57th GEORGIA INTERNATIONAL
TRADE CONFERENCE

Board Chairman Alec Poitevint is a past chairman of Georgia Ports Authority, having previously served the Authority from 2007-2016. Poitevint is the chairman and president of Southeastern Minerals, Inc. and its affiliated companies headquartered in Bainbridge.

He is also a former president, vice-chairman and director of First Port City Bank of Bainbridge. He is past chairman of the American Feed Industry Association and National Feed Ingredients Association. He serves as a director of the Georgia Agribusiness Council and was Federal Commissioner of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) Water Compact.

Poitevint was a former mission member of the U.S. Agricultural Trade and Development Mission to Europe in 1990 and U.S. Delegate to the World Food Summit in 2002.

Flavio Batista serves as the Chief Commercial Officer for the Georgia Ports, a global gateway for international trade and investment.
 
 In this role, he is responsible for providing the strategic leadership of the Georgia Ports Authority's business development, sales & marketing activities and economic development. His passion for finding end-to-end solutions for customers, combined with more than two decades of maritime industry experience, drives his work promoting Georgia Ports.
 
 Flavio joined the GPA from Wallenius Wilhelmsen, where served as Senior Vice President and head of Americas sales, leading ocean and logistics commercial development and customer relations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Latin America. He previously served at WWL as Executive Vice President and head of commercial activities for Europe, Africa and the Middle East, and as Vice President in São Paulo, Brazil, responsible for South America.

Robert Davy is the Sr. Director of Supply Chain for Kubota Tractor Corporation. He joined Kubota in February of 2020, and has responsibility for fulfillment of all nationwide Kubota dealer orders for machinery and attachments. Scope of responsibilities include S&OP, dealer orders management, factory and supplier procurement, nationwide DC operations, international and domestic transportation, dealer inventory management, supply chain modeling and analytics.  

Robert spent the majority of his career with Caterpillar. His roots were in manufacturing before progressing upward through procurement, quality, logistics, and supply management roles. He worked across different divisions and locations including agricultural, hydraulic, compact construction, and forestry. Robert was a division manager in the corporate supply chain office, with responsibility for global supply chain planning processes, tools and optimization.

Curtis Dubay is the Chief Economist at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He tracks the condition of the economy, analyzes the impact of public policy on economic growth, and runs the Chamber’s Chief Economists Committee. Previously, he was senior economist at the American Bankers Association and a research fellow in tax and economic policy at The Heritage Foundation. He also worked at the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and at the Tax Foundation.

Dubay has researched and published frequently on a wide range of tax and economic issues. He is regularly quoted by the press and has appeared often in the media, including on CNBC, Fox Business, Fox News, and C-SPAN. He has testified before Congress several times and been cited in newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, and Politico.

 Dubay received his master’s degree in economics from the University of Connecticut and his bachelor’s degree in economics and leadership studies from the University of Richmond. He resides in Washington, D.C., with his wife and three sons.

Chris Gaffney, former VP of Global Strategic Supply Chain at The Coca-Cola Company, now serves as The Managing Director of the Supply Chain and Logistics Institute at Georgia Tech. Chris is also a Principal at EDGE Supply Chain, offering expertise in supply chain consulting. In his 25 years at Coca-Cola, he held various leadership roles, including President of Coca-Cola Supply and SVP of Product Supply System Strategy. 
 
 Chris was previously the President of the National Product Supply Group, a governing body responsible for 95% of volume produced in North America. 
 
 Chris, a Georgia Tech alum, is also a board member of the Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer. Outside work, he enjoys distance running, reading, and boxing.

Ray Hufnagel serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Plastic Express, the largest U.S. veteran-owned and operated logistics company in the world. Plastic Express specializes in Bulk Trucking, Warehousing, Packaging, Transloading, and Port Drayage. Ray joined Plastic Express in 2001, holding various Operational and Sales positions before becoming President in 2008.

Plastic Express, headquartered in Pasadena, Texas, operates 85 Bulk Rail Terminals with over 10,000 railcar spots and manages 30 Warehouses encompassing more than 7.0 million square feet nationwide. With over 1,400 employees across 21 states, the asset-based company is ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 9001:2015 certified.

