Merle Hinrichs
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer


Merle A. Hinrichs is Chairman and CEO of Global Sources (NASDAQ-GS: GSOL), Asia's leading business-to-business media company focused on global trade. He founded the company in 1970 with the firm conviction that free and mutually beneficial trade between east and west would help drive global economic prosperity, and ultimately, world peace.

To that end, the Company's focus is to help remove the uncertainty inherent in cross-border trade between buyers and suppliers by providing the most reliable information possible on new products, quality manufacturers and supply market conditions in support of two-way trade with Greater China, Asia and the world. Today, Global Sources' (www.globalsources.com) network covers more than 60 cities worldwide and assists over 829,000 buyers in over 240 countries and territories fulfilling Mr. Hinrichs' vision.

Under Mr. Hinrichs' leadership, the company was the leader in the use of the Internet for international trade, launching Asia's first B2B online marketplace in 1996. The Economist magazine recognized Mr. Hinrichs as "Asia's e-commerce king", while Forbes Global magazine has repeatedly voted Global Sources "Best of the Web". A keen desire to advance education opportunities, drive business innovation and leverage technology are guiding principles of Mr. Hinrichs' approach to developing international commerce and philanthropy.

He graduated from the University of Nebraska with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration and Mathematics, and from the Thunderbird School of Global Management with a Master's Degree in International Trade. In 1996, the University of Nebraska awarded Mr. Hinrichs an Honorary Doctorate Degree.

Mr. Hinrichs merged his passion for higher education, information and technology by spearheading the creation of a state-of-the-art library at Thunderbird, which opened in 1994.

In China, Mr. Hinrichs' education initiatives include the Global Sources Information Centre, an electronic information library at the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in Shanghai, which ranks among the top MBA schools in the world. He has made a significant commitment to the advancement of journalism in China by promoting the Global Sources Hall at the influential Tsinghua University's School of Journalism and Communication in Beijing.

Mr. Hinrichs remains committed to educating Chinese management executives. He conceived and formulated training for the one-of-a-kind Excellence in Export Marketing program. This intensive three-day, executive-level course is held throughout the year across China in association with the prestigious Beijing University.

He developed Chief Executive China magazine to provide best-practice international management expertise for China's high-level executives and managers. It is the widest-circulated BPA-audited (Business Publication Auditing) management publication in China. More than 1,000,000 senior managers read the magazine each month and use its complementary website (www.ceconline.com).

As an advisor at the Hong Kong Baptist University, Mr. Hinrichs has promoted innovative theoretical and applied educational models for academic curriculum and intern development for students from around the world.

He is co-founder and former Chairman of The Society of Hong Kong Publishers, an active member of the Pacific Basin Economic Council, and a board member of the Economic Strategy Institute in Washington, D.C. He is also an Investment Promotion Ambassador with Invest Hong Kong.

Mr. Hinrichs actively supports the Kearny Alliance (www.kearnyalliance.org), an internationally focused foundation with offices in Scottsdale, Arizona. With a mission of Aid through Trade, the Alliance focuses on innovative trade-related educational initiatives, and on assisting developing countries in export facilitation and business skills development to create jobs and alleviate poverty.

Leveraging his decades of international trade expertise, Mr. Hinrichs has lent this expertise in the creation of a social entrepreneurship model that is successfully connecting small and medium-sized, economically challenged producers with the global economy, thereby creating sustainable employment in developing economies of Asia, including Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos and Afghanistan. Kearny Alliance's core program is the Export Service Centre (www.exportservicecentre.com) based in Denpasar, Indonesia.

Mr. Hinrichs and his wife Miriam reside in Hong Kong.

Spenser Au
Deputy Chief Executive Officer


Spenser Au was appointed Global Sources’ deputy CEO on 15 October 2009.

Mr. Au joined the company in 1978 as an account executive for Asian Sources Electronics magazine. The positions through which he advanced to senior management included regional sales manager in 1988, associate publisher in 1991, publisher in 1992 and president of Asian Sales in 1999.

Mr. Au has a deep knowledge of Greater China and other markets where the company operates, and is widely respected for his sales experience; analytical, planning and execution skills; commitment to clients and team members; and interpersonal skills.

He is a business graduate from Hong Kong Baptist University.

Sarah Benecke
Executive Director


Sarah Benecke is executive director of Global Sources Ltd. and oversees the company's flagship China Sourcing Fair trade shows. Ms. Benecke served as the company's chief executive officer from 1994 to 1999, when under her leadership, the company launched its flagship website, Global Sources Online in 1995, its CD-ROMs as well as a number of new and successful publications.

Ms. Benecke first joined the company in May of 1980 and has served in a number of key positions, including publisher from 1988 to December 1992 and chief operating officer in 1993. Ms. Benecke received her Bachelor of Arts degree from University of New South Wales, Australia.

