Professional Affiliation

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

FreightDesk.com

Expert Bio

Rob Quartel serves as Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and Founder of FreightDesk Technologies. Named by Forbes magazine in September 2000 as "one of the ten best" in logistics on the web, FreightDesk is the leading provider of Internet-based cargo management applications for international freight. Mr. Quartel is a former U.S. Federal Maritime Commissioner, and is an internationally recognized expert in maritime and national transportation policy. From 1992-1994, he served as President of the U.S. Shipbuilding Consortium and later served as President of the Jones Act Reform Coalition. Mr. Quartel was the first public official to advocate substantial deregulation and reform of the American maritime industry. In October 2001 Mr. Quartel developed a concept for profiling international container cargoes ("Pushing the Border Out") before they moved onto ships for transport to the United States, which has been adopted as one of the core pillars of the Administration's Homeland Security strategy. Mr. Quartel served as Issue Desk Director in the 1976 Ford Campaign, and directed the domestic policy operation in then-candidate Bush's Presidential campaign. He returned in 1988 as a Senior Domestic Policy Advisor and to direct the new administration's transition at the U.S. Department of Transportation. He was a member of President George W. Bush's Transition Advisory Team as well. Previous government experience includes service at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Federal Energy Office, and in the White House.