WE ARE HERE TO HELP
The Midwest International Trade Association (MITA), is an organization that encourages the expansion of trade between the Midwest and foreign markets by sponsoring. Take a moment to learn more about our great leadership group.
OFFICERS
Karen Pinkall: MITA President
First National Bank of Omaha
Director, Global Banking
Website: https://www.fnni.com
Karen Pinkall serves as senior manager for the Global Trade Services Group at First National Bank of Omaha. In that role, Karen manages a team that oversees trade finance sales and operations for the bank. In addition to offering trade solutions to customers, Karen and her team conduct training to customers and bank professionals. Karen is a 1995 graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she received her bachelor’s of art degree in international affairs. She went on to earn a master’s degree from Florida State University, where she studied international affairs. Prior to joining First National, Karen worked on the international trade desk at Wells Fargo Bank in Omaha, Neb., and managed two Omaha retail banking stores at Centris Federal Credit Union. In the community, she is a guild member for Angels Among Us, a nonprofit that helps meet the financial needs of families with children battling cancer, and is a member of the Crestridge Elementary School’s Parent-Teacher Organization. She also is an active member and past board president at St. Michael Lutheran Church. She currently resides in Omaha with her husband Andy, and their children, Lily and Anna.
Juan J. Miceli: MITA Vice President
Lester Electrical
International Business Development Manager
Website: https://www.lesterelectrical.com
Juan holds an MBA, a Master of Science in Agronomy, and a Certificate in Human Resources Management from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He also has a Bachelor of Science in Agronomy Engineering. He speaks English, and Spanish and understands Portuguese.
Juan’s experience includes 10+ years of International Sales, Business Development, and Distribution Management. He has managed and established distribution partners and directed international sales, coordinated regular distributor meetings (regional and worldwide), and worked with distribution partners to prepare marketing collateral in the local language. In addition, he has planned and implemented product demonstrations, seminars, exhibitions, equipment installation, and customer training oversees. He has also evaluated global distributor sales and technical training and has organized distributor visits and related support activities. Juan develops sales, support strategies, and operating plans with metrics to ensure the performance of established revenue targets. Finally, Juan represents his company and its products at multiple international conferences and meetings.
Neal Greenberg: MITA Treasurer
CFO Systems, LLC
Partner/Director
Website: https://www.cfosystemsllc.com
Neal Greenberg has more than 30 years of financial and operations experience specializing in the renewable fuels, transportation, healthcare, communications, and advertising industries. He works closely with clients to improve operational efficiency, develop strategic plans, be SEC compliant, improve balance sheet management, and strengthen board relations.
Neal has served companies in the roles of President, CFO, Director of Operations and Controller. He has led efforts to improve efficiency, reducing staff and overtime by 50% while improving productivity. In addition, Neal has designed reporting packages to provide a Board of Directors with needed data to make timely management decisions. He eliminated the need for capital contributions by developing a rolling five-week cash flow report and improving overall cash flow by cutting invoicing time from three weeks to one week. He has negotiated debt instruments totaling over $25mm and is experienced in XBRL detail tagging and SEC reporting for many companies.
As an entrepreneur, Neal has experience securing funding through venture capital firms and leading company acquisitions. He founded and ran his own wholesale and manufacturing enterprise and led an improvement in productivity that increased production volume over 300% over two years while lowering production time and costs by 20%.
Brian Gordon: MITA Secretary and Past President
Commerce Bank
Senior Vice President & Manager
International Banking Group
Website: https://www.commercebank.com
Brian joined Commerce in May 2012 with a wealth of knowledge in the international banking industry.He started his banking career at National Bank of Commerce in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1989 while attending the University of Nebraska, working in their international banking department.In 2000, he moved to the Wells Fargo HSBC Trade Bank where he focused his business development efforts in 7 midwestern states.He then joined Sovereign Bank in the MidAtlantic & New England markets to set up a structured trade finance group. Before returning to the Midwest to join Commerce he was with HSBC in New York City as an international business development officer covering CT, NJ, NY, PA, MD, VA, and Washington DC.He has 30 years experience in trade services operations, trade finance, and structured trade finance areas and has also worked closely with global treasury and foreign exchange.He serves as board president for MITA (Midwest International Trade Association), is on the advisory board of the World Trade Center-Kansas City. Is currently Co-Chair of the BAFT (Bankers Association for Finance & Trade) Regional Banks Council, and serves on the memberships committee of BAFT globally.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Dr. Phani Tej Adidam
University of Nebraska Omaha
College of Business Admin.
