Board of Governors

AAEI’s Board of Governors includes executives from small and large U.S. companies engaged in international trade. The board provides oversight and advises AAEI committees and the Board of Directors on the critical issues related to export and import policies, as well as international trade regulations

Our Governors list

Michael Cerny Charter Brokerage, LLC
Nancy Chinander Catalent Pharma Solutions
Colleen Clarke Roanoke Insurance Group
Heather Conner-Garofalo Cardinal Health
Jerry Cook Hanesbrands, Inc.
Lenny Feldman Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg
Kari Finch General Mills, Inc.
Michelle Forte H.B. Fuller
Aaron Gothelf The Walt Disney Company
Julie Hoeniges Rivian
Vince Iacopella Alba Wheels Up International Inc.
H. Michael Leightman Ernst & Young LLP
Jessica Libby KPMG
Heather Litman Grunfeld, Desiderio, et al
Karen Lobdell Thomson Reuters
Mary Jo Muoio Amazon
Kathy Neal Johnson Controls International
Phil Poland Illuminate USA LLC
Susan Kohn Ross Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP
Richard Salamone BASF
Ted Sherman Hasbro, Inc.
Heidi Woods Medtronic, Inc.
Matt Varner Aritzia
Aaron Gothelf AAEI Website Materials
Collen Clark Roanoke Trade
Heather Litman Grunfeld, Desiderio, et al
JohnSega Northrop Grumman
Julie Parks Chair
Julie Hoeniges Rivian
Karen Lobdell Thomson Reuters
Kari Finch General Mills, Inc.
Kathleen Neal Regal Rexnord
Lenny Feldman Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg
Michael Cerny Charter Brokerage, LLC
Nancy Chinander Catalent Pharma Solutions
Mary Jo Muoio Amazon
Michael Ford BDP International
Phil Poland LimNexus
Aaron Gothelf The Walt Disney Company
Susan Kohn Ross Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP
Susie Hoeger Abbott Laboratories
Ted Sherman Medtronic
Vince Iacopella . Alba Wheels Up International Inc.
Matt Varner Aritzia
H. Michael Leightman Ernst & Young LLP

Executive OFFICERS

Meet the executive leaders of AAEI’s Executive Committee of the Board of Directors.

Kari Finch

General Mills, Chair

Matt Varner

Aritzia, Chair-Elect

Kathleen Neal

Johnson Controls, Inc., Treasurer

Aaron Gothelf

Disney, Vice-Chair

Nancy Chinander

Catalent, Vice-Chair

Eugene Laney

AAEI President & CEO

Kari Finch

General Mills
Chair

As the Manager of Global Trade Services at General Mills, Kari Finch’s responsibilities are to effectively manage a team of twenty that partners with GMI functions, divisions and regions to ensure seamless execution of international flow of goods for General Mills. Kari joined General Mills in August, 2005 and has held several positions within Global Trade that focused on import/export operations & free trade agreement programs. She was also the business project manager for the implementation of the General Mills Global Trade system. Her current role includes leading an E2E import/export team from customer service, planning, ocean transportation & procurement, compliance strategy, systems and trade compliance operations. Prior to joining General Mills, Kari spent 15 years in various supply chain roles including manufacturing, international transportation & freight forwarding. Kari holds a B.S. in Business Administration and German from the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, she also holds a U.S. Customs broker license.

Matt Varner

Aritzia
Chair-Elect

A cross-functional leader at heart, Matt Varner has 20 years of Fortune 500 experience in international trade and supply chain, compliance, operations and .com leadership. He spent his formative career years with Tyco/Covidien/Medtronic in the Electronics and Healthcare verticals, supporting manufacturing and distribution organizations. He partnered closely with legal and finance teams to conduct enterprise wide risk assessments and implement global import and export compliance programs. He worked on acquisitions and divestitures, as well as strategic sourcing and tactical supplier management projects. At Nike Matt lead a direct team of 14 through organizational changes, government audits, and systems automation, achieving year-over-year efficiency gains and multi-million dollar cost savings. He partnered with regional and global leadership to develop and deploy multi-year strategic plans. Matt spearheaded the start-up of Nike.com distribution operations in Southeast Asia, leading a cross-functional team, collaborating with P&L leaders to deliver $150M in incremental annual revenues. Matt drove site selection, vendor RFPs, pricing negotiations, and business process design all while keeping diverse stakeholders engaged in the success of the program. He collaborated with business leaders on transition management, and facility ramp plans to realize a flawless, ahead of schedule go-live and subsequent scaling of the new business. Adding to his portfolio, with TOMS Shoes, Matt took on Global Logistics and Product Compliance. In 2018 Matt moved back into medical devices, with Fortive’s acquisition of Advanced Sterilization Products, leading their Global Trade Compliance organization. Matt’s combination of experience in non-profit, manufacturing, distribution and retail sectors, coupled with his functional leadership in operations, compliance, procurement and technology, uniquely positions him to deliver value. Matt serves on the Board of the American Association of Exporters and Importers, and holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and Spanish from Willamette University. He is a Licensed Customs Broker and has lived and worked in over 25 countries. He is comfortable conducting business in English and Spanish. Matt is passionate about designing organizations, systems and business processes that deliver sustained outcomes.

