March Speaker Series Panel Luncheon 3-18-26

Description

Our panel featuring Marcus Minesh from Amazon, Brandon Fried from the Air Forwarders Association, and Michael Webber from Webber Air Cargo will discuss the outlook for air freight volumes and the overall state of the air cargo industry, along with key issues such as trucking fraud and cybersecurity, airport infrastructure challenges, sustainability efforts, and the growing role of AI, while leaving time to address emerging industry concerns.

Brandon Fried:

Brandon Fried has more than 45 years of experience in the airfreight forwarding industry and is from Washington, D.C.

While still a forwarder, Brandon joined the Airforwarders Association and was soon elected Chairperson in 2001. He served two consecutive terms as Chair and remained an active member of the Board of Directors.

In November of 2005, Brandon was appointed to serve as the new executive director of the Airforwarders Association. As executive director, Brandon represents the Association on all security matters and serves several Federal Advisory Committees including:

• The TSA Aviation Security Advisory Committee
• The U.S. Department of Commerce Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness
• CBP Commercial Operations Advisory Committee

• He also now chairs and represents forwarder interests on the advisory Board of Cargo Network Services, an IATA company.
• He advocates for the industry in the halls of Congress, the Department of Homeland Security and is the public face of the Airforwarders Association.

Brandon is a recognized expert on the air cargo industry and regularly comments for major trade publications such as American Shipper, The Journal of Commerce and Air Cargo World. He also continues to educate and advocate for forwarders in national publications, including the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, The Miami Herald and USA Today. He has also appeared on National Public Radio, CNN News and C-SPAN’s Washington Journal television shows. 

A graduate of Syracuse University, Brandon holds a master's degree in business administration and lives in Chevy Chase, Md.

Michael Webber:

In a career spanning about 35 years, Webber has provided cargo consulting to the largest U.S. international cargo gateways, including LAX, Chicago O’Hare, Miami and New York JFK, as well as dozens of smaller airports. Webber has completed cargo assessments at 16 of the top 25 U.S. cargo airports.

His international work has included assignments in India, Thailand and the People’s Republic of China in Asia, Kenya and Cape Verde in Africa, Jordan and Abu Dhabi in the Middle East, as well as Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Panama in Latin America. He recently completed multiple assignments focusing on Central Asia for the World Bank.

Webber is active in ACI-NA’s Air Cargo Committee and the Airport Congestion Task Force of the Airforwarders Association (AfA). Webber recently co-authored a chapter on air cargo’s role in economic development for a book co-published by the World Bank and ICAO, as well as co-authored both the original and an update to cargo facilities planning guidelines for the Transportation Research Board’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP). Webber is also part of a Purdue University-led ACRP study of regional air cargo planning, due to start this month.

An assignment at Ontario International Airport in 2000 led to multiple assignments at LAX with Webber working in our market for twenty-five years until December 2025. He participated in multiple early phases of the LAX Cargo Modernization Program but no longer consults for LAWA.

Marcus Menish:

Head of Airport Affairs for Amazon Global Air, where he leads strategic engagement with airports and directs capital and ground infrastructure development supporting Amazon Air’s rapidly expanding global network. He has guided multi-million-dollar cargo facility projects, negotiated complex airport agreements, and built public-private partnerships that unlock new airport revenue and investment opportunities. With over 20 years in aviation, logistics, and real estate, Marcus focuses on aligning infrastructure programs with long-term economic value and operational scale, helping airports position air cargo as a catalyst for growth, sustainability, and competitive advantage within the broader aviation ecosystem.