Our Team
IBC’s team of highly experienced professionals are experts in international business, trade, and government relations, ready to provide tailored analysis and trusted advice to help you navigate your most critical issues.
Melissa San Miguel
Head of Red Flag Americas
Melissa San Miguel
President, IBC
Executive Director, WIBC
Head of Red Flag Americas
Melissa advises IBC clients on strategies and tactics to achieve their policy and advocacy objectives. In addition to her role at IBC, Melissa is Head of Americas and Global Head of Policy for Red Flag, which acquired IBC in 2021.
Before joining Red Flag and IBC, Melissa led trade and global competitiveness strategies for the Grocery Manufacturers Association (now the Consumer Brands Association), on behalf of the world’s leading food, beverage, and consumer product brands.
Melissa began her career in the U.S. diplomatic service, serving at U.S. embassies in Honduras, Jamaica, and Brazil before serving as Special Assistant to the Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment. She holds degrees from Princeton University and the University of California, Los Angeles.
John McDermid
John McDermid
Senior Advisor
John is the former President and Chief Operating Office of IBC. He has advised IBC clients for more than 35 years, specializing in international trade remedies, negotiations, and policies. He is Vice Chair of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee for Trade in Processed Foods.
Prior to joining IBC, John was an attorney in the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition, a litigator and advisor in the U.S. International Trade Commission’s Office of the General Counsel, and Assistant General Counsel for the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM).
John is a member of the District of Columbia Bar and holds degrees from the University of Brussels, American University, the Washington College of Law, and Rollins College.
Steve Ziehm
Steve Ziehm
Senior Vice President
Stephen advises IBC clients on a broad range of international trade and regulatory matters, with a particular focus on resolving technical barriers to trade. Stephen serves as a member of the Processed Food Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee which advises the U.S. Trade Representative and the Secretary of Agriculture on international trade and policy negotiations. He has also been appointed to serve on the Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Critical Minerals and Nonferrous Metals (ITAC 5).
Stephen has previously worked in the U.S. International Trade Commission, the State Department’s Bureau of International Organizations, and in the apparel sector. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in International Relations from the College of William and Mary and holds a Master’s Degree in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, where he earned an honor’s certificate in International Business Diplomacy.
Scott Seaman
Scott Seaman
Vice President
Scott specializes in advising IBC clients on political, economic, and commercial risk, with a particular focus on Asia.
Scott has more than 20 years experience and previously analyzed political risk in Japan, South Korea, and North Korea as a director for Asia at the Eurasia Group. He has also previously held positions with MetLife (international government relations), Cerner Corporation (health information technologies), the U.S. Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration (trade policy), and the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan (International Bureau) in Tokyo, Japan.
Scott completed PhD and MA degrees in political science at Duke University and a BA degree (Government Honors Program, Phi Beta Kappa) at the University of Virginia. He received intensive language training at the Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies in Yokohama, Japan.
Chris Benscher
Chris Benscher
Government Relations Counsellor
Chris is IBC’s eyes and ears on Capitol Hill and advocates for clients drawing on his experience lobbying Congress for passage of the U.S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement, as well experience in a senior government relations role managing market access and government relations across more than ninety countries. Chris has more than eighteen years of experience promoting trade agreements and working to open markets from both the public and private sectors, including as a Congressional Liaison Officer for the Embassy of Australia to the United States.
Chris graduated from the University of Sydney with a Masters Degree in International Relations and from Macquarie University with a Bachelor of Arts.
Patrick Sheehy
Patrick Sheehy
Counsellor
Pat is a trusted advisor to IBC clients focusing particularly on national security, defense, export and asset controls. Prior to joining IBC, he worked on national security and defense for Congressman John Shimkus (IL-15) and in the U.S. Trade Representative's Office of Congressional Affairs, as well as in CSIS’s Strategic Technologies Program and the State Department’s Bureau of International Organizations.
Patrick graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BA in Political Science from the University of Mary Washington, where his thesis focused on the role of information and communications technology in revolutionary movements.
Ethan Knecht
Deputy Director, WIBC
Ethan Knecht
Counsellor
Deputy Director, WIBC
In addition to his focus on trade and policy in Latin America for IBC clients, Ethan is Deputy Director of the Washington International Business Council (WIBC). He oversees programming and engagement with invited guests.
Prior to joining IBC, Ethan worked in the Office of the President at the Inter-American Dialogue. He began his career working under Washington Post columnist George Will and later worked as a research assistant with the William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies at the National Defense University.
Ethan graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in International Politics and minors in Spanish and Latin American Studies from Georgetown University.
Christina Rodas
Christina Rodas
Program Administrator, WIBC and ECD
Christina supports all aspects of WIBC and ECD programming and administration.
Prior to joining IBC, Christina was a Field Organizer for the Ohio Democratic Party’s coordinated campaign in the 2018 Midterm Elections. Through the Washington Academic Internship Program of the John Glenn College of Public Affairs, Christina interned in the U.S. Agency for International Development's Maternal and Child Survival Program.
Christina holds a bachelor's degree in International Development with a minor in Spanish from The Ohio State University.