Before joining Plastic Express, Ray served for 10 years as an Officer and Carrier Aviator in the United States Navy. He held roles in Safety, Operations, Maintenance, Quality Assurance, and Standardization, serving in two carrier battle groups and flying missions in support of Operation Southern Watch and Desert Fox. Ray’s final Navy tour was as an instructor at the Fleet Replacement Squadron and the Naval Weapons School.

Ray holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the United States Naval Academy and an MBA from the University of Southern California. He is married to Jennifer Hufnagel, and together they have two sons, Raymond and Davis.

Ray currently serves as the President of the North American Rail Shippers Association (NARS). He also serves as Southwest Trustee for the Boy’s and Girls Club of America. Prior to this, Ray has held various leadership and advisory roles across several industry organizations. These include serving as a past President of the Southwest Association of Rail Shippers (SWARS), and participating on boards and committees such as the BNSF Customer Advisory Board, California Film Extruders and Converters Association, Western Plastics Association, the Special Operations Warrior Foundation and the Algalita Marine Research Foundation. In 2016 he was named the SWARS “Person of the Year” in 2016.

Outside of work, Ray enjoys running, ocean sports, fishing, and golf.

Maryclare Kenney leads the CSX commercial organization as Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer. She oversees the company’s profitable growth strategies as well as customer service, customer engagement and business development activities. 

Previously, she held the position of Vice President of Sales and Marketing, in which she was responsible for Merchandise Sales and Marketing, Total Distribution Services, Inc. (TDSI), Automotive Sales and Marketing, as well as TRANSFLO. 

Prior to that, Kenney served as Vice President for Intermodal and Automotive, leading CSX's sales and marketing functions for intermodal customers and those producing and transporting autos and auto parts both domestically and internationally. 

Kenney joined CSX in 2011 as Director of Domestic Sales and has since held roles of increasing responsibility, including Assistant Vice President of Intermodal Sales and Head of Automotive. Her leadership has been instrumental in driving growth and innovation across multiple business segments. 

Before joining CSX, Kenney spent four years at PepsiCo, where she held various sales leadership and strategy roles. She also served in the U.S. Army for seven years, achieving the rank of captain. Her military service included company and battalion leadership roles with the 3rd Infantry and 101st Airborne Divisions, as well as supporting counter-drug operations in the Bahamas and combat operations in Iraq. 

Kenney’s commitment to the military and employee engagement is evident in her role as the executive sponsor of CSX's Military Business Resource Group. In this capacity, she champions initiatives supporting veterans, military-affiliated employees, and communities across the CSX network. 

In 2024, Kenney was recognized on the International Rail Journal's list of top Women in Rail, celebrating her leadership and contributions to the rail industry. She holds a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School and a bachelor’s degree in government and international relations from the University of Notre Dame. Additionally, she completed the Executive Development Program at Harvard in 2016.

Brent Koslo is the Chief Supply Chain Officer at Williams-Sonoma and has over 30 years of expertise in global manufacturing, sourcing, engineering, and supply chain within the home furnishing industry. As Chief Supply Chain Officer, Brent leads teams responsible for final mile home delivery, international and domestic transportation, regional distribution, small parcel fulfillment, purchasing, and upholstery manufacturing.
 
 Prior to joining Williams-Sonoma, Brent was the Executive Vice President of Worldwide Manufacturing at Ashley Furniture Industries where he oversaw fourteen domestic and international manufacturing facilities producing upholstery, casegoods, and residential bedding. Was responsible for the development and implementation of a blended manufacturing strategy, vertical integration, operations modernization, and optimization of production, robotics, safety, quality, delivery, and cost.
 
 Brent holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Marquette University and an MBA specializing in Finance from the University of Denver. Brent is also certified in Production and Inventory Management, APICS (CPIM), Supply Chain Professional, APICS (CSCP), Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (Villanova University), and has also been certified in Lean Manufacturing by the University of Michigan.

Griff Lynch serves as President and CEO of the Georgia Ports Authority, an 1,800-person strong state authority which owns and operates strategic port terminals serving American commerce.
 
 In this role, Lynch oversees the nation’s third-busiest gateway for containerized trade in Savannah, and the number-one-busiest auto port complex in the nation, in Brunswick. Together, these form one of the largest economic engines in the Southeastern United States.
 
 Before being named President and CEO in 2016, Lynch served as the GPA’s Chief Operating Officer for five years. A proven leader in the maritime industry, he brings more than 35 years of operational and commercial experience to the Georgia Ports Authority team.

