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Ashley Allen, Vice President and International Banking Manager for Arvest Bank, graduated from Oklahoma State University with a Master of Business Administration, in addition to holding a Bachelor’s in Marketing from the University of Oklahoma. Ashley thrives on providing technical advice for payment risk mitigation and coaching those new to international trade on best practices. She is experienced in all aspects of international banking and trade finance, including import and export commercial letters of credit, international and domestic standby letters of credit, documentary collections, and foreign currency advisory services. Ashley maintains a CDCS certification (Certified Documentary Credit Specialist) from the International Chamber of Commerce. Actively involved in the community, Ashley serves as Treasurer of the Oklahoma District Export Council, which utilizes business experience in support of the Nation’s export expansion effort. In her personal time, Ashley enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter, reading, and traveling.

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.

Alexandra Burnett is a senior member of Integral’s sales team in the Americas, based in the company’s New York office. She joined the business in early 2021 and specializes in foreign exchange solutions with a focus on regional banks and asset managers. Prior to joining Integral, Alexandra worked in FX Sales at HSBC, Société Générale & RBS (NatWest). Her career in FX spans over ten years, working with market participants from banks to private equity sponsors, as well as corporations of all sizes. Alexandra holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Colgate University, NY.

Mark Garfield’s current role is Head of Global Financial Institutions at Zions Bancorporation responsible for foreign bank relationship development. He joined Zions Bancorporation in 2005. He has over 30 years of banking experience with 25 years in international banking management covering trade finance, trade services, foreign exchange, correspondent banking and product development. Throughout his career he has worked closely with corporate and commercial entities in the Midwest and Western U.S. providing banking support for cross-border trade. Mr. Garfield currently serves as a Director of BAFT and Chair of the Utah District Export Council. He served on the DEC National Advisory Board and Board of the World Trade Center, Utah.

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.

Mark is a Managing Director, Lender Accounts with EXIM and works closely with Lenders throughout the United States and promotes EXIM’s product/services that are beneficial both to the banks and their exporting customers. Mark also maintains Regional Director responsibilities and works with exporters, small/medium/large, throughout the Midwest; primary focus is the KY, OH, MO, and KS markets but also works with companies located throughout the nineteen (19) state territory of the Central Regional Office. Mark has been with EXIM Bank for more than 13 years. Prior to joining EX-IM Bank, Mark was an International Banking Services Specialist for three commercial banks and worked with exporters in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Mark counseled these exporters on a variety of issues including, but not limited to, Letters of Credit, Foreign Exchange Risk Mitigation and Export Credit Insurance.

Grant has extensive experience helping clients navigate complex issues related to international commerce and its associated compliance challenges, including CFIUS. As part of his practice, Grant advises clients on requirements under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), Export Administration Regulations (EAR) administered by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) administered by the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC), trade sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and other import- and export-related regulations.

Christopher spent his early career in the financial services industry before he joined Rainbow Chemicals in 2008. Over the past 15 years, he has managed various aspects of the business, including sales, procurement, manufacturing and managing a complex supply chain that spans Asia, Europe, and the Americas. In his current role as Treasurer of Rainbow Chemicals, Christopher oversees corporate treasury, international banking, and trade finance operations. He holds a bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Kansas.

John T. Murray is a Senior Vice President in Global Trade Product and Portfolio Management in Treasury Services Global Product Management. His responsibilities include Trade and Supply Chain Finance Product Management for North America corporates, ECAs and BNY Mellon Network. Previously John worked with acquisition and distribution of trade-related assets from bank counterparts and risk mitigation with non-bank (insurance) and World Bank IFC programs. He also worked in sales for the Mid-Atlantic and Southern U.S. investment grade corporate and financial institutions for trade processing and supply chain finance. Prior to his sales roles, John managed the Client Services and Implementations unit within the Trade Finance Services division, responsible for trade product relationship management, new business implementation and business administration.

Daniel Pinho was appointed the Vice President of Operations and Business Management at BAFT on July 31, 2023. Daniel previously was the SVP & AGM at PNC's Trade Finance group.  He has over 20 years of experience in structured trade financing programs.  Prior to joining PNC, Daniel was a Manager at UPS Capital Business Credit where he supervised the Export Credit Agency Operations group.  He also served as the Director of Trade Finance at a consulting firm in Brazil. Pinho also previously served on BAFT's North American Council and co-chaired the Structured Trade and Export Finance Committee. He is a member of the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting and is chair of the board of Ten Thousand Villages in Pittsburgh, a fair trade nonprofit organization.

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.

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.

Barry is the Principal at TransactionBanker.com, a payments consultancy, and is a recognized expert in wholesale banking and the payments industry. He has been involved in payment operations, systems transformations, and modernization related projects for global banks and hardware and software firms for decades. Barry has managed day to day operations, as well as planned, organized, directed, and managed, major banking initiatives for banks around the world. Barry is a current member of the Bankers Association for Finance and Trade (BAFT) Payments Committee and Co- Chairs their Payments Roadmap Workgroup. He is a past member of their Board of Directors. He was recognized in 2021 and 2022 as one of two BAFT Ambassadors of the Year. Barry is also a member of the US Faster Payments Council where he serves as the Chair of their Cross Border Payments Workgroup and as member of their Operational Considerations Workgroup.

Venkat is a Financial Services executive with a demonstrated history of successfully leading high visibility initiatives at global and midsize financial institutions. He is currently Chief Economist with Wintrust Financial Corporation. He leads the bank’s Liquidity, Market & Interest Rate Risk Oversight, Economic Analysis & Forecasting, and Risk Strategy & Analytics functions. Mr. Veeramani is a published author and frequent speaker on topics related to risk & financial analytics, creation of data-driven business intelligence, and economic trends. Prior to joining Wintrust Financial Corporation, he held various risk management positions at Morgan Stanley, Discover Financial Services and HSBC.