Our Team

International Division

The International Division first began trading in 1958 and for fifty years was the primary business of M-C International/McLane Global. Our current team consists of individual traders who have expertise in international commerce and logistics. In the new organization our partners (staff) will be known as International Trading Managers. Each McLane Global partner is an expert in the cultural and administrative needs of the various areas of the world. In addition our team is well versed in the sourcing of U.S. Brands. This selection of U.S. brands is bolstered by the growth of McLane Global’s own brand, Lady Liberty.  Lady Liberty is the American Brand consumers around the world desire but soley managed by McLane Global.  Product selection, world renowned service and expertise make McLane Global’s International Division unique and in demand.

Tania Chan - International Trading Director

With over 15 years of service, Tania Chan is McLane Global’s most tenured international partner. Her leadership skills and industry experience are largely responsible for the continued growth and development of our export business throughout the Asian Pacific. Tania has an educational back ground in marketing, which she utilized to help with the development and management of our private label exports. In addition generating sales with many partners throughout Asia, Tania is also in charge of business development for the International Division as well as one of the leads in training future traders. Tania is fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin, and English.

Yujing Huang - International Trading Coordinator

Yujing Huang began her career at McLane Global preparing all McLane Global office systems for migration to Dynamics A/X.  When that project was complete, she moved into her permanent position supporting the traders while learning the International Trading Business. Coordinating shipments, preparing order guides and proformas and placing orders with major manufacturers are just some of her many duties.  Yujing received her MBA from the Keith Busse School of Business at St. Francis University in Fort Wayne, Indiana and her BS in Environmental Science and Engineering from Feng Chia University in Taiwan.  Yujing is fluent in English, Mandarin and Taiwanese.

Prashant Iyer - International Trading Director

Prashant Iyer brings almost ten years of international trade experience within the industry; working with well know food companies like The Global Green Company (global pickle vendor based in India) and The Inventure Group (snack foods). He is responsible for international sales, private label programs, as well as sourcing. Prior to joining McLane Global, Prashant was with Sun Microsystems as an analyst with his work focused toward market research; he has an MBA in International Management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management and he completed a Master’s in International Business in India. He is fluent in English, Hindi and Tamil.

Esther Lai – International Trading Manager

Esther Lai has come up through the ranks of the International Trading Division during her nearly 15 year tenure.  Esther gained her knowledge and experience through handling all aspects of export documentation, warehouse co-ordination, procurement and logistics.  She is now an important member of the sales force, managing a group of trading partners in Hong Kong and other Asian territories.  Prior to joining McLane Global, she worked in a similar capacity in the San Francisco area and her years of experience in the food export business have proved to be a great asset to McLane Global’s International Trading Division.

Emmanuel Nhigula - International Trading Coordinator 

A native of Tanzania, Emmanuel assists our International Team in all facets of the trading business including export load plans, sales support, product research and trade show coordination.  This broad exposure to the business is the necessary first step to mastering the International Trading business. Prior to joining McLane Global, he worked as technician after 14 years in Japan as an educator.  He is currently pursuing degrees in Logistics Management and International Business.  He is fluent in English, Japanese and Swahili.

Fred Ortega – International Trading Manager

Fred Ortega joins the McLane Global team with twenty seven years of retail experience in all phases of the grocery business. Twenty two of those years were spent working for HEB and Wal-Mart with a significant time establishing operation and merchandising foundation for both Wal-Mart de Mexico and HEB de Mexico. His most recent work experiences have focused on selling and serving the Extreme Value customer in Mexico and domestically. Fred has a Bachelors in Business Administration and is fluent in both English and Spanish.

Mai Nguyen – International Trading Coordinator 

A native of Viet Nam, Mai has worked in the International Trading business for nearly two decades.  She has spent time managing exports with freight forwarders, custom brokers and export companies in both Southern California and Houston, TX.  Mai’s specialty is managing logistics on land, water and air, as well as all aspects of documentation involved in moving goods between countries.  These specialties define Mai’s role here at McLane Global and her vast experience is critical to success in the often complicated world of export documentation.   Mai is fluent in Vietnamese, English and French.

Hongxia “Sam” Xiao – International Trading Director

Ms. Hongxia “Sam” Xiao’s has provided leadership for McLane Global in both the import and export divisions of the company. In December 2005, she served as the company’s Chief Representative and Managing Director for the McLane China operation, which included the establishment of valuable partnerships with key importers, distributors and retail chains and implementing a program to promote new products from the U.S. into the Chinese marketplace. With an MBA from Willamette University’s Atkinson Graduate School of Management (Salem, Oregon); today Ms. Xiao offices in the U.S. In addition to having and active group of trading partners “Sam” is responsible for developing for the ongoing relationship of new and existing sources of US products for export. She is fluent in Mandarin Chinese, as well as English.