OCEAN NETWORK EXPRESS North America President since April 2020.
 
 30+ years experience of working in the shipping industry since joining NYK LINE Tokyo in April 1989.
 
 Experience in various business units with especially a long period in Container Shipping and Liquid Bulk Energy. In the Container Shipping business unit, managed various functions ranging from Marketing and Sales to Network Planning which was in charge of managing Alliance cooperations. One of my achievements as a representative for NYK was to set up THE Alliance which eventually led to the establishment of Ocean Network Express.
 
 Prior to his appointment as President of ONE North America, held the SVP of the Marketing and Commercial Division role at ONE. His focus has been to cultivate a culture of collaboration and teamwork.

Stan Park is President of HD Hyundai Construction Equipment North America, where he oversees the company’s overall strategy, operations, and growth across the U.S. and Canada. 

With more than two decades of experience in the construction equipment industry, he has held a range of senior leadership roles spanning strategic distribution, sales, and marketing. 

Prior to his current role, he served as Vice President of Distribution & Marketing, playing a key role in strengthening dealer networks and expanding market presence. 

Stan brings deep expertise in channel strategy, brand development, and organizational transformation, and regularly works with global stakeholders to navigate complex market dynamics. 

He holds a degree in Marketing from Hofstra University.

Amy Paulsen has led the Finished Vehicle Logistics role at General Motors since August, 2024. 
 
 Prior to GM, Amy spent the previous 14 years in progressive logistics leadership roles, including global procurement for Caterpillar, building launch logistics capability and designing all export markets for Tesla, building Rivian’s logistics department from a parcel account to a sophisticated full-service department, and executing a cultural turnaround at Lucid. Prior to logistics, Amy dabbled as a practicing attorney and Secret Service special agent. 
 
 She is a graduate of the University of Michigan (B.A.) and Loyola University New Orleans (J.D.). Amy and her husband currently divide their time between Michigan (for GM), and Southern California.

Michael (Mike) Rye is the Senior Vice President Sales, Customer Growth Americas for Wallenius Wilhelmsen. His role consists of business responsibility for leading the North and South America sales strategy across all customer segments and solutions. Driving growth through strategic partnerships, new business development, and a strong customer first focus, while supporting transformation and elevating customer experience across Shipping, Logistics, and Supply Chain Solutions.
 
 He has served in many different capacities over his 22-year tenure at Wallenius Wilhelmsen. Most recently SVP H&H Logistics responsible for all High and Heavy equipment processing and inland distribution in the Americas. He has held leadership positions in vehicle processing, marine terminals, port and cargo operations, logistic services, and trade management. 
 
 Mr. Rye is a graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy (Kings Point) and holds degree in Logistics and International Business. Mr. Rye has executive education from The Wharton School of Business and The Thunderbird School of Global Management. 
 
 He resides in Pennsylvania with his Wife (Melissa) and two children.

Walter E. Sanchez is the General Manager of Global Supply Chain at Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. LP.

With more than 30 years of experience in the petrochemical industry, Walter has built a distinguished career leading global operations and optimizing logistics across multiple modes of transportation. Since assuming his current role in 2020, he has been recognized for his strategic vision, strong leadership, and ability to foster collaborative relationships with key logistics partners.

Prior to this position, Walter held various operational and commercial management roles within Chevron Phillips Chemical, where he consistently drove efficiency and innovation. Before joining Chevron Phillips Chemical, he served as Operations Manager at A&R Transport (now Quantix) and as Terminal Supervisor at Highway Transport.

Walter earned a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University.

Stuart Sandlin is the President of Hapag-Lloyd North America and a member of the company’s global Executive Committee. He is dedicated to leading Hapag-Lloyd as a customer-centric and empowered organization, with a strong focus on becoming the leading carrier in liner shipping for service quality. 
 
 Stuart holds degrees in International Economics and Industrial Engineering, with a concentration in Supply Chain Management. Since beginning his career with Hapag-Lloyd in 2001, he has held a variety of commercial and sales leadership roles across key global locations, including Atlanta, Hamburg, Houston, and Piscataway. 
 
 In 2015, Stuart joined UASC as CEO of the Americas, returning to Hapag-Lloyd in 2017 through the merger of the two companies. His experience has consistently centered on delivering innovative, customer-focused solutions across the shipping and logistics value chain. 
 
