Richard Broekman
Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Sustainability
Atlas Air Worldwide
Richard Broekman is Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Sustainability for Atlas Air Worldwide. He is responsible for the development and execution of the Company’s commercial strategies, as well as management of the corporate sales strategy for the ACMI, CMI and charter service businesses on a global basis. In his role expanded role as Head of Sustainability, Richard will drive the Company’s commitment to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and lead the development of the Company’s decarbonization strategies. Having invested nearly his entire career in this industry, he brings extensive expertise in air cargo across many facets of the business. He served as Senior Vice President, Global Sales and Commercial Development since 2018, and has been integral to the Company’s success in driving the strategic diversification of its customer base. He joined the Company in 2004 and held positions with increasing responsibilities in Finance and Business Development. Richard holds both Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Industrial Engineering and Management Science from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. He brings a deep passion for environmental stewardship and is completing an Executive Master degree in Sustainability Transition Management from the Bologna Business School.
Director and Chief Executive Officer
Miami-Dade Aviation Department
Ralph Cutié oversees operations at Miami International Airport (MIA) and four general aviation (GA) airports in the Miami area, which together generate $31.9 billion in business revenue and support more than 275,000 direct and indirect jobs. MIA leads the way, handling more than 46 million passengers and more than two million tons of cargo annually, placing it among America’s busiest international passenger and cargo airports. Previously, Mr. Cutié served as Assistant Director for Facilities Management and Engineering, overseeing the largest and most diverse division within the Aviation Department. Mr. Cutié is a 32-year County veteran with more than 35 years of experience in the fields of project control, critical path method (CPM) scheduling, project management, construction contracting and construction claims administration. He began his County career in 1990 with the Miami-Dade Transit (MDT) Department as a Cost and Scheduling Specialist, later advancing to Manager of MDT’s Engineering Cost and Scheduling Section, and ultimately, to Chief of MDT’s Project Control Division. In 2006, Mr. Cutié transitioned to the Office of Capital Improvements (OCI), where he served as the Manager of Project Scheduling and Compliance for the County’s $2.9 billion Building Better Communities – General Obligation Bond (BBC-GOB) Program, and where he also managed the County’s successful Economic Stimulus Plan (ESP), Miscellaneous Construction Contract (MCC) and Construction Manager (CM) Training programs. Also, during his tenure at OCI and ISD, Mr. Cutié collaborated with the County Attorney’s Office and the County’s various capital departments to develop the Standard Construction Contract, which was adopted by the Board of County Commissioners in November 2012 as the standard for all non-MCC construction projects countywide. Mr. Cutié obtained his degree in construction management from Florida International University in 1989. He possesses numerous certificates in scheduling, project management design-build and claims administration from the National Transit Institute and served as an instructor in the County’s Construction Manager Training Program – specifically in the areas of project scheduling, project documentation and construction claims and disputes.
Lenny Feldman
Managing Partner and Operating Committee Member
Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A
Lenny Feldman is recognized internationally as a leading strategic advisor, previously co-chairing the twenty-member Customs and Border Protection’s Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee. He provides strategic recommendations and guidance directly to CBP, Homeland Security and Treasury executives on issues such as forced labor, intellectual property rights, e-commerce policy, trade partnership programs and legal/regulatory modernization. He currently serves as General Counsel and Customs Counsel to the National Customs Brokers & Freight Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA). Previously, he served as lead counsel to the Florida Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association and as a former chairman of the World Trade Center of Miami.
Lenny has counseled thousands of companies in creating “comply chains” while increasing efficiencies and lowering costs. Feldman innovatively and resourcefully resolves complex issues pertaining to import compliance, valuation, trade preference, country of origin, seizures, penalties, antidumping and countervailing duty, CTPAT/border security, bonded facilities, FTZs and other government agency admissibility and licensing. As a senior attorney with Customs Headquarters in Washington, D.C., from 1991 to 2000, he issued several hundred national guidelines, directives, and administrative rulings and was a NAFTA negotiator. After leaving Customs, he served as the chief compliance officer and vice president, international, for a trade and logistics software development company responsible for content and automation pertaining to the trade laws of more than 100 countries.
Brandon Fried
Executive Director
Airforwarders Association
In November 2005 Brandon Fried was appointed to serve as the new executive director of the Airforwarders Association. As executive director, he represents the Association on all security matters and serves on the TSA Aviation Security Advisory Committee (ASAC) in counsel to the Transportation Security Administration, the U.S. Department of Commerce Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness and the CBP Commercial Operations Advisory Committee. He also chairs and represents forwarder interests on the Advisory Board of CNS, an IATA. Fried is a recognized expert on the air cargo industry and regularly comments for major trade publications such as The Journal of Commerce and Air Cargo World as well as the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, The Miami Herald and USA Today. He has also appeared on National Public Radio, CNN News and C-SPAN’s Washington Journal television shows. He holds a master’s degree in business administration from Syracuse University.
