t: Mikhail Gorbachev and Kim Il Sung at the End of the Cold War,” “U.S. Presidents and Foreign Policy Mistakes,” and “Role Theory and Role Conflict in U.S.-Iran Relations: Enemies of Our Own Making.”

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Kevin Cassidy, with nearly 4 decades of international development experience, is currently the Director and Representative to the Bretton Woods and Multilateral Organizations for the International Labour Organization (ILO) Office for the United States.

Prior to this appointment, Mr. Cassidy served as the Senior Communications and Economic and Social Affairs Officer for 11 years in the ILO Office for the United Nations with additional responsible for partnerships in North America.
During this time, Mr. Cassidy worked with member States to organise Heads of State/Government and Ministerial level events highlighting decent work as well as introducing policy language on key development issues into the resolutions and outcomes documents of the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee and the Commissions of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

Before his assignment to New York, Mr. Cassidy was the Chief Technical Adviser for the ILO’s Global Campaign on Promoting Fundamental Rights at Work. During that time he developed numerous communication initiatives in over 40 countries such as interactive radio and television programmes as well as training journalists on communicating locally on decent work, child labour, forced labour, discrimination and the freedom of association.

Prior to joining the ILO, Mr. Cassidy worked for the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF-UK) in London as the Operations, Communications and Partnership Director. His work with the AKF-UK focused on rural and community-based development in Central and South Asia.

Mr. Cassidy has worked in several UN offices during his career including the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) on the issue of landmines, the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA), the Executive Office of the Secretary-General (Boutros Boutros-Ghali and Ban Ki-moon), the UN Department of Public Information and the UN Non-Governmental Liaison Service (NGLS), New York.

Mr. Cassidy holds a Masters’ of Economic and Political Development from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

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Samantha Spratt

Executive Director of the European American Chamber of Commerce – Carolinas

Samantha Castro Spratt is the Executive Director of the European American Chamber of Commerce – Carolinas, an organization focused on promoting bilateral trade and investment between the Carolinas and Europe.

She is also is an attorney licensed to practice law in Brazil and the Managing Principal of Global Assist Consulting, an international business development firm focused on helping companies successfully expand into international markets. Her client base includes CCFI (Carolina Center for Foreign Investment) where she leverages her business and legal background to manage international investors relations.

Samantha initiated her career in 1994 with Grupo Tecsat, a telecommunication company in São José dos Campos, SP Brazil, as part of their in-house legal team. In 2000, she moved to the United States to advance her professional career and obtained a MBA degree from Rockford University in Illinois. Since then, she has worked in diverse matters related to international business and assisted companies with contract negotiations, regulatory compliance, strategic planning and business development initiatives.

Prior to Global Assist Consulting, she spent eight years working for the international division of Wahl Clipper Corporation, a global leader in the professional and home grooming category. She served as Wahl International Compliance Manager, helping them to open subsidiaries in Brazil, Russia and India and negotiate contracts with their distributors all over the globe. In 2011, she became Wahl Director of Latin America, implementing successful strategies among multi-cultures and multiple channels and contributing for the profitable growth of their Latin America business.

After living back in Brazil for three years, in 2015, she moved to South Carolina with her family.

In addition to her work at EACC-Carolinas and Global Assist Consulting, she is a Meditation and Mindfulness Coach and founder of Greenville Meditation, helping people find balance and live better through the power of meditation.

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When rapid-growth technology companies, venture capital and private equity firms are looking for advisory, they call Greg White – a founder, board director, advisor and catalyst to disruptive B2B and supply chain tech companies. An insightful visionary, Greg guides founders, investors, and leadership teams in creating breakthroughs that gain market share and momentum – increasing company growth and valuation.

Greg’s tech industry history includes founding Blue Ridge Solutions, a Gartner Magic Quadrant Leader in cloud-native supply chain applications, and bringing to market Curo, a field service management solution for Amazon. He has also held leadership roles with Servigistics (acquired by PTC) and E3 Corporation (acquired by Blue Yonder).

Greg is currently Venture Partner at Kubera Venture Capital, Sector Expert for PeakSpan Capital, Strategic Advisor to Verusen and Clarity Capital Advisors, and Board Director at Flourish Software. As principal and host at Supply Chain Now, Greg guides the digital media company’s strategic direction, and hosts industry leader discussions, all in addition to creating original content, and hosting his original supply chain tech-focused podcast and YouTube channel, TECHquila Sunrise.

