Featured Speakers
Dr. Ed Catmull
President
Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios
Dr. Ed Catmull is President and co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios and President of Walt Disney Animation Studios.
Dr. Catmull has been honored with five Academy Awards, including the Gordon E. Sawyer Award for his lifetime of technical contributions and leadership in the field of computer graphics for the motion picture industry, the Academy Award of Merit, two Scientific and Engineering Awards and a Technical Achievement Award.
Dr. Catmull also received the ACM SIGGRAPH Steven A. Coons Award for his lifetime contributions in the computer graphics field, and the animation industry's Ub Iwerks Award for technical advancements in the art or industry of animation, and in 2008 the Randy Pausch Prize from Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center.
He is a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Visual Effects Society.
Dr. Catmull earned B.S. degrees in physics and computer science and a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Utah. In 2005, the University of Utah presented him with an Honorary Doctoral Degree in Engineering.
Previously, Dr. Catmull was vice president of the Computer Division of Lucasfilm Ltd., where he managed development in the areas of computer graphics, video editing, video games and digital audio.
Daniel Griswold
Director
Cato Institute's Center for Trade Policy Studies
Daniel Griswold is Director of the Center for Trade Policy Studies at the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C, and the author of the new Cato book, Mad about Trade: Why Main Street America Should Embrace Globalization.
Since joining Cato in 1997, Mr. Griswold has authored major studies on globalization, trade, and immigration. He's written articles for major newspapers, appeared on CNBC, C-SPAN, CNN, PBS, and Fox News, and testified before House and Senate committees.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Griswold was editorial page editor of a daily newspaper, the Colorado Springs Gazette, and a congressional press secretary.
He holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and a diploma in economics and a master's degree in the Politics of the World Economy from the London School of Economics.
Suresh Kumar
Assistant Secretary for Trade Promotion and Director General
U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration
Suresh Kumar was nominated by President Obama and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Director General for the U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service at the U.S. Department of Commerce.
As Assistant Secretary and Director General, Mr. Kumar leads the U.S & Foreign Commercial Service (USFCS). The extensive worldwide network of the USFCS extends to 109 offices across the U.S and 127 offices overseas in 77 countries. USFCS is the trade promotion arm of the US Government that supports and provides customized solutions to U.S. businesses so that they can compete and win in the global marketplace.
Miranda A. A. Ballentine
Director for Sustainability
Walmart
Miranda A. A. Ballentine is Walmart's Director for Sustainability, where she facilitates the company's partnerships with NGOs, social investors, government representatives, Walmart associates and customers, and other interested groups. Ms. Ballentine works with Walmart's Sustainable Value Networks to leverage the expertise of stakeholder groups to expand Walmart's capacity to help our customers Save Money and Live Better by increasing the sustainability of the company's 100,000 suppliers and 2.2 million associates globally. Ms. Ballentine leads Walmart's Green Jobs Council (W-GJC), a network of Walmart's leading clean technology suppliers working together to facilitate green job preservation and creation. Ms. Ballentine also works on corporate sustainability initiatives, including efforts to integrate our company's Greenhouse Gas strategies.
Prior to joining Walmart, Ms. Ballentine was Vice President at David Gardiner & Associates, an environmental and climate change strategy firm based in Washington, DC, where she advised global corporations and NGOs on environmental and climate change strategies.
Ms. Ballentine holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Colorado State University and a Masters of Business Administration from George Washington University, specializing in Environmental Management and Policy.
E. Scott Bozek
Consul for Commercial Affairs
U.S. Consulate General, Toronto, Canada
E. Scott Bozek is the Consul for Commercial Affairs at the U.S. Consulate General in Toronto, Canada. He is a member of the Senior Foreign Service and has over 35 years of experience in international business and government affairs. Mr. Bozek has worked with the U.S. Department of Commerce since 1974. His foreign assignments include postings as the Senior Commercial Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest, Romania (81-85), the Principal Commercial Officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Istanbul, Turkey (87-91), the Commercial Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Oslo, Norway (91-96), and Budapest, Hungary (00-04), as well as the Deputy Minister-Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia (05-08).
