Mark Matsumoto

International business development and export trade expert with 22+ years of experience designing, securing, and managing federal, state, and international government grants and contracts exceeding $40 million — including U.S. federal export grants, California GO-Biz programs, the CBEC Asia cross-border e-commerce initiative, and the first three phases of the Royal Commission Al-Ula Scholarship Program for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Proven track record authoring winning proposals and managing hands-on program execution — from SME recruitment and multilingual training delivery to budget administration, performance reporting, and measurable export-readiness outcomes. Extensive agent and trade networks across Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.

Managing Director at California ETEC (2006-01 – Present)

Founded and lead a 501(c)(3) export-training and education-export organization, securing and administering federal and state grants and building a network of 250+ college, industry, and trade partners across Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Day-to-day responsibilities include grant authorship and compliance, SME recruitment and counseling, international agent and buyer network development, trade mission and event planning, multilingual marketing campaign management, budget administration, and federal/state performance reporting.

CBEC Asia Cross-Border E-Commerce Grant Co-Author & Program Lead at California ETEC (2021-01 – 2025-12)

Co-authored the winning grant proposal establishing CBEC Asia, a cross-border e-commerce export program hosted at CSU San Bernardino's Inland Empire Center for International Trade Development.

• Developed and managed outreach to leading cross-border e-commerce and O2O platforms across China and Southeast Asia, including Alibaba, JD.com, Shopee, 7-Eleven Thailand, Gourmet Market, RedMart (Singapore), VENTH (Cambodia), and Hang24, building direct platform relationships and onboarding pathways for U.S. exporters.
• Helped secure more than $4 million in export sales outcomes for 25 distinct U.S. consumer packaged goods companies through platform onboarding, buyer matchmaking, and market entry support.
• Designed and delivered training and one-on-one consulting guiding SMEs through cross-border e-commerce onboarding, marketplace compliance, logistics, and digital marketing strategy for the China and SE Asia markets.

California Export Training Grant Author & Program Director at California ETEC (2024-09 – Present)

Conceptualized and authored the winning GO-Biz Export Training Grant proposal (Award #EXPORTTRAINING2024-CETEC-A1), designing a multi-region, multilingual SME export-readiness curriculum targeting ASEAN, China, Cambodia, and Saudi Arabia.

• Personally planned, marketed, and delivered 13 export training events (8 in-person, 5 virtual) across 6 reporting periods, including the Services Export Summit, US-Cambodia Trade Forum, Cross-Border E-Commerce workshops, and the Rural Export Roadshow series.
• Trained 498 individuals against a 200-person goal (249% of target) and supported 207 unique SMEs toward a 250-business goal (83%), including 96 new-to-export, 67 underserved, 61 women-owned, 52 rural-owned, and 2 veteran-owned businesses.
• Delivered programming in 5 languages (Cambodian, Vietnamese, Punjabi, Arabic, Chinese) to expand reach into underserved and rural exporter communities in Northern California (Butte, Glenn, Yuba City, Chico, Colusa, Orland regions).
• Managed full grant lifecycle including budget tracking across 6 categories ($100K award, 68% expended through closeout), bi-monthly performance reporting to GO-Biz, and documentation of measurable training outcomes (post-assessment scores improved up to 10x over baseline, e.g., CA STEP awareness rose from 23 to 201 participants).
• Generated documented success stories and referrals connecting SMEs to CA STEP grant funding and EX-IM Bank export financing, directly supporting the program's mission to expand California's services and goods exports.

Co-Founder and Vice President of Marketing at Cambodia Chamber of Commerce Representative Office in California (CalCamCham)

Helped establish the organization to promote bilateral trade and investment between the U.S. and Cambodia.

• Coordinated inbound visits and program logistics for multiple Cambodian government ministers, including a delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol (October 27, 2025), to promote bilateral trade between the U.S. and Cambodia.

Co-Founder at California ETEC (2003-01)

Conceptualized and co-authored the winning Department of Commerce Market Development Cooperator grant that launched the Education and Training Export Consortium (ETEC) in 2003.

Co-Author and Co-Project Manager, Community College Initiative for Egypt at U.S. Department of State (2008-01 – 2011-12)

Co-authored and served as co-project manager for the U.S. Department of State Community College Initiative for Egypt ($6M across two phases), placing 200 students at 16 California community colleges.

Royal Commission for Al-Ula Scholarship Program Co-Author at Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (2018-01 – 2022-12)

Conceptualized and co-authored the first three phases of the Royal Commission for Al-Ula Scholarship Program, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a multi-year international education and training initiative contracted through California ETEC.

Trade Mission Coordinator at California ETEC (2004-01 – 2017-12)

Conceived, coordinated, and recruited 50 education and training trade missions to China, Japan, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam, generating more than $60 million in reported education service exports.

Grant Proposal Author at California ETEC

Authored 25 grant proposals; 10+ selected for award funding totaling more than $7 million.

Director / Consultant at Network International Exports, Inc. (1991-01 – Present)

Manage export operations and international business development for U.S. manufacturers, currently representing LavaGel/Lava Gel Technologies (patented flameless heating products) for global market entry, distributor development, and licensing across Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.

• Built career export sales exceeding $60 million for 50+ U.S. clients across Japan and Southeast Asia, developing overseas distribution channels and trade financing support.
• Pioneered U.S. kitchen waste disposer sales in Japan, helping establish a bilateral regulatory trade framework.
• Supervised staff of 5 across the U.S., Japan, Korea, and Hong Kong; conducted business in 20+ countries.

Director of Asia Business Development at Namesecure.com (2000-06 – 2000-11)

• Secured strategic partnership agreements in Japan, Hong Kong, and Korea, signing letters of intent totaling more than $2 million.

Director of International Business Development / Government Affairs at Freemerchant.com / Network Commerce (1999-09 – 2000-06)

• Aggregated over 25,000 SMEs onto the platform through outreach events; secured strategic alliance agreements in Japan, Asia, and Europe with the U.S. Department of Commerce and major trade organizations.

Adjunct Professor at Santa Ana College (1996-01 – 2010-12)

• International Business
• Doing Business in Asia
• Cross-Cultural Communications

Industry Trainer at Los Angeles Port Trade Connect (2013-01 – Present)

Internet Export Marketing curriculum; 30+ presentations to 2,000+ attendees.

Webinar Moderator/Host, Global Business Webinar Program at Irvine Chamber of Commerce (2013-01 – 2015-12)

Chairman at Southern California District Export Council (1999-01 – 2002-12)

Created the Global Matchmaking Reception generating $10M+ in reported exports.

Bachelor of Arts – University of California, Berkeley (1988-12)