Kathleen Neal

Johnson Controls, Inc.
Treasurer

Ms. Neal is the Global Trade Compliance Director at Johnson Controls, Inc., responsible for managing trade compliance worldwide. Her experience includes leadership positions in trade and logistics at Regal Rexnord Coroporation, A.O. Smith, Breed Technologies, Scientific Atlanta, and Baxter Healthcare. She is a licensed customs broker with many years’ experience in trade and supply chain logistics. Kathy is active within the trade community. She has held board and officer positions in various organizations including the El Paso Foreign Trade Association and the West Texas New Mexico Customs Brokers Association. She currently serves as the Policy Committee Chair for the Border Trade Alliance and the Export Compliance and Facilitation Committee Co-Chair for AAEI. Kathy served on COAC from 2011 through 2015 and was the Trade Co-Chair for the 13th term. Kathy is married, has three children, two grandchildren, and volunteers with the Girl Scouts.

Aaron Gothelf

The Walt Disney Company
Vice-Chair

Aaron Gothelf is currently VP-Assistant General Counsel for Trade and Regulatory Affairs at The Walt Disney Company. In his role he advises internal clients on international trade compliance issues including customs, export control, economic sanctions, automation, and trade compliance program organization and execution. Aaron brings 25 years of experience in international trade. Aaron previously served in consulting and legal roles including as in-house counsel for international trade for General Electric, Tyco International, and British Petroleum. He also served as a trade specialist for Motorola. Prior to that Aaron was in private law practice for a boutique international trade law firm. Aaron has been at AAEI member companies for over 20 years, and is currently Vice Chair for membership on the AAEI board.

Nancy Chinander

Catalant
Vice-Chair

Nancy Chinander is the Global Trade Compliance Leader for Catalent Pharma Solutions. She is responsible for the development and oversight of Catalent’s global trade compliance policies, procedures and operations. Additionally, she has developed Catalent’s Supply Chain Security Programs, Catalent’s Importer Self-Assessment Program and Foreign Trade Zones program. Prior to joining Catalent, Nancy held similar roles in other organizations and worked in multiple cross-functional leadership positions in the Supply Chain area. Nancy is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin and is a Licensed Customs Broker.

Eugene Laney

American Association of Exporters and Importers President & CEO
Eugene Laney Jr. currently serves as AAEI’s President & CEO. He has more than 25 years of experience in public and governmental affairs. Eugene previously served as the Head of International Government Affairs for DHL Express USA. He represented DHL before the U.S. Congress and government agencies and foreign embassies and served as DHL Express’ media spokesperson on international trade issues. Eugene’s recent work included contributing to congressional passage of the Trade Facilitation and Enforcement Act of 2015, which seeks to help U.S. businesses grow globally by improving the transparency and predictably of trade and customs laws. Prior to joining DHL, Eugene served on the leadership team for the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), the largest trade association dedicated to the interests of business travel professionals and suppliers. At GBTA, Eugene worked on transportation, homeland security and economic issues with Fortune 500 travel departments and airlines, hotels, and travel agencies, including following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Eugene worked with the Federal Aviation Administration, the White House, and the newly formed Transportation Security Administration to create a pathway to improve the nation’s airport security. Eugene received his Ph.D. in American Government at Howard University and his B.A. and Master of Public Administration from Florida A&M University. He has an Executive Certificate in Management and Leadership from MIT’s Sloan School of Management.