SOLVEIG B. SPIELMANN
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

JOHN F. McDERMID, Esq.
President and Chief Operating Officer
John McDermid has specialized in advising and representing companies at IBC for over 25 years in international trade remedies, negotiations, and policies.

Prior to joining IBC, Mr. McDermid was Assistant General Counsel for the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). At NAM, he managed international trade and antitrust issues. His earlier legal experiences included government service and private practice with the Washington, D.C. office of the New York firm of Reid and Priest. As an attorney with the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition, Mr. McDermid handled U.S. trade remedies and their effect on competition and consumers. He also participated in the U.S. Government’s interagency decision-making process on these issues. Prior to the FTC, he was a litigator and advisor in the Office of the General Counsel, U.S. International Trade Commission. He has testified frequently before various Congressional Committees on aspects of antitrust and international trade legislation.

Mr. McDermid’s published articles on international trade and antitrust have appeared in: Mercer Law Review, Vanderbuilt Journal of Transitional Law, Washington and Lee University Law Review, George Mason University Law Review, and the Fletcher Forum. Mr. McDermid was Chair of the India Interest Group’s Consumer Product Working Group and one of six private sector advisors to the government-to-government U.S.-India Economic Submission. In September 2001, he was appointed by the U.S. Trade Representative and Secretary of Agriculture to serve on the Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee for Trade.

Mr. McDermid earned an L.L.M. degree cum laude in International and Comparative Law from The University of Brussels. He completed is J.D. degree from The American University, Washington College of Law, and received his B.A. in History from Rollins College. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar.

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JAMES D. REGAN
Senior Vice President
Jim Regan focuses on country risk, foreign and security policy, trade and project finance, development assistance, multilateral organizations, including the United Nations and the Bretton Woods institutions, and the practice of international government relations. Mr. Regan was previously Vice President, Latin American Operations at Anixter, a global provider of networking infrastructure solutions. Prior to that, he was Director, Latin America and Canada for FMC’s United Defense unit and Manager, International Strategic Development for FMC Corporation,having earlier served as Director, International Market Development at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Mr. Regan began his career with IBC as Director of the International Organizations Services and as a Government Relations Counsellor focusing on investment and market access issues. He earned a B.A. from Dartmouth College and an M.A. in International Relations from The Johns Hopkins University’s Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, D.C. and Bologna, Italy.

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MARY O. FROMYER
Vice President
Mary Fromyer specializes in U.S. export control regulations, compliance, and policy. At IBC, she assists companies with the management of their compliance programs and export licensing requirements. She provides guidance in interpretation of and compliance with the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), and sanctions programs administered by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). She also serves as Executive Director of the Global Offset and Countertrade Association (G.O.C.A.). At IBC, Mrs Fromyer manages the Washington Export Information and Licensing Service (WEILS), is responsible for the Country Chart of Export Restrictions and also supervises the IBC internship program.

Mrs. Fromyer joined IBC in 1986. She received her A.B. in Politics from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College and holds the degree of M.S. in International Business from the American University.

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STEPHEN A. ZIEHM
Vice President
Stephen Ziehm assists IBC clients on a broad range of international trade matters. He follows U.S. trade negotiations closely and has particular expertise in the areas of government procurement, investments and dispute settlement. He also specializes in assisting clients in the regulatory field, notably on technical barriers to trade such as standards and conformity assessment procedures.

Mr. Ziehm regularly contributes to IBC's written materials, including the Washington International Business Report (WIBR) and the International Issues Update. During his tenure at IBC, Mr. Ziehm has participated in the Trans Atlantic Business Dialogue (TABD) and the World Trade Organization’s Cancun Ministerial.

Mr. Ziehm’s previous work experience includes positions at the U.S. International Trade Commission, the State Department’s Bureau of International Organizations and an apparel trade consulting firm.

Mr. Ziehm graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in International Relations from the College of William and Mary. He received a Master’s of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, where he earned an honors certificate in International Business Diplomacy.

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LAUREN R. HIGGINS
Government Relations Counsellor
Lauren R. Higgins joined IBC in March 2008. Her work includes advising clients on trade policy issues as well as political and economic developments in Asia, including the ongoing TransPacific Partnership negotiations. She also regularly contributes to IBC’s International Issues Update, and Intelligence Bulletins.

Prior to her employment at IBC, Ms. Higgins was a trade analyst for three and a half years with the international trade practices of Vinson & Elkins LLP and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, where her work focused on Northeast Asia. Her responsibilities included tracking and analyzing trade policy developments specific to Korea, Japan and China, formulating client strategies related to the U.S.-Korea free trade agreement, and conducting research in connection with trade remedy investigations.

Ms. Higgins graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in international relations, and received her Master’s degree in international relations from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Originally from the Chicago area, Lauren is also an avid cook, and studied culinary arts at Kendall College.

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KEVIN J. WALSH
Government Relations Counsellor
Kevin Walsh joined IBC in March 2011 as a Government Relations Counsellor focusing on congressional relations. Previously, Mr. Walsh was with the office of U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO). During his three years on Capitol Hill, Mr. Walsh served as the Special Assistant to the Senator where he provided administrative and logistical support to the Senator and the Chief of Staff, conducted legislative research, drafted policy memos, and corresponded with constituents and Senate staff across a broad range of issues.

Mr. Walsh graduated from The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD with a B.A. in International Relations, and he received his M.A. in Government from The Johns Hopkins University’s Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts & Sciences in Washington, DC. Mr. Walsh’s graduate thesis studied nuclear force structure and conventional prompt global strike. He was also selected to participate in the 2011 Manfred Wörner Seminar, which is co-sponsored by the German Marshall Fund and the Armed Forces Office of the German Defense Ministry. He is a member of Young Professionals in Foreign Policy. Mr. Walsh is originally from Athens, Georgia.

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JULIA PRICE-MADISON
Research Associate
Julia Price-Madison joined IBC as a Research Associate in July 2012, following positions at the American Farm Bureau Federation and the office of Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA) in the House of Representatives. Prior to moving to Washington, she conducted research in Egypt on sustainable tourism and presented her findings to the Egyptian government as well as the American Chamber of Commerce in Cairo.

Ms. Price-Madison graduated cum laude from the University of Southern California with a B.A. in both International Relations and Middle East Studies. In addition to her studies in Los Angeles, she also attended the American University in Cairo, where she studied Arabic and Middle Eastern politics and traveled extensively in the region. Ms. Price-Madison gained world-wide experience through her extra-curricular activities including a volunteer project in Honduras, a home-stay exchange program in Japan and a photographic internship in London.  She speaks Spanish and Arabic, which she is continuing to study at a language school in Arlington, VA.

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CHRIS PARLIN, Esq.
Senior WTO Legal Advisor
Chris Parlin is among the world’s foremost authorities on WTO negotiations and dispute settlement resolutions, having served as senior counsel at USTR both in Washington and Geneva and having extensive GATT/WTO experience in private law practice.  Previously, Mr. Parlin served as Deputy USTR of Multilateral Trade Negotiations.  Mr. Parlin also worked as a Legal Advisor with the USTR Mission to the GATT and as a USTR Associate General Counsel.  Mr. Parlin also has private sector experience representing and advising governments, companies, and industry associations regarding multilateral and bilateral trade negotiations (including the Doha Development Agenda).  He has also advised clients on WTO accession negotiations and implementing WTO commitments.  Mr. Parlin teaches GATT/WTO law both at Georgetown and George Washington University law schools.

Mr. Parlin graduated cum laude from American University’s Washington College of Law.  He also received a Graduate Diploma from the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies’ Bologna Center, as well as a B.A. in political science from Yale University.

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