In order to ensure its relevance in terms of both academic standards and customs professional requirements, and to improve its effectiveness and capacity to engage in the delivery of its services, the INCU has established the Advisory Board which provides strategic advice and support to the Management Committee.
The Advisory Board comprises prominent and experienced persons in the field of customs drawn from across the customs sectors including academia, government and industry.
Professor Dr Lothar Gellert
Lothar Gellert is Chairman of the European Forum for Foreign Trade, Customs and Excise e.V. (EFA), Muenster, Germany and Professor in Customs and Tariff Law at the governmental University of Applied Sciences.
He formerly worked at the Department of Customs and Excise which forms part of the German Ministry of Finance. Lothar lectures at the Chamber of German Tax Consultants, the University of Muenster, the Ukrainian State Academy of Customs and the Academia Internacional de Derecho Aduanero. He has written extensively on customs law matters.
Mr Lars Karlsson
Lars Karlsson is President of KGH Border Services, an international customs capacity building company. He has spent 30 years as a customs leader, specifically involved in reform and modernisation. Lars was the first Director of Capacity Building of the World Customs Organization (2006-2010) where he spearheaded the work of developing capacity building strategies, standards, infrastructure and operational programs, including Columbus and PICARD. Before joining the WCO, he held key positions within Swedish Customs, including as Acting Deputy Director General, Director Customs and Head of ICT, reform and modernisation.
Lars has extensive work experience in many countries. In 2010, he was appointed as an Honorary Fellow of the International Network of Customs Universities in recognition of his distinguished contribution to the WCO’s PICARD Programme, the INCU and to promoting the academic standing of the Customs profession. In 2016, Lars Karlsson was conferred the title of Honorary Doctor of Education by Charles Sturt University for his significant contribution to the public good through his outstanding input and influence in the professional practices of customs education and capacity building.
Professor Dr Yao-Hua Tan
Yao-Hua Tan is Professor of Information and Communication Technology at the ICT Group of the Department of Technology, Policy and Management of the Delft University of Technology and part-time Professor of Electronic Business at the Department of Economics and Business Administration of the Vrije University Amsterdam. He was also Reynolds visiting professor at the Wharton Business School of the University of Pennsylvania.
He is vice-chair of the Committee on Trade of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and scientific coordinator of various EU-funded integrated research projects on IT innovation to facilitate international trade (e.g. ITAIDE, CASSANDRA, and CORE). His research interests are IT innovation to make international trade more secure and safe; compliance management for international supply chains; multi-agent modelling to develop automation of business procedures in international trade, ICT-enabled electronic negotiation and contracting.
Mr Poul Hansen
Poul Hansen is responsible for issues relating to Trade Facilitation at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Division of Technology and Logistics (DTL). UNCTAD’s mandate is to assist developing and least developed countries as well as economies in transition integrating into global trade, promoting development-centered globalization and inclusive and sustainable growth and development for these countries.
Poul has extensive experience in the area of trade and transport facilitation, having worked for more than 15 years in the UN system on issues such as international trade, transportation, development, international standards, previously working at the UNECE as Secretary for the TIR Convention. In addition, Poul has also worked in international sports policy as Head of Office for the UN Office on Sport and Development and Peace. Prior to joining the UN, Poul worked for more than 10 years in the private sector in areas such public affairs, management consulting and logistics with organizations including Ernst & Young, FreightForward Europe (FFE), The International Road Transport Union (IRU) and the Ziegler Group, gaining experience in a number of industries including transportation and logistics, automotive, manufacturing and retail. Poul’s studies include both master and bachelor levels in Business Administration and International Law from the Aarhus and Copenhagen Business Schools, Denmark.
Dr Mohammad Saeed
Dr Mohammad Saeed is a Senior Trade Facilitation Adviser at the International Trade Centre (ITC) in Geneva. Before joining ITC, he was Senior Technical Adviser on Trade and Transport Facilitation with Technology and Logistics branch of UNCTAD. He has vast experience of working on trade facilitation issues at national, regional and multilateral level. Prior to his assignment with UNCTAD, he was lead negotiator for Pakistan in WTO negotiations for Trade Facilitation Agreement for six years.
His work experience of over 15 years with Pakistan Customs has contributed towards his pragmatic approach based on the ground realities in the TF area. Dr Saeed holds Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University Kennedy School and LLB from the University of London. Besides having a postgraduate degree in Economics from University of London, he has specialised training in international trade law from Harvard Law School.