Scott earned his B.A., Magna cum Laude with a Phi Beta Kappa award from the University of Massachusetts – Boston in Soviet Studies in 1972. He also earned a M.I.A. from Columbia University – SIPA, where he was a Columbia Fellow focusing on Central and E. Europe Studies in 1974. He was selected by Commerce to attend the National Defense University – the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, where he earned a M.S. in national resource strategy in 1999 along with several notes of distinction, including the NMIA Earl Forrest Lockwood award. Scott has trained in wide range of languages, including Russian, Hungarian, Romanian, French, Turkish and Serbo-Croatian.
Andrea Cornwell
International Trade Specialist
U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Intellectual Property Rights (OIPR)
Andrea Cornwell, International Trade Specialist, U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Intellectual Property Rights (OIPR). Ms. Cornwell supports Commerce's efforts to protect U.S. intellectual property at home and abroad and to resolve intellectual property-related market access and trade agreement compliance issues worldwide. Specifically, Ms. Cornwell assists U.S. businesses encountering international market barriers related to intellectual property rights in Africa and the Middle East and represents the Department of Commerce in multilateral and bilateral trade policy dialogues. Among other areas of responsibility, Ms. Cornwell is charged with monitoring intellectual property-related developments in international environmental policy, and has represented Commerce's International Trade Administration on the U.S. delegation to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiations.
Ms. Cornwell joined the Office of Intellectual Property Rights in September 2008, after earning her law degree from the American University Washington College of Law. She holds a B.A. in Philosophy, Politics and Law from Binghamton University.
Fred P. Keller
Chairman and CEO
Cascade Engineering
Fred P. Keller is Chairman and CEO of Cascade Engineering, a multi-business manufacturer and marketer supporting multiple brands in the automotive, truck, solid waste/recycling, furniture, and renewable energy industries. A materials engineer by training, Keller founded the Company in 1973, following an earlier career as a metallurgist with Pratt & Whitney. From its small beginnings as a plastics parts manufacturer, Cascade has grown into a solutions-based organization with 15 customer-focused business units comprising 1,000 employees and 12 facilities worldwide, and a unique focus on sustainable products and services.
Underlying Cascade's organizational culture is Keller's belief that business has the unique opportunity to complement its focus on financial performance with important work in the social and environmental arenas. A strong advocate for "sustainable" business practices, Keller has emphasized the key role business can play in building financial, social and ecological capital, often through partnerships with government and community agencies.
Michal Lorenc
Online Sales and Operations Manager
Google
Michal Lorenc, Online Sales and Operations Manager, Google. Mike Lorenc is located in the Ann Arbor, Michigan office and currently heads up Google's Dedicated Client Services team covering the Canadian market. With Google since 2003, Mike worked on a number of strategic initiatives in the marketing/advertising sales capabilities in the United States and Europe. Highlights of his Google career include establishment Google's regional offices in Poland (now 250+ strong), and helping to build out the Google team in Ann Arbor. He was also involved in Google's entry into the Czech Republic, Hungary, Turkey, Greece and Egypt. After spending few years leading the U.S. Retail/E-Commerce team from Ann Arbor, he recently took on the challenge of building and running a team dedicated to servicing Canadian advertisers.
Mr. Lorenc has joined Michigan State University's Advertising, PR and Retailing Department where he teaches "New Media Drivers License (sm) Seminar series". He graduated from Loyola University of Chicago where he majored in marketing and international business.
Frank Reynolds
President
International Projects Inc.
Frank Reynolds is the president of International Projects Inc., a thirty-plus year old US international trading and consulting firm. Besides representing the United States for the Incoterms®2000 and Incoterms®2010 revisions, he has written or coauthored sixteen books on various international trade topics including the ICC's A to Z of International Trade dictionary. He also has written over 300 columns for such international media as the Journal of Commerce, The Exporter and the ICC's Documentary Credit Insight.
Frank has been instructing throughout the United States on such trade related issues as Incoterms®, documentary credits, U.S. free trade agreements, export and import procedures and the Harmonized System for over 25 years. He has served on the U.S. Department of Commerce District Export Council (DEC) for twenty two years, and his International Projects has received its E Award for Export Excellence. He also holds a customs broker license from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection.
Invited or proposed speakers include:
- Chairmen, CEOs and Presidents of corporations that are household names
- At least one Nobel Laureate
- Cabinet-level officials from the U.S., Canada and Mexico
- Iconic figures in Silicon Valley and Main Street
- North America's leading innovative minds
- Leaders who understand how to make money while improving the environment