Advisory Board Member

As an international trade attorney,  Christos has held numerous corporate positions for Fortune 100 companies, including Associate General Counsel. His business savvy approach to both small and large companies has brought savings to companies, in both competing in global markets and using compliance as a competitive advantage. His practical, honest and expert knowledge in the area of ITAR, Exports, Trade and Corporate Compliance has been invaluable to clients throughout North America. He is a current instructor for the U.S Air Force’s APEX/Parallax Advanced Research teaching 2 courses on Export & ITAR Controls, along with CMMC/CUI/Cybersecurity. He is a frequent speaker on numerous topics, including SBIR and University export controls, a speaker for the Ohio Aerospace Institute and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory on ITAR Controls, CMMC/NIST800 and other areas. He is also the Defense Industrial Base Sector Chief for InfraGard Chicago.

Sr. Associate, U.S. Export Controls & Compliance

As a former U.S. Department of State Senior Defense Trade Control Analyst, a U.S. Air Force retired combat veteran, a U.S. Air Force Weapons Officer and Joint warfighter, combined with his experiences as an U.S. Export Controls and Compliance consultant and advisor across multiple industries, Jason brings an uncommon depth of ITAR and EAR understanding, awareness of related U.S. government operations, military background, attention to detail, and an ability to span, connect, and implement strategy to task and back across business operations related to U.S. regulatory export control and compliance.

While with the State Department, Jason reviewed and audited ITAR export applications with a combined value of over $42.5 Billion for approval and/or compliance. He renovated ITAR Agreement analyst training, dramatically improved ITAR Agreement analyst review processes and associated tools.

In addition, Jason frequently spoke on behalf of the U.S. government to U.S. and foreign government officials and industry groups and individuals.

Of Counsel

Jim Holbein has decades of experience in government procurement, international trade transactions and contracting, trade policy and negotiating, customs policy and enforcement, tariff nomenclature and administration, dispute settlement, import compliance and risk management.  He has a wealth of experience advising government agencies and private sector trading firms about importing and exporting issues.  He has also trained foreign government officials on U.S. trade policy and taught as an Adjunct Professor of Law for 15 years. 

Jim is a former Federal Executive with more than 30 years of government experience, who most recently was responsible for supervising a professional staff maintaining the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S. at the International Trade Commission (USITC).  He worked as a COTR at the USITC, helping with several large procurement actions.  He was on the U.S. negotiating team for the US-Canada Free Trade Agreement and drafted the Government Procurement chapter. Jim managed the NAFTA trade dispute settlement process while at the U.S. Department of Commerce.  He was a diplomat and trade negotiator for the U.S. Department of State, serving in Seoul, Korea and Oslo, Norway.  He also has substantial experience working in the private sector with small and medium-sized businesses on risk management and compliance matters.

He is the author of more than 30 books, articles and conference papers dealing with international trade. Jim is licensed to practice law in the District of Columbia. 

Business Advisor

A senior executive and entrepreneur with experience in domestic and international business, Peter Foyo is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Principal Standard Group. In his leadership role with the financial firm, he develops and implements projects in sectors such as real estate, health care, energy, and communications. In recent years, Peter Foyo won a €1.5 billion bid to partner with Serbia Telecom on a communications project. In addition to building the first solar facility in Mexico, Principal Standard Group oversaw a $700 million health care project in Cancun.

Peter is a highly sought out speaker and advisor for numerous private and public board of directors globally.

Consultant & Cyber Advisor

Laszlo has more than thirty years’ experience as a recognized senior leader providing thought leadership and strategic execution in cybersecurity, digital risk management, and information technology systems. His experience spans across multiple industries, including healthcare, manufacturing, supply chain, legal, insurance, marketing/ advertising, banking and nonprofits. He is responsible for advising and helping organizations – corporate and nonprofits alike – secure their businesses and supply chains, mitigate digital risk, and implement technology strategies that drive both performance and business value.

He is a nationally recognized keynote speaker, writer, and serves as Advisory Board Member for the national Cybersecurity Collaborative, the Illinois Institute of Technology’s C2SAFE Program, and Senior Fellow & Founder for DivIHN’s Center of Excellence for Digital, Security & Risk. He is a member of the Forbes Technology Council, and co-founder of SIM National’s DigiRisk SIG. He is Chair Emeritus of the Project Management Institute (PMI) Chicagoland Executive Council, served as Executive Vice President for the Chicago Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP), and is a Board Member for the Society for Information Management (SIM) Chicago and ISACA Chicago (ISACA). He is also a member of Chicago’s FBI Infragard, and Information Systems Security Association (ISSA).