Welcome to the new BIIA Website. To provide our members and readers with a wealth of data about our industry we have brought over content and BIIA Newsletters from the old website which may show a recent posting date. The origin of the content and its original date of publishing are identified at the end of each post. Moving forward all posting dates and publishing dates are synonymous.

Board of Directors

	Joachim C. Bartels, Managing Director of BIIA. Bartels is an information and business development specialist with 35 years of global experience. He spent most of his career in senior management positions at Dun & Bradstreet. He has served as volunteer in major industry associations in Europe and the USA since 1975. Joachim C. Bartels owns and operates Intrepid Explorers, Inc. a global information business consultancy. www.intrepidex.com
	Hans P. Belcsak is President of S.J. Rundt & Associates, Inc., headquartered in New York City, a country risk and corporate intelligence consultancy. Since 1973 he has been President of S.J. Rundt & Associates, Inc., as which he is the active principal of that organization. Dr. Belcsak, is publisher of Rundt’s World Business Intelligence dealing with global political and economic trends, Rundt’s World Risk Analysis Program of country risk assessments, The Financial Executive’s Country Risk Alert, and Rundt’s FXPRO Foreign Exchange Rate Forecasts.His firm ranks among its clients the top names among multinational corporations and banks in Europe and North America and is well known in Latin America and Asia. He is a regular contributor of articles to international trade & financial journals and has made contributions on foreign exchange strategies to several books on international finance.He is a member of the International Advisory Council of the American Management Association and a past member of the Board of Directors of the FCIB-NACM Corporation. Dr. Belcsak represents the credit profession as an important user group of credit information.
	Christine Christian is recognised as one of Australia’s leading authorities on business information & debt management practices. As CEO of Dun & Bradstreet Australasia Pty Ltd (DBA), Ms Christian has specialised in this rapidly growing industry for over 15 years, both in Australia and overseas. Throughout her career, she has been noted for pioneering numerous groundbreaking services and setting benchmarks for standards within the industry.Today, Ms Christian is one of Australasia’s most respected business commentators. She is frequently quoted in national and international media and is a sought-after keynote speaker at conferences and seminars throughout the region. She holds a BA from the University of Melbourne and is a member of a number of associations both in Australia and internationally.
	Mark Cochrane is the Managing Director of Business Strategies Group (BSG), a business intelligence and strategy consulting firm which specialises in business media, information and events in Asia. BSG also represents UFI, the global association of the exhibition industry in Asia. Through its consulting practice and its relationship with UFI, BSG works with major exhibition organisers, venues and governments across Asia.Mark has been based in Hong Kong for 13 years and joined BSG in 2006. Prior to BSG, Mark worked in a variety of roles primarily focused on B2B media and market research including three years at Global Sources in marketing roles and three years at The Gartner Group as a senior research analyst.Mark earned an MBA from Thunderbird, the American Graduate School of International Management, in 1997.
	Larry Howell, is Chairman of CRIF’s International Advisory Board and also serves as Chairman of the Board for Teres Solutions, a top U.S.-provider of lending automation software to credit unions and financial institutions, which CRIF acquired in July 2008. In his new roles, Mr. Howell will help both organizations meet growing demand for their credit and lending solutions around the world.Mr. Howell has over 40 years of experience working in the credit and financial services industry. He was most recently president of TransUnion International for Asia and Europe, where he oversaw credit operations in several markets, including India, Italy, Thailand, Mainland China, Russia and Hong Kong. Mr. Howell joined TransUnion in 1973 as manager of the New York Credit Bureau. Before joining TransUnion he managed six credit bureaus in major cities throughout the U.S.Mr. Howell is a graduate of St. John’s University in New York and resides in Bologna, Italy.
	Dr. Chris Kuehl, Managing Director — Armada Corporate Intelligence Chris Kuehl is the co-founder (with Keith Prather) and Managing Director of Armada Corporate Intelligence, a company created in 1999 to provide strategy foundation, competitive intelligence, business analysis and economic forecasting for corporate clients.Armada’s clients include YRC Worldwide, TranSystems, Spencer Fane Britt and Browne, KPMG, Hallmark International, Weitz Industrial among others.Chris is the editor and primary writer for several publications: Business Intelligence Briefs – a daily distributed through Chambers of Commerce throughout the US focused on US economic and business issues Strategic Intelligence Briefs – a daily distributed through World Trade Centers and international business organizations focused on global economic and business trends Fabrinomics – a bi-weekly industry analysis produced by the Fabricators and Manufacturers Association Daily industry analysis and assessment for clients such as TranSystems and YRC Worldwide Chris is the Chief Economist for Fabricators and Manufacturers Association. This includes writing Fabrinomics and serving as a keynote speaker for their conferences and meetings through the year. Other speaking opportunities have included Business Information Industry Association, Finance, Credit & International Business, Riemer Reporting Service, and a wide variety of business and finance organizations. He has spoken at over 300 organizations domestically and internationally over 25 years. Chris is a frequent commentator for the media – locally and nationally. He is a regular economic/business analyst for KMBZ radio, KSHB-TV (local NBC affiliate) and has been extensively quoted in national newspapers, magazines and trade publications. He holds a Masters Degree in Soviet and East European Studies, a Masters in East Asian Studies and a Ph.D. in Political Economics from the University of Kansas. He has been on the faculty of universities in the US, Hungary, Estonia, Russia, Singapore and Taiwan. He has been on the local steering committee for the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals and has been active with a number of business and finance organizations.
