Board of Directors:

Honorable Ambassador Andrew Young	WCC Honorary Chairman	14th U. N. Ambassador Goodworks International Co-Chairman
Craig Lesser	WCC Chairman of the Board	Managing Partner, Pendleton Consulting Group
Solange Warner	WCC Founder and WCC Director of the Board	Ashton Interrnational Consulting President and CEO
Consul George Novak	WCC President	Consul of the Czech Republic Consulate of the Czech Republic
Tom McLain	WCC Vice President	Attorney at Law,
Caroline Taylor	WCC Secretary	Attorney at Law
Dan Moss	WCC Treasurer	Senior Vice- President Morgan Stanley, Smith Barney
Curt Thompson	WCC Director of the Board	State Senator/Attorney at Law
John Fretti	WCC Director of the Board	Mayor of Valdosta, Georgia
Barbara Mobley	WCC Director of the Board	Judge DeKalb County State Court
Lucia Jennings	WCC Director of the Board	Director and Founder Brazilean American Chamber of Commerce, Coca Cola Manager
Axel Leblois	WCC Director of the Board	UNITAR Special Senior Fellow
Gloria Butler	WCC Director of the Board	State Senator

Advisory Board:

The objective of the WCC Advisory Board is to provide suggestions on supporting international trade and expanding the WCC worldwide. Several of the WCC Advisory Committee memebers are:

Ambassador Reda Monsour	Consul of Israel & Dean of the Consular Corp of Georgia
John Parkerson	Consul of Hungary
Paul Steinfield	Consul of Slovenia
Patricia Boezio	Consul of Ecuador
Dr. Al H. Andersen	Consul of Tanzania
R. William Ide, III	Consul of Thailand
Mavel Summers	Consul of Honduras
Ray Donato	Consul of Philippines
Teresa Fraser	Consul of Guatemala
Mona Tekin Diamond	Consul of Turkey
Edouk Swaak	Consul of the Netherlands
Dr. Bruce S. Allen	Consul of the Principality of Liechtenstein
Georges Hoffmann	Consul of Luxembourg
J. Thomas Ratchford, Jr.	Consul of Nicaragua
Dimitrios Hondroulis	Consul of Costa Rica
Salvador de Lara	Consul General of Mexico
Pedro Marin	House of Representative
Stephanie Stuckey Benfield	House of Representative
Christopher Smith	Consul of Denmark
Ed Baker	Atlanta Business Chronicles' Publisher
Alfreda Turner	Delta AirLines Manager-Commercial Sales Development
Consul Genaral Marcelo Gerschenfeld	Consul General of Argentina
Tom Strauss	Southern Regional Director at U.S. Department of Commerce

 

Biographies:

Craig S. Lesser, WCC Chairman of the Board

Craig Lesser is a Managing Partner of the newly formed Pendleton Consulting Group.

Prior to joining The Pendleton Consulting Group, Craig Lesser served as the Managing Director and Head of International Public Affairs for McKenna Long & Aldridge, a law firm based in Atlanta. His primary focus was on expanding the firm’s presence abroad and interfacing with international businesses operating in the United States.

Until 2007, Craig served as Commissioner of Economic Development for the State of Georgia where he was the Chief Marketing Officer responsible for investment, trade and tourism. He was appointed to his post by Governor Sonny Perdue in 2004. In this role, he led efforts to recruit new business to Georgia from around the nation and internationally. Craig’s responsibilities while still in office included oversight of the state’s small business and entrepreneur programs, efforts to grow existing business as well as marketing Georgia as an ideal destination for filmmakers, the music industry, multi-media companies and tourists. While serving as Commissioner, there were almost 500 new investment and expansion announcements, totaling $8 billion and creating more than 40,000 new jobs. Craig also oversaw the expansion of Georgia’s international presence with the opening of state representation in Chile, Brazil, China and France, in addition to the already existing international offices.

Before his gubernatorial appointment, Craig served as Vice President of Government and Regulatory Affairs for Georgia Power Company; President and CEO of Mirant New York; and Senior Vice President of External Affairs for Mirant Americas. He was also a partner in a public affairs consulting firm.

Craig’s past experience also includes serving as president of Hemisphere Inc., a public-private partnership created to attract the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas Secretariat. During his tenure, five Latin American nations opened consulates in Atlanta and many new business relationships were forged between Western Hemisphere nations and Georgia.

He is Chairman of the Board of the World Trade Center of Atlanta, Chairman of the Board of the Vienna International Exchange, Secretary of the Georgia China Alliance and chairman of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce International Programs Committee.

He has been recognized by Georgia Trend, James Magazine and the Atlanta Business Chronicle as one of Georgia’s most influential people.

Craig received his B.A. from the State University of New York College at Oneonta and is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Business, Leadership Georgia and the Regional Leadership Institute.

Solange Warner, WCC Founder

SolangeWarner is the CEO, president and founder of Ashton International, a prominent consulting firm www.ashtoninternationaltrade.com . This firm provides in-depth international trade consulting, including market and feasibility studies, international lead generation, product implementation, and international representation. The U.S. Department of Commerce recently awarded Ashton International for export achievement, associated with accomplishments in the Global Market Place.

Solange has over 20 years experience in international markets, working previously as a senior manager for Multinational Accounts at American Express for 7 years. She managed Fortune 500 Multinational corporations. Previously she lived in Europe and before she lived in Miami, where she owned and directed S&S travel, a successful travel agency located in Coral Gables.

Solange obtained her International Business Degree at American Intercontinental University with Summa cum laude accolades. She speaks Spanish, Portuguese and English fluently and has knowledge of French, German and Italian. Solange is originally from Chile and has traveled extensibly throughout 52 countries. Furthermore, Solange is a member of the National Scholars Honor Society.