DELEGATION BIOS
J. Nor Coquillard
Chairman, AmCham Shanghai Board of Governors
Chairman and President – Cargill Investments (China) Ltd.
In addition to his current role as Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, Nor served as an officer of the Chamber in 2003, 2004 and 2007. In his current capacity as Chairman and President of Cargill Investments (China), Nor supervises the Corporate Affairs function, consisting of government affairs, media relations and corporate responsibility functions. His long-term relationship with Cargill dates back to the management of operations in Japan and Korea from 1984. Since arriving in China in 1998, he has been awarded the Silver Magnolia Award (2002) by the Shanghai City Government.
Phillip Branham
Chairman, AmCham Shanghai 2009 Washington D.C. Doorknock
Co-Founder & President – B & L Group, Inc.
Phillip has lived and worked throughout China since 1997, predominantly in the fields of management, engineering and construction, in which he has over 40 years experience. His involvement with the business community in China has included service as the Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai (2004) and sitting on the International Advisory group for the Xuhui and Luwan District for the City of Shanghai. Phillip’s talent for public speaking has resulted in his being invited to deliver a number of Keynote speeches at manufacturing industry events and major U.S. corporations throughout China. He is responsible for a number of manufacturing plants in China, including two foreign-owned semiconductor facilities.
Brenda Lei Foster
President of AmCham Shanghai
As a nationally and internationally respected expert in Asian Affairs, Brenda is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations, the Pacific Council on International Policy, the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, the Asia Society and the U.S. Committee on the Council for Security Cooperation in Asia and the Pacific. Brenda was recently named to the USA Pavillion Board of Directors, America’s national pavillion at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. Prior to her current position of President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, she was the President & CEO of ULU Group, Ltd, a firm specializing in emerging technologies in the Asia-Pacific region. She had also held the positions of Executive Advisor to the Governor of Hawaii for International and National Affairs, Director of the State of Hawaii’s Office of International Relations and Executive Director of Hawaii’s World Affairs Council.
Jeffrey Bernstein
Founder & Managing Director – Emerge Logistics (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
For the past ten years, Jeff has overseen the development of Emerge Logistics, a U.S. invested and Shanghai based company with three major businesses: Logistics, Distribution and Consulting. The company’s mission has always been to aid U.S. companies that aim to penetrate the China market and establish distribution channels. With over a decade’s experience of living in China, Jeff has been honored with the Magnolia Silver Award (2007) from the Shanghai Municipal Government, for his significant contributions to the local community. He is particularly focused on cross-city exchange between the U.S. and China, having been instrumental in the development of partnerships between Shanghai and New York (e.g. The Fifth Avenue Association and the Nanjing Road Commercial Association) and having founded the Ohio China Center on behalf of the State of Ohio, in 2006. Jeff has a long association with the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, having served as Chairman of the Board in 2005 and 2006.
Matthew Chervenak
Founder and CEO – General Biologic
Matthew Chervenak is founder and CEO of General Biologic, a research and advisory firm focused on China’s pharmaceutical, biotechnology and healthcare industries. Since founding the company in 2002, Mr. Chervenak has advised multinational clients and investors concerning mergers and acquisitions, investment, product licensing, commercial strategy, medical reform and policy, research and development strategy, due diligence, and follow-on biologics. He led the development of innovative information products including SOURCE, the leading data service tracking China’s pharmaceutical industry, and the China Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Monthly, a newsletter. Mr. Chervenak currently serves as the Chair of AmCham Shanghai’s Healthcare Committee.
Ted Dean
Vice Chair of the Board of Governors of AmCham-China
President & Managing Director, a Principal – BDA
Heading up the leading advisory firm of its kind in the region, overseeing a team of 40 in Beijing and 15 in New Delhi, has ensured Ted’s expertise in advising foreign firms and investors entering the booming markets of China and India. His previous clients have operated in the fields of telecoms, media, technology, finance and education. In the 11 years that he has been based in China, he has developed a profile as an expert speaker and writer in the telecoms and technology industries. He is currently a Vice Chair of the Board of Governors of the American Chamber of Commerce China and chairs their IT & Telecom Forum.
