international-trade
(14)
Daniel Ellman and the business of staying in business
A fourth-generation CEO at Gerber Goldschmidt Group, Daniel Ellman works across food trading, workwear and investment. His public record turns a century-old family story into a practical question: what deserves to be carried forward?
Sunny Lakhani Makes a Business of the Things Business Usually Ignores
After two decades in factories, trade and sourcing, the Tampa executive is applying an operator's eye to a stubborn question: how do essential supplies arrive reliably, repeatedly and with a paper trail?
The Consultants Who Walk Into the Room After Everyone Stops Talking
Fontheim International built a business in the awkward space between a boardroom promise and the people expected to believe it. Its most revealing work begins when a policy problem has become a trust problem.
Prime Policy Group and the Strange Power of the Right Room
Washington influence is usually described as a business of access. Prime Policy Group’s own casebook suggests something more interesting: the decisive skill is arranging a coalition so that an ignored problem becomes impossible to ignore.
Druven knows who needs to say yes
A trade mission, a medical device, a building permit: each depends on people outside the organization. Druven builds its advocacy business around getting those people into the conversation.
United Customhouse Brokers and the 0.2 mm border
Two ceiling panels. Two tariff classifications. Inside the California customs brokerage that deals with the small details behind international trade.
Inside Calgary's $20 Million Bet on a Billion-Dollar Year
Calgary Economic Development spent C$19.95 million in 2025 to make the city easier to choose. Its product is not a building or an app - it is the well-timed introduction that turns a spreadsheet into a site visit, a hire or an export deal.
Sweden’s business network in Germany runs on introductions
A mystery lunch, a royal patron and a balance sheet tell the story of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Germany - and what it takes to turn a membership into a useful business relationship.
BOM is betting on fewer doors between an idea and a business
The Dutch public investor pairs venture capital with hands-on company building and international connections. Its latest move tackles a problem closer to home: a startup support system with too many moving parts.
Before the cargo moves, the paperwork has to travel
The Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce turns relationships into the practical machinery of trade. Its toolkit runs from Arabic translation to a digital system that helps export documents reach Jordan without a courier.
Benjamin Martindale Wants to Turn the Shipping Container Into a Cart
He grew up around industrial supply, learned Mandarin, sold software factory by factory in Guangzhou, and came back with a simple idea: small importers should be able to buy the whole box.
Opportunity Network
Opportunity Network is a members-only, invitation-based B2B platform that connects vetted CEOs, investors and dealmakers across borders so they can raise capital, buy and sell companies, and originate proprietary deal flow. Founded in 2014 by Brian Pallas out of a Columbia Business School side project, it pairs matching algorithms with a human concierge service and screens members through banking partners like UBS. The network reports 52,000+ members across 130+ countries and roughly $530 billion in transaction flow.
Emil Hakem
Emil Hakem (also spelled Emil Hakim) is a serial entrepreneur and founder-CEO of Sierra International Network Inc. (SINI), a diversified global investment corporation headquartered in Corona, California, with branches in England, Dubai, and Egypt. Holding a doctorate in Business Administration and over 20 years of entrepreneurial experience, Hakem built JH Group Inc. into a multi-brand consumer powerhouse — with hair care brand Formawell reportedly reaching Kendall Jenner's vanity — before pivoting to Sierra International Network and its signature 'Stock in the Box' program, which lets individuals earn equity in early-stage companies through online engagement. SINI has raised $407.5 million across funding rounds and announced plans for a NASDAQ listing based on an independent $3.41 billion company assessment.
Rick Tellez
Rick Tellez is the Co-Founder of KlearNow.AI, an AI-powered platform digitizing customs clearance and trade compliance for importers, freight forwarders, and customs brokers. Drawing on 20+ years of logistics expertise at DHL, Tellez co-founded KlearNow in 2018 to automate the manual, error-prone paperwork that bottlenecks global trade. The company has raised $69 million in funding, serves over 1,000 organizations, and generates $26.8M in annual recurring revenue.