Greg Gildemann
Regional Director, Market Analysis
Boeing Commercial Airplanes
Gregg Gildemann is a Regional Marketing Director in Boeing Commercial Airplane’s Market Analysis group. In this role, he focuses on both passenger and air cargo traffic forecasting and the market dynamics that affect both segments. His regional focus on the passenger side is centered on the China and South Asia markets and for air cargo is on the Americas markets. Additionally, he is responsible for understanding commercial passenger and air cargo market trends and their impact on Boeing and the industry. Gildemann contributes to Boeing’s annual Commercial Market Outlook and biennial World Air Cargo Forecast, both 20-year forecasts of market trends and airline passenger fleet demand and air cargo freighter demand. Prior to his position in Market Analysis, he held positions in North America Regional Marketing, Northeast Asia Regional Marketing and the Airline Economic Analysis groups at Boeing.
Olivier Houri
Executive Vice President & CRO
SmartKargo
Olivier Houri leads SmartKargo’s high-growth strategy as EVP and Chief Revenue Officer, overseeing strategic corporate initiatives including business development, marketing, and global account service. Prior to joining the executive team at SmartKargo, he spent over 20 years serving the air transport industry, first by leading the Global Air Transport Consulting Practice at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young and more recently as the President and General Manager of Unisys Global Travel & Transportation business. With his background in the aviation industry and management consulting, Houri gained first-hand experience from the many prominent executives with whom he worked. At SmartKargo, he works with other SmartKargo management team members to coordinate initiatives in finance, product roadmap and with global delivery teams to ensure SmartKargo continues market leadership in product innovation to stay ahead of industry trends.
Tristan Koch
Chief Communications Officer
Awery Aviation Software
Tristan Koch joined Awery in 2021 bringing over 25 years’ experience in aviation and air cargo with British Airways, American Airlines, and IAG. He led American Airlines Cargo in EMEA through both Chapter 11 Bankruptcy and the merger with USD Airways. More recently he was leading IAG Cargo’s digital innovation project. He has also led large air freight sales teams across the world, managed a number of major restructuring projects, and digital transformations. Harbouring early dreams of playing professional football, he is an avid Crystal Palace Football Club fan and remains a keen sportsman.
Juan Carlos Liscano
Vice President of Miami Hub Operations
American Airlines
Juan Carlos Liscano is the Vice President of Miami Hub Operations for American Airlines. He oversees all airport operations in Miami, American’s largest international hub and gateway to the Americas with 13,500 team members flying to more than 140 destinations around the world. He joined the airline in 1994 and has held numerous leadership roles throughout his career. He has previously served as Managing Director of Latin America, Managing Director of the Los Angeles hub, Managing Director of Flight Service Strategy and as Managing Director of Customer Care in Miami. Liscano currently serves on the board of directors for the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, he is the Chair-Elect for the Miami-Dade Beacon Council and also serves as Treasurer for the United Way of Miami. Additionally, he is an Executive Sponsor of the Latin Diversity Network employee business resource group at American. In 2022, he was the recipient of the Great Miami Aviation Association’s Juan Trippe Award, recognizing the significant contributions made by an individual to the development of international aviation. He holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Florida International University and a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University.
Santiago Saltos
Regional Safety Director for Latin America and the Caribbean
Airbus
Santiago Saltos has been part of Airbus since June 2019 where he coordinates different safety initiatives that impact Airbus customers and collaborates with other industry stakeholders to improve the safety record of the region. Before that, he served as Head of Tech Ops and Safety for the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA, by its Spanish acronym) from 2006 to 2019. At ALTA, he developed solid skills addressing the different issues affecting the airline industry in the region, from maintenance & engineering, industry affairs, and aviation safety. He is an active member of the ICAO Regional Aviation Safety Group – Pan America (RASG-PA) where he’s currently the Co-Chairman for the Regional Aviation Safety Team (PA-RAST) in representation of the Industry. He’s also a Board Member and one of the founders of ICARO Aviator’s Club in South Florida. Saltos holds a private pilot certificate, a Bachelors in Business Administration focused on airline management from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) and a Masters in Travel and Tourism from Florida International University (FIU). In 2017 he became a Certified Professional Coach from the Institute of Professional Excellence in Coaching (IPEC).
Tim Strauss
Chief Executive Officer
Amerijet International Airlines
Tim Strauss joined Amerijet in August 2020 as Chief Executive Officer, with oversight of all aspects of Amerijet’s day-to-day cargo operation, including leading, directing, developing and implementing customer-centric initiatives and solutions.
He has over 30 years of cargo experience in both the airline and freight forwarding industries. Prior to joining the company, Strauss held leadership roles in global sales and operations at Air Canada, Hawaiian, Delta and Northwest Airlines. He began his career with Emery Worldwide in 1987 (now UPS Supply Chain Logistics) where he held roles of increasing responsibility, starting as a cargo handler and completing his tenure as Vice President of Transportation and Logistics. He advanced his understanding of the logistics industry via studies in management at The Ohio State University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Cambridge Institute.
Mark Szakonyi
Director and Executive Director
Journal of Commerce
Mark Szakonyi leads the Journal of Commerce’s editorial team of nearly two dozen editors, correspondents, and analysts, providing business-critical and data-heavy intelligence and analysis. He oversees the Journal of Commerce website, including the Gateway, and the bimonthly magazine. Szakonyi also writes a column, drawing on more than 15 years reporting and analyzing the container shipping industry. His work has been quoted in general business news media including the BBC, Bloomberg, The Economist, CNBC, NPR, and USA Today.