Thomas Lee, Co-Chair, Busan Committee
Thomas has a diversified background with profound experience in production, sales and marketing, logistics and overseas operations. Since 1999 he has held the title of President of Unisource America, Inc., a Chicago company focused on the international trading of construction equipment parts.
Thomas previously held positions at Volvo Construction Equipment N. America, Inc. and Samsung Construction Equipment America, Corp., as well as positions in Seoul, South Korea at Samsung Heavy Industries and Daewoo Heavy Industries.
Since 2013, Thomas has been Chairman of the Korean American Minority Business Enterprise (KAMBE), and has previously been an advisor to the Vice President of Comoros, Africa; advisor to the Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA); and adjunct professor at Yeoju University in South Korea.
In 1987, Thomas received an award of excellence by the Prime Minister of South Korea for helping to increase trade between South Korea and the U.S.
Thomas joins Lily Kim in leading the Busan Committee of CSCI.
Robert Allegrini, Co-Chair, Milan Committee
Robert Allegrini is a public relations and hospitality executive, author, civic leader and diplomat.
For more than a decade, Allegrini served as Vice President of Communications-the Americas for Hilton. In this role, Allegrini managed the regional public relations team serving all the Hilton Worldwide full-service and luxury, corporately managed properties throughout the Western hemisphere. Concurrently, he also oversaw the brand public relations for Conrad Hotels & Resorts and Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts worldwide. In 2016, he was named one of 25 extraordinary minds in hospitality marketing by the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International.
Allegrini’s prior positions include Assistant Vice President in charge of public relations for Hyatt Hotels Corporation and Director of Corporate Communications in charge of public relations for all Swissotel properties worldwide. He has worked extensively in the hospitality industry in Asia, Europe and the East Coast of the United States in addition to his native Chicago.
In 2005 Allegrini authored the book, “Chicago’s Grand Hotels,” which subsequently was made into a documentary narrated by nationally renowned journalist Bill Kurtis and aired on the CBS network’s local Chicago affiliate. The book and the documentary were recognized when Allegrini was presented with the Governor’s Award for the Best Public Relations Campaign at the 2007 Illinois Governor’s Conference on Tourism.
Allegrini has long been active in Italian American affairs on a local and national level. From 1987 to 1990, Allegrini served as Executive Director of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans, an umbrella association of over 70 Illinois-based Italian American Associations. Subsequently, he founded the Chicago chapter of the Academia Italiana Della Cucina and served for three years as President of the Italian American Chamber of Commerce of the Midwest. Currently, Allegrini serves as Executive Vice President of the National Italian American Foundation and as the Honorary Consul for the Republic of San Marino in a 5-state jurisdiction.
Allegrini’s services to the Italian American community have been recognized both by Italy’s former royal family, the House of Savoy, which made him a Cavaliere (Knight) in 1991 and by the Republic of Italy which made him a Commendatore (Knight Commander) in the Order of Merit in 2002.
Robert joins Joe Monastero in leading the Milan Committee of CSCI.
Justine Fedak, Chair, Toronto Committee 
Justine Fedak is a self-declared Corporate Hippie. She is a transformational socially-conscious marketing executive with deep experience in brand management and marketing operations. She is Chief Brand Strategist with Pollara Strategic Insights and Co-Founder (Star Jones) of Instant Impact Group, a diversity and marketing consulting firm. She was most recently Global Head of Social Media and Sponsorships Marketing for BMO Financial Group.
After joining BMO in 1992 as a media relations assistant, Justine held many senior roles at the company in Canada and the U.S., within Retail Banking, Wealth Management, Investment Banking, Communications and Corporate Marketing. In 1999, Justine transferred to Chicago to lead M&A due diligence for U.S. wealth management and create a U.S. brand strategy. She repatriated to Canada to create a North American Corporate Sponsorships and Events team and built a client-focused partnership portfolio, negotiating some of the largest sports sponsorship deals with the NBA, NHL, MLS and MLB (North America) that attracted younger and more diverse customers. In 2007, she was named U.S. CMO and led the revitalization of the Harris Bank brand, uniting all the community banking under a central marketing focus. She also led the strategy and execution of the historical re-branding of Harris Bank to BMO. As a member of the executive management team, she was also accountable for the client experience and marketing communications integration of the bank’s largest M&A deal, the purchase of Marshall & Isley. She remained in the U.S. leading Brand, Advertising and Marketing for North America and developed an aligned north-south creative marketing strategy that remains strong today.
Justine is a very active member of her community and industry. She is a member of the Board of Directors of The Magnificent Mile Association, the Chicago Police Foundation and is on the Executive Committee of the Chicago Sports Commission. She is Commissioner of the SSA City of Chicago (Greektown), Chair of the Toronto Committee of Chicago Sister Cities International, and past Chair of the City of Chicago Municipal Marketing Advisory Counsel, as well as past member of many other prominent boards.
Justine is honored to be acknowledged as Out on Bay Street’s 2011 Leading Executive Ally (Toronto); the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s 2013 “Woman on the Move” (Illinois); American Banker Team winner for the past decade, the Chicago Business Journal’s 2015 Women of influence; Chicago Sky’s 2016 “Redefine Possible” Women’s Leadership Award recipient; and the 2017 Cohn Weil Memorial MS Honoree. She has been previously featured in numerous magazines, most recently in CS magazine’s Women of Style, and is a regular speaker in Canada and the U.S., both for the media and within the industry.
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