Global Trade, Both Directions

My journey began in Indonesia (formerly the Dutch East Indies), where I was born. I was raised in the Netherlands from the age of two, then immigrated to the United States at thirteen. Three countries on three continents — and three languages: Indonesian, Dutch, and English. That mix taught me early that good business is about understanding people who see the world differently.

My commitment to service started in the 

U.S. Navy and never stopped. Over a 39-year federal career spanning the Navy, the VA, and the Departments of Defense, State, and Commerce, I served with the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service as a Director across Southern California and as Acting Commercial Officer at U.S. Embassies and Consulates in Belgium, Luxembourg, Indonesia, China, Kazakhstan, and Canada.

I was selected to join the advance team for Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown’s Presidential Trade Mission to China, then the APEC ministerial in Jakarta. I later joined the State Department’s Reconstruction and Stabilization program, which reshaped how I view trade. Earlier, I led corporate export-import operations for Hughes Aircraft Company, then a General Motors company.

In 2018, I founded ExIm20/20 Group to keep doing this work on my own terms — providing education, mentoring, training, and business development to help companies in manufacturing, logistics, aerospace, tourism, energy, and emerging technology reach new markets at home and abroad. In 2023, I helped convene the first U.S.–UK SME Dialogue hosted by a Native American Tribal Nation, with USTR, Commerce, and the SBA.

This includes serving under contract as International Trade Advisor to San Bernardino International Airport (SBD), supporting its commercial air cargo, Foreign-Trade Zone, and logistics growth, with a growing focus on energy and hydrogen, along with the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Center at SBD — operated under the Inland Valley Development Agency (IVDA) in coordination with the airport — advancing drone projects.

As founder of the Inland Empire World Trade Conference, established in 1994, I’ve hosted it at SBD for the past decade, raising its profile from local to international. I also serve on the board of the National Association of District Export Councils (NADEC) as chair of the Education-Outreach Committee, whose members are appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.

One thing has held true: relationships are the key. Technology should serve people — and what lasts is built on trust, not transactions.