STERN CORPORATE SERVICES PRESIDENT

PETER STERN

Peter has spent his entire career specializing in trade finance, shipping and logistics. Born in Odessa, Ukraine, he got his start in the logistics industry in 1980 at H.Z Bernstein and S.J. Stiles Associates, Inc. in New York. Five years later, Peter founded American Customs Service Inc., which focused on freight forwarding and customs brokerage. He sold the business in 1993 and founded another freight-forwarding and customs brokerage firm, Express Service Forwarding Inc., which represented foreign airlines and steamship lines, among other industries, and which eventually evolved into the company we are today. In 1999, after many years of sustained growth, Peter developed strong banking and global business relationships, and successfully added financial services to Express’s offerings. As the company grew and its client base diversified, he began to offer factoring, purchase order funding, and special project programs to accommodate already existing clients and to meet a growing need for creative financing solutions. To suit the company’s new role, Peter changed the firm’s name to Express Trade Capital, Inc. and has positioned the company to be a leader at the forefront of an evolving trade finance industry.

HEAD OF LOGISTICS AND SHIPPING

GARY VANTSYAN

Gary leads the Logistics and Shipping Department with responsibilities including directing foreign sales, negotiating contracts and partnerships with foreign sales and distribution centers, and arranging shipping and logistics to manage our clients’ supply chains. Gary’s role extends to services such as obtaining export licenses, customs declarations, and overseeing the packing, shipping, and routing of products by ocean and air. Gary was born in Georgia and is fluent in Georgian, Armenian, Russian and English. He is a graduate of the University of Civil Aviation and Queens College.

COMPLIANCE OFFICER

COLLEEN WADDELL

Colleen has over 15 years of experience in the financial services industry, primarily managing both retail and institutional global tax operations departments. She specializes in, among other things, US tax documentation, information reporting and withholding, qualified intermediaries, taxation of trusts and estates, the tax treatment of complex financial products and new business initiatives. Colleen is a graduate of Rutgers University and Seton Hall University School of Law. She is admitted to the New York and New Jersey Bars and is an active member of the New Jersey State Bar Associations.

DIRECTOR OF SALES

SAM PERMUTT

Sam is an experienced business development professional, with an extensive background in non-profit fundraising and, prior to that, trade law at the US Court of International Trade. He is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University, the University of Chicago, and the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. He is admitted to the New York Bar and is active in several philanthropic organizations across New York City.

MARKETING ASSOCIATE

SADIE KELJIKIAN

Sadie has been a professional writer and marketer for three years. She specializes in small business financing, online content production, and ethical practices. She loves to advise new and growing businesses in their efforts to improve their sales, extend their reach, and ultimately establish a responsible and successful business. Sadie trained as an opera singer at NYU and still creates and supports art wherever possible in her spare time.