Domestic Division

The Domestic Division first began operating in 2004 as a sourcing agent to import food products for the Extreme Value Industry. In 2009 the division introduced a program to supply import product to the food service industry featuring its Lady Liberty label. The McLane Global Domestic Team focuses on Extreme Value Stores, Hunger Relief groups such as Food Banks and sourcing product globally.  In 2011, McLane Global increased focus on developing a program to offer  nutritious, affordable foods for Hunger Relief organizations that supplement their donations by buying on the open market.

Rick Bullock - Vice President, Sales

Rick Bullock carries over 40 years of experience within the food industry. His background includes retail store management, chain store merchandising and procurement, as well as the development and growth of “outsourcing” opportunities for retail supermarket chains. Prior to joining McLane Global, Rick spent 3 years with Supervalu developing their “Dollar Smart” program as well as being the head of procurement with both Farm Fresh Supermarkets and Jitney Jungle Supermarkets. In his 7 plus years at McLane Global, Rick has created and grown the division’s two largest sales channels in his work with Extreme Value Stores and Hunger Relief Organizations.  Rick is currently responsible for leading the sales team.

Kelley Tassone - Account Executive

Kelley Tassone served as executive assistant to McLane Group Chairman, Drayton McLane at the beginning of her career and executive assistant to McLane Global CEO, Mike Julian at the beginning of her tenure with McLane Global. In her current role as account executive, Kelley works with current customers in both Extreme Value and Hunger relief organizations.  She is tasked with not only growing these current relationships but also expanding McLane Global’s reach within the U.S.  Kelley uses her 16 years of administrative experience to also manage human resources for McLane Global. She is also a licensed Realtor and a member of Toast Masters International.

 Brad Timberlake - Business Development

For over 30 years, Brad Timberlake has worked in several different roles in sales and business development.  This breadth of experience is well suited to McLane Global’s Domestic business.  Brad’s responsibilities include Texas Food Banks and Food Service customers as well as development of new accounts.  While traveling the state to service his many customers, Brad maintains a home base in the Dallas-Fort Worth area where he lives with his wife of 11 years, Judy.  With three grown children and his first grandchild,  Brad likes to fill his free time with family, golf and reading.

Randy Trau - Director of Supermarket Sales  

Randy’s career spans over 30 years in the grocery industry. He has held positions with top sales companies such as Director of Marketing with Coca-Cola and as Sales Coordinator for Account Managers with Calkins & Company. After spending 11 years in the opportunity buy and sell industry, he founded Unified Wholesale Group. In his current position Randy combines his succesful relationships from UWG with the resources, expertise and reach of McLane Global and foster growth in these existing relationships as well as develop many more successful partnerships.

Lady Liberty Brand Management In 2010, McLane Global undertook a reboot of its longstanding export label, Lady Liberty. By consolidating all its existing labels under the Lady Liberty banner and installing it’s standard setting Quality Assurance Pledge, McLane Global has created a brand that has instant value both domestically and abroad. Internationally, Lady Liberty is the prototypical “American Brand” that consumers hold in the highest regard. The Lady Liberty Brand Management team works daily to develop the brand while increasing awareness and availability of the products in both markets.

Arielle Hill – Lady Liberty Buyer

Arielle, a 2008 graduate of Texas A&M with a B.S. in Food Science, comes to McLane Global after a stint as the Houston Office Coordinator for FloSpec USA. After apprenticing under our experienced procurement team she is now spearheading the sourcing of product for Lady Liberty.  Arielle’s responsibilities extend to all sourcing related projects surrounding the Lady Liberty brand.  This includes constant contact with current suppliers, placing orders for new items or replenishment, managing the receiving of inventory and spearheading the search for new items.

Mike Julian, III - Lady Liberty Brand Manager, McLane Global Marketing Manager 

Mike joined the McLane Global team in 2009 after 4 years with our sister company and e-commerce website, Hometown Favorites. His time spent managing sales and marketing for Hometown prepared him for a similar role at McLane Global. While in charge of the overall marketing effort for McLane Global his specific concentration is on Label Development and Marketing for the Lady Liberty Brand. Mike lead the development of both the Lady Liberty Brands website and the new McLane Global website and is the lead in keeping the McLane Global office in step with emerging technologies.

