AFP Press Release

Ira M. Birns of World Fuel Services Corporation Elected Chairman of the Association for Financial Professionals Board

Association for Financial Professionals Announces New Board Members

BETHESDA, MD – Ira M. Birns, CTP, CPA, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of World Fuel Services Corporation, has assumed the chairmanship of the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP) Board of Directors. Elected by the AFP membership, Birns will serve a two-year term as AFP Chairman of the Board. Birns assumed the chairmanship at the end of the AFP Annual Conference, which was held in Los Angeles from October 19-22, 2008.

Prior to joining World Fuel Services Corporation in Miami, FL, Birns was Vice President & Treasurer/Vice President – Investor Relations at Arrow Electronics, Inc., headquartered in Melville, NY.

Birns, who has been an AFP member since 1991, has been a member of the AFP Board of Directors since 2002. He served as Vice Chairman, Treasurer and Chairman of the Finance Committee from 2004-2006. In the past, he has served as a member of the Finance Committee, the Strategic Alliance Committee and the Audit Committee. He served on the AFP Global Corporate Treasurers Forum Task Force in 2005 and 2006. Birns has been a speaker at several national AFP conferences and has been named to the AFP 300 from 2004-2008.  Birns lives in Pinecrest, FL.

"I am extremely proud to be serving as AFP's Chairman of the Board as we continue to serve members' needs and expand AFP's offerings both in the U.S. and around the world," said Birns.  "We have a great organization and we're committed to being the global resource and advocate for financial professionals, bringing members world-class training, certification programs, and networking events.  In my role as Chairman, I will be dedicated to supporting AFP's continued efforts to expand the breadth and depth of the value proposition which AFP currently provides to finance professionals throughout the world."

Joining Birns as Vice Chairmen on the AFP Board are Susan Glass, CTP, and Michael Connolly. Glass is Finance Manager at Hallmark Cards, Inc. in Kansas City, MO. Glass has been a member of the AFP Board since 2006 and currently serves as Vice Chairman, Secretary. Connolly is Vice President – Treasurer at Tiffany & Co. in Parsippany, NY. He has been a member of the AFP Board since 2006 and currently serves as Vice Chairman, Treasurer.

Loren Starr, CTP, Senior Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of Invesco, in Atlanta, GA, will serve on the AFP Board as Past Chairman. He has been a member of the AFP Board since 2002.

In addition to the new officers, the following directors were elected to serve two-year terms:

Brian Breen, CTP
Chief Financial Officer, The Service Companies, Inc., Miami Lakes, FL 

Jeff Cappelletti, CTP
Corporate Treasurer and Risk Manager, Wackenhut Corp., Palm Beach Gardens, FL

Craig Ehrnst, CTP*
Treasurer, NCCI Holdings, Inc., Boca Raton, FL

Roberta (Bobbie) Eiseman, CTP*
Director of Treasury, SunGard Data Systems Inc., Wayne, PA

James Gilligan, CTP
Manager, Corporate Treasury, Great Plains Energy, Inc., and President, KLT Investments, Inc., Kansas City, MO

Robert Hunkeler (CIEBA)*
Vice President-Investments, International Paper, Stanford CT

Bradley Larson, CTP
Vice President/Treasurer, Pamida, Inc., Omaha, NE

Maureen O'Boyle, CCM
Assistant Treasurer, Shaklee Corporation, Pleasanton, CA

Anita Patterson, CTP*

Director of Treasury Operations and Patriot Act Compliance, Manheim, Atlanta, GA.

Delores Ratliffe, CTP

Manager, Bank Initiatives and Negotiations, Target Corporation, Minneapolis, MN

Dennis Reedy, CTP
Managing Director, Treasury Operations, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN

Laurie Sherwood, CTP
Vice President, Corporate Development & Treasurer, Atmos Energy, Dallas TX

* Asterisk indicates new members of the AFP Board.

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About AFP®

The Association for Financial Professionals (AFP) serves a network of more than 16,000 treasury and finance professionals. Headquartered in Bethesda, MD, AFP provides members with breaking news, economic research and data on the evolving world of treasury and finance, as well as world-class treasury certification programs, networking events, financial analytical tools, training, and public policy representation to legislators and regulators. AFP is the daily resource for treasury and finance professionals.

 

AFP's global reach extends to over 150,000 treasury and financial professionals worldwide, including AFP of Canada; London-based gtnews, an on-line resource for the treasury and finance community; and bobsguide, a financial IT solutions network