Experience Is Valuable. Perspective Is What Makes It Useful.
Customs and international trade problems are rarely just questions of legislation. Behind every transaction are commercial decisions, supply chains, relationships, documentation and people. Understanding how those pieces fit together is often where the real answer begins.
My career has taken me from senior roles within New Zealand Customs to international professional services, multinational business and independent advisory work across Asia-Pacific. That experience has allowed me to see Customs and trade issues from different sides of the border, including the perspective of the authority asking the questions and the business that must answer them.
Today, I bring those perspectives together to help businesses understand complex Customs and international trade issues, challenge assumptions where necessary, and find practical ways forward.
A Career Across Customs, Consulting and Industry
My career in Customs and international trade began with New Zealand Customs, where I spent more than two decades in operational, technical and senior roles, including responsibility for Customs valuation and trade investigations. That foundation gave me first-hand experience of how Customs authorities examine transactions, interpret the rules, assess evidence and make decisions.
Since moving into international professional services and industry, I have worked across Asia-Pacific with multinational businesses, law firms, tax advisers, Customs administrations and trade professionals. My work has covered everything from individual transactions and Customs disputes to regional compliance programmes, supply-chain decisions and complex cross-border trade issues.
Working across government, consulting and industry has taught me that the technically correct answer is only part of the solution. Advice also has to work in the commercial world in which the business operates.
Experience from Different Sides of the Trade Environment
Over the course of my career, I have worked with Customs authorities, professional services firms, multinational businesses and trade professionals across Asia-Pacific. Each environment has provided a different perspective on how Customs and international trade decisions are made, challenged and implemented.
Customs Authority
More than two decades inside Customs, including senior responsibility for valuation and trade investigations.
Multinational Industry
Working within multinational businesses, where Customs and trade decisions directly affect commercial operations, sourcing and international supply chains.
Professional Services
Advising businesses through international law, accounting and professional services environments on complex Customs and trade matters.
Regional & International Advisory
Supporting businesses and professional advisers across ASEAN, China and the wider Asia-Pacific region, while addressing the impact of developments in other major international markets.
An Asia-Pacific Perspective, with a Global View
International trade rarely fits neatly within one country. A transaction may involve manufacturing in China, sourcing from ASEAN, a regional headquarters in Singapore, customers in several international markets, and Customs requirements at multiple points along the supply chain. Understanding how those connections affect one another can be just as important as understanding the rules in any single jurisdiction.
My work across Asia-Pacific and international markets has given me practical experience of those connections. I assist businesses and professional advisers with Customs and trade issues involving ASEAN, China, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and other major trading markets, while drawing on the WTO framework and the international principles that underpin Customs valuation, classification, origin and trade facilitation.
Increasingly, that also means looking beyond Customs itself. Tariffs, sanctions, changing trade routes, geopolitical developments and new government policies can alter where goods are sourced, how they move and what happens when they reach the border.
Experience Matters Most When It Helps Solve the Problem
After decades working with Customs and international trade, I have learned that experience is most useful when it helps make a complicated situation clearer. Clients need to understand what matters, what their options are and what can practically be done next.
When you work with me, you deal directly with the person examining the issue and developing the advice. My starting point is simple: understand the facts, ask the right questions, challenge assumptions where necessary and work towards a practical solution.