	Rory Matthews is Chief Executive Officer of Veda Advantage Limited.Rory Matthews has extensive experience in both the credit bureau and information technology sectors, and most recently held the position of Managing Director, the Netherlands for Experian Group Limited, one of the world’s leading credit bureau and data analytics businesses. In this role, Rory had responsibility for all of Experian’s operations in the Netherlands as well as for Experian’s broader credit bureau strategy across Central Europe.Rory started his career in the computer industry culminating at IBM as New Business and Alliance Manager, and in 1993 joined TransUnion ITC South Africa, the largest consumer credit bureau in South Africa, where he was responsible for marketing, product development and legislative issues. In 1996, Rory joined Experian in South Africa as Marketing Director, where he oversaw a period of considerable growth through the introduction of new products, data and systems in the areas of fraud, credit referencing and risk management. In 1999, he moved to the Netherlands as Director of Information Services of a newly acquired credit bureau by Experian. In 2004, he was appointed Managing Director and went on to establish Experian as the market leader in that country. In this role he also assumed responsibility for Experian’s credit bureau strategy for Central Europe and was appointed Director of Information Services for a large portion of EMEA. Rory has an MBA from Henley/Brunel University in the UK.
	Luz María Salamina is General Manager of Asociación Panameña de Crédito (APC)Prior to becoming general manager, Salamina worked as an auditor for KPMG and later entered the banking sector, where she stayed for 15 years, at The Chase Manhattan Bank and later HSBC, in the accounting and budgeting areas; Credit Card Center, Marketing and Data Base, serving last as the Vice President of Business Banking and Leasing.Under Salamina’s leadership, APC Score, a fundamental tool for modern risk administration was developed and implemented in Panama.A major project to promote access to credit for Micro and Small Enterprises is currently being executed in alliance with the International Development Bank (IDB-IFC ).Salamina received her Bachelor degree in Accounting and Marketing at Bradley University, where she also earned a technical degree in Computer Science.
	Lawrence Tsong is president of TransUnion’s East Asia operations. In this role, Mr. Tsong is responsible for promoting and growing TransUnion’s credit information and analytic and decisioning business throughout the region. In addition, he is the Managing Director of TransUnion’s Hong Kong operations, TransUnion Limited. TransUnion Limited is a majority owned subsidiary of TransUnion, LLC.Prior to joining TransUnion in 2007, Mr. Tsong was First Vice President of United Overseas Bank group where he was responsible for establishing and managing the credit card business. From 1988 to 1998, Mr. Tsong was Director of Relationship Management for American Express in East Asia. In this role, he was accountable for long-term strategic card and merchant partnership programs, concentrating in the airline, hotel and retail merchant sectors.Mr. Tsong holds a Bachelor of Social Science degree from the University of Hong Kong.
	David Worlock is Chairman of BIIA. He is Chief Research Fellow of OUTSELL INC., a USA and UK based information consultancy and founder member of BIIA. David Worlock has wide experience of print and electronic publishing in educational, academic and professional information fields. He has worked for the major international players in the information content industry, as well as many of the middle-ranking and smaller players across the UK, continental Europe and the USA. David Worlock is active in the information industry association world, serving currently as the Chairman of the UK based Digital Content Forum. He also is an advisor to the European Commission. He was founder and Chairman of EPS Limited, a founder member of BIIA until the company was sold to OUTSELL INC. in 2006. www.outsellinc.com
	Lawrence Yee is co-founder and Director of Value Creation Center Co. Ltd. in Hong Kong, while serving as advisor to D&B Greater China region since March 2011. Value Creation Center (www.vc2.asia) builds on a new model investing in small and medium sized enterprises in China through strategic management, globalization, technology and funding leading to IPO. Its network of experts and advisors is mostly former senior executives of MNC’s with Asian exposure. Prior to Value Creation Center, he has been Sr. Vice President, Business Development of D&B International since Dec. 2006, after serving as Vice President & Managing Director for D&B Greater China Region for seven years during which its business has undergone successful turnaround and significant growth. Mr. Yee is a board director of BIIA – the Business Informational Industry Association Asia Pacific and Middle East Ltd and Shun Lee Catholic Secondary School in Hong Kong. He serves on the advisory board of the faculty of Business Administration of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Prior to joining D&B, Mr. Yee has held senior management positions in Motorola and Tandem Computers in China. Preceding this, Mr. Yee has had long experience in sales and marketing management with Philips Electronics and NCR in Asia and Canada. Mr. Yee graduated from the University of Hong Kong with a B.Sc. (Hons.) degree majoring in Mathematics and holds a M.B.A. from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
	Brook Zhang is Co-President & CEO of Sinotrust International Information & Consulting (Beijing) Co., Ltd.Brook Zhang is one of the founders of Sinotrust, which was established in 1992. Sinotrust has become a leading supplier of marketing solutions and credit solutions in China with about 600 employees in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. He is one of the initiators of the Chinese Credit Management Association and the Vice Chairman and one of the organizers of the Shanghai Credit Services Trade Association.Brook Zhang, a pioneer and senior expert in China business information services field, is accomplished in the research, innovation and practice of business credit reports, credit management consulting, business data and database technology services. Meanwhile, he, with his professional team provides leading and feasible credit risk management solutions and business data management technologies and services to the renowned domestic and foreign businesses and organizations in China.

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