Craig Pepples
Chief Operating Officer


Craig Pepples is chief operating officer of Global Sources. Mr. Pepples is responsible for the company's worldwide operations including interactive media, corporate marketing, community development, content and human resources and acts as the publisher of Chief Executive China and Elegant Living. Mr. Pepples joined Global Sources in October 1986, moving on to manage the company's China sales operations from 1989 to 1992 and was country manager for China from 1992 to 1999. Mr. Pepples graduated with a B.A. in Linguistics from Yale University.

David Gillan
Chief Financial Officer


Mr. Gillan has been the Chief Financial Officer since June 30, 2009. He joined us in October 2008 as Deputy Chief Financial Officer. Prior to this, he was based in Shanghai as China Managing Director and CEO for the Dennis Family Corporation Pty. Ltd., a private Australian real estate investment and development fund. From 2000 to 2003, he was Finance Director, Tax & Treasury and Director of Project Development for the Intercontinental Hotels Group – Asia Pacific. He has over 15 years of senior management experience in Asia, predominantly in China where he has held various senior finance roles with public and private firms. He began his finance career with Arthur Andersen in Canada and holds an MBA in International Management, Marketing and Finance from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada and a BBA in Finance from the University of Prince Edward Island, Canada.

Peter Zapf
Vice President of E-Commerce Services


Peter Zapf is Vice President of Community Development for Global Sources. He is responsible for building Global Sources' buyer community by attracting international buyers to use the company's online, face-to-face and print channels.

Mr. Zapf began his career in software project management with the United States Air Force. He then joined Global Sources in Phoenix, Arizona, working on the development, sales and marketing of the company's early software and e-commerce products. Later, he worked as a research analyst at Bear Stearns in New York, focusing on the B2B market, after which he joined Hong Kong-based AsiaCommerce, a startup incubator, as Chief Executive Officer. He rejoined Global Sources in 2001.

Mr. Zapf holds a BSC in Electrical Engineering and Engineering and Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University, an MSC in Computer Science from Troy State University, and an MBA from Thunderbird, the American Graduate School of International Management.

Mark Saunderson
President of Electronics Business Unit


Mark A. Saunderson is president of Global Sources' Electronics Business Unit. His responsibilities include management of online and print edition of the company's Electronic Components vertical, and the company's joint venture with TechInsights, eMedia Asia.

Mr. Saunderson oversees the online and print editions of EE Times-Asia and Electronics Supply & Manufacturing-China, as well as a range of customized marketing services and technical events, IIC-China and Components Zone. He also leads the company's strategic alliance with Penton to execute the online and print editions of Electronic Design China.

Mr. Saunderson joined the company in 1990 as regional sales manager for one of Global Sources' electronics industry titles. He has since moved progressively to management roles within the company, most recently as publisher of Global Sources' multilingual websites and magazines serving the spectrum of Asia and China's electronics industry from design to export sales.

James Strachan
Executive Vice President of Corporate Development


James Strachan is Global Sources' executive vice president of corporate development, responsible for operations in the United States including business development, partner and investor relations, and strategic planning. Mr. Strachan joined the company in Hong Kong in 1979. He was appointed vice president of sales and marketing in 1984, computer and consumer electronics group publisher in 1988, and executive vice president of sales and marketing in 1994. Mr. Strachan graduated with an MBA from the University of Hawaii.

Bill Georgiou
Chief Information Officer


Bill Georgiou was appointed Global Sources' chief information officer in January 2001. Since 1989 he has held senior management positions in IT and related business fields with major corporations in Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore. He has directed the development and implementation of major business systems and e-commerce applications (B2C, B2B), managed data center and network infrastructure, and negotiated outsourcing contracts and hardware and software acquisitions. He has also played a leading role in the commercialization of new technologies and adoption of best practices in IT management. For over 7 years, he has developed specialist expertise in supply chain web enablement and systems. He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a member of the Hong Kong Computer Society. He holds an MBA from Adelaide University, Australia.

Board of Directors

Merle Hinrichs
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Sarah Benecke
Executive Director

Eddie Heng
Mr. Heng has been a director since April 2000. He joined us in August 1993 as deputy to the vice president of finance and was the Chief Financial Officer (previously entitled vice president of finance) from 1994 until June 30, 2009. He received an MBA from Shiller International University in London in 1993, is a Singapore Certified Public Accountant, a member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Singapore, and a Fellow Member of The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants in the United Kingdom. Prior to joining us, he was the regional financial controller of Hitachi Data Systems, a joint venture between Hitachi and General Motors.

Roderick Chalmers


Mr. Chalmers has been a director since October 2000. He has been the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bank of Valletta plc, Malta since 2004. He was chairman, Asia-Pacific, of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP ("PwC") and a member of PwC's Global Management Board from 1998 until his retirement in July 2000. He is a 30-year veteran with PwC's merger partner Coopers & Lybrand with specialist experience in the securities industry. He has at various times been a non-executive director of the Hong Kong SAR Securities and Futures Commission, a member of the Takeovers and Mergers Panel, and chairman of the Working Group on Financial Disclosure. He is a director of Gasan Group Limited (Malta), Middlesea Valletta Life Assurance Co Limited (Malta), Simonds Farsons Cisk Limited (Malta) and of Middlesea Insurance plc (Malta).