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Backgrounds of the PrincipalsCurtis L. Hanson Curt is a founding principal of TAG and has over 35 years' experience in accounting, finance, banking, and international trade finance. He began his professional career as a certified public accountant working initially for an agency of the U.S. government and later for a large international public accounting firm. He left the accounting profession to begin a banking career at U.S. Bank where he held various auditing, accounting, finance, and management positions before accepting a position in the bank's International Trade Finance division. In that capacity he supported the international trade needs of middle market import and export clients of the bank, as well as the international banking needs of down stream correspondent banks. In 1994 Curt joined Wells Fargo as a Vice President in International Trade Services supporting the same international business client base for them. He left Wells Fargo in 1996 to found TAG, where he is currently a Principal and serves as Chairman of the Board. Curt received his Bachelors degree in Accounting from St. John's University, Collegeville, Minnesota, and his Masters of Business Administration from the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota. He is also a graduate of the American Bankers Association School for International Banking, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado. Curt is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive), a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants and International Credit Executives of Wisconsin. He holds an appointment to the Minnesota District Export Council and is a member of the Midwest Global Trade Association, the Greater Chicago International Trade Association, International Traders of Iowa, International Trade Council of Greater Kansas City, and Great Plains International Trade Association.
Leslie A. Bergland Leslie is a founding principal of TAG and has over 30 years' experience in international banking and trade finance. She began her professional career in the Latin America division of International Banking at U.S. Bank, where her responsibilities included the administration of the bank's Ex-Im Bank insurance policies. After successfully completing the bank's lender credit training program she moved to the International Trade Finance division. In that capacity she supported the international trade needs of large corporate import and export clients of the bank, and she managed the division's portfolio of reverse investment clients. In 1994 Leslie joined Wells Fargo as a Vice President in International Trade Services supporting the same international business client base for them. She left Wells Fargo in 1996 to found TAG where she is currently a Principal and serves as President. Leslie received her Bachelors degree, Magna Cum Laude, in Spanish and Business Education from Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota, and pursued graduate studies in Spanish Linguistics and Culture at the Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico. She also completed certificate studies at the American Institute of Banking and the Executive Seminar for International Lending at the Center for International Banking Studies, Darden School, University of Virginia. Leslie is a member of the Minnesota International Center, the Midwest Global Trade Association, the Greater Chicago International Trade Association, International Traders of Iowa, International Credit Executives of Wisconsin, International Trade Council of Greater Kansas City, Great Plains International Trade Association, and the American Swedish Institute.
Ursula M. Wegrzynowicz Ursula joined TAG as a principal and opened the Chicago office on June 1, 2007. She has more than 13 years of international trade experience having worked for both state and federal government international trade agencies, and as an international banker for two of the largest international banks in the U.S. Ursula's initial exposure to international trade was through an internship with the U.S. Small Business Administration in the Chicago U.S. Export Assistance Center. This helped to guide her graduate school plans where she pursued a Masters in International Economic Policy. Following graduate school she accepted a position in the Congressional Affairs office of the U.S. Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank) in Washington, DC. She left Washington in early 1998 to accept a Business Development Officer position at the Chicago Regional office of Ex-Im Bank. In that position she marketed Ex-Im Bank export insurance and guarantee products to banks and exporters in the upper Midwest. Eager to become more well rounded in export finance and bank trade products, she left Ex-Im Bank to pursue an opportunity as an international banker. Ursula accepted a position as Vice President in the Chicago office of JP Morgan Chase. There she was responsible for marketing bank trade service products to companies in the upper Midwest. She later left JP Morgan Chase to accept a position as Vice President of International Business Development for Wells Fargo in Chicago. She gave up her career in banking when offered the position with Illinois Global Partnership where she served as Director of Export Finance until joining TAG. Ursula received her Bachelors degree in Political Science, with minors in Spanish and International Studies, from Loyola University, Chicago, Illinois, and her Masters in International Affairs from American University, Washington, DC. She holds an appointment to the Illinois District Export Council and is a member of the International Trade Association of Greater Chicago, the Midwest Global Trade Association, International Traders of Iowa, and International Credit Executives of Wisconsin.
Jacqueline Meredith Grahn Jackie joined Trade Acceptance Group as a principal in the Chicago Office in 2010 to serve TAG's expanding client base in the Midwest. Jackie has over 15 years of banking and international trade finance experience with commercial banks and U.S. federal government agencies. She began her professional career at The Northern Trust Company in Chicago in the Bank's commercial banking treasury management program. As a Financial Services Officer, she managed a portfolio of Fortune 500 treasury management clients. While at Northern, she earned her Certified Treasury Professional designation. After 4 years, Jackie took a break from her banking career to serve as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in Eastern Europe, following the fall of communism. She was stationed in Bulgaria as a business consultant, working with state-owned enterprises and entrepreneurs to assist them in adopting free-market business practices and developing foreign trade contacts. While living in Bulgaria, Jackie studied Eastern European history and culture, and she traveled extensively throughout Europe, Russia and Turkey. After returning from the Peace Corps, Jackie joined The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) as a Business Development Officer in the Chicago Regional Office. She was responsible for marketing Ex-Im Bank export credit insurance and guarantee products to exporters in the Midwest. She also conducted extensive outreach and training on these programs to commercial lenders in her region. Jackie left Ex-Im Bank to accept a position as Vice President in the Global Trade Finance Division at U.S. Bank in Chicago, one of the nation's largest banking franchises. She was hired by U.S. Bank to establish an international trade services presence in their Chicago office. Her responsibilities included marketing international trade services and Ex-Im trade finance products to companies and correspondent banks in the Chicagoland area. Jackie graduated with Distinction from The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree and a concentration in marketing. In 2002, she earned her Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree with a concentration in international business and finance from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Chicago. While at Kellogg, she participated in the Global Initiatives in Management program and traveled to South Africa to study the economic and political climate of the country.She has served on the Illinois District Export Council and is a member of the International Trade Association of Greater Chicago and the International Credit Executives of Wisconsin. |
MINNEAPOLIS Leslie A. Bergland Curtis L. Hanson
CHICAGO Ursula M. Wegrzynowicz Jacqueline M. Grahn |
