The 2020 merger of the United States Hide Skin and Leather Association and the Leather Industries of America brought together the two main organizations representing our industry in the US Based in Washington DC. The L&HCA now represents more than 75 businesses employing more than 5,000 people nationwide.
More than 26,000 people in the US are involved in the processing of hides and wet blue (semi-finished) leather tanning. This includes those employed at hide plants, tanneries, exporters, agents, and others. The US exports annually approximately 95% of all cattle hide and wet blue leather products it produces, totaling between $1-2 billion per year.
Contacts & Resources
Standards Governing the Sale of North American Cattle Hides
A compilation of terms and practices for the sale, take-up and delivery of North American cattle hides; the standards are endorsed by members of L&HCA and provide buyers with confidence that transactions with L&HCA members are delivered to best industry practice.
Download English language here, Spanish hereand Chinese here.
Leather Research Laboratory (University of Cincinatti)
ISO 17025 certified, this is the only academic based center of excellence dedicated to leather testing in the US. In-depth knowledge of applied leather technology enables interpretation of test results for Quality, Product Development, Marketing and Consumer Safety programs.
A voluntary certification program that provides independently certified traceability for all USA hides and skins back to a single, identifiable point of origin. The program delivers trust, transparency and supply chain security to the global leather industry.
Kerry Brozyna represents and promotes the interests of the US hides, skins and leather industry before a wide-range of stakeholders, including US and foreign governments, industry trade associations, media outlets. Appointed to LHCA in 2024, Brozyna brings over three decades of experience in the footwear industry.
Brozyna comes from Wolverine Worldwide, most recently as Vice President and General Manager of Wolverine Worldwide Leathers. With a commitment to People, Product, and Promise, he built customer-centric teams based in the USA, China, Vietnam, and Thailand responsible for manufacturing and marketing leather to global shoe brands.
Kevin Latner, Vice President
Kevin Latner is vice president focused on Europe marketing and sustainability. Latner’s background is in agricultural trade policy, strategic planning, trade marketing, monitoring and research, and program evaluation.
Prior to his work with Ag Food Consulting and Latner and Associates, and his role at LHCA, he served as executive director of Cotton Council International and as vice president of the National Cotton Council of America, Prior to Joining CCI, he was Senior Country Director for China for the U.S. Grains Council.
Latner has 15 years experience with USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service as an economist, marketing specialist, and trade and agricultural diplomat.
Jane Li, Vice President
Xueqing (Jane) Li is responsible for trade policy, market access, trade show management, market development and promotional activities in China and other Asian markets. In addition, Li works with allied trade associations, USDA and other entities to formulate trade policy, to facilitate trade and to implement marketing activities.
Previously, she worked as the director of Promar Consulting’s China office, managing and overseeing the company’s China projects. Prior to Promar, Li was an Agricultural Marketing Specialist serving as the principal advisor on Chinese marketing and trade possibilities to the US Agricultural Tarde Office at the US embassy in Beijing, China.
Majsan Bostrom Comms & Brand Strategy
Majsan Boström is a communications specialist and an award-winning journalist who began her career as a crime reporter in the American South. Her storytelling has appeared in major outlets including The New York Times, The Bangkok Post and Radio Sweden. After growing up in a moose-hunting family in Sweden, Majsan moved to the US and earned degrees in journalism and globalization. While the leather and hide industry is relatively new to her, commodities are not. She has followed the clandestine trade, trends and logistics of weapons, humans, narcotics and exotic animals while covering crime for more than 20 years.
Majsan, pronounced my-sun, came to L&HCA from Hidenet Publishing where she was managing editor. She holds a BA in Journalism and Globalization from UNC-Chapel Hill and an MFA in creative writing.
Matt Allan International Operations Program Manager
Matt Allan is the International Operations Program Manager of the Leather and Hide Council of America (LHCA).
Before joining LHCA, Matt worked at the Consumer Brands Association and the National Association of County and City Health Officials.
He received a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Vassar College and an M.S. in Agriculture, Food, and Environment from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University.