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Kevin L. Jackson

Advance Technology & Business Strategy Expert

With over 300,000 followers on social media, Kevin L. Jackson Is the host of the “Digital Transformers” podcast and provides consulting and digital media services to leading technology companies. His client list includes Microsoft, AT&T Business, Intel, Ericsson and IBM. He also serves as an Adjunct Professor at Tulane University. As an Associate Consultant with A.T. Kearney, he provided cloud computing and cybersecurity management consulting services to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which served as the basis for the Kingdom’s national cybersecurity regulations. Executive experience includes VP J.P. Morgan Chase, IBM Worldwide Sales Executive and SAIC (Engility) Director Cloud Solutions. Education includes a MS Computer Engineering, MA Strategic Studies and a BS Aerospace Engineering. Kevin is also a USA Today and WSJ-bestselling author whose books include “Click to Transform” (2020) and “Architecting Cloud Computing Solutions” (2018).

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Dr. Frank Fisher is a senior executive in the manufacturing sector with over 30 years of experience in international sourcing, contract manufacturing, supply chain design, as well as acquisition due diligence and integration.  He has been accountable for a cumulative sourcing spend of over $1BN, presented original papers and spoken at prestigious conferences, and created/led negotiation workshops on four continents.

Frank has built and led teams of international associates across multiple companies in a variety of industries.  He has a history of success in developing sourcing strategies, facilitating supplier evaluations, and negotiating supply agreements in over 20 countries, including Brazil, Mexico, China, India, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Germany, and England.

Frank is particularly known for his depth in Global manufacturing outsourcing process, strategy, and execution.  In addition to the Chemical and Textile Divisions of Milliken & Co., he was accountable for all outside manufacturing for The Dow Chemical Company globally.  The Dow businesses supported included: Dow Building Materials, Dow Automotive, Dow Microbial Control, Dow AgroSciences, Dow Specialty Chemicals, and Dow Oil & Gas.

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David Manning

United States Air Force – Civilian Career Experience

Dave Manning is a native of Tewksbury, Massachusetts. He enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1972 and in 1974 was assigned to the European wide theater of operations as a services-logistician with the United States Air Force’s in Europe, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Army and Air Force Exchange Service Europe, and the United States European Command. He retired from the United States Air Force active in October 1997. In 1997 to 1998 he served as chief of operations for AAFES Military Clothing and Combat Gear Distributions supporting SFOR throughout the Balkan region. Today Manning is a Freelance lecturer-Writer on International Relations, Military History, and International Defense Alliances. He authored the “Global Arms” series on the history and sociology of International Military Relations, and Defense Education & Training Programs: Cultivating and Sustaining Professional Defense Alliance Partnerships. He authored in 2020 global arms in defense of Eurasia, a geopolitical look at the balance of power across Eurasia.

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David Snepp heads the Defense, Intelligence & Law Enforcement security subsegment for Moody’s Analytics Global Government practice. Previous to joining Moody’s, David was a subject matter expert for the US Army Mission Command Training Program based at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. He also was an adjunct instructor with the U.S. Joint Special Operations University, MacDill AFB, Tampa as a Counterterrorism Planner. David served for four years in senior positions with both the NATO ISAF Headquarters and the US Embassy in Kabul. He also served on Capitol Hill as senior staff to two US Senators. David graduated from Appalachian State University with a Bachelor’s in Communications and Political Science.

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Tom James

Lieutenant General, US Army

Lieutenant General (Ret.) Tom James, Jr., a career Army Officer, retired from active duty in August 2021 after 36 years of active service in leadership positions from platoon through Field Army level. His passion is connecting with people, identifying talent, and building teams that achieve maximum potential. His professional knowledge, skills and attributes have largely been shaped by the extraordinary leaders and the brave Soldiers with whom he served, often in extremely intense situations. His areas of expertise include leadership in complex organizations, cohesive team building, complex problem solving, crisis management and international relations.

Tom holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina; a Master of Military Art and Science from the prestigious U.S. Army School of Advanced Military Studies at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; and a Master of National Security and Strategic Studies from the National Defense University in Washington, D.C..

As a Commander, Tom served at the Battalion and Brigade level in combat in Iraq. His Brigade combat tour was during the “Surge” and the unit he commanded covered five provinces requiring complex coordination with Iraqi Security Forces, the State Department and USAID during intense security situations. At the Division level, he served as the Operations Officer for a Task Force responsible for military operations in Baghdad and on a separate deployment served as the Chief of Staff for a Task Force responsible for Northern Iraq.

Tom commanded a Division at Joint Base Lewis McChord in Washington; supervising the leader development, training and readiness for over 15,000 Soldiers focused on operations and training in the Pacific Theater. He then served as the Operations Officer for United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command, U.S. Forces Korea where he managed a directorate of over 300 U.S., Korean and Multi-National Soldiers responsible for operations, training and exercises for all Military Services supporting the Korean area of responsibility.

In his last assignment Tom commanded First Army at Rock Island, Illinois where he led over 7,500 Soldiers and Civilians spread across the United States and Territories. Responsible for enabling training, leader development, readiness generation and mobilization capability for the Army National Guard and Reserve: over 530,000 Soldiers representing 52% of the Total Army Force.

