Greater China

Ben Zhang

Ben is CEO and founder of Greater China. He fled China during the Tian-An-Men Square conflict in 1989, and arrived in the US with just $330 cash in his pocket.  During his senior year at the University of Washington he started an import-export business, and upon graduation in 1995, founded Greater China in Bellevue, Washington to supply import products to the Promotional Products Industry.

Ben is a true believer in the value of continuing education to enable Greater China to better serve clients. In 2001 he returned to the UW to complete an intensive 9-month Management Program.   Continuing to raise personal and professional standards, Ben was accepted by Cornell University in 2007 to their EMBA program. In 2008 he was accepted by Harvard Business School to their 39th OPM (Owner and President Management) 3-year executive management program with an expected graduation in March 2010.  His continual goal is to bring the latest "success ingredients" learned back to Greater China for practical application in the improvement of company processes and customer support.  Ben was recently awarded City University's prestigious 2009 Global Innovator Award for his multi-cultural business success.  

Chris Ritchie

Chris is Business Development Manager for Greater China. He has been with Greater China since 2006 and has over 12 years experience in the ASI industry. Chris has held V.P. Operations, Product Development and Account Executive positions with Top 40 ASI Distributors, giving him both sales and supply chain management expertise within the industry.  He strongly believes in the importance of promoting long-term client relationships to build trust and confidence in what Greater China can bring to your business and growth potential.

Mel Cutter

Mel is Greater China’s Assistant Sales Manager. Mel has been with Greater China since 1996 and was the first employee of the company. He has filled many positions with Greater China during the past 14+ years and has experience on both the import and production side of operations to compliment his sales and marketing background. Mel is a 2003 graduate of TMP management program from the University of Washington, where he also received his BA in Human Resource Management. He recently was awarded Top Performer recognition for the Dale Carnegie leadership program.

A. C. Schwark

A. C. is Greater China’s Chief Financial Officer. A.C. brings a combination of academic and management experience having served as the Western Washington Chair for Undergraduate Business and Management at the University of Phoenix, and before that as Senior Vice President and CFO of Bank One, Cincinnati. A.C. holds a BA in Math and Economics from Valparaiso University, an MBA from Washington University, St. Louis, and is a graduate of Stonier Graduate School of Banking. He has been honored as the annual businessman of the year by the Clermont (Ohio) Chamber of Commerce and as a distinguished instructor by University of Phoenix and the American Institute of Banking.  He was also honored as an outstanding member of the community by the Cincinnati Community Chest and he was inducted as a member of Omicron Delta Epsilon, the national economics honorary fraternity.

Mark St. Peter

Mark is Director of Marketing for Greater China and has been with the company since 1998 (3rd longest employee) and filled a number of sales and management positions. His goal for Marketing is to bring new products to Greater China quickly and more consistently.  He strongly belives that keeping a fresh and creative look to everything we do and to the service we provide our clients helps them to be more successful.  Mark has an MBA from Seattle University and an undergraduate degree in Marketing and Finance from the University of Washington. 

Paul McNabb

Paul is Greater China’s Logistics Manager and possesses over 22 years of international logistics and customs brokerage experience. Since 1984, he has worked as a customs runner, entry writer and senior import manager at a customs brokerage firm, and has managed Greater China’s logistics. Paul is in the process of obtaining his customs broker license and is presently supervising the implementation of Greater China’s in-house customs brokerage.

Hanson Chong

Hanson is VP of Import for Greater China.  He has over 20 years business management experience and has worked previously for a Fortune 500 company.  He truly believes that bridging the cultural gap between US client product expectations and Chinese manufacturing capabilities requires expert knowledge of manufacturing processes, an understanding of Chinese factory and business culture, and close attention to project details.  Hanson received his MBA from Murdoch University in Australia in 1998 and his prior BS degree from Washington State University in 1994.