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Over 30 years of trade experience across business management, product development, client sales & operations & risk control in banking. Experience includes In-depth banking industry and working knowledge, including product development, relationship management, business understanding, strong product knowledge, and impact of key market trends on business strategy. Current responsibilities Heading team of Product and Technology team building a software solution (SaaS) automating trade finance processing.

Gabe Amundson is a Director in Cargill’s Trade and Capital Markets (TCM) business group. He joined Cargill in 1999 and has held various roles within the company including his current role managing relationships as part of TCM’s Risk Investors Group. His primary focus is working with partners interested in supporting Cargill’s trade finance activities including banks, non-bank investors, and ECA’s.

Andy joined Huntington Bank in 2009. He has responsibility for Huntington’s Global Advisory segment; consisting of the Structured Working Capital Finance and Global Trade & Treasury lines of business. He is a member of the board of directors at Huntington International Inc. He has extensive corporate banking, structured finance, financial institution risk, country risk and cross-border business experience dating back to 2001, primarily at GE Corporate Finance and ABN AMRO prior to Huntington. He earned an MBA from the Carey School of Business at John’s Hopkins University and is a graduate of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking. He earned post-graduate certificates in Executive Leadership from the Wharton School of Business and Fintech from Harvard University. Andy holds several industry certifications including Certified Treasury Professional (CTP) as well as the Certifications in Supply Chain Finance (CSCF) and Payments (CertPay), both issued by the London Institute of Banking and Finance.

Mr. Tom Beube is Senior Vice President and Director of Wintrust Financial Corporations International Services Group. The Wintrust International Services group supports the banks 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. His banking career began in the international department at the First National Bank of Chicago.

Eddie is responsible for covering regional banks and FinTech’s in the North American market at Swift. He leads a team that covers over 800 diverse institutions across the NAM region. Eddie has been working with the regional bank community in both the United States and Canada for over 4 years on a wide range of topics, from ISO 20022 to Payment Innovation, to Financial Crime & Compliance to Trade. Before joining Swift, Eddie worked at Payoneer, a payments fintech specializing in cross-border payments, where he managed key banking and corporate relationships globally.

Peter Clement is the Senior Vice President for International Financing at Rosenthal & Rosenthal, Inc., with Headquarters in New York, New York. Residing in Northwest New Jersey with his wife and two children, Peter specializes in providing expertise in trade finance for international corporations. In this role, he is responsible for the continuous growth and retention of the trade finance sales channel for North America. Rosenthal & Rosenthal is the leading factoring, asset-based lending, purchase order financing, d2c and e-commerce inventory financing firm in the United States. Founded in 1938 by Imre J. Rosenthal, the firm is now led by the third generation of the Rosenthal family. As a privately held company, Rosenthal is committed to providing personalized service and flexible lending to clients across a broad range of industries. Prior to joining Rosenthal, Peter spent 15+ years with industry leaders in the trade credit/trade finance space holding multiple positions on the national director level. He was dedicated to developing bank, broker, and direct relationships that resulted in sustainable and profitable business.

James joined Commerce Bank in 2005 and serves as the manager of the bank’s foreign exchange group. His responsibilities include overseeing all sales and trading related functions of the FX desk. After graduate school, he began his banking career in trade finance at Banc One International Corp. in Dallas, TX. He subsequently worked for two state economic development agencies in the Midwest where he assisted companies in developing new export markets throughout Latin America. James returned to banking when he joined Commerce and has spent the last 19 years working closely with commercial clients to help them navigate the world of cross-border payments and FX market risk mitigation.

Mr. Douglass serves as Vice President of Sales and Business Development at The Clearing House. Prior to joining The Clearing House, Mr. Douglass spent 14 years at BNY Mellon, where he held various roles within BNY Mellon’s Private Wealth Management, Asset Management and Treasury Services groups. He also spent 1.5 years as a Sales and Relationship Officer in PNC’s Treasury Management – Strategic Partners division. Mr. Douglass has been with The Clearing House since October, 2020. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management and Economics from the University of Pittsburgh and holds the Certified Treasury Professional designation from the Association for Financial Professionals.

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.

Gerardo Gutierrez-Olvera joined BANORTE 6 years ago as Managing Director, responsible for Trade Finance and International Business. BANORTE is the second largest bank in Mexico, and the only one among the 6 largest banks in the country that is managed locally without any influence of foreign head offices. Gerardo joined Banorte in 2013 after more than 20 years of comprehensive and substantial experience in the local and international banking arena with Banco Santander and Bank of America, working for those institutions in Mexico, New York City, Madrid and the Asia-Pacific region based in Hong Kong, with main focus on the development, management and sales of products and business lines related to trade & receivable finance, international treasury services, corporate banking, financial institutions and correspondent banking. He studied Public Accountant at ITAM (Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de México), and prior to becoming involved in banking, he worked at PwC (PriceWaterhouseCoopers) Audit and International Trade & Taxes Practice in Mexico City. Gerardo is a Director of the Board and the current Chairman of the Banking Commission at the INTERNATIONAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (ICC) Chapter in Mexico.