Chairman & Executive Education Professor
Website: https://www.unomaha.edu
Dr. Adidam joined the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) in August 1996. Currently, he is the Chairman of the Department of Marketing and Entrepreneurship, and also the Director of CBA’s Center for International Business Initiatives. Professor Adidam has taught in more than twelve business schools across the globe as a Visiting Professor, including schools in Germany, Austria, Finland, Belgium, France, India, Egypt, Pakistan, China, and Australia. At UNO, Dr. Adidam teaches Marketing and International Business courses to undergraduate, MBA and Executive MBA students. In 2019, he received the UNO Faculty Excellence in Global Engagement Award. In 2008, he received the prestigious UNO’s Excellence in Teaching Award, and in 2007, he received the UNO Alumni Outstanding Teaching Award. Students in the Executive MBA program have awarded him the Distinguished Executive MBA Professor Award seven times in the past 20 years. As a researcher, his work was awarded the Journal of Marketing’s Marketing Science Institute/H. Paul Root Award for “…most significant contribution to the advancement of the practice of marketing” for 1999. He has published more than 40 research papers in distinguished peer-reviewed journals.
Colby Angst
Nebraska Department of Economic Development
Export Consultant
Website: https://www.opportunity.nebraska.gov
Colby Angst has taken over as the new Export Consultant and State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) Administrator for the Nebraska Department of Economic Development. In this role, Colby will primarily work to provide support and research to small businesses navigating the export process or applying for financial assistance through SBA’s STEP grant. Colby was raised on a farm in Fremont, Nebraska before joining the United State Marine Corps, where he was stationed in Hawaii and served in Iraq. Since graduating from Nebraska Wesleyan University with a degree in business administration, Colby has been a small business owner, with other experience in finance, sales and marketing. Colby is married to Jessica Angst, and the two have a 10-year-old daughter, Rooney. In is free time, he enjoys automotive restoration, woodworking, the outdoors, and co-leading Rooney’s Girl Scout troop.
Adrienne Cavill
Greater Omaha Chamber
Manager – Business Attraction and Expansion
Website: https://www.unomaha.edu
Adrienne Cavill is the Manager of Business Attraction & Expansion and leads international efforts at the Greater Omaha Chamber. This role includes creating business opportunity in the Omaha metro, supporting regional partners, and executing international engagement strategies. Prior to her work at the Omaha Chamber, she worked at the Nebraska Department of Economic Development where she specialized in international business attraction by promoting the state as an ideal global business destination. A Nebraska native, Adrienne is passionate about attracting economic opportunity to her state.
Prior to her work in Nebraska economic development, Adrienne interned in 2016 at a nonprofit in Dublin, Ireland, the Entrepreneurs Academy where she assisted with government contracting and strategic planning. Some of her other international projects include studying corporate social responsibility and social action in India; leading microenterprise development among disenfranchised women in rural Vietnam; and writing theses on free-trade economics and international business culture in France and Germany.
Adrienne holds dual degrees from the University of Nebraska Omaha including a B.S. in Business Administration with majors in in Management, Marketing, and International Business as well as a B.A. in International Studies with majors in Global Strategic Studies and Business Leadership & Management. She is proficient in Dutch, French, Spanish, and German. In her free time, Adrienne enjoys painting, traveling, and spending time with loved ones.
Tiffany L. Homolka
Streck, Inc.
Customer Care Manager
Website: https://www.streck.com
Tiffany Homolka has worked at Streck in Omaha, Neb., for 26 years, where her current focus is the company’s international and private label business. She manages 6 employees, including a transportation specialist, a new position she created last year.
Homolka’s responsibilities have evolved over the years as Streck has grown. She managed the entire Customer Service department up to July 2020. This team processes orders, assists customer with shipping and billing questions, and provided support to the sales staff. For 8 years she also managed Streck’s online ILQC program. She has supported the implementation of a new order entry system and subsequent upgrades, new phone system and upgrades, improvements to ILQC reporting and ISO13485/CMDR certification.