Tom also has extensive experience with leader development. He served as the Mission Command Center of Excellence director at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas where he had oversight of the Centers for Army Leadership.

Tom and Chelle claim Greenville, S.C. as home where the majority of their Family live. They have been married for over 30 years and they are blessed with three awesome children.

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Christian Herrmann leads business immigration law practice at Ogletree Deakins in Greenville, South Carolina, and is a board member of Upstate International.

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Dave Edwards

President and CEO of Greenville-Spartanburg Airport

DAVID N. EDWARDS, JR. has more than thirty years’ experience in airport management with strong credentials in the areas of business development, properties, governmental affairs, operations, and international marketing.

Mr. Edwards has served as the President/CEO of the Greenville-Spartanburg Airport District since July 2009. He is responsible for the overall administration and development of the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP). Under his leadership, passenger traffic has almost doubled, and the airport secured nonstop all-cargo service to Germany. He is also responsible for establishing and implementing a Terminal Renovation/Modernization Program for GSP which resulted in the investment of $127 million in the terminal between 2012 and 2017.

Immediately prior to relocating to Greenville-Spartanburg, Mr. Edwards served as the Airport Director of the Asheville Regional Airport Authority for almost six years. Mr. Edwards also served as the Executive Director of the Titusville-Cocoa Airport Authority. He spent twelve years with the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority and started his aviation career with the Dade County Aviation Department.

Mr. Edwards is a past Chairman of the Board for Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA), a past Board of Director for ACI World, and a past Chairman of the Small Airports Committee for ACI-NA. He has served as President of the North Carolina Airports Association and is a past President of the Southeast Chapter of the American Association of Airport Executives. He also serves/has served on Boards of the Greer Development Corporation, Gibbs Cancer Center, Upstate SC Alliance, Greenville Chamber, VistGreenvilleSC, and Spartanburg CVB. He is an Accredited Airport Executive by the American Association of Airport Executives. Mr. Edwards holds a bachelor’s degree in Aviation Management from the Florida Institute of Technology.

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Chris Richardson is a former U.S. Diplomat, an immigration attorney, and co-founder of the world’s first remote video immigration consulting technology company featuring former consular officers, Argo Visa LLC. He is also the General Counsel and COO of BDV Solutions, LLC, a Greenville-based immigration consulting company.

Richardson served in Nigeria, Nicaragua, Pakistan, and Spain as a U.S. diplomat. For his service, Richardson won several awards including Meritorious Honors Awards and a Superior Honors Award.

He resigned from the State Department in 2018 and drafted an affidavit against the Muslim Ban which was cited by Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer in Trump v. Hawaii. He has advised both Democratic and Republican members of Congress and their staffers in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate on immigration, diversity, and foreign policy issues. Richardson served as the Chair of Pete Buttigieg’s immigration policy committee and worked on the Biden 2020 campaign immigration policy committee.

Richardson has been featured in Mother Jones, Slate Magazine, Reuters, NPR, Embedded, All Things Considered, SCOTUS Blog, BBC, Georgia Public Radio, Intercept, and the Atlanta Journal Constitution. He has also been interviewed by the New York Times, CNN and CBS. Richardson has written several well-received opinion columns for the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Slate Magazine, Chicago Sun-Times, The Hill, and the Nation regarding immigration policy and the issue of diversity at the State Department. His column for the New York Times on race at the State Department was cited by presidential candidates and members of Congress as the reason an Office of Diversity and Inclusion at the State Department was needed.

He is a graduate of Duke University School of Law and graduated summa cum laude from Emory University in 2003. He is also the co-author of the Historical Dictionary of the Civil Rights Movement (2014) and lectured on the American Civil Rights Movement at universities and colleges across the globe.

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Henrik Larsen

Brigadier-General in the Royal Danish Air Force

Henrik Larsen is a Brigadier-General in the Royal Danish Air Force with more than 39 years of service. He has held multiple national and international senior and command positions including several NATO Headquarters assignments, the United Nations and also Commanding Officer of the Danish Air Tactical Wing, the Air Force Training Centre and Division Head of Joint Operations at Defense Command in Denmark. He also served as the aide-de-camp to the Danish Queen. Been deployed as the Senior Military Advisor to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan from 2011 to 2012. He is a 1997 US Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama graduate.

As a Senior National Representative, he is currently directing the Danish Liaison Element as part of the United States Central Command Coalition, whose work includes promoting peace and stability in the Central Command area of responsibility. He also serves as the Coalition Chairman and his leadership and coordination actions on behalf of Denmark contribute directly to international coalition efforts to address destabilizing issues in the Middle East region and around the world.

Henrik Larsen is married to Sanne. Three children (Julie, Catrine and Nikolai) and three grandchildren.