Mr. Nigel Hook grew up near Bletchley Park, in the United Kingdom. This led him to study computer science, cryptography, and of course, Turing machines. After graduating, he self-emigrated to the United States and founded DataSkill in 1981, in pursuit of applying artificial intelligence (AI) to solve intractable problems. One area, combatting complex crimes using data science to find clues in vast amounts of data led to clients, including the US DoD, SPAWAR, FBI, and other international intelligence agencies. Mr. Hook founded TradeSun in 2018 to apply these AI and IoT technologies to trade finance where the automation of document examination drives real-time interception of fraud, money laundering and compliance infractions.

Melissa Luster is the VP of International Operations at BOKF, NA, Melissa has been a member of the BAFT Southeast LC Subcommittee since 2012 which she currently sits as Secretary. She provides leadership and training to her Trade Operations Team at BOKF, NA working directly with the team members providing services for products such as participations, documentary collections and letters of credit both standby and commercial. Melissa also supports the back office system as well as font end trade platform, onboarding customers and provides training. Her career with BOKF,NA began in April of 2007 and she earned her CDCS certificate in 2013.

Erin Moore is a SWIFT Payments Product Expert supporting the execution of SWIFT’s strategy of fast and frictionless cross-border payments. She is responsible for promoting ISO20022 migration, gpi, SWIFT Go, Pre-validation and Case Management. She works closely with financial institutions to transform the end user’s payment experience, harmonizing systems and schemes and refining efficiency of operations. She is a member of Women in Payments and a SWIFT Diversity and Inclusion global ambassador. Prior to joining SWIFT in 2020, Erin worked for The Clearing House and Citibank, holding various roles in product management and sales support and operations and technology as both an individual contributor and manager.

Jeffrey Nowakowski serves as Senior Vice President and Foreign Exchange Specialist at BOK Financial, where he provides comprehensive international banking services tailored to the needs of BOK’s commercial clients. His expertise spans a wide range of services, including international wire transfers, foreign currency accounts, and currency risk management, ensuring that clients are equipped to navigate the complexities of global markets. With over 25 years of experience in the foreign exchange market, Jeffrey began his career as a currency options trader on the floor of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange. Throughout his career, he has managed the trading desks of multiple Denver-based hedge funds and investment advisory firms, gaining deep expertise in currency trading strategies and risk mitigation. His hands-on experience in both trading and advisory roles has positioned him as a trusted resource for businesses looking to mitigate currency risks and optimize international transactions.

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.

Karen Pinkall serves as Director, Global Banking at FNBO. In that role, Karen manages a team that oversees trade finance operations for the bank. In addition to offering trade solutions to customers, Karen and her team conduct training to customers, prospects and bank professionals. Karen is a 1996 graduate of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in international affairs. She went on to earn a Master of Arts degree from Florida State University in 1997 where she studied international affairs. Karen’s previous work experience includes working in financial crimes compliance at FNBO, international trade at Wells Fargo Bank and retail banking at Wells Fargo Bank. In the community she is the immediate past president and serves on the board of the Midwest International Trade Association, an organization that promotes global trade through educational events, networking events, and an annual trade conference each year. She currently resides in Omaha with her husband Andy, and their children, Lily and Anna.

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.

Sue-Ellen Speight is a Senior Vice President at StoneX Inc, a global Fortune 500 financial services institution. Sue-Ellen specializes in Global Cross-Border Payments in emerging markets with a focus on Regional Banks and Fintech. Having been with StoneX in the Global Payments team for eight years, Sue-Ellen offers keen insight into the challenges facing the Banking Sector, prevailing technology trends and payments best practice. The global payment sector has benefited from recent initiatives to increase transparency and innovations spurred by Fintechs though in many Frontier Markets the regulatory and operational challenges remain. Sue-Ellen and StoneX are committed to bringing access and efficiency to the ‘final mile’ of payments in challenging markets. For Financial Institutions, this means accessing local market insight as well as improving operational efficiency to deliver payments to almost all markets within two days. Formerly a Partner in a UK Consultancy specializing in Operational Efficiency, then transplanted to San Francisco as Strategy & Operational roles in several start-ups, Sue-Ellen brings a global perspective and practical understanding of how human processes can be given Super-Powers through technology. She is an active participant in the Bay Area Payments community, regular contributor to the Australian-American Incubator Mentorship program run by the Australian Consulate and Activator for the SHE-EO Investment Network. In her down time, Sue-Ellen is an amateur astronomer and enthusiastic hiking buddy to an intrepid ten-year-old Brittany pointer. Sue-Ellen holds a Bachelor of Commerce - Business Finance & Commercial Law from the University of Queensland in Australia, graduated the Executive Program in Strategy & Organization Stanford University Graduate School of Business, and holds Certificates in Foundations of Design Thinking and Organizational Thought to Action from IDEO.

As the Senior Director of the International Banking Department at First Citizens Bank, Aaron is responsible for Trade Finance, Foreign Exchange and International Operations. Prior to his role at First Citizens, he was the Director of FX Sales in the Southeast US for TD Securities. Over the past 25 years he has had managerial and sales roles with The South Financial Group, Commerce Bank, and Bank of America. Aaron earned a master’s degree in International Business Administration from Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and a bachelor’s degree in Geographic Trade and Commerce from the State University of New York at Buffalo.