David R. Mayer
Dvorak Law Group, LLC
Attorney
Website: www.dvoraklawgroup.com
David Mayer is a founding member of Dvorak Law Group and counsels clients in a broad range of areas and provides advice on the wide variety of business opportunities and challenges faced by clients. He assists clients with respect to business entity formation and structuring, corporate governance, supply chain management, loan transactions, real estate matters, commercialization of intellectual property assets and the review, drafting and negotiation of all forms of business contracts. Dave routinely acts as outside counsel for clients, handling a broad spectrum of corporate and business matters in conjunction with other legal, accounting, insurance, business and banking experts. Dave helps structure and restructure family businesses in pursuit of long-term family goals. When generational transition poses critical challenges, Dave works closely with the clients to reorganize corporate structures and shareholdings in preparation for a significant corporate transaction, such as a sale of the business.
Janie Ogg
Green Plains Inc.
Director International Trade Execution
Website: www.gpreinc.com
Janie has over 30 years of experience working for both import and export companies, as well as NVOCCs. She has led domestic and international transportation teams, handling various modes of transportation. Janie is currently the Director of International Trade Execution at Green Plains Inc. Green Plains is a leading ag-tech company using innovative processes to transform annually renewable crops into sustainable, high-value ingredients. Janie oversees their export compliance which entails implementing and streamlining their processes and procedures. Janie is in charge of growing their export team.
Janie is fluent in English and Spanish. She is also a mentor of the TeamMates Mentoring Program, and sponsors a 10-year-old girl through Compassion International. Her free time is spent with her two grand-babies!
Nick Scarcello
Lindsay
Supply Chain Manager
Website: https://www.lindsay.com
Nick is a Supply Chain Manager at Lindsay and has been at Lindsay for about 4 years. He is responsible for managing the procurement activities, supplier selection, and contract negotiation at their global manufacturing locations. Lindsay’s supply chain team is focused on partnering with the correct suppliers and maintaining flexibility to support their customers needs. Prior to joining Lindsay, Nick worked as a Project Manager for a semiconductor manufacturing company (ASM) located in Phoenix, Arizona. Nick graduated from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln in 2014 with a degree in Supply Chain Management. In his free time he enjoys exercising, traveling, and cheering on the Huskers.
Andrew Schilling
Honorary Japan Consul in Nebraska
Website: https://www.chicago.us.emb-japan
Andrew Schilling was a career diplomat with the U.S. Department of State, specializing in public diplomacy and strategic communications. In his 24 years with the foreign service, Andy served as a public affairs officer at U.S. embassies in Warsaw, Oslo, Vienna, Rome and Tokyo. His principal duties included Embassy press spokesman; overseeing media relations and senior delegation visits; and managing professional and educational exchange programs sponsored by the U.S. government. He is fluent in German, Italian and French, and speaks or reads six other languages, including Japanese.
Following his foreign service career, Andy resettled his family to Omaha and accepted a position as the command speechwriter at U.S. Strategic Command at Offutt AFB. Andy was employed for six years at First National Bank of Omaha, where he worked in the enterprise marketing department, with previous experience in the Bank’s mortgage, credit card and risk management areas. Most recently, Andy was the senior director for international business development at the Greater Omaha Chamber, where his responsibilities included export promotion, foreign direct investment, and other business development opportunities with international partners.
Andy graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a B.A. in Modern Languages, and served four years in the Navy as a surface warfare officer. After his naval service, he earned an MBA in marketing from The Wharton School, and worked four years on Madison Avenue as an advertising account executive at Young & Rubicam New York. Beginning in Fall 2021, Andy is teaching German and French at Skutt Catholic High School. He is a board member and Vice President of the Omaha Sister Cities Association. He is a member of the Nebraska World Affairs Council (NEWAC). He is an adjunct professor at UNO, teaching the GLOBE international business issues course, and serves on the UNO International Studies Community Advisory Board. As an adjunct professor at Sheridan University (WY), he has taught online courses in International Business and Electronic Commerce.
Andy was the recipient of a Japan Foundation GEN-J grant [Grassroots Exchange Network], and participated in the program in October, 2019, with visits to Tokyo and Hiroshima. He participated in a Nebraska Trade Mission to Tokyo in February of 2020. In August 2020, he was appointed as Honorary Consul for Japan to Nebraska by Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He and his wife Tracy have two grown sons: Tony, a graduate of Creighton; and Jamey, who graduated from Marquette.