John Grobowski
Vice-Chair, AmCham Shanghai, Board of Governors
Managing Partner & Co-chair (Greater China) – Faegre & Benson, Shanghai Office
With more than two decades experience in the China business environment, John focuses his practice on advising multinational corporations in the establishment, acquisition and operation of manufacturing companies and service providers throughout China. Recognized as an authority on business law in China, he has served on advisory panels to China’s National government on matters such as competition law legislation and venture capital law reform. In 2005 he was named by Asialaw website as one of the leading M&A lawyers in China.
Benjamin Kinnas
Managing Director & General Manager & Asia Trade Finance Manager
Wachovia Bank, N.A., Shanghai Branch
An experienced emerging markets banker, with over 20 years regional experience, Ben has been based in Shanghai for the past 4 years. With a banking career that dates back to 1982, his expertise lies in deregulation, liberalization, sovereign debt and trade facility restructuring. He currently serves as Vice-Chair of AmCham Shanghai’s Financial Services committee, where he has led the working groups that authored the commercial banking section of every AmCham white paper since 2005. In addition to being an active member of the Shanghai Bankers Association, he is also a member of the World Affairs Council.
Tom McCawley
General Manager, Energy Solutions – Owens Corning, Asia Pacific
Tom began his career in the nuclear industry more than twenty years ago, with General Electric and Westinghouse. His subsequent roles included Operations Director for Nucor Steel, Technology Director for Qualitech Steel and Acquisition Consultant to Mitsubishi International. He has personally managed over $300 million in projects throughout his career and helped raise $500 million in financing. He currently serves as Vice-Chairman of AmCham Shanghai’s Environmental Committee and is a Strategic Advisor to the Joint U.S.-China Cooperation on Clean Energy, the China Greentech Initiative and the U.S.-China Clean Energy Forum.
Charles McElwee
Counsel – Environmental, Energy, CSR & Import/Export compliance
Squire, Sanders & Dempsey L.L.P., Shanghai Office
Charles has been practicing environmental and energy law for more than 20 years, at Squire, Sanders & Dempsey L.L.P. Representing a wide range of clients in the U.S. and China, his experience lies in fields such as structuring carbon trades, NOx and SO2 allowance trade agreements, structuring energy and cleantech project deals, performing environmental due diligence and pursuing and defending environmental claims in U.S. courts. He is listed as the only China-based lawyer in the International Who’s Who of Environment Lawyers 2009. His experience as a Professor of Law at Shanghai’s Jiao Tong University and ongoing role as an advisor to the Chinese government on environmental law reform, led to his receiving the highest honor bestowed on foreigners by the City of Shanghai in 2008 – the Magnolia Award.
Robert Roche
Entrepreneur, attorney & investor
Having spent the last 20 years based in Asia, Robert speaks both Japanese and Mandarin Chinese. After studying law in both the U.S. and Japan, he initially established himself in Japan as an entrepreneur, creating and investing in 15 different companies there. In the last 15 years he co-founded Japan’s largest infomercial company, Oak Lawn Marketing, and China’s leading integrated multi-platform marketing company, Acorn International. In addition to his many business interests in China, Robert has invested in companies that develop and sell corn-based alternatives to petroleum-based plastic products and manufacture high performance aftermarket parts for cars and motorcycles. He also co-founded and financed China’s first carbon neutral hotel, URBN Hotel in Shanghai, and plans to expand the brand throughout China and the region.
Steven Tseng
Partner-in-Charge & Asia Pacific leader of Global Transfer Pricing Services (GTPS) – KPMG
Steven has been active in advising multinational companies on Transfer Pricing issues since 1994. He now oversees more than 200 specialists in Greater China and 450 in the Asia Pacific region. He is also a member of the GTPS global steering group and the global consumer markets industry lead for GTPS. His experience in China began in 2005, after stints in the U.S., Japan and Finland. He currently serves as the lead partner and economist for several hundred KPMG projects throughout the world, including global transfer pricing, business information, valuations and post merger integration. His clients cover a wide range of industries, including energy, financial services, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, machinery, consumer goods and non-profit associations.
