Full Steam Ahead: AUKUS, ITAR, and the Keys to Australia’s Naval Supply Chain

Ben has over 10 years of experience working in the defense industry, working across the spectrum of the defense ecosystem from Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to large defense Primes, government, and ADF. Ben is a specialist Export Compliance practitioner whose team has provided specialist compliance advice to entities across AUKUS enabling organizations to take advantage of international supply chain opportunities.

Harold “Lee” Brayman joined the U.S. Commercial Service (CS) after an extensive career in the private sector. Prior to joining CS in 2015, he worked with the Waters Corporation, built and ran various SMEs and held a Limited Appointment position with the U.S. Department of Commerce Market Access and Compliance (MAC) office at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.

Since joining CS, he has served a tour at Commerce Headquarters supporting the Asia Regional office, and has since completed tours in Osaka, Japan, Mumbai, India, and Doha, Qatar. Lee has more than 35 years’ experience across various sectors, including financial services, medical devices, robotics, education, manufacturing, software, and the telecom industry.

John has been a Commercial Specialist with the U.S. Commercial Service (an agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce) in Australia for over 20 years.  Prior to joining the Commercial Service, John worked for the Australian Trade Commission, an export promotion agency, helping Australian companies do business internationally.

John has assisted numerous American exporters find local partners and expand their sales in Australia.  He currently covers advanced manufacturing, industrial equipment, railroad equipment, chemicals and plastics, environmental technologies, water and wastewater treatment, agribusiness and franchising. He has also had experience assisting clients in the energy, mining, oil and gas and consumer goods sectors.

Molly serves as the Global Advanced Manufacturing Team Leader at the U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, U.S. Commercial Service. In this role, she leads a team of over 200 trade professionals across the United States and in U.S. Embassies worldwide. Her team supports U.S. manufacturers by facilitating international trade events, delivering market intelligence, and helping companies expand globally. With a career spanning roles in New York, Arizona, Colorado, and Wyoming, Molly has served as a Senior International Trade Specialist, guiding U.S. businesses in navigating global markets and closing international sales.

Prior to her government service, Molly was an International Sales Manager at Reed Exhibitions, supporting U.S. companies at global trade shows including the inaugural World Nuclear Exhibition She also brings experience from the logistics sector through her work at UPS Supply Chain Solutions, managing global supply chains for clients such as Hydro Flask, FLIR Systems, and Nike.

Molly holds a degree in Finance and Marketing from the University of Denver and an International MBA from Portland State University.

Prior to her government service, Molly was an International Sales Manager at Reed Exhibitions and worked in logistics at UPS Supply Chain Solutions.

Steve is the Senior Commercial Officer for Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Island Countries (PICs), based in Sydney. A member of the Senior Foreign Service, he has previously served as Deputy Senior Commercial Officer (DSCO) at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, Japan, Senior Commercial Officer (SCO) for U.S. Commercial Service (USCS) in Pakistan, based in Karachi, and the head of USCS in São Paulo, Brazil. Part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, USCS is the principal trade and investment promotion agency of the U.S. government.

Steve has held a variety of other postings with USCS, including as a commercial officer at the Long Island Export Assistance Center (Old Westbury, New York) and the U.S. Embassy in Budapest, Hungary. Steve also worked at the U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for the United States-Asia Environmental Partnership (US-AEP), a U.S. government program jointly funded by Commerce and USAID to promote U.S. environmental technologies.