Zach Severin: MITA Past President
Ascent Global Logistics
Director of Strategic Accounts / Business Development
Website: https://www.ascentgl.com
Zach Severin is the Director of Strategic Accounts / Business Development for Ascent Global Logistics in Omaha, NE. Ascent Global Logistics is a C-TPAT validated NVOCC and Licensed U.S. Customs Broker authorized to operate in every U.S. Port of Entry. Ascent provides a full range of Customhouse and freight-forwarding services along with discerning attention to U.S. Customs and other government agency compliance demands. Zach, a licensed custom broker, has spent time with Ascent in Kansas City, MO and Chicago, IL prior to returning to his Omaha roots.
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Jeremy Baker
Oxbow Animal Health
Director of Business Development
Website: https://www.oxbowanimalhealth.com
Jeremy Baker is currently with Oxbow Animal Health where he has served in multiple capacities within the sales division both domestically and internationally. Jeremy joined Oxbow Animal health in 2007 after moving back from Chicago, IL where he held several roles in both sales and marketing for Black & Decker and Dewalt. You always come back home right? At least if home is Nebraska! Currently Jeremy serves as the Director of Business Development for Oxbow Animal Health. Leading a sales and customer service team of eight is only part of the fun. He is a member of the leadership team at the organization and works to support the strategic direction of a rapidly growing animal health company, in a global marketplace. Oxbow Animal Health currently supplies products throughout all of North America in addition to 30 other countries. Jeremy earned a degree in Marketing and Management from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. He currently lives in Omaha, NE with his wife and two amazing boys with a third on the way! My philosophy is to always believe in yourself, your dreams, learn something new every day and strive to make a difference in the lives of others through knowledge and wisdom.
Meredith Bond: MITA Past President
U.S. Commercial Service – Omaha
Director
Website: https://www.export.gov
Meredith Bond is the Director of the US Commercial Service’s Omaha office, a federal agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The Commercial Service works with companies who are expanding their international business as well as those just beginning export sales. As the Director covering Nebraska, she manages a diverse portfolio of clients by developing international marketing strategies, performing market research and locating overseas business contacts. She has served as President of the Midwest International Trade Association (MITA) and served on the organization’s Board Advisory Committee. In 2007 she achieved “CGBP” certification. The Certified Global Business Professional exam provides a benchmark for competency in global commerce. Meredith is a graduate of Bucknell University and received a Masters in International Affairs from American University.
Jim Hushka
Warren Distribution
Credit Manager
Website: https://www.warrendistribution.com
Jim Hushka, CCE, CICP is the Credit Manager for Warren Distribution, Inc. located in Omaha, NE. He began his more than 19 year career in credit management shortly after receiving his Bachelor of Arts from Creighton University. Jim has held board positions for the Nebraska Connect affiliate of the National Association of Credit Management (NACM), the Omaha/Lincoln Chapter of the Credit Financial Development Division (CFDD), as well the national board of CFDD. Jim currently lives in Omaha, NE with his wife Carrie and sons Stephen, Henry, and Jude.
Terry McMullen: MITA Past President
AIT Worldwide Logistics/Cargo Zone LLC
Branch Owner of AIT Worldwide Logistics/Omaha
President of Cargo Zone LLC
Website: https://www.tlkomaha.com
Terry McMullen is the Branch Owner of AIT Worldwide Logistics/Omaha and the President of Cargo Zone LLC – the General Purpose Foreign Trade Zone Operator for the Omaha Chamber of Commerce. With over 35 years in the transportation industry, Terry and his wife, Lori, co-founded T.L.K. Air Care, Inc. currently dba AIT Worldwide Logistics in 1991. TLK is a Nebraska company that has grown from just two employees to over 30 transport specialists, serving hundreds of clients across the Midwest with global supply chain needs for all import, export, and domestic transportation modes.
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT
Gloria Penas
Midwest International Trade Association
Executive Assistant
Email: mita@mitaonline.org
Web Site: https://www.mitaonline.org
Gloria has served as the Executive Assistant for the Midwest International Trade Association for the past twenty years. She provides support to the MITA President, to the Board of Directors and to the Advisory Council as well as current MITA member companies. Gloria is a past Board of Director of the Midwest International Trade Association while working as an International Banker at Wells Fargo.
“MITA helped us expand our business by venturing into internation trade. Thanks for all your help.”