With over 20 years experience in international business Ms. Kirkendall has lived and worked in the United States, Asia and Europe. As an employee and consultant she has worked with businesses developing their international manufacturing, sourcing, and operations.  For clients today, she focuses on corporations managing their growth and development in China & the U.S.

 

Her experience in China began in 1986 with a year of advanced language study at the Beijing Language and Culture University.  During the next five years in China, she managed two factories in Shanghai for an American company and later moved to Hong Kong to become General Manager for the same company of their subsidiary export firm.  

 

She then moved back to the U.S. to direct Asian manufacturing and develop a Target Costing program in California.  She started with managing an import / inventory control team in San Francisco then moving to the Executive Offices in Los Angeles and setting up a new Supply Chain department; hiring staff, establishing systems, etc.  She traveled frequently to oversee and train employees in their offices in Korea, Hong Kong, and Bangkok and additionally visited manufacturers in Taiwan, Indonesia, and the Philippines.   

 

After moving to Ohio she took a position in operations; managed an outsourced warehouse, direct imports, and inventory control.  Becoming a CPA, Ms. Kirkendall began consulting, both in Finance/Accounting and in International Operations.  Her focus remains on China and developing business between the two countries.  She is able to combine her background in manufacturing, operations, and management with her over 20 years of experience in Asia to lead companies through their own business development.

 

Ms. Kirkendall is often quoted in the media and has spoken for and been an advisor to various organizations, some of which include:  the World Trade Center, the U.S. Export Assistance Council, Ohio Department of Trade, Ohio State University Distinguished Lecture Series, the Department of Defense Strategic Foreign Language Task Force, John Carroll University, National Conference on Chinese Language Education, and many trade groups throughout the country.  

 

As a role model to other Americans as someone who has studied and used the Chinese Language in her career, she advises many K-12 schools and universities on the adoption / expansion of their Chinese Language programs. She is on the board of the University of Akron’s Confucius Institute and works with the Provost office on other university projects related to China.