 Stuart also serves on several advisory boards, including the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, the University of Tennessee’s Supply Chain Board, and Norfolk Southern’s Customer Advisory Board.

Fabio's ascent from the coastal plains of Rome to the leadership of MSC underscores his steadfast dedication to excellence and service. Joining the Italian Navy at 18, he earned a Bachelor's in Electronic Engineering before becoming one of the few selected for Italian aviator training.  
 
 His path led him to the U.S., where he excelled in Navy flight training, earning his 'Naval Aviator' wings in 2001. 
 
 Returning to Italy, Fabio served as a pilot for both the Italian Navy and Allied forces, commanding the MHC Viareggio and undergoing rigorous training, including commanding officer school in Augusta. After 15 years of distinguished service, he retired and relocated to the U.S. with his family, where he and his wife are proud parents of three children. 
 
 In 2010, Fabio began his journey with MSC, swiftly rising through the ranks from entry-level positions to branch management. Recognized for his leadership qualities, he was appointed President in 2015, a role he assumed with a commitment to consensus-driven decision-making and upholding MSC's core values.  
 
 Today, as CEO of MSC USA and Medlog, Fabio continues to lead with vision and integrity, shaping the future of MSC while remaining dedicated to philanthropic endeavours and preserving the company's rich heritage.

Don Schoenl is the President / CEO, and a founding member of Agile Cold Storage with over 25 years’ experience in the cold storage and food manufacturing industries. He was previously the President of Nordic Cold Storage; Agro-Merchants North America, and the World Food Logistics Organization.

Ken is a passionate and innovative results-oriented executive, advisor, and board member with over 30 years of expertise across various management responsibilities, including Procurement, Sales, Operations, Regulatory Affairs, and Product Management.

He has held numerous expatriate assignments, leading and managing multilingual and multicultural teams on a global basis. Currently, he serves as the Head of Global Procurement at Wayfair LLC.

Each year, he speaks at various trade events worldwide, sharing insights and perspectives on the logistics industry and considerations for supply chain management.

Ken is married to his wife, Kamella, and they have two daughters

Chris Swartz has 30 years of experience working in Ocean, Rail, Trucking, and Logistics industry with an emphasis on international markets. He is the AJC Group Senior Vice President of Transportation and Logistics and member of the Board of Directors. Responsibilities include strategies and contracts for ocean carriers, warehousing, trucking, rail, and port strategies for AJC Food. Additionally, Chris leads the AJC Group subsidiary, AJC Logistics, a $200M third party logistics company servicing the US Jones Act trade, North America Trucking, and NVOCC.
 
 Chris started his career with the global ocean carrier Sea-Land Services and spent 12 years working in various international divisions. He then moved to CSX Railroad serving as the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for their logistics subsidiary TRANSFLO and Director of Chemicals Marketing for CSX Transportation.
 
 Chris is married to his wife Shana for 31 years and has two children Jack (6 yr old) and Kate (20 yr old). He is currently a member of the AJC Group BOD. He is a founding member of the Georgia State University Logistics Roundtable. He also serves on Advisory Board for Polivka International.
 
 Chris graduated from Florida State with a BS degree in Economics. He has attained multiple certifications from Georgia Tech Supply Chain Institute and well as MIT’s Supply Chain Mgt course.

Mark Szakonyi leads the Journal of Commerce’s team of editors, correspondents, and analysts in providing business-critical and data-heavy business intelligence and analysis. Szakonyi oversees the Journal of Commerce magazine and JOC.com which includes the shipping dashboard Gateway. His analysis and work have been quoted in general business news media including the BBC, Bloomberg, The Economist, NPR, and USA Today.

Peter Tirschwell is Vice President, Journal of Commerce, within S&P Global. Based in New York City, Peter leads the Journal of Commerce, the former daily New York City maritime newspaper founded in 1827, which will celebrate its bicentennial in 2027. Peter leads team of specialized business journalists reporting on end-to-end global ocean containerized supply chains within S&P Global. He is the founder and chairman of TPM, the world’s largest container shipping event founded in 2001 and held annually in Long Beach, Calif. TPM is built around an independent editorial program developed by the JOC journalist team addressed to the needs of logistics and procurement teams at retail, consumer product, agribusiness, trading, industrial, manufacturing and other shipper companies.

