On March 7, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced the appointment of 21 members to the Trade Finance Advisory Council (TFAC), which is his principal advisory body on matters relating to access to trade finance for U.S. exporters.
“The ready availability of trade finance is a crucial ingredient to the success of U.S. exporters across virtually every economic sector,” Ross says in the announcement. “The TFAC provides industry stakeholders a critical voice in government, allowing the department to better assist American exporters.”
During its first two-year term, the TFAC provided detailed policy and technical recommendations to enhance private and official financing options for U.S. companies. The first meeting of the TFAC’s second charter term was on March 27 in Washington, D.C.
The appointees for the TFAC’s second two-year term are:
- Alan Beard, managing director, Interlink Capital Strategies, Arlington, VA
- Alisa DiCaprio, head of Trade and Supply Chain, R3, New York, NY
- Anurag Bajaj, regional head of Transaction Banking and global head of Correspondent Banking, Standard Chartered, New York, NY
- Chapin Flynn, vice president of Enterprise Partnerships, Mastercard, Wayne, PA
- Craig Moore, founder of Mooring Tech Inc. and co-owner/founder of Old Fourth Distillery, Atlanta, GA
- Craig Weeks, independent consultant, Weaverville, NC
- Daniel Pische, senior vice president of Trade Finance, First American Bank, Chicago, IL
- David Herer, CEO, ABC-Amega Inc., Buffalo, NY
- David Shogren, president, U.S. International Foods LLC., St. Louis, MO
- Dominic Capolongo, executive vice president and global head of Funding, PrimeRevenue, Inc., Atlanta, GA
- Gary Mendell, president, Meridian Finance Group, Santa Monica, CA
- Ken Rosenberg, senior vice president and manager for International Banking, Bridge Bank, San Jose, CA
- Kenneth Wengrod, co-founder/president, FTC Commercial Corp., Los Angeles, CA
- Kevin Klowden, executive director, Center for Regional Economics, Milken Institute, Santa Monica, CA
- Madison Spach Jr., partner, Spach, Capaldi and Waggaman, LLP, Newport Beach, CA
- Michael Finkelstein, CEO and founder, The Credit Junction, New York, NY
- Qingyuan Zhang, director of Global Trade Finance, John Deere Financial Services, Johnston, IA
- Richard Brent, CEO, Louroe Electronics, Van Nuys, CA
- Stephen Simchak, vice president and chief international counsel, American Property Casualty Insurance Assn., Washington, D.C.
- Steven Bash, senior vice president and International Banking Group manager, City National Bank, Los Angeles, CA
- William Glassford, senior vice president, Zions Bancorporation, Salt Lake City, UT
To learn more about the TFAC, visit www.trade.gov/TFAC.