Events

Ms. Dina Aaby is Manager of International Banking at INTRUST Bank in Wichita, Kansas. She has 20+ of international banking experience, most of which has been spent overseeing international bank operations, particularly with trade finance, letters of credit, documentary collections and foreign exchange. Ms. Aaby obtained CDCS (Certified Documentary Credit Specialist) certification in 2001 and is one of the few holding this certification in the Midwest. Dina serves on the Executive Board of the World Trade Council of Wichita, Kansas International Trade Coordinating Council (KITCC), and the Mid America District Export Council where she serves as Treasurer.

Alale Allal serves as the Export Finance Director, Southeast Region f or the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Office of International Trade covering the Southeast Region of the U.S. he oversees a team of Export Finance Managers, that are tasked with meeting the daily demands of the small business export community. He is responsible for ensuring the overall success of his defined region which includes helping small businesses to grow their export sales. Mr. Allal is also responsible for coordinating efforts with State and County officials to ensure SBA meeting the needs of the community.

Mr. Tom Beube is Senior Vice President and Director of Wintrust Financial Corporations International Services Group. The Wintrust International Services Group supports the bank’s commercial and retail bank customers for all activities involving cross border trade finance, Foreign Exchange payments and hedging strategies, global payments, Standby letters of credit and cross border guarantees. Mr. Beube joined Wintrust 10 years ago after spending 14 years with ABN AMRO Bank and 3 years with Bank of America. While Chicago is his home, Mr. Beube has had assignments in Hong Kong, Detroit and Shanghai during his time with ABN AMRO.

Mr. Steve Freshour joined EXIM as VP of Business Credit in June 2019. He is currently working on modernizing the EXIM Working Capital Guarantee Program with a digital application system. Prior to joining EXIM Steve was and Head of Small Business Banking at Axos Bank, a technology-driven financial services company with approximately $10B in assets. Prior to Axos, Steve was VP of Operations for a venture-backed fintech startup providing term loans and lines of credit to small businesses in the $50k - $500k range. Steve is also a former OCC Bank Examiner and Marine Corps veteran.

Brian Gordon started his banking career at National Bank of Commerce in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1989 while attending the University of Nebraska. In 2000 he joined Wells Fargo (via acquisition) where he focused his calling in the 7 states surrounding Missouri as a business development officer for the Wells Fargo HSBC Trade Bank. He then joined Sovereign Bank in the Mid-Atlantic & New England markets to build from scratch a structured trade finance group. Before returning to the Midwest to join Commerce Bank, he was with HSBC in New York City as an international business development officer covering CT, NJ, NY, PA, MD, VA, and Washington DC.

Mr. Doug Kemper is the Director of International Banking Services for Washington Trust Bank. He is responsible for all things international including payment products, trade finance, relationship manager training, external marketing and correspondent bank relationships. Immediately prior to his present position, he was the President and CEO of the non-profit Export Finance Assistance Center of Washington which provided export finance counsel to SMEs and community banks in the State of Washington. Mr. Kemper has many years of commercial banking and trade finance experience with regional and community banks. He commenced his financial services career as a US Treasury Department/OCC National Bank Examiner based in Seattle and London.

Mr. Joon Kim has 25+ years of experience. He has held various senior positions at Standard Chartered Bank and American Express Bank, most recently as Managing Director and Head of Transaction Banking Sales for Corporate and Commodities for the Americas region. His various experiences include leading Trade Sales, Trade Product Management and Relationship Management teams, with an emphasis on development and sales of trade finance, supply chain financing, receivable services, trade processing and cross-border cash and liquidity management solutions to global financial institutions and corporations.

Ms. Kristin Kyle-McQuesten, international banker, is dedicated to supporting her clients’ success by understanding their needs and goals, and finding the best solutions for their situation. She’s been with Banner Bank for 12 years and currently leads the Bank’s team of trade finance professionals. While ultimately her role is to facilitate commerce, she sees value in building relationships, educating clients and working as a team with everyone involved in the transaction process. Ms. Kyle-McQuesten has a degree economics and a Certificate in International Economics from the University of Washington. She has 14 years of experience in international banking with banks of all sizes, and nine years in treasury management. Before entering banking, Kristin worked in transportation and logistics, gaining insight that continues to inform her work today.

Ms. Rachel Parks is Senior Counsel and Compliance Officer at Derivative Path, Inc. Prior to this she worked at KeyBank National Association in Cleveland, OH, where she spent over 6 years as Contracts and Regulatory Manager covering the Foreign Exchange desk and the Enterprise Payments vertical. Ms. Parks received her Juris Doctor from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and a B.A. in Political Science & English from Cleveland State University.

Daniel Pische serves as the National Director of Trade Finance within the SBA’s Office of International Trade in Washington, DC. As Director, Daniel is responsible for the design and delivery of SBA’s export loan programs and oversight of SBA’s national staff of Export Finance Managers. Prior to joining the SBA, Daniel worked at First American Bank for over 15 years where he led their Trade Finance Division and served as a member of the bank’s Senior Loan Committee. Daniel served on Department of Commerce’s Trade Finance Advisory Council during the second charter term and continues to serve as the SBA’s ex-officio representative where he assists with recommendations on improving access to Trade Finance for small and midsized exporters.

Amy Sahm joined Fulton Financial’s International Group in 2002 following a long-term career in the Japanese banking and trade industry. She works as department manager, overseeing product development, operations, sales and risk management. The International Group at Fulton is responsible for foreign exchange risk management and all international transactional products and services including Trade Finance for Fulton’s customer base. The International Group primarily serves import / export SME clients within Fulton’s five state footprint. She serves as a Board Member and Treasurer of both the World Trade Center of Harrisburg and the Mid-Atlantic District Export Council supporting the US Commercial Service Export Assistance Center. Amy is a member of the International Business Advisory Board of Elizabethtown College where she mentors students and presents guest lectures on international finance. Amy also holds a Board seat at BAFT as well as a Co-Chair position on the North American Council. In addition to BAFT, Amy is active throughout the North American regional bank network in several international banking industry groups.

Mr. Michael Salerno is the Vice President of Global Banking at First National Bank of Omaha where he manages a diverse portfolio of corporate and correspondent bank customers. He consults with trade and treasury management professionals to help define, create, and implement effective trade finance, global payments and international risk management solutions. Mr. Salerno specializes in providing foreign exchange and international payment solutions for financial institutions. He is the Treasurer for both the Nebraska District Export Council and the National Association of District Export Councils.

Ken Wong is Head of Product Strategy and Innovation for the Global Transaction Bank at TD Bank that encompasses the Financial Institutions, Cash Management and Trade Finance lines-of-business. He has been in the financial Industry for over 30 years in different business divisions from Consumer Banking to Corporate and Institutional Banking with roles from Front Office Financial Services Sales and Relationship Management to Back Office Operations and Technology. He is a seasoned Treasury, Cash Management and Payments practitioner with extensive experience in the Foreign Exchange integrated Payments and Clearing space. He has extensive international exposure with working assignments in Asia, Europe, Middle East and North America.