Bryan Nichols - Vice President Procurement and Brand Development

Bryan Nichols joins McLane Global with over fifteen years of experience in procurement and brand management roles throughout the grocery industry.  It is these multi-faceted backgrounds that make Bryan a perfect fit for his role with McLane Global.  Bryan most recently served as COO of Busch’s Supermarkets in Michigan after a time as VP of Category Management and Corporate Brands with Marsh Supermarkets. Bryan began his career in Bentonville with Wal-Mart and then spent time with North Carolina retailers, Harris Teeter and The Fresh Market .  Mr. Nichols is a graduate of the University of Arkansas and holds an MBA from the Walton College of Business.  He is a member of many industry groups and associations including service as a past Vice Chairman of the National Frozen and Refrigerated Foods Association.

Finance, Logistics & Management The backbone of any organization is the support staff at the home office. With McLane Global’s multi-faceted trading and distribution business they are even more valuable and relied upon. Our logistics department keeps goods moving 24 hours a day, every day of the week whether by land, sea or in the air. Logistics at our Houston based distribution center keeps goods moving in and out safely and accurately for prompt and timely delivery. All of this operation falls under the more than capable hands of the leadership here at McLane Global, who are there to assure our customer service level and satisfaction is a model for the industry.

 Paula Deuschle - Operations Administrator

Paula graduated with honors from The University of San Buenaventura in Cali, Colombia. She earned a B.S. in economics and worked for more than a decade in finance. She relocated from Colombia to the United States and joined the McLane Global team over three years ago. Paula provides support on a daily basis to the Domestic Sales and Sourcing Staff in addition to the accounts she works with directly. She is fluent in Spanish, as well as English.

Todd Frease - Senior Vice President, Finance and Logistics

Todd’s 15 years of experience in accounting and finance within the grocery industry allow him to navigate the complex challenges of the business. His leadership plays a vital role within our management team. Todd graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio with a BA in Accounting and Finance. Earning his CPA in the state of Ohio in 1993, He joined The Kroger Co. and held positions in Audit, Tax, as well as Assistant Corporate Controller of The Kroger Co. and Controller of the Texas/Louisiana Division. Today, Todd is responsible for the McLane Global Accounting and Finance department, as well as Logistics.

Abby Griffith – Logistics Assistant, Transportation

When Abby joined the McLane Global team she brought three years of experience as the logistics coordinator for USA Sports, Inc. In a similar capacity here at McLane Global, she works daily to coordinate inbound/outbound traffic at our Houston Distribution Center. Since she joined the team, McLane Global has seen a sharp uptick in traffic at the D.C. and Abby’s contributions have served to make that increase manageable.  Abby is also a student working toward a Logistics Technology Degree. Her studies and her daily work experience have her in great position to grow in expertise and contribution to the team.

Cesar Navarro – Logistics Manager, Warehouse

Cesar has over 14 years experience in warehousing. Having worked his way up through the ranks at Core-Mark International from order selector all the way to shift supervisor, Cesar went on to warehouse management with Texstone Industries and eventually Office Max before coming to McLane Global. In addition to overseeing warehouse operations and safety protocols, Cesar has created procedures and policies on the corporate level. Cesar currently holds a B.S. in Technical Management and is working on a double MBA in Business Management and Human Resource Management.

Jennifer Powers – Logistics Manager, Transportation

Jennifer brings over 15 years of experience within the logistics field to the McLane Global team. Her expertise encompasses both international and domestic traffic spanning from air to ocean export, as well as 5+ years of managing high level accounts of major food importers. Her knowledge of customs procedures and international shipping serve as an invaluable asset in her role as Logistics Manager. She is committed to facilitating import/export growth within the company by providing outstanding internal support and excellent customer service.

Ipatia Romo – Accounts Receivable Clerk

Ipatia comes to McLane Global after five years as an Accounting Associate with Cockrell Interests, Inc. and overall nearly a decade of accounting experience.  Her duties at McLane Global involve all aspects of financial accounting for the company including reconciling cash, preparing journal entries, period close activities and trial balances.  Ipatia holds a BBA in Accounting from The University of Houston – Downtown and is on target to sit for her CPA exam in 2013.  She is fluent in both English and Spanish.

Mike Julian - CEO/Chairman

Mike Julian’s more than 40 years of leadership and experience within the grocery industry made him a natural fit as Chairman, CEO of McLane Global. Mike began his career in grocery management while in upstate New York. His aggressive style soon made him a well respected leader within the industry. He has consulted to high-level, nationally recognized grocery chains, as well as serving as President and CEO of two major U.S. grocery companies. His long term relationship with well known grocery distribution leader, Drayton McLane, Jr. led to a joint vision that included the development of the Domestic Division of McLane Global. Mike’s visionary leadership spearheaded the expansion that lead to the opening of McLane Global’s Home Office and distribution center in Houston.