A career business journalist, Peter has served in several roles at the Journal of Commerce over his 30+ year career. He was a maritime reporter, West Coast Bureau Chief, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of the daily Journal of Commerce newspaper. In his current role he leads the JOC business within the Global Insights business line of S&P Global Market Intelligence.

He reports and writes biweekly news analysis, is regularly invited to speak to industry groups, has authored several recent Op-Ed pieces for Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post, and has been quoted or interviewed by CNBC, CBS News, NPR, FT, the New York Times and many others.

CEO Jim Vena leads Union Pacific with more than 40 years of railroad industry experience, with a demonstrated track record of driving best-in-class operating and service results. 

Vena started from the ground up at Canadian National Railway (CN) and worked in the Engineering, Mechanical and Operating departments, including operating trains as a locomotive engineer. After graduating from university, he worked in management across Operations, Marketing, Strategic Planning and Labor Relations at CN. Vena ultimately was promoted to executive vice president and chief operating officer. 

As Union Pacific’s chief operating officer from 2019-2020, Vena oversaw a team that achieved efficiency savings and delivered the best service product in the company’s history. He served as senior advisor to the chairman in 2021 and returned to Union Pacific as CEO in August 2023. As CEO, his goal is to continue to drive best-in-class results in Safety, Service and Operational Excellence. 

Vena has served on several transportation-related boards throughout his career, including most recently as chairman of the Association of American Railroads (AAR) and as a board member for Direct ChassisLink Inc. (DCLI) and FedEx.

Cheryl Welch is the Vice President, Supply Chain Transportation for Lowe’s Home Improvement, responsible for planning, developing and executing all international and domestic transportation strategy and operations for the company.
 
 Cheryl began at Lowe’s in 2005 as a merchandising manager, and spent 20 years in various Merchandising categories across Home Décor and Hardlines. She was promoted into roles of greater responsibility, last serving as Merchandising VP, Hardware, where she led the launch of multiple brands including Carhartt and Coca-Cola, before transitioning into the supply chain organization in 2024. She served as VP, DC operations where she supported all operational aspects for the import & parcel fulfillment distribution center network, responsible for achieving productivity, safety, cycle time and customer service targets. She also worked with Network Strategy to define the optimal IDC structure resulting in improved site utilization and streamlined product flow.
 
 Cheryl is a UT, Knoxville alum, and is also a board member of the Goodwill Institute of Southern Piedmont.

Mitch Williams serves as the Director of Destination Operations at Amazon Global Logistics.
 
 In his role Mitch is responsible for the strategy and operations of Amazon’s destination operations including drayage, transloading, and domestic linehaul. He has a proven track record of driving large scale process improvement and cost optimization across multiple supply chain sectors.
 
 In his previous role at Amazon, Mitch led the launch and scale of Amazon Heavy Bulky Home Delivery operation across North America for six years. Prior to joining Amazon he was the Director of Supply Chain and Logistics at Wayfair.

Simon Wilson is an executive with over 29 years in the Heavy Equipment industry. His many decades of experience in sales, operations, and manufacturing, serving in a variety of management roles across multiple disciplines. His years of experience include working with international organizations in supply chain and sales, support and sales roles. He is currently the COO for Hitachi Construction Machinery Americas and the CEO of ACME Flex which is a separate wholly owned rental company of Hitachi Construction Machinery, Tokyo Japan. 
 
 Having worked for several large OEMs in various roles and areas of the business, he has also held a leadership position at one of the largest dealer groups that participates in the heavy equipment industry, including construction and agriculture. 
 
 He is originally from Canada with a BBA in commerce from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. He holds both US and Canadian citizenship and resides in Peachtree City with his wife, Michelle, and three teenage kids.

Jay is an industry recognized expert in AI software across multiple verticals with almost two decades of hands-on experience. 
 
Jay is currently the co-founder and CTO of Whimsey Labs, an agentic AI software development startup and also serves as an AI advisor to the Georgia Port Authority. Previously, Jay was the Chief Product Officer of EdgeRunnerAI, a defense startup building AI applications that run fully locally without the internet. Before that, Jay spent almost a decade at Google across multiple Data Science and PM roles, including managing user location-based products for over 1B users in Google Maps and overseeing all software and AI applications for the legal organization. Prior to Google, Jay held data science positions in insurance and social media analytics companies and has consulted for various government agencies and startups. 
 
Jay holds a PhD in political science from Penn State University, where he built novel AI models to generate